Trump can’t handle the truth
At 4:52 this afternoon, the President of the United States stopped in front of the waiting press pool for less than four minutes to take questions from reporters already lined up to talk to him, and almost immediately, you could hear the frustration in his voice. He snapped at a female reporter, telling her, “You don’t know anything,” shortly after saying, “Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me” about ongoing negotiations in the Iran war. And then, with his temper visibly escalating, he threatened China as he walked toward Marine One, on his way to Miami to attend UFC 327.
In the midst of war negotiations, an energy crisis, and a world in turmoil, he spoke to the press for just three tumultuous minutes. During which the President of the United States managed to undermine his own negotiating team, insult a journalist for doing her job, dismiss the outcome of important diplomatic talks, and threaten a nuclear superpower before getting on a helicopter to go watch a cage fight.
And while Trump was heading to Kaseya Center in Miami to sit cageside and soak in the crowd, Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s own son-in-law Jared Kushner were in Islamabad, Pakistan, more than fifteen hours into what is being described as the highest-level face-to-face meeting between the United States and Iran in forty-seven years. These are the talks that the whole world is watching. And the man who started the war just told reporters that whether those talks succeed or fail makes no difference to him, trying to frame it in the false light that we “already won”. And he said it multiple times. “Regardless, we win.” “Regardless [of] what happens, we win.” Over and over. When someone has to say “we win” five times in three minutes, they know they’re not winning. And we see it for what it is. The American people are not being misled. The world isn’t either. And neither are our adversaries.
When he snapped at the reporter and she identified that she was from NBC, he dismissed the entire network as “fake news.” Sending the same signal he has sent to so many journalists who have ever asked him a question he didn’t want to answer: challenge me, and I will ridicule you and paint you and your network as the enemy. And it connects directly back to what he’d been doing for hours before he ever stepped in front of a camera.
His attacks on the press had already ramped up earlier that morning when he posted essentially the same tirade twice on Truth Social before noon. Both posts targeted the media for reporting that Iran is “winning,” when, in his words, “everyone knows that they are LOSING, and LOSING BIG!” He blamed it on TDS, “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” claiming the press is incapable of telling the truth because of it. In the first post, he declared their leaders “no longer with us, praise be to Allah.” He bragged that the United States is now clearing the Strait of Hormuz “as a favor to Countries all over the World,” while mocking those same countries for not having “the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.” He even pointed to empty oil tankers bound for the United States to “LOAD UP,” treating the wreckage he created as a gift to the world.
And then, two hours later, he posted it again. Almost word for word. The media is “CRAZY, or just plain CORRUPT.” The same claims and the same attempt to discredit any version of reality that doesn’t match what he wants people to believe.
And with each word he said today to the reporters and on social media, our standing in civilized society continues to slip. Because this is so far beneath what used to be considered how the leader of the free world should behave. And somehow, we keep adjusting to it. We keep watching the bar drop lower and lower, each time thinking it can’t go any further, and then he takes us there.
Calling the press “deranged,” corrupt, and incapable of truth isn’t just an insult. It’s a strategy. And it’s the most dangerous one he has. Because when the President of the United States spends his morning telling the public that every major news outlet is lying to them, and then spends his afternoon snapping at a reporter and dismissing her network as fake, he’s not just being rude. He is systematically dismantling the only mechanism the public has for holding him accountable. He is telling the American people not to believe what they see, not to trust what they read, and not to listen to anyone who contradicts him. And in a country where free elections depend entirely on an informed electorate, that is not a personality flaw. It is an act of sabotage. And what makes it even more dangerous is the silence around it. Because only a corrupt or complicit Congress could watch this pattern play out, day after day, post after post, and still refuse to act.
And the repetition tells you everything you need to know about where we are. This is not a man communicating a message. This is a man trying to will a version of reality into existence that the facts won’t support. He’s not informing the public. He’s performing for an audience of one, himself, and hoping enough people buy it that the truth stops mattering.
