Prof. Franz C. Mayer (@mayerprof.bsky.social)

Kaja Kallas is saying out loud what many European leaders quietly understand: A united Europe is one of the few entities on Earth large enough to resist pressure from Washington, Moscow and Beijing at the same time. That’s exactly why extremists, oligarchs and foreign influence networks work so hard to keep Europe fragmented, paranoid and internally divided. Empires prefer neighbors. Not rivals.

Trump lashes out at the Pope: “We don’t like a Pope that says it’s ok to have a nuclear weapon… I’m not a fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person.”

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has just called to congratulate us on our victory.

The Trump National Security Strategy literally states that the US should aim to foment the downfall of the leading European governments - “cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations.” Why would those governments think it their duty to help us?

That’s why it’s called ‘Leadership‘. The negative consequences for Germany in terms of its relationship with the US will be much greater than the political fallout of having made a symbolic gesture of participation - which is all Trump was looking for.

If you see Project Hail Mary this weekend, I hope you'll remember how I told you over 3 years ago that stuff like this was going to explode in pop culture. -From ironic cynicism to post-ironic sincerity. -Embracing the "cringe" & the celebration of the earnest "try-hard." -From deconstructing the past, to a nostalgia for some positive "vibe" we lost in the deconstruction. -The rejection of Fight Club-era nihilism. -The ability to stare at the apocalypse in front of you and be hopeful instead of a "doomer."