"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” — Donald J. Trump, April 7, 2026
Three quick thoughts:
(1) Has any president of this country — or for that matter, any leader of a liberal democracy — ever threatened the destruction of a “whole civilization” before?
(2) The line between the so-called “madman theory” and an actual madman is quite thin, isn’t it?
(3) It really was a bad idea to entrust this man with the nuclear button, wasn’t it?
Here’s Trump’s full social media bleat this morning:
"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” he wrote. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”
Politico notes: “The president’s increasingly dire warnings come after he has suggested strikes would hit bridges, desalination plants and energy targets — which could include civilian infrastructure that, if attacked deliberately, could constitute a war crime.”
Catching up
As we wait…
WSJ: Allies Fear They Are Tied to an Erratic U.S. and Now Have Nowhere to Turn
Iranians Voice Shock and Defiance in Face of Trump’s Latest Deadline - The New York Times
Politico: Pentagon’s new plans in Iran give Trump a way out of war crime accusations
WSJ: Military prepping targets list (according to multiple US officials)
Pres. Trump says he’s “not at all concerned” about war crime accusations
Purges, Posts, and the Secrets of the Epstein files
On today’s “To the Contrary” Podcast, I’m joined by Sarah Fitzpatrick, who covers national security and the DOJ for The Atlantic. before joining the magazine, she led award-winning investigations and projects as the Senior Investigative Producer and Story Editor at NBC News and as an Associate Producer at 60 Minutes.
She joins me today for a wide-ranging discussion of the Trump/Hegseth Pentagon purges; Trump’s “Open the f***in’ strait” post, why the Epstein files could play an outside role in the midterm elections.
Definitely worth your time.
Subscribers can listen to an ad-free version right here… )or you can watch on YouTube / Listen (and subscribe) on Apple/ Spotify / iHeart / RSS Feed
Some highlights of my conversation with Sarah Fitzpatrick
National Security officials looked at events of the last few days with “tremendous alarm… frightened, concerned, angry.”
The war on expertise — and its consequences in Iran.
Why Trump panicked over the Epstein Files. What is Trump most worried about?
ICYMI
On yesterday’s livestream with Matt Lewis, I made the case (rather forcefully) why Democrats should not embrace an illiberal, antisemitic, Putin-shilling, bigot. LANGUAGE WARNING. (Remember, I did not promise you a safe space.)
Tuesday dogs
In her Substack newsletter today, my wife has an update on Auggie, who apparently still remembers the trauma of his hospital stay a few years ago. (BTW, he’s completely fine now… a genuine veterinary miracle.)
It was Auggie’s first official therapy dog visit to the local medical center’s long-term patient residence, designed for people and their families who live too far to commute for daily care….
He was clearly enjoying himself.
We stayed a little over an hour. The therapy association rules are that he cannot stay with anyone else. He has to be with me at all times, although his obedience training prepared him to stay quietly in a down stay even when left alone, but I feel better when he’s with me anyway. So we went together down the hall to the one-person bathroom, and I closed the door behind us.
Auggie immediately went into a panic. He ran around the corners of the concrete room, sniffing and crying. He began to wail. If I have learned anything, it is to trust him, but I was completely taken unawares and utterly clueless. His anguish was real and heart-breaking, but it took me a few seconds to understand what was going on. It was the small, concrete room, the locked door, the clinical smells of disinfectant. He thought he was in a veterinary kennel, about to be left for a month, as he had been three years ago during a terrible illness. I don’t know who heard his cries, but they may have thought I was torturing him, as I suppose I was, however unintentionally. As quickly as possible we left the room, and he uncharacteristically pulled me down the hall, desperate to leave….
