HOW IT STARTED: What’s really behind Trump’s clash with the Pope?

Donald Trump’s latest clash with the Catholic Church stunned even the most hardened veterans of culture-war X. According to the President of the United States, the Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV, the conspicuously holy spiritual leader of 1.3 billion people, is “WEAK on crime and terrible on foreign policy.” He also claimed that, “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”

For commentators accustomed to the fog of modern diplomatic platitudes, such trash talk was the equivalent of a Holy Roman Emperor hurling insults at a medieval pontiff. In the year 963, for example, the Emperor Otto I accused Pope John XII of fornicating with his own niece, “making the sacred palace a whorehouse” while he drunkenly murdered his enemies and consecrated a ten-year-old bishop.

Trump’s rhetoric may have been mild in comparison, but the fact remains that not once in the 250-year history of the United States has a Commander-in-Chief launched a personal attack on the Supreme Pontiff.

—The Spectator, April 27^th.

How it’s going:

It took the pope all of what? Two weeks? To completely and totally vindicate Trump’s criticisms of him with this boneheaded move https://t.co/cdx48ITo8A

— Matthew Boyle (@mboyle1) May 3, 2026

This was not a dreamer. Evelio originally came here from El Salvador illegally as a grown man in 1990. He had already been deported at least once before. Soon after his arrival, he was granted TPS because of the civil war back home. Eventually learned English and became a US… https://t.co/K8WurJijH9

— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) May 4, 2026

Deace’s tweet concludes, “Barely 2% of West Virginia is Hispanic. Barely 1% of the state speaks Spanish. This is a purely political appointment by a woke pope trying to shoehorn his open borders agenda into a state Trump has won by 40 points three times. There’s nothing prophetic here, but it’s all shamefully political. An open borders agenda the pope himself isn’t forced to abide by, because Vatican City has strict enforcement policies and walls. This is like if MSNBC picked offices in the church, all the while never allowing the illegals in Martha’s Vineyard where their primetime hosts spend their summers.”

THE ENEMY WITHIN: ‘Blow up ports’: ‘Muslim anarchist’ ex-professor calls for ‘death to America’ at Virginia Tech.

CHANGE:

🇸🇪 Suecia acaba de aprobar que para obtener la ciudadanía se exija:

– 8 años de residencia
– Ingresos estables
– NO haber recibido ayudas sociales
– Examen de sueco
– Examen de valores y sociedad sueca

Si no hablas el idioma o no demostras que entendes cómo funciona Suecia →… pic.twitter.com/pJqJxDLnQl

— Pato Bonato (@patobonato) May 4, 2026

But: “Good job! But it came too late; if it had happened 20 years ago, it would have solved many problems. For today’s Sweden, only remigration will solve it. The immigrant population of non-European origin accounts for 16%, one of the top 5 highest in Europe.”

DAVID MANNEY: Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Move Blends Power and Mercy.

TRY IT: Rho Nutrition Liposomal NAD+ – Liquid Supplement. #CommissionEarned

NO ENEMIES TO THE LEFT, NOT EVEN ACTUAL NAZIS:

The Platner tattoo story isn’t about Platner.

It's about the people who spent years calling everyone on the Right a Nazi for the slightest association, only to line up like rank-and-file partisans behind a Democratic Senate candidate who wore a literal SS Totenkopf tattoo for 18… pic.twitter.com/I9Gp2I4dBp

— pragmatometer (@pragmatometer) May 3, 2026

DAVID MARCUS: How Democrats sneaked in reparations, and how they’ll protect them.

The battle over reparations for racial minorities in the United States has grown somewhat quiet in recent years, but it’s not because proponents of it have surrendered. It’s because they have already won.

The list of ways in which our government redistributes wealth to minorities is long, as you’ll see below, but first, it’s worth paying attention to something that Democratic strategist James Carville said recently.

Referring to packing the Supreme Court and making Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico states, should Democrats retake power, the cagey old Cajun said, “Don’t run on it. Don’t talk about it. Just do it.”

I posit that this is precisely what Democrats have done in regard to reparations.

Read the whole thing.

PROJECT HAIL MARY — A FUTURISTIC THROWBACK MOVIE.

My latest, over at Ed Driscoll.com.

IT’S NOT EVEN A SOPHOMORIC TAKE BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT EVEN SOPHOMORES YET: George Washington U. freshman group seeks to ‘fight back’ against Trump’s ‘authoritarian control.’

AND YET, EVENTUALLY OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY DOES RUN OUT:

Here is what she knows:

Yes, there will be a loss of income tax revenue when high earners leave the state for lower tax alternatives.

But the Wash. legislature — like the Calif Legis — has a long-line of targets it will go after to tax in order to replace that revenue.

