The Common Ills: Chump's cocky attitude brings him back down to earth

Donald Chump. Some people were never going to be pleased by him including me because we know he's a liar. We knew that before the 2024 election. But some people believed him. They've now begun to turn away from him. And more will follow. He's kept none of his promises.

Sam Stevenson (NEWSWEEK) reports:

President Donald Trump said Friday during remarks in Florida that the United States would take over Cuba “almost immediately,” suggesting an aircraft carrier could be positioned offshore after the conflict in Iran.

The comments came the same day Trump signed an executive order significantly expanding U.S. sanctions on the Cuban government and its affiliates.

Cuba’s government, foreign companies doing business on the island and U.S. allies in the region could face heightened pressure amid a sharp escalation in rhetoric and economic penalties.

America first? Wasn't that what Chump said? Didn't his supporters believe he was the anti-war guy?He can't end the Iran War after two months. It's still ongoing. And yet he's planning to go to war on Cuba?

He's just so full of himself, isn't he?

He thinks he can fool everyone and that he can take on anyone. That is not the case.

Catherina Gioino (FORTUNE) observes Chump's gross stupidity:

Trump’s version of the American Dream says the winners are being stolen from: by immigrants and globalists, and by institutions that no longer serve the people who built them. His opponents mostly argue within the same framework, insisting the system should be fairer but still organized around the same ideals. Pope Leo XIV is the first American pope, and is also the only person in the world with the moral authority, the biography, and the institutional platform to critique the MAGA vision of America on its own terms, using its own words.

Trump chose to pick a fight with the Pope in a way that his own base argue is against the very things he preaches. His approval rating has fallen to 34% in Pew’s latest survey, the lowest of his second term. The Iran war he launched has closed the Strait of Hormuz, disrupted 20% of global oil supplies, pushed gas prices past $4 a gallon, and driven inflation back to 3.3%, the highest since May 2024, with economists warning it could reach 4.2% by year’s end.

The IMF has flagged global recession risk. A majority of voters, 53%, now call the Iran military action a failure, and Democrats hold a 10-point lead on the generic congressional ballot heading into the midterms. An AP poll puts Trump’s approval on the economy at 30%. And into this steps an American pope with a 42% favorable rating and an 8% unfavorable rating, a net favorability 34 points better than the president’s, making the moral case against the very war that is producing the economic pain. The reason why he remains so untouchable despite Trump’s attacks is that he embodies the same thing Trump is: an American.

Chump picked a fight with the Pope. The Pope. Who doesn't work for Chump. Who is a powerful figure in the Catholic Church. His power is independent of Chump's and may very well be more than Chump's. But Chump elected to pick a fight with Pope Leo.

Who isn't dependent upon Chump for anything.

Marc Ramirez, Phaedra Trethan, Mike Stunson, Bailey Allen, Liam Adams and Rachel Gow (USA TODAY) note:

It's been nearly 1,000 years since King Henry IV stood barefoot in the Italian snow to beg forgiveness after clashes with Pope Gregory VII and over two centuries since Napoleon imprisoned Pope Pius VII in France. Now, a new battle is underway between a pope and a world leader, this time in America.

It's the war of words between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV. And for dozens of U.S. Catholics interviewed by the USA TODAY Network across the nation, it's Leo who has the upper hand in the crusade. A year into his historic papacy he has given them hope for the future of the Catholic Church.

At Villanova, where Leo graduated in 1977, Catholic convert Jacob Adams, 25, said outside the campus' St. Thomas Church that young people don’t have much appetite for war. Hence, they appreciate Leo's strong words in defiance of Trump's recent comments about destroying “a whole civilization” in the Iran war.

“Right or left, there are people calling for peace,” said Adams, a former evangelical who supported Trump in 2020 and 2024. “I like what (Leo) is doing to hold (Trump) accountable.”

With the pontiff about to finish year one in his papacy, the USA TODAY Network spoke with Catholics nationwide about their views of Leo and found their responses overwhelmingly upbeat. Many say Leo is palpably different from Pope Francis, with an everyman affability they believe is helping fuel a global resurgence in Catholicism - especially among the young.

