The Salty Live

Thanks to everyone who joined Olga Lautman and me for this week’s episode of Pax Americana. We got through a lot on today’s show, from updates on the war in Ukraine to what is happening in Europe and how it all affects our national security (and our personal security). If you missed it, check out the show and the notes below.

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Show Notes

(courtesy of Olga)

* Germany Foils Alleged Russian Plot to Mail Explosives: German authorities arrested 3 men—two in Germany, one in Switzerland—accused of plotting to send explosive-laden packages in a Russian-backed sabotage campaign targeting logistics operators. The suspects reportedly tested the scheme with GPS-tracked dummy packages. Source: Wall Street Journal

* A Guide to How to Deal with the Media: Donald Trump has taught me one thing about how to deal with the media, and I hope that Democrats learn from it

* The Rise of State Media in Trump’s America: The White House launches a taxpayer-funded “news wire” to push state propaganda.

* U.S. Reportedly Opposes Zelensky’s Invitation to NATO Summit: The U.S. is reportedly blocking President Zelenskyy from attending the June NATO summit in The Hague. If true, it would be the first time Zelenskyy has been excluded from a NATO summit since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Source: The Kyiv Independent

* Putin, Trump to Skip Ukraine Peace Talks: Both Putin and Trump will not attend Thursday’s Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, despite Putin proposing the meeting and Trump previously signaling interest. Instead, Russia is sending senior aides, while Trump dispatches Secretary of State Marco Rubio and top envoys. Source: Reuters

* Will Russia Attack NATO? Experts Warn of Possible Invasion by 2027: A new report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) warns that Russia could rebuild its military and threaten NATO as early as 2027 if a ceasefire is reached in Ukraine. The report suggests Putin could test NATO’s Article 5 by targeting a Baltic state within two years. Source: The Times

* Poland Detects Foreign-Funded Election Ads Amid Russian Interference Fears: Poland’s National Research Institute uncovered foreign-funded Facebook ads ahead of the May 18 election. The ads weren’t linked to any official campaign and outspent all registered candidates while targeting multiple contenders. Source: The Kyiv Independent

* Poland Prepares for War: Poland is rapidly militarizing, spending nearly 5% of its GDP on defense—more than any other NATO country. It’s deploying Abrams tanks, laying mines and anti-tank barriers along its border, and training civilians for war. Source: NPR

* Trump ‘Weakened’ the West as Russian Threat Rises, Warns Former NATO Chief: Former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned that Trump has significantly undermined Western unity and Ukraine’s defense by offering concessions to Russia and questioning U.S. NATO commitments. Rasmussen criticized Trump for weakening deterrence while Putin refuses to make meaningful compromises. Source: Politico

* Trump-Kushner Serbia Hotel Project Stalls After Forgery Scandal: A top Serbian official admitted to forging a government document that allowed a bombed-out defense complex in Belgrade to be demolished for a $500 million Trump-Kushner luxury hotel project. The fake document stripped the site of protected status, clearing the way for the controversial real estate deal backed by Trump’s family. Source: New York Times

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That was a rhetorical question. Of course the media is failing us. While they spend all their time breathlessly reporting on a book about Joe Biden’s deteriorating health, they have completely missed the story of Donald Trump’s declining mental state. Like, for instance, this gem from his conversation with the president of the United Arab Emirates today, where he said, “We have a term 'groceries.' It's an old term but it means basically what you're buying, food, it's a pretty accurate term but it's an old fashioned sound but groceries are down.”

Can you imagine if Biden had said this? The press would have had a gurney outside the Oval Office, ready to cart him off to a nice rest home in the country.

While the press hyperventilates about whether Biden would have needed a wheel chair in a hypothetical second term that will never be, here in the real world, the United States is sliding further into fascism.

There was no one better to discuss all this with than Wajahat Ali. Waj is never afraid to call it out and he’s been around legacy media for years, so he knows how it operates. If you don’t subscribe to his Substack THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali, you should (and if you can afford to be a paid subscriber, you should do that too).

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Legacy media is afraid to call this out. I’m not. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltypolitics.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltypolitics.substack.com/subscribe

Thank you to everyone who joined Michelle Kinney and me for our very impromptu Live, which we started as soon as Cardinal Dominique Mamberti walked out to the St. Peter’s balcony and announced, “Habemus papam.” (For the record, I am very proud that I actually understood the Latin as he was speaking and shrieked to Michelle over our group chat, “I think it’s Prevost!!!” Never let it be said that studying Latin was a waste of time.)

