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After President Donald Trump shocked the world with a profane Easter morning post, podcaster Tucker Carlson responded with a scathing video in which he said the president desecrated Easter and set the United States on a path toward nuclear war.
“How dare you speak that way on Easter morning to the country?” Carlson said. “Who do you think you are? You’re tweeting out the F-word on Easter morning?”
But the president was just getting started in testing the limits of his supporters and former supporters.
A few days later, he unloaded onto Carlson, Megyn Kelly and other podcasters who previously supported Trump but have been critical of the military action in Iran. The podcasters, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “have one thing in common, Low IQs.” He went on to say: “They’re stupid people, they know it, their families know it, and everyone else knows it, too!”
Then came his war of words with Pope Leo XIV and the social media post that most everyone seemed to recognize as blasphemous except for the president, who said he thought the image represented him as a Red Cross doctor.
And with that explanation, everything turned.
In some corners, the outrage turned to comedy, as people shared memes showing Halloween costumes of “Red Cross doctors,” among other jokes.
In others, the outrage turned to something resembling relief.
Riley Gaines, who had written in response to the post, “God shall not be mocked,” later posted on X, “I love the President and I’m so grateful he’s in the Oval Office. Of course, I’ll continue to support him and the America First agenda.”
She added, “We’re imperfect people. I know I am.”
The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles, who had called for the deletion of the post, said Trump had done the “right and responsible” thing in removing the post and taking responsibility for it.
This was the second time this year that Trump has deleted a post after outcry from his supporters; the first was the “Lion King” debacle in February. At that time, I asked, “Does Trump know that he is waving goodbye to the normies one controversy at a time?”
But controversial posts aren’t why the MAGA coalition is endangered; Trump supporters have long shown a deep well of tolerance when it comes to mean and tone-deaf tweets. What they may not have tolerance for is $5 for a gallon of gas.
The Guardian reported this week on waning support among the blue-collar workers that helped to elect Trump.
“Many among the much-talked-about group of voters that gave him the edge he needed to win the popular vote — working-class, blue-collar voters and lower-income moderates — are now on the fence,” Jared Abbott and Dustin Guastella wrote.
Back in February, ahead of the State of the Union address, Knowles was urging Trump to “remind people that he represents normal.”
Who represents normal now? It’s not a fanciful question, but a real one, on which Trump’s favorability rating — and the future of the GOP — uneasily rests.
Trump v. Tucker
As the rift between President Trump and Tucker Carlson widened, CNN entered the chat with polling that’s not great for anyone dreaming of a Tucker Carlson ticket in 2028. (Which, to be fair, may just be Marjorie Taylor Greene.)
Seven years ago, Morning Consult called Carlson “Republicans’ most loved news host.” At the time, Carlson’s net favorability among Republicans was +31, 10 points ahead of Bret Baier.
But his favorables have dropped precipitously as he’s gone head-to-head against the president’s foreign policy. CNN’s Harry Enten recently described Carlson’s decline among Republicans as being “in absolute free fall,” citing a University of Massachusetts/Lowell poll that found Carlson’s net favorability has fallen from +54 two years ago to +7 this month.
“My goodness gracious. When you go up against Donald Trump, and you want to appeal to the Republican base, to quote the movie ‘Good Burger,’ you go in the grinder, and that is exactly what has happened to Tucker Carlson, who has absolutely collapsed among Republicans,” he said, adding that Republicans “choose Donald Trump basically every single time.”
Trump’s net favorability in the same poll was +61.
Trump’s comments about Carlson and other anti-war podcasters were bewildering on multiple fronts, as he is denigrating people who helped get him elected. Kelly endorsed Trump in 2024 and appeared at a campaign rally. Carlson gave a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention in 2024 and was seated in a VIP box.
Moreover, in his Truth Social post, Trump said that Carlson and Kelly had been “thrown off TV” and have “third-rate podcasts,” the latter of which is demonstrably untrue, at least if you look at ratings. In fact, podcasts generally were widely seen as instrumental in Trump’s victory and are considered an ascendant form of media as viewership of legacy TV networks and cable news grays.