And while Pope Leo was being embraced over the last months, Chump was seeing his own support dwindle to record lows. And that was before Chump posted the photo of himself as God. That's blasphemy. In the US, we don't call for off-with-their-heads over blasphemy but we also don't embrace blasphemy.

And it is in the weakened period that Chump's learning who has the actual power. Malcolm Ferguson (THE NEW REPUBLIC) notes:

Pope Leo XIV has named three new bishops in the United States, each of whom have been vocal critics of President Trump.

Evelio Menjivar, a formerly undocumented immigrant, will be the new bishop for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia, and Gary Studniewski and Robert Boxie III will be auxiliary bishops in Washington, D.C. The appointments indicate a deliberate choice on the pope’s part to select representatives in the United States who will be similarly unafraid to raise their voices against the Trump administration.

Menjivar, who immigrated from El Salvador to the U.S. in the trunk of a car when he was a teenager, decried Trump’s immigration crackdown last year in the National Catholic Reporter. “The federal government has pursued a ‘shock and awe’ campaign of aggressive threats and highly visible operations of questionable legality that go far beyond mere immigration ‘enforcement,’” he wrote. “We must stand with those at risk … and we cannot let the dark side of anti-immigrant animus take hold.”

Y. John Raby and Giovanna Dellorto (INDEPENDENT) add:

The new bishop, who has spent his ministerial career in the nation's capital and surrounding communities, will work in a less Catholic and more rural region, overseeing the diocese’s 61,000 Catholics and 92 parishes throughout West Virginia.

While acknowledging the beauty of West Virginia mountains and natural resources, he said many people in one of the nation’s poorest states “continue to endure hardship, marginalization and inequality.”

Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington praised Menjivar-Ayala’s advocacy for migrants during his tenure in the capital, saying in a statement that “his passion for justice and sensitive care for the Hispanic and immigrant communities of our Archdiocese have planted seeds of grace that will yield a harvest here for decades to come.”

In an article he wrote last year for the Catholic Standard, the official newspaper of the Washington archdiocese, Menjivar-Ayala spoke out against the treatment of immigrants by Trump’s administration.

In other news, we turn to Donald Chump's dead friend Jeffrey Epstein. Ghislaine Maxwell wants a pardon from Chump. And someone has an idea that Ghislaine may be hinting to get one. Alexander Willis (RAW STORY) notes:

Famed reporter Julie K. Brown obtained a leaked email penned by Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell while in prison last year – an email, Brown theorized, that might hold a “clue” to the convicted sex trafficker’s plan to secure either a pardon or other reprieve from her 20-year sentence.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee recently signaled an openness to offering Maxwell – who was found guilty of five federal charges related to sex trafficking minors – clemency in exchange for testifying under oath. In a report published on her Substack recently, Brown predicted Maxwell will ultimately receive a pardon or other relief, citing an email she sent her sister last October.

“I found this note she wrote to her sister from prison back in October that hints at what Maxwell has,” Brown, whose reporting helped lead to Epstein’s arrest in 2019, wrote in her report.

In the email, Maxwell requests of her sister, Isabel Maxwell, that she “send Leon’s emails etc stuff to Leah,” noting that “one day the spigot will dry up.”

Brown concludes that Maxwell was referencing former Apollo CEO Leon Black, long a client of Epstein who’s been accused of sexual abuse by several women, but has denied any wrongdoing. Black has also been close friends with President Donald Trump “for decades.” As for “Leah,” Brown concludes Maxwell to be referencing Leah Saffian, a “friend and lawyer” of Maxwell’s who helped draft her recent appeal for clemency.

Let's wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:

Warren: “It looks like insiders have been making out like bandits by using secret information about the war.”

Hegseth: Everything “completely above board”

Video of Exchange (YouTube)

Washington, D.C. — At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pressed Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Pete Hegseth on allegations that Trump administration officials are engaging in possible insider trading by placing bets on the Iran War through prediction markets.