But it does matter. Because his numbers tell a completely different story than the one he’s selling. His overall approval has dropped to around 39 percent across polling averages, down from 47 percent when his second term began. His economic approval just hit a career low of 31 percent in the latest CNN/SSRS poll. Only 27 percent of Americans approve of his handling of inflation, down from 44 percent a year ago. Only 24 percent approve of how he’s handling gas prices. A UMass Lowell/YouGov poll released just two days ago found that 65 percent of Americans say the cost of the Iran war is too great. Sixty-seven percent say the country is on the wrong track. The share of Republicans who strongly approve of his job performance has dropped from 52 percent to 43 percent since January. His net approval hit an all-time second-term low of negative 17.5 on Nate Silver’s tracker just days ago. And a political scientist at UMass Lowell called the war “an unmitigated public-opinion disaster,” noting that Trump “seems to have skipped the typical surge of popularity for military action and gone straight to the decline.”
Because what he’s trying to hide is becoming impossible for more and more people to pretend not to see. Every leadership decision he has made has led to more instability, more damage, and more consequences he cannot contain. And at a certain point, that stops looking like failure and starts looking like something deeper. It shows a lack of leadership altogether. There is no steady hand guiding this. There is no control. There is no real leadership at the top. And that’s why everything else has become performance. Because when there’s no ability to lead, the only thing left is to act like you are. To project false strength. To dominate attention instead of solving the problem. That’s what we’re watching now. Not leadership under pressure, but the absence of leadership being covered by spectacle.
There’s an expression that has survived for two thousand years because it captures something universal about what happens when leaders stop leading. “Nero fiddled while Rome burned.” The real Emperor Nero probably didn’t play a fiddle; the instrument didn’t exist yet in 64 AD. What historians recorded was that while the city was consumed by fire, the emperor retreated to a private stage and sang about the fall of Troy, comparing Rome’s destruction to ancient legend rather than doing anything about the destruction happening around him. Most historians believe the story was exaggerated by Nero’s enemies. But it endured for two millennia anyway because it captured something people recognized then and still recognize now: what it looks like when a leader chooses performance over responsibility. When the show matters more than the suffering.
Trump isn’t singing about Troy. He’s sitting cageside at UFC 327 in Miami tonight, his first major public appearance at a sporting event since the Iran war began on February 28, while the world he set on fire tries to negotiate its own ceasefire without him. The instinct is exactly the same. A man who has lost interest in governing, if he ever had any, retreating into the spaces where he thinks he can still feel powerful. Where he expects the crowd to cheer. Where nobody asks hard questions.
And while Trump sat cageside in Miami, the news broke that proved he already knew what was coming when he stood in front of those reporters this afternoon and said it makes no difference. After twenty-one hours of direct negotiations in Islamabad, Vice President JD Vance stepped in front of cameras and announced that no deal had been reached. Iran refused to commit to abandoning its nuclear weapons program. Vance spoke for barely four minutes, called it “bad news for Iran much more than for the United States,” left a “final and best offer” on the table, and then immediately departed Islamabad for Washington. The Iranian side said the United States came with “excessive demands” and was “looking for an excuse to leave.” Negotiations will continue, Iran’s government said, despite “remaining differences,” though no date has been set.
And for the military families who had been holding their breath, hoping that maybe these talks would be the beginning of the end, hoping that their loved ones might finally be coming home, tonight was devastating. Because we have to remember why we were told this war was necessary in the first place. The only justification this administration has ever given the American people for launching Operation Epic Fury was the threat of a nuclear Iran. That was it. That was the whole case. And last summer, after Operation Midnight Hammer, we were told the job was done. Trump stood in front of cameras and said we had wiped out Iran’s nuclear capability. Mission accomplished. And then somehow, by February, the threat was back, more urgent than ever, and we were launching a full-scale military operation that the president still refuses to call a war, even though he himself has called it a war, repeatedly, when it suits him. And now, after six weeks of combat, after American service members have been killed, and after thousands of civilian deaths across the region, and all of this “winning,” we are worse off than we were before it started.
And that is exactly why his attacks on the free press matter so much. Because the only reason the American people know any of this is, that the talks failed, that he was at a cage fight when it happened, is because journalists reported it. The same journalists he called deranged this morning. The same ones he dismissed as fake news this afternoon. The same ones he has been trying to destroy since the day he took office.