The fortunes of all involved will ultimately be affected by the outcome of the war. If it drags on and ends badly, Carlson and the anti-war podcasters could win back support and respect. On the other hand, if the U.S. emerges with a clear victory, either a free Iran or a severely weakened regime, the anti-war podcasters will be eating crow for a while.
The good news is, as furious as Trump can be in a falling-out, he also has a pattern of letting bygones be bygones, as happened when he publicly fell out with Elon Musk last summer and months later appeared to be friendly again. Carlson’s relationship with Trump also previously survived the public release of private emails in which he said he hated Trump.
Carlson, in particular, doesn’t seem too concerned. His Tucker Carlson Network responded to Trump’s post by saying, “Calling all nut jobs, troublemakers, and third rate podcasters! New merch just dropped.”
The TCN website is now selling ball caps that say “Low IQ.”
The antidote for Artemis II withdrawal
Where were you when the Artemis II team splashed down? I was at a barn, listening to commentary on CNN and watching the video on The New York Times app, which was pretty surreal.
After the week of soul-stirring images from space and nerve-wracking predictions of what could go wrong, it was first a relief, and then a little bit of a let-down for the mission to be over. So, thanks to conflict specialist Amanda Ripley for pointing out this delightful conversation between the astronauts on “Houston, We Have a Podcast.”
On the podcast, the Artemis crew talked about the extraordinary personal bonds they have developed and sustain despite the inevitable conflict that comes up in high-tension situations. As Ripley put it, “Watching the Artemis II crew, you could make the mistake of thinking they had no conflict. But that is never true with a high-performing group of humans.”
Victor Glover, the pilot, confirmed that, saying on the podcast, “We have some hard things to get through, ... and we do and it’s not always pretty, but we get back to the mission and we come out better for it.”
Channeling his inner Gov. Spencer Cox, he also said, “... we still disagree, but I think we disagree pretty well, pretty effectively … You don’t hear it like that. (You hear) ‘You get along great,’ ... yeah, but we disagree pretty great, too.”
If only that could be said of Washington, D.C.
Recommended Reading
Earlier this month, attorneys for the Justice Department issued an opinion saying that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional, meaning that presidents don’t have to save their communication. Valerie Hudson has concerns.
“This action by the Trump administration to erase knowledge, erase records, and to cease knowledge acquisition and record-keeping by the federal government is a blow against American democracy that will have implications far into the future. Some of what we, the American people, have lost, will never be regained.”
Government records are disappearing under the Trump administration. Many can’t be replaced
Jay Evensen keeps a sharp eye on our national debt and what’s being said about it by those who think we’re doomed and those who say it isn’t a crisis — yet.
“In April 1982, the L.A. Times warned that budget deficits under President Reagan might sink the U.S. economy. ... For context, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the deficit that year might exceed $120 billion. This year’s shortfall may exceed $2 trillion.
What it would take to keep debt from eating America alive
If you haven’t yet had a chance to listen Ben Sasse’s conversation with Ross Douthat, Mariya Manzhos shares some of the highlights in her “State of Faith” newsletter.
“When Douthat asked what advice Sasse would give to a father in his 30s, Sasse didn’t hesitate: ‘No. 1, honor the Sabbath and keep it holy,’ he said. He’d always postponed it, he said, tempted by work and sports. He’d spend the Sabbath differently now, warning especially against ‘digital intrusions’ during dinnertime.”
Ben Sasse teaches us how to die
End Notes
Last week’s Right to the Point question was about whether the U.S. military action in Iran is just, according to just-war principles. Most of us said yes. Here’s the breakdown.
And finally, let’s end with another note about Artemis pilot Victor Glover, who returned to his Texas home Monday to cheers.
Speaking in his front yard, he said to the crowd, “Some of us have never met before and you know whose fault that is? Ours. So, let’s choose to do this. Let’s be this more. Let’s be neighbors.”
He added: “I don’t know if you heard me say it, but God told us to love him with all that we are and love our neighbors as ourselves.”
Put this man on a ballot.