Senator Warren also questioned Hegseth on reports of his own personal investments, revealing a possible violation of Hegseth’s ethics agreement.

“Americans are paying a high price for Donald Trump’s war with Iran: 14 service members dead, over 400 more wounded, prices rising for nearly every American family,” said Senator Warren. “But someone is profiting off Trump’s war—insiders who know what’s going on and who place bets on that inside information.”

On March 23, minutes before Trump unexpectedly posted about “very good conversations” on ending his war with Iran, traders suddenly bet $500 million on the price of oil, which, once Trump made his announcement, immediately dropped. A similar occurrence happened again on April 7 and again on April 21. Federal law prohibits financial trades based on material, nonpublic information.

“It looks like insiders have been making out like bandits by using secret information about the war,” said Senator Warren.

When pressed on concerns about insider trading in his own office, Secretary Hegseth said it’s “not something we're involved in at all” and refused to share any information as to how — or whether — DoD is cracking down on possible insider trading.

On March 30, the Financial Times reported that Secretary Hegseth’s broker attempted to purchase millions of shares in a defense industry fund prior to the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran. It is illegal for any Secretary of Defense to own stock in the ten biggest defense contracting companies.

Following this report, Senator Warren, along with her colleagues, pressed Secretary Hegseth on what appeared to be a major conflict of interest and possible violation of his federal ethics agreement. The senator also sent a letter to the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), raising her concerns about whether the Secretary may have used highly sensitive, material nonpublic information on U.S. military activities for personal gain.

Secretary Hegseth claimed the entire story was “false” and denied his involvement.

In his ethics agreement, Secretary Hegseth said he would “ensure” that “the account manager or investment professional obtains my prior approval on a case-by-case basis for the purchase of any assets other than cash, cash equivalents, investment funds.” In response to Senator Warren asking if his broker is getting his sign-off on his investments, Secretary Hegseth said, “bigger, fatter, negative.”

Senator Warren concluded the hearing by entering Secretary Hegseth’s ethics agreement, which states he will personally sign off on any defense-related investments, into the congressional record.

Transcript: Hearings to examine the Department of Defense budget request for Fiscal Year 2027 and the Future Years Defense Program.
Senate Armed Services Committee
April 30, 2026

Senator Elizabeth Warren: Americans are paying a high price for Donald Trump’s war with Iran: 14 service members dead, over 400 more wounded, prices rising for nearly every American family.

But someone is profiting off Trump’s war—insiders who know what’s going on and who place bets on that inside information.

On March 23rd, just 14 minutes before Trump unexpectedly posted about “very good conversations” on ending the war, traders suddenly bet $500 million on the price of oil, which, once Trump made his announcement, immediately dropped. It happened again on April 7th. Then again, on April 21st. A surge in oil bets, then a Trump post, and then a huge shift in oil prices in just the space of minutes. It looks like insiders have been making out like bandits by using secret information about the war.

One U.S. soldier has been charged, but that was for betting on the Maduro capture months ago. Not a single person has been charged for the many, many trades over the war in the Middle East.

Secretary Hegseth, do you have any explanation for these perfectly timed spikes in trading activity other than insider trading?

Secretary Pete Hegseth: Senator, all I can tell you is that everything we've done in our department, everything we've done with information in working with the White House and across the interagency, has been completely above board.

Senator Warren: Well, so what does it mean? Do you have any other explanation other than insider trading? Do you have a story for why, just minutes before there's an announcement, there's a surge in trading activity?

Secretary Hegseth: Senator, I'm more than focused on doing my job and ensuring we execute properly, which, thankfully, under this administration, our troops have done incredible things in all these missions. My job, in all of those moments, is to make sure we're prepared. And that's part of the reason why we've been so successful in these raids, in these efforts, is that this joint force is prepared.

Senator Warren: You're saying you're not paying any attention to this insider trading. Is that what you're telling me? That you've paid no attention to this. You haven't noticed it. You haven't done anything about it.

Secretary Hegseth: What I'm saying is we're focused on our mission of executing for the American people. And what happens in markets is not, in betting markets, is not something we're involved in.

