PMJT chimes in on Orbán's loss and what it means for democracy in Hungary and around the world 👇 Very curious if any Conservatives have anything to say about it. Harper was very close with Orbán. If they remain silent on his loss, we'll know why: they wished it wasn't so.

George Soros living long enough to witness Orban's humiliating defeat is the cherry on top.

It's kinda interesting to think about how differently Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper have spent their retirement years

Presumably the Americans will now shift seamlessly from denouncing Europeans for not militarily opening the Straits of Hormuz, to denouncing them for not militarily helping to keep the Straits closed. www.ft.com/content/49fb...

Trump: "How dare Iran extort countries. That's our job". Pissed other countries may be able to navigate the Strait, US will now prevent anyone from doing so. This also means US Navy stopping ships from other sovereign nations, which I'm sure will go down brilliantly and couldn't cause any issues.

Trying to keep up with Trump's positions, of course, is a fools' errant. This is, of course, irrelevant when it comes to me. Who cares that an academic is confused by the number of changes in positions? But spare a thought for people negotiating with and for him. How can they do their job?

Peace through war. Opening the strait by blockading it. All makes perfect sense!

This is the message of the day. And this will have repercussions. I’ll write an article on that.

nothing says skilled diplomacy like spending a single day laying out your terms and then going home when they’re not immediately and unilaterally accepted bsky.app/profile/atru...

Imagine trusting science to bring astronauts to the moon and back but not trusting science to develop safe vaccines.

Obama’s nuclear deal took 100s of hours of negotiations. Large teams, with nuclear experts, working line by line. Vance thought he and two real estate guys could roll in and use leverage they don’t have, with the aura of a diplomatic superpower they no longer are. Schooled.

first in my bloodline to see someone get excommunicated by a community note

it would be too much to hope that next time Democrats abandon Trump's trade policy. Biden did not. But manufacturing jobs are not coming back, and a stronger social safety net would be better than protectionism. I know, I'm dreaming

So important in these confusing times to treat serious issues with the gravity they deserve

Most food consumed in the US is already produced here. We were a net ag exporter for 60 years & only since 2019 net importer, bc we like access to tropical products & off-season produce. Also, we waste ~40% of the food we produce, and use the majority of our corn & soy for animal feed and biofuels.

Iran sent a team of 30 including university professors, scientists, diplomats, PhDs. The American delegation includes no diplomats, but lots of relatives of Trump and real estate developers. Who's going to get fleeced? www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

💯

"One year later: How US tariffs and trade policy have reshaped the landscape" They're not finished reshaping either. This is a good review of the past year by RBC Economics. Very readable by non-professionals. Thanks @scottlincicome.bsky.social.

We've heard almost nothing of what ministers discussed on agriculture at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Yaoundé, Thankfully the Pakistani “minister-facilitator’s” report to ministers meeting on Mar 29 is public. Where was the deadlock? Paragraph 9 versus paragraph 10 docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages...

Iconic Photo

I did not know Epstein on a boat I did not know Epstein with a goat I did not know Epstein in the air I did not know him anywhere!

1. It’s not just Trump. Here’s a Republican Senator posting a clip of the Republican House Speaker falsely claiming that the Democrats count on “illegals voting” to win. This is a lie - “illegal” votes are statistically insignificant. They have produced no material evidence, yet keep lying.

Trump distrusts professional diplomats. 115 of 195 American ambassadorial posts worldwide currently sit vacant. Fewer than 20 even have a nominee in the pipeline. That is diplomatic malpractice on a global scale—but the consequences are sharpest where the stakes are highest.

Back to see my Norton Simon Museum Doppelgänger, 8 years later. Dammit, he hasn’t aged a bit!

Hall of fame FT correction

all these universities kept axing medieval history departments as if they thought tyrants beefing with the Pope was going to stop being relevant

Gotta laugh sometimes because it’s so ridiculous 😂😂😂

Good morning. I have written a short piece for @alphaville.ft.com about Trump’s 100% tariff (or is it?) on pharmaceuticals and the perpetual leverage machine, www.ft.com/content/5f80...

we cannot live this way.

Converting to Catholicism and then threatening the Pope with military action because you don’t like that he uh, *checks notes* is following Catholic belief is absolutely insane behavior

The WH treatment of our allies is just shameful. Instead of bashing them for not supporting a misguided war, Trump should have listened to them and not pursued such a disastrous path. www.wsj.com/world/europe...

Article 13 of the NATO treaty: “After the Treaty has been in force for twenty years, any Party may cease to be a Party one year after its notice of denunciation has been given to the Government of the United States of America, which will inform the Governments of the other Parties….” Fun times

Please enjoy my cartoon for Thursday's Toronto Star

Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez: “The Government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket.” 🍿

Oh hey look, some good news

Impossible to disagree with a single word that Ben Rhodes (Obama era NSC official) is saying here:

The Art of War 1. Start war 2. Kill people 3. Fail to achieve strategic objectives 4. Declare victory 5. Agree ceasefire

I am very happy to share that our open-access article with Gemma Mateo and Andreas Dür (@andduer.bsky.social) “Who Drives the Security Narrative in US Trade Policy?”, is now published in PS: Political Science & Politics (@pspolisci.bsky.social).

The President of the United States is threatening to commit war crimes and wipe out a "whole civilization" — all because he started a disastrous war of his own making and had no plan and no strategy for how to end it. This is abhorrent, and the American people do not support this.

a good day to hope that Trump turns back from the brink

Last thought before classes...even if tonight does not end up being worst case, even if he postpones the deadline, it is *EXTREMELY BAD* that Trump has gotten to this point and that he posted what he posted and that the whole region is quaking with anxiety. On top of the human toll already.

Hungary relies on Russia for something like 75% of its natural gas and 50% of its oil.

Q for any historians out there: Has any previous election (anywhere) seen the White House and Kremlin both meddling on behalf of the same side?

The WTO Ministerial Conference was worse than we expected, so why all the smiles? What strikes us is the curious incident of the dogs not barking. We are thinking of what Sherlock Holmes famously said in Silver Blaze. With @bobwolfe.bsky.social tradebetablog.wordpress.com/2026/04/07/w...

Please enjoy my cartoon for Tuesday's Toronto Star

Don't think I've ever been as terrified in all the Trump security crises. As @pkrugman.bsky.social said, "It’s the most astonishing, awful thing that I’ve ever seen, and we’ve all seen a lot of awful things." Mainly as cope, and to teach it, I keep asking why. 1/ open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...

A theme of this book is that you make arms control agreements with enemies, not friends. Like, for example, the JCPOA.

It’s the End of the World (TO) as We Know it

Detailed and informative account how Australia gave ground on Geographical Indications to conclude trade deal with the EU by @coppetainpu.bsky.social tradebetablog.wordpress.com/2026/04/02/a...

Unironically, one of the biggest threats to what remains of American hegemony at the moment is that we are fundamentally contemptible at the moment. We’ve been feared, hated, hypocritical, etc. before, but I don’t think we’ve ever been as disgustingly pathetic as we are now.