Trump’s war on the press is not a sideshow. It is the centerpiece of everything. Every attack on a journalist, every “fake news” dismissal, every Truth Social rant about media credibility, it’s all aimed at the same target: our ability to know what’s true. Because if people trust the media enough to hear the truth, the truth will end him. And he knows it. That has been his strategy from the beginning, and it is one of the most dangerous things he does, because it is the one thing that makes everything else possible. Without a free press, there is no accountability. Without accountability, there are no free elections. And without free elections, there is no democracy. It is that simple and that serious.
Our focus must continue to be on ensuring that the news reaches people. And the best way to ensure that is to make sure it’s coming from independent voices. Not just mine, but from every journalist, investigator, and expert who is still speaking the truth. We must continue to support them financially if we’re able, with paid subscriptions, by sharing their work, and by pushing back against the attacks he launches and encourages against them. Every single time. Every time he calls a reporter “fake news.” Every time his press secretary dismisses a legitimate question. Every time someone in his administration mocks, threatens, or belittles a journalist for doing their job. We have to call it out. Because the moment we stop pointing it out is the moment it becomes normal. And the moment it becomes normal, we lose the free press. And the moment we lose the free press, we lose free and fair elections. That is the chain. That is what’s at stake. And he knows it, which is why he does it every single day.
Every night when I sit down to write this, I depend on the reporters who are still out there doing the work. The ones who left corporate newsrooms or were pushed out and went independent. The ones still doing the hard, unglamorous work of sourcing, verifying, and publishing the truth. The articles I bring you, the facts I build these posts around, they don’t come from nowhere. They come from journalists who are still showing up, often at personal risk and without the safety net of a major institution behind them. I cannot do what I do without them. None of us can. And that is why protecting the free press isn’t just something I believe in. It’s something I feel an obligation to fight for, every single night, until it’s no longer under attack.
And beyond his attacks, there is the quieter crisis happening underneath: the continued collapse of corporate newsrooms, which means that these independent voices are now carrying the full weight of accountability, and they cannot survive without our support. Those of you who support this work are the reason I can do it full-time and keep it free for everyone who needs it. You are the reason someone scrolling through their feed at midnight, feeling alone and overwhelmed, can find the truth without hitting a paywall. And I know that for a lot of people, money is tight right now, and the best thing you can do is share. And that matters too. Sharing is how we reach the people who haven’t found these voices yet. But for those who can do more, please do. Subscribe to the journalists you trust. Support the ones who are still telling the truth. Because this is an all-hands-on-deck moment. Everyone needs a voice in this. We have to take care of each other. We have to protect these two things, the free press and free elections, because he has taken so much from us already, and these are the two we cannot afford to lose.
And we have to keep our eyes on November. Every poll shows the midterms are winnable. Democrats lead on the generic congressional ballot by nearly six points. The economy is painful. Gas prices are crushing families. But none of it matters if people don’t show up. Our focus has to be on the voters who are against what’s happening but stayed home in 2024. The ones who are burned out, disillusioned, and convinced their voice doesn’t count. That’s where elections are won and lost. And we need to reach them now. Not in October. Now. We have to make it too big to rig. We have to flood the system with so many votes that there is no room to steal the outcome.
And I want to end tonight by telling you where I am finding more hope than I thought was possible. Tomorrow, Hungary votes. And I have been watching this unfold all day. Viktor Orbán has held power for sixteen consecutive years. He is one of Trump’s closest allies, a man Trump has publicly endorsed and called “a true friend.” Orbán reshaped Hungary’s courts, captured 80 percent of its media, rewrote election rules to protect his own party, and built exactly the kind of system the architects of Project 2025 are building here. Just days ago, JD Vance flew to Budapest to rally for him, stood on a stage, and told the crowd that Trump and Orbán had done great things together. They want Orbán to win because his model is their blueprint.
Yesterday, more than 100,000 Hungarians filled Heroes’ Square in Budapest for a seven-hour concert-rally. Fifty musical acts. Young people packed shoulder to shoulder in every direction. They called the event “Rendszerbontó,” “Demolition of the System.” They chanted “Ruszkik haza!”, “Russians, go home!”, a cry that hasn’t been heard like this since the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, now roaring back because Orbán dragged their country into the arms of Vladimir Putin. And tonight, on the final night before the vote, torchlight and candlelit rallies filled the streets of Budapest and cities across the country.