Senator Warren: What happens in betting markets doesn't matter to you, even if the information may be coming from insiders in your office?

Secretary Hegseth: Senator, it's not something we're involved in at all. And of course, we take operational security at every level very seriously. In fact, no one's taken operational security more seriously than us. If you look at what it required to keep secret Midnight Hammer and Operation Maduro, the absolute resolve with Maduro and the steps we've taken, no one's been tighter about ensuring that operational security is ensured.

Senator Warren: Have you taken any steps to deal with insider trading out of your office?

Secretary Hegseth: I mean, we have, we would ensure at every level that inside information—

Senator Warren: Okay. I take that as a no.

Secretary Hegseth: …is properly safeguarded.

Senator Warren: Well, obviously, you're not. I'm also concerned about recent reporting on your own financial dealings with regard to profiting from the war in Iran. The Financial Times reported that your broker tried to buy hundreds of shares in a BlackRock fund invested in defense companies just before the war began. The law clearly prohibits the Secretary—

Secretary Hegseth: That entire story is false. It has been from the beginning and was made up out of whole cloth. And anybody that looks at it sees how it was worded from the beginning, to make it look like I was involved in something I had nothing to do and never have. So any insinuation that I've ever profited other than serving this nation. What I give, what you give, what others give. I'm not looking for money. I don't do it for money. I don't do it for profit. I don't do it for stocks, and that's part of the reason why I'm able to be effective in this job, because no one owns me, no one owns this department, no one owns this president, and we can execute for the American people, and we do.

Senator Warren: The law clearly prohibits the Secretary of Defense from owning stock in the ten biggest defense contractors. Other senators and I sent you a letter with detailed questions about this, and you have not given us a response. So I'd like to hear what you say.

Did you, through your broker at Morgan Stanley or otherwise, seek to invest in any defense-related funds right before Trump started the Iran war?

Secretary Hegseth: I'll give it to you as a big fat negative.

Senator Warren: Then let me ask you a second question. Is your broker getting your personal sign-off on any investment in an individual stock or—

Secretary Hegseth: Bigger, fatter, negative.

Senator Warren: He's not getting your sign-off before he makes investments in defense stocks? Can I refer you to your ethics agreements?

Secretary Hegseth: I'm not making investments, Senator.

Senator Warren: I’m asking, does he know that he has to get your sign-off before he does that?

Secretary Hegseth: Of course. I don’t know what you're looking for, but you ain’t gonna find it.

Chair Roger Wicker: Thank you. Thank you, Senator.

Senator Warren: I would like to enter into the record the ethics agreement that the Secretary of Defense has signed, that he will sign off personally before his broker makes any attempt to buy defense stocks.

Chair Roger Wicker: Is there objection? Thank you. Without objection, it will be admitted.

Senator Warren has fought to hold the Trump administration accountable for failing to protect civilians and troops alike during its illegal war in Iran:

On April 28, 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned Admiral Frank M. Bradley, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), on alarming reports of service members sustaining traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in President Trump’s illegal war with Iran.
On April 22, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) pressed General Randall Reed, Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), on the Trump administration’s failures in evacuating Americans from the Middle East at the start of President Trump’s illegal war in Iran.
On April 20, 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Paul Atkins, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), following a report that a broker for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attempted to purchase millions of shares in a defense industry fund prior to the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran. The Senator raises serious concerns about whether the Secretary of Defense may have used highly sensitive, material non-public information on U.S military activities for personal gain.
On April 20, 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Van Hollen (D-Md.) led nine senators in opening a new investigation into Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s role in weakening civilian harm prevention programs and the catastrophic civilian impacts of President Trump’s war in Iran.
On April 7, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) released a new video condemning President Trump’s threat to wipe out the “whole civilization” of Iran and called for Majority Leader Thune to bring the Senate back into session immediately to vote to stop Trump’s war.
On April 2, 2026, after new reports revealed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s broker reportedly attempted to make major defense investments ahead of Trump’s attacks on Iran, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pressed Hegseth on what appears to be a major conflict of interest and possible violation of his federal ethics agreement.