The new pope is Robert Prevost, a 69-year-old native Chicagoan who has spent decades as a missionary in Peru. He has taken on the pontifical name Leo XIV, which is significant in that the preceding Leo, Pope Leo Leo XIII, was a social justice warrior who worked to modernize the church.

Here’s my analysis of the situation:

The Cardinals Rebuked Trump

Prevost is the first American pope in the church’s 2000 history. In choosing him, the cardinals have installed an American global leader who has publicly rejected the hate, division and racism of the Trump administration. On occasion, he has even taken on JD Vance, a relatively recent convert to Catholicism who has nevertheless sought to lecture others on his interpretation of church teachings. (Spoiler alert: Pope Leo has publicly rejected MAGA in all its racist and divisive forms.)

The pope has also not been shy about taking on the MAGA movement in other ways.

The Conclave Did Us a Favor

The conclave that selected Pope Leo did America a huge favor. It sought to show the world that there is another side to Americans, one that is loving of its neighbor, one that cares for the poor and the vulnerable, one that is the opposite of the face that Trump shows the world every day.

These cardinals showed us Americans — including the majority of American Catholics who voted for Trump — that there is a better way. We should be indebted to them. The next time you travel abroad and someone shouts at you about Trump, remind them that Pope Leo is also an American. May he live up to the promise of his papacy.

Another Country Sticks it to Trump

Trump has influenced elections in Canada, Australia and now the Vatican. In the hundred days since his ascension to the White House, Canadians have voted to reject Trumpism. So have Australians. And now, the Vatican’s voters — the 133 cardinal electors who elected the new pope — have chosen someone who has publicly rejected MAGA in all its noxious forms.

The World Sees America on the Decline

Robert Barron is the bishop of the Diocese of Winona–Rochester in Minnesota, whom Trump appointed a few days ago to the new White House Commission on Religious Liberty. Yet here is what he recently said to CBS News:

"Cardinal George of Chicago, of happy memory, was one of my great mentors, and he said: 'Look, until America goes into political decline, there won't be an American pope.' And his point was, if America is kind of running the world politically, culturally, economically, they don't want America running the world religiously. So, I think there's some truth to that, that we're such a superpower and so dominant, they don't wanna give us, also, control over the church."

I agree. If we were still the United States of old, the church would not have given an American this much power. But instead, the cardinals — the vast majority of whom are not American — decided to give a limping nation a hand. As an American who is much more aligned with the new pope’s social justice views than with Trump’s, I am deeply grateful. We all should be.

For more, watch the Live above.

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I had a fantastic chat over at THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali tonight! We covered a huge amount in just a little over an hour, including why it’s time for the old Democratic guard to exit stage left, why Democrats need to stop playing on the Republicans’ field, what John Fetterman needs to do next and much more.

I hope you check it out and if you are not already subscribing to THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali, what are you waiting for?

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Thank you to everyone who tuned into my Substack Live conversation withMichelle Kinney tonight about Senator John Fetterman. As you may have heard, New York Magazine recently ran a story about Fetterman’s struggle with mental health, where many of his staffers spoke on background about their concerns for his health and well-being. His former chief of staff went on the record to describe an alarming situation.

There were several reasons we decided to devote an hour to this story but the most important is that we can no longer stigmatize mental health struggles. For some reason, society has a much easier time discussing physical ailments, while sweeping mental health under the rug. We often shame people struggling with these issues, even though we do not shame people who have the misfortune of being diagnosed with cancer or heart disease.

With the lack of moderation on social media, the stigmatization of mental illness has gotten even worse. You need only to look at X to see how every side is politicizing what is obviously a devastating story about Fetterman’s health to further its own agenda — and going after his wife for good measure, either for sticking with him or not sticking with him enough. (And no, Fetterman’s staff members did not throw him under the bus by going public by their concerns. What is obvious is that this was an attempt at an intervention for a man they believe desperately needs help before he harms himself or someone else.)

Michelle and I decided to talk about Fetterman because his story is illustrative of what many families face all across this country. In fact, there is probably not one family that has been spared this disease. If you or your family have struggled with it, please know that you are not alone. This is an illness that touches everyone, even members of the most exclusive club in the world.

I hope you watch.

