John W. Farrell

My latest for @commonwealmag : commonwealmagazine.org/jaki-stanley-f…

There is behavior that's so self-evidently deranged that merely seeing it should lead to fury and disgust. I'm concerned, however, that some evangelicals are so influenced by Trump that they won't unite with their Catholic brothers and sisters in response to Trump's blasphemy and intolerable attacks on the pope, but will instead turn against them.

They thought history was somehow bending in their direction. But that's not how history works. On Orban, and the illiberal leaders from around the world who flocked to support him: theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/04/…

It's not a counterpunch, guys. The pope didn't throw a punch. nytimes.com/2026/04/12/us/…

"Trump’s “Liberation Day” tore up the free trade principles on which leaders after World War II based the international order that promoted stability and prosperity." Richardson for April 12, 2026 open.substack.com/pub/heathercox…

Video of the Day

Record turnout by Hungarian voters was too much for Orbán's dirty tricks or to deny. He didn’t want exile or worse. Will see as his epic corruption is exposed. I hope this is the "Hungarian model" that applies to the US midterms, which usually have low, <50% turnout. Vote!

@DavidAFrench Indeed. I'd love to know what @roddreher was making. Do you think he'll ever acknowledge?

This would be very very interesting.

The Trump administration seems to have miscalculated in Islamabad, assuming that Iran was weakened and ready to cave, when in fact it feels it has the upper hand. It's difficult to reach an agreement when both sides feel they have the advantage and are prone to overreach. And now Trump seems inclined to miscalculate again, assuming that blockading the Strait will force Iran to capitulate. That seems very unlikely. It's true that a blockade will put economic pressure on Tehran and on China, which in turn can put pressure on Iran. But with zero oil passing through the Strait, rising oil prices are likely to put even more pressure on Trump. Iran, as a dictatorship, simply has more strategic patience, and in addition there are many in Tehran who believe that Iran has to do more to reestablish deterrence and make the US pay a price. If the US blocks Iranian oil exports, expect Iran in turn to keep striking Fujairah, to keep the UAE from by passing the Strait by pipeline, and also to target Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline carrying oil to the Red Sea. And the Houthis are likely to counter-escalate by blocking oil exports through the Bab al-Mandab Strait as well. And that's not even counting possible strikes on oil refineries in the region. In short, I think Trump's escalation plans are once again characterized by magical thinking, false assumptions of Iranian weakness and a failure to think ahead about how Iran may respond to his moves. For Trump to escalate at this point will be a sign not of strength but of desperation, and counter to American and world interests.

The quote that matters most in the Atlantic piece does not come from a critic. It comes from Andrew Napolitano - libertarian, retired judge, Alito's Princeton classmate. His words: "Sam is not an originalist. Sam is a conservative person who wants a conservative outcome." And the record backs him. At the tariff hearing, Alito was volunteering legal justifications for Trump's orders that Trump's own legal team had not raised. National Review put it in print: "it is not the Court's job to opine on powers the president has not invoked." When the publication that shaped your legal worldview since college has to tell you to stay in your lane, something has shifted. Roberts, Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch have each, at least occasionally, pushed back on unchecked executive power. They understand their own movement's stated first principles require it. Alito, on the rare occasions they cross over, holds firm for Trump. "Held firm" is doing a lot of work in that sentence.

Every country in Asia is thinking right now: "Well we don't love China, but unlike Trump's USA it has never cut off our energy supply. Maybe they're a more reliable and responsible partner for our future security. At least they're predictable."

Cardinal McElroy’s powerful, resonant words at last night’s vigil for peace end with a summons to move from prayer to action, so as not to allow Trump and Netanyahu to resume their immoral, illegal, brutal, life-destroying, destabilising war of choice.

Why didn't Orban keep power by repression? He must have thought about it. But with an economy embedded in the European Union and armed forces anchored in NATO, there were sharp practical limits to how tyrannical he could be without national catastrophe. Institutions mattered.

Orban concedes defeat. The support of Trump, Vance, Putin, Lavrov, Weidel, Milei, Le Pen, Fico, Babis and many others could not overcome Hungarian anger at a stagnant, corrupt regime #block-69dbf1ff8f08ff62487f805e" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">theguardian.com/world/live/202…

Other losers tonight along with Orban: @roddreher , @Heritage, and the Opus Dei cult.

"At 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, a federal fort built on an artificial island in Charleston Harbor." Richardson for April 11, 2026 open.substack.com/pub/heathercox…

Starts With A Bang #128 – Planet formation and proto-protoplanets You've heard of planets, exoplanets, and protoplanets. Now, for the first time, we've discovered something more primitive than any of them: a proto-protoplanet. Here's what it means. bigthink.com/starts-with-a-…

APPLEBAUM: Russians aren't winning, despite the absence of United States. Maybe Trump imagined that if the U.S. disappeared, Ukraine would collapse. It didn't collapse. European part of NATO, Ukrainians, and other allies turned out to be very powerful. It's almost as if Trump is listening to Putin, getting information from Putin. He is not paying attention to what's actually happening on the ground. It's as if he has no information from Ukraine and from Europe at all.

Donald Trump’s threats of war crimes against Iran “were not the words of a strategist,” David Remnick writes. “They were the words of a maniac.” newyorkermag.visitlink.me/lFnmzq

Epic corruption, endless propaganda, security force crackdowns and false flag operations, election interference by a hostile foreign dictatorship… That’s Orbán’s Hungary today and, unless America wakes up, it will be the United States tomorrow. My latest Next Move: 👇