And today, the Hungarian people are back in the streets. I’ve been watching these images all day. The torches. The flags. The crowds that keep growing, even though the government controls the media and has spent years telling them that resistance is futile. There is so much riding on what happens tomorrow. Orbán has had sixteen years. We’ve been dealing with Trump for over ten. The people of Hungary have had everything stacked against them. From rigged institutions to captured courts, to state-run broadcasts telling them to be afraid and stay home. And if they can still show up in numbers too big to ignore and vote out their authoritarian after sixteen years, then we can vote out ours, too.
And if they do, it won’t just change Hungary. It will tell the whole world that the pendulum is swinging. That people everywhere are tired of strongmen, lies, and cruelty. That democracy isn’t dying. It’s fighting back. And it’s winning. That is why I still have hope for America. And you should, too.
I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather
PS. You can make a significant difference right now by subscribing to my Substack. Your support helps me cover more ground and keep telling the truth about the lies and destruction unfolding in this country.
This commentary represents my personal opinions and analysis of matters of public concern, informed by publicly available information. Any references to individuals constitute opinion and commentary protected under the First Amendment.
Picture of the day: Here is a compilation of my favorite moments from the Springsteen concert.
Sources:
https://abc7news.com/live-updates/iran-war-strait-hormuz-ceasefire-trump-stock-market/18847792/
https://abcnews.com/Sports/wireStory/trump-takes-spotlight-ufc-327-miami-greeting-rogan-131963728
https://www.axios.com/2026/04/12/iran-talks-pakistan-vance-no-deal
https://www.csis.org/analysis/what-operation-midnight-hammer-means-future-irans-nuclear-ambitions
https://www.uml.edu/news/press-releases/2026/2026-nat-poll-march.aspx
https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/01/politics/cnn-poll-trump-approval-rating-economy
https://pro.morningconsult.com/trackers/2026-midterm-election-generic-ballot-polls
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5825088-hungary-vote-trump-orban/
https://unn.ua/en/news/mass-torchlight-and-candlelit-rallies-held-in-hungary-on-the-eve-of-elections
Narcissists don’t cope well with humiliation. When they feel exposed or out of control, they lash out, double down, escalate, and often resort to smear campaigns instead of self-reflection. That’s why, whenever he’s asked a question he doesn’t like, his instinct is to insult rather than answer.
At the same time, he’s telling reporters that Iran’s leadership has been wiped out, while his own VP is photographed shaking hands with them on the other side of the world. The contradiction doesn’t seem to matter, because he knows his supporters will accept whatever he says. Regardless if they do, he’s performing for his own audience - himself. And for anyone who believes him.
What’s more concerning is the sense that he simply doesn’t care anymore. He is at breaking point! If he believes he’s on the way out and has lost confidence within his own ranks, then humiliation becomes a trigger. And for someone like that, going quietly isn’t an option, as we saw in 2021.
He’s been made to look foolish by a country he dismisses through crude stereotypes. In reality, Iran has a highly educated population and strong literacy rates. Stronger than most countries. Yet he sent ill informed and uneducated representatives to a peace talk with seasoned, highly credentialed negotiators.
Now he’s also the target of widely shared Iranian LEGO satire videos, viewed by millions. Iranian Embassies are trolling him on X and ridiculing his posts on his own platform. The ridicule is global, and it’s relentless. And for someone driven by ego, that kind of public embarrassment is combustible. When narcissists feel cornered, they don’t step back, they push harder.
I attach a lot of importance to your clear, principled, independent reporting. You and others like you play a huge role in keeping the truth alive in an increasingly authoritarian landscape, and I have now put my money where my mouth is and upgraded to a paid subscription on your Substack account.
Keep up the good work Heather and if you’re ever in Scotland you can have a drink on me.
PS: fingers crossed for the right result in Hungary today. I’m hoping that Vance’s show of support will be the kiss of death that Orban’s regime so richly deserves.