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Hi all, Ben here. It’s Tuesday afternoon, and there is a lot to get through today. Let’s just dive in.
Trump woke up this morning in full meltdown mode (what else is new?), firing off a series of panicked Truth Social posts. He went after France, he went after the United Kingdom, and he basically told every American ally in Europe to go fend for themselves.
Here’s what he posted about France: apparently the French wouldn’t allow U.S. military planes carrying supplies bound for Israel to fly over French territory. Trump’s response was to publicly threaten France, writing that “the USA will remember.” And then, in a separate post, he turned on the UK, telling them to “build up some delayed courage,” go to the Strait of Hormuz, and just “take” the oil they need. Because, in Trump’s words, the U.S. won’t be there to help anymore.
Start the fire. Burn it all down. Walk away and blame everybody else. That’s the Trump doctrine.
This lines up with a report in the Wall Street Journal from just last night that said Trump is privately signaling he’d be willing to end the Iran conflict without even reopening the Strait of Hormuz, essentially handing that critical chokepoint to Iran and kicking any resolution down the road. Whether that’s surrender, market manipulation, or just the random outputs of a man with no coherent strategy, I’ll let you decide. I think it’s probably all of the above. Reminder: this was a problem that did not exist prior to Trump’s war.
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Meanwhile, the list of countries restricting U.S. military flights grows: Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and now France. Italy formally denied U.S. military aircraft permission to land at one of its airbases, citing lack of authorization. And Poland flatly refused a U.S. request to transfer its Patriot air defense systems to the Middle East, with its Defense Minister making clear those batteries are protecting Polish airspace and NATO’s eastern flank. And they’re staying there. Even Poland’s pro-Trump opposition party, Law and Justice, came out against the transfer. Everyone said no, Donald. Everyone.
And look, these countries aren’t betraying anyone. Nobody consulted them. Nobody warned them. Trump and Netanyahu launched this war while a legitimate mediation was actively underway through Oman’s foreign minister, who had reportedly secured a deal stronger than the Obama-era nuclear agreement. Iran had agreed to halt uranium enrichment. And then, that same night, they invaded anyway. That Omani mediator, by the way, is now helping Iran set up a toll system in the Strait of Hormuz, charging ships around $2 million to pass through. You pushed him away. You turned a potential diplomatic win into a financial windfall for Iran. Congratulations.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to troll Trump and his administration on social media. The Iranian Embassy in South Africa has been running a social media account that is mocking Trump in real time. Their post today: Trump said 12 times the war was over, 17 times that Iran had been destroyed, 18 times “we have won.” He danced ten times and dozed off eleven.
Iran’s IRGC also issued a direct warning today: if the U.S. continues its policy of targeted assassinations of Iranian leadership, they will begin targeting 18 American technology companies starting April 1st. The list includes Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Tesla, Intel, Oracle, IBM, Boeing, JP Morgan, and others. That’s a direct message to not just the American economy, but the global economy.
Speaking of the American economy, it’s not doing well. The latest JOLTS report showed the U.S. hiring rate fell to 3.1% in February, the lowest level since April 2020, right in the thick of the pandemic shutdown. Hospitality and construction saw notable pullbacks. This is a hiring recession, and it was already underway before the Iran war started. The concern now is that a “no hire, no fire” frozen market could tip into active layoffs if there’s no resolution in sight. Gas prices have crossed $4 a gallon nationally for the first time since 2022, and diesel, which is the real driver of consumer price inflation, is sitting at $5.45 a gallon. Brent Crude just passed $119. Iran’s parliament speaker posted a CNN article today about Americans skipping meals because of rising gas prices and wrote, “it’s not America First anymore, it’s Israel First.” I hate that Iran’s trolling us with accurate economic data, but here we are.
There’s also a story that the Financial Times and Reuters are pursuing: Pete Hegseth’s broker reportedly looked to purchase defense fund shares before the Iran attack was launched publicly. Hegseth has denied it. Iran’s social media accounts quoted the relevant U.S. securities law back at us, calling U.S. officials criminals.
Which brings me to Pete Hegseth’s press conference this morning, which was, to put it charitably, a disaster.
When asked how long U.S. operations would continue, Hegseth said it’s “military 101” not to tell your enemy your timeline. There are constantly shifting, unclear objectives. No timeline. No coherent endgame. The strategy shifts based on whatever mood Trump woke up in that morning.
Then Hegseth launched into what he clearly thought was an inspiring anecdote about visiting a junior airwoman on the tarmac at sunset, who apparently looked up at him and asked for “more bombs, sir, and bigger bombs.” Tom Nichols put it well: it is impossible to overstate how juvenile this is. This isn’t even effective propaganda. If anything, it has the opposite of its intended effect.
Hegseth also took shots at NATO allies during the press conference, essentially saying that when this is all over, there will be a reckoning for who showed up and who didn’t. He invoked the MAGA base by name while discussing troop deployments, openly doing political audience management in the middle of a wartime briefing. And he delivered a prayer invoking Jesus Christ. On camera. At a Pentagon press conference. About an active war in the Middle East.
And then there’s the seismic political shifts happening back home. A new Gallup party identification survey for Q1 2026 shows Democrats with a ten-point advantage over Republicans, 49 to 39. That’s the largest Democratic party ID lead ever recorded since Gallup began tracking this in 2015. The GOP has never fallen below 40 before. They just did. And per the New York Times polling averages, Trump’s approval rating has now dipped below 40% for the first time.
We’ll keep you updated as this develops. More to come this afternoon. Stay tuned for Ron Filipkowski’s daily bulletin. If you haven’t yet, listen to today’s MeidasTouch Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get podcasts and leave a 5-star review! Thanks for being a subscriber.
