Thomas G Phippen
5.1K posts
@ThomasPhippen
Journalist. Catholic. Daily Caller News Foundation.
I don’t care about the dumb AI slop post of Trump healing Uncle Sam
Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby @USWPColby had a substantive, respectful, and professional meeting with Cardinal Pierre, the then-Papal Nuncio, and his team on January 22, 2026. During the cordial meeting, they discussed a range of topics, including issues of morality in foreign policy, the logic of the U.S. National Security Strategy, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and other topics. Cardinal Pierre expressed his appreciation for the outreach and both sides looked forward to continued open and respectful dialogue. In light of grossly false and distorted recent reporting, the Department of War repeats its statement: Recent reporting of the meeting is highly exaggerated and distorted. The meeting between Pentagon and Vatican officials was a respectful and reasonable discussion. We have nothing but the highest regard and welcome continued dialogue with the Holy See.
BIG TENT IDEAS: As the conflict in Iran continues, let’s shed light on two perspectives. One side argues that the U.S. is being pulled deeper into an escalation cycle, warning: "Trump has found himself trapped in an escalation cycle. Clearly, the Iran War was not entirely Trump’s idea. It was an Israeli plan designed to advance Israeli interests at the expense of everyone else. Now that the Americans are stuck in another Middle Eastern quagmire, the president does not want to look weak. He is not seeking de-escalation under the current circumstances." The other side of the pendulum argues that this is not a military maneuver, but a political one 👇 "The Iranian regime has also decided to choke off oil shipments to the world, an action that has driven up gas prices and threatened a global recession. Using the chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz, the regime’s attack on shipping and threats to mine the entire area have slowed vital energy shipments to a crawl. This is not a military maneuver; it is a political one." The question is: where do you find yourself in the debate?
Learned today that Easter Monday in Germany is a national holiday and Holy Day of Obligation. Here in Italy, Pasquetta or “Baby Easter” is also a national holiday, with picnics, feasting, and celebrations continuing. The U.S. Embassy respects the local custom and is closed. Tradition, custom, and civic forms combine to honor the habits of a people and elevate the status of a great feast.
As we reported last week, King Charles III will address a joint session April 28
BREAKING: The Supreme Court sides 8-1 with a Christian mental health counselor who challenged Colorado's ban on "conversion therapy," finding the law regulates her speech based on viewpoint. "The First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country," Justice Gorsuch writes.
Haha here we go! Media Matters already tried to ‘cancel’ me eight years ago for these jokes — which I made in high school with my Jewish boyfriend at the time (14 years ago!) I wrote about it for The Spectator in 2020 so none of this is any big secret. Gotta respect the hustle Laura has going in tagging everything she tweets as an EXCLUSIVE though lmao. I also like the subtle insinuation that I was being sneaky or something by changing my name when I got married. In any case the tactic of conflating any criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism is extremely lazy and transparent. And Laura gets paid to tweet half of this dumb shit anyway so I don’t take it seriously.