Julie

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If you missed this morning’s absolutely fascinating conversation with Olga Lautman and Lev Parnas, I strongly urge you to check it out. Seriously, take 90 minutes out of your weekend, close the door and watch this whole thing, because it is bonkers — and aside from Rachel Maddow, mainstream media has been asleep at the switch about covering the connection between Trump, the Russian mob and the Kremlin.

This story reads like the Godfather meets the Apprentice meets Tom Clancy — except it’s all true. It takes you from Brighton Beach to Palm Beach, from Trump Tower to the Kremlin. I strongly urge you to watch and to subscribe to Lev Remembers Substack and Trump Tyranny Tracker.

If you like this content, please consider becoming a paid subscriber, so we can bring you more of it.

Stay Salty,

Julie

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Thank you to everyone who tuned into this week’s episode of Pax Americana, where we broke down the Russian “ceasefire” proposal, the Ukrainian mineral deal and how Russia is building a deep dossier on those of us who criticize their genocidal war. (It’s scary and you should tune into the show to learn more.)

Independent journalism is the key to preserving our democracy. If you are able, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Olga Lautman and I are hosting an emergency Substack live tomorrow at 11 AM to discuss the very real possibility that real estate developer/Putin apologist Steve Witkoff will be our new National Security Advisor. I wish we were joking.

To learn more about why this is a Code Red national security emergency, please join us tomorrow on Substack. We may even have a special guest or two in tow to help us break this down.

Stay Salty, Julie

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Thank you to so many of you for tuning into my live video withMichelle Kinney and Tara Setmayer earlier today. If you missed it, please check it out, because what’s happening is important. We threw this one together very quickly right after I published this newsletter this morning.

We’ll break all this down some more on tomorrow’s Coffee and Conversation, which you can catch here at 12 PM ET.

In the meantime, have a wonderful night.

Stay Salty,Julie

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Thank you to so many of you who joined Olga Lautman’s and my most recent episode of Pax Americana yesterday. If you missed it, you can watch the full episode above.

Below are the topics we covered this week and the show notes, courtesy of Olga. As always, please join us every Thursday at 11 AM ET for new episodes of Pax Americana.

* ‘We are all afraid’: Murkowski says fear of retaliation from Trump administration is ‘real’— Sen. Lisa Murkowski said a fear of retaliation from Trump is rising to levels she’s not seen before, acknowledging this week that it is so pervasive that even the outspoken senator is “oftentimes very anxious” to speak up out of fear of recrimination. Source: Politico

* Trump’s Authoritarian Attack on Universities— We break down Trump’s escalating war on universities—how federal agencies are being used to threaten funding, monitor campuses, and crush academic freedom. From the IRS to ICE, the crackdown is already underway. Source: Reuters, The Hill

* National Labor Relations Board Whistleblower— A whistleblower at the National Labor Relations Board exposed that Musk’s operatives accessed and likely extracted confidential labor data — including union organizer identities and legal case files — then disabled security logs and deleted records. Shortly after, a Russian IP tried logging in using one of the DOGE-created accounts. The whistleblower, Daniel Berulis, was later targeted with a threatening note and drone surveillance after raising internal alarms.

Source: NPR and another NPR article

* Pentagon Officials Pressure Ally to Stop Support— Trump’s push for a Ukraine ceasefire by his 100th day is unraveling. Russia has intensified attacks, ignoring U.S. “proposals.” Meanwhile, the Pentagon reportedly pressured a U.S. ally to stop sending weapons to Ukraine, as the U.S. plans to withdraw troops from Poland and slash military support.

Source: The Economist

* US Derails G-7 Condemnation of Russian Missile Strike on Ukraine— After Russia launched deadly missile strikes on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, killing at least 35 civilians on Palm Sunday, G7 nations drafted a statement condemning the strike. The U.S. refused to endorse it, citing the need to keep negotiations with Moscow "on track." Source: Bloomberg

* White House Moves to Slash State, UN, and NATO Funding— Trump has proposed cutting the State Department’s budget by nearly 50%, closing overseas diplomatic missions, and eliminating funding for most international organizations—including the United Nations, its agencies, and NATO headquarters. Source: Associated Press

* Russian spy sensors found hidden in UK waters— Russian sensors suspected of trying to spy on British nuclear submarines are reported to have been found hidden in the seas around the UK. Source: The Telegram

* Must Read by Julie Roginsky

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