The… https://t.co/jWIhOuj0HE

— Shipwreckedcrew (@shipwreckedcrew) May 3, 2026

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Elizabeth Warren’s Commie Dreams Just Killed 17,000 Jobs. “Just like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did when she killed an Amazon project in New York City, Warren celebrated her efforts that would eventually lead to the loss of tens of thousands of jobs.They say they’re champions of working Americans, but they really don’t care if we’re starving or not.”

GLENN TAKES THESE: Ancestral Supplements Grass Fed Beef Liver 180 Capsules. #CommissionEarned

DISTRUST OF EDUCATORS CORRELATES WITH INCREASED FACTUAL KNOWLEDGE:

That much of our elite hates the country, for farcially false reasons taught to them by ~traitors ("The Comanche riders were PEACEFUL, before we told them of war!!!") Is a very serious problem.

No punch line. This has to be changed entirely. https://t.co/JQdlUlfSSL

— Wilfred Reilly (@wil_da_beast630) May 4, 2026

HMM: Reclassification of marijuana opens doors for much‑needed medical research into the benefits and risks of the drug.

For decades, researchers have struggled to conduct high-quality research studies due to their lack of access to the cannabis products that patients actually use and restrictions on their processes.

With the reclassification, researchers who are registered with the DEA to research cannabis will be able to obtain cannabis flower and plant material, as well as manufactured cannabis products, such as tinctures and edibles, directly from state-licensed businesses that are DEA-registered.

This means researchers will no longer need to rely on the federal DEA registry for access to cannabis products for research, which were often inferior in quality and variety in comparison to the everyday products medical cannabis patients typically have access to. Instead, they will be able to study cannabis products that patients use in daily life, such as vapes and various edible products.

This shift in access will now allow researchers to undertake the gold standard of research approaches: the randomized controlled trial.

Based on everything we’ve since since legalization at the state level, don’t expect much.

CONGRATS, THE VALUE OF YOUR EXISTING HOME IN MASSACHUSETTS JUST INCREASED ANOTHER $25,000:

No. Governor Healey is forcing taxpayers to provide $25k in assistance to more first-time homebuyers.

Where do you think that money comes from? https://t.co/YKcOS9ARFw

— The🐰FOO (@PolitiBunny) May 4, 2026

HEH: ‘DJ’ Marco Rubio Goes Viral — and Receives High Praise From… a Democrat?

HMMM:

I went to Springfield’s Walmart yesterday. Haitians with carts piled 1.5X full, flowing with meats, fish, gourmet entrees, soft drinks (milk & honey?). Young, working age.

Meanwhile old underclass whites with a basket of 2, 3, 5 items.

Starkest contrast. I couldn’t believe it. https://t.co/B1HpvH5DIw

— Joshua Lisec, The Ghostwriter (@JoshuaLisec) May 3, 2026

Related:

Parasites! Bingo. https://t.co/v9x2w2diH7

— Gad Saad (@GadSaad) May 2, 2026

CHANGE: Patel says FBI has cut bureaucracy, moved 1,000 agents to field offices in ‘generational’ overhaul.

In just 14 months, the FBI claims it has carried out a “generational” shakeup that has cut bureaucracy, shifted agents into the field and embraced artificial intelligence in what FBI Director Kash Patel calls a long-overdue effort to restore trust and sharpen its focus on protecting Americans.

In a draft of a letter from Patel to the FBI workforce obtained by Fox News, the director wrote that the bureau has delivered on changes FBI employees have been requesting for years, transforming the FBI into a premier modern-day law enforcement organization.

The overhaul has included a significant redistribution of personnel away from Washington, D.C., according to Patel, with more than 1,000 agents and staff reassigned to field offices and hundreds of intelligence personnel moved closer to active investigations.

It’s amazing that when it comes to government, a “generational” overhaul just looks like common sense to most everybody else.

#RIGGED: How to Top the New York Times Best Sellers List in 10 Easy Steps (Despite Not Selling the Most Books).

#REVOLUTIONARY: FTE launches ‘Thinking Like the Founders’ civic event to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary.

HOW’S THAT WELCOME WAGON PROGRAM COMING ALONG?

Is anyone offering a solution to red states being overrun by blue voters who want the better life of right-wing governance but are too stupid to change how they vote? https://t.co/rRELntjADo

— Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) May 4, 2026

NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG:

This is grotesque. A Biden “judge” ordered the DOJ to stop investigation a hospital over false diagnoses, mislabeling, billing irregularities, and insurance fraud, claiming there is no legitimate investigative purpose.

In truth, she has no idea whether any of these things are… https://t.co/ljXKUQy5Ts

— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) May 2, 2026

ROBERT SPENCER: What Do You Think Happened After This English Teen Converted to Islam?

FOLLOW THE SCIENCE: Diversity Is Our Weakness.

MY WALL STREET JOURNAL COLUMN: Don’t Stand So Close to ChatGPT: The danger of AI isn’t destruction but seduction. Applying fiduciary duty may be the solution.

Archive version here. Book is here.