President Trump warned Iran that “time is running out” before the U.S. rains “all hell” down on the country.
Said Trump, on Truth Social: “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD!”
“The White House quietly scrubbed footage of a bizarre Easter event after a presidential adviser compared Donald Trump to Jesus Christ—and he didn’t exactly look offended,” the Daily Beast reports.
“The now-deleted video, briefly posted Wednesday on the White House website, showed an East Room gathering that quickly veered from prayer into full-blown flattery, with Trump’s spiritual adviser Paula White, likening his legal and political battles to the crucifixion.”
“An Iran war that was already proving quite unpopular with the American people has entered a new, more problematic phase. That comes with the news that a US fighter jet was shot down over Iran… And that was followed by news that Iran hit a second US combat aircraft on Friday,” CNN reports.
“Neither of these incidents means Iran is suddenly on anything close to an equal footing militarily. And there have thus far been limited American casualties, including no known deaths in the last three weeks.”
“But in a conflict in which military dominance is the US’ chief advantage, this episode underscores the perils of asymmetric warfare, the costs of which the American public already isn’t buying.”
Washington Post: “Amazon is adding a fuel surcharge to its e-commerce deliveries. Mortgage rates have risen to their highest mark in seven months. And consumers may soon see higher prices for soda bottles and detergents.”
“These are all early indications of the Iran war’s impact on the U.S. economy. So far, the costs of the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign have been modest, especially compared with the economic turmoil roiling Asia, and U.S. growth remains solid…”
“But like thunderclaps that herald an advancing storm, rising energy bills, interest rates and supply shortfalls may be warnings of worse to come.”
“The U.S. military was racing on Saturday to find an American airman who bailed out of a fighter jet that was shot down over Iran, as Israel launched a heavy wave of airstrikes on Tehran, shaking homes and leaving residents desperately seeking shelter,” the New York Times reports.
“One member of the two-person crew of the U.S. F-15E fighter jet was rescued after it was destroyed, according to U.S. officials. Iranian forces were also pursuing the missing American, Iranian officials said, speaking anonymously to discuss ongoing operations. The status of the airman was unknown as of midday Saturday.”
“Iranian operatives have been digging out underground missile bunkers and silos struck by American and Israeli bombs, returning them to operation hours after an attack, according to U.S. intelligence reports,” the New York Times reports.
“Iran has also retained a significant amount of its missiles and mobile launchers, the reports say.”
“President Trump’s pick to replace Pam Bondi will face the same conundrum that every attorney general he has hired and fired has confronted: It is hard to steer the Justice Department when the president is grabbing the wheel and stepping on the gas,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Trump is searching for a tougher version of Ms. Bondi but the fault lies not in the shirking weakness of those he has called upon to execute his will, but rather in the impossibility of his request — to bring criminal charges against political targets with little to no evidence or legal justification.”
“An Iranian drone attack last month on the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia did more extensive damage than previously disclosed, current and former American officials said, showing Iran’s ability to hit Washington’s assets in the kingdom,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“After ousting two of his highest-profile Cabinet members from their posts, President Donald Trump is considering making more changes to his administration’s top leadership, according to advisers — a decision that would accelerate the once-slow pace of his second-term staff departures,” the Washington Post reports.
“But Trump, who sought to avoid high-profile departures during the first year back in the White House — often publicly standing by Cabinet members even as they faced scrutiny — is also reluctant to engage in a large-scale shake-up of his Cabinet, and in some cases has pushed to counter reporting that he has soured on certain officials.”
“Tulsi Gabbard is ‘safe’ in her role for the time being… Two others in his Cabinet may be less secure. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have both been under Trump’s scrutiny for a possible exit.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked the American people to pray “every day, on bended knee” for a military victory in Iran “in the name of Jesus Christ,” the New York Times reports.
Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff, has a starkly different take on what should be done in Jesus’s name.
In a homily during a Mass on Thursday morning before Easter, the pope said that the Christian mission has often been “distorted by a desire for domination, entirely foreign to the way of Jesus Christ.”
A U.S. A-10 aircraft has been hit by Iranian air defenses, Iranian state media reported, the AP reports.
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s “paranoia” about Army Secretary Dan Driscoll taking his job fueled the firing of the Army’s top general, the New York Post reports.
Said one administration official: “This is all driven by the insecurity and paranoia that Pete has developed since Signalgate. Unfortunately, it is stoked by some of his closest aides who should be trying to calm the waters.”
CBS News: “Officials from 23 Democratic states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to block President Trump’s latest executive order that aims to restrict mail voting, arguing the directive unconstitutionally attempts to interfere with states’ administration of elections.”
Wall Street Journal: “A federal judge denied the Justice Department’s request to reconsider his decision to quash a pair of subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve, rejecting the government’s arguments in a sharply worded six-page opinion.”
The Verge: “Despite recent signs of life, another week has come and gone without the Trump T1 Phone. We’re now over nine months since its announcement in June of last year, and it just keeps missing ship dates.”
NOTUS: “Cybersecurity researchers warn that the White House’s new app regularly shares users’ IP addresses, time zones and other data to third-party services. But most of its users wouldn’t know that, because the app doesn’t disclose its data sharing the way most others do.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.