Tom Boggioni

Beyond the widely derided “Mar-a-Lago face” that is a staple among women in Donald Trump’s orbit, the New York Times is reporting that men working in the administration are also being scrutinized by the president who has strict appearance standards that he expects them to satisfy.

According to Zac Seidler, a clinical psychologist, beneath the Trump Cabinet tough guy exterior “all you see is fragility.”

"It's constant attempts at trying to cultivate a persona that in their eyes seems strong and powerful and dominant and stoic," explained Seidler.

Trump's obsession with appearance extends to his own image, the Times' Jesse McKinley wrote, noting that last fall, the president publicly groused about a Time magazine photo he claimed made him look bald — a moment that exposed the very insecurity his male staff members are forced to perform against.

Political scientist Dan Cassino explained how this dynamic plays out across the administration: "Men in the Trump administration are performing a very specific type of masculinity in order to try and appeal to Trump."

Trump uses appearance-based criticism as a tool of power. Rose Hackman, author of "Emotional Labor," explained the psychological mechanism: "Commenting on someone's look or looks is one of the most basic forms of power play we have."

The system weaponizes insecurity against loyalty, with Hackman pointing out that what Trump has said about men in his inner circle "effectively reduces them to assets," which can "make them feel like they have to be jumping around him, or else their status in his eyes could change at any time."

The psychological toll is severe McKinley elaborated. "That sort of presidential evaluation can trigger men's insecurities, part of 'this overarching belief that you must look and appear a certain way or you have failed.'" When appearance-based status can shift instantly, "the whole edifice shakes."

Trump has extended this image control beyond his staff. His surrogates frequently tout his vitality, and the president often connects himself with men who evince masculine traits, including musclebound influencers — reinforcing a narrow, performative version of acceptable manhood.

Northwestern University professor Maryam Kouchaki, who studies workplace dynamics, described the underlying vulnerability, telling the Times: "It's fragile. And it's easily lost." Masculinity, she notes, is constantly "earned" and constantly under threat when it depends on external validation rather than internal substance.

The developing schism within Turning Point USA after the death of founder Charlie Kirk and the ascension of his wife, Erika Kirk as the new CEO is making life much more difficult for Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance as they try to keep their agenda alive.

According to a report from the New York Times' Richard Fausset, TPUSA is undergoing a massive fracturing as chapters strike out on their own under new names, and the remaining members balk at the president’s war on Iran.

The attendance collapse at recent TPUSA rallies is stark and a warning to the Trump administration.

When Vice President JD Vance headlined a Turning Point event at the University of Georgia in Athens earlier this week, the numbers told a story of organizational decay: "In an arena that accommodates 6,500 people, roughly 1,300 attended, according to city officials," the Times reported.

Conservative Never-Trump commentator Charlie Sykes captured the humiliation as "empty-hall embarrassment." Photos of the nearly empty stands circulated online, accompanied by biting criticism.

Trump suffered similar humiliation at his own TPUSA event in a Phoenix church on Friday night — only two-thirds full despite the much smaller venue.

Kirk's absence has exposed organizational chaos beneath the surface, with the Times noting: "Mr. Kirk's engaging personality and rhetorical skill helped to hold it all together. But in his absence, the cracks have begun to show."

The internal divisions are multiplying. In December, "disagreements within the movement — over support for Israel, the showcasing of conspiracy theorists and who is rightfully American" erupted during AmericaFest in Phoenix. Now the conservative split over Trump's Iran war is amplifying deeper questions about the organization's direction and purpose.

Chapter leadership is fragmenting according to the Times. At the University of Arkansas, the turmoil has consumed leadership discussions. Ava Lacey, a student from Mississippi on the executive board, said the chapter wanted to be more political than its nonprofit status allowed — a sign of frustration with organizational constraints.

Young members are abandoning Trump entirely. Tyler Cox, 24, a former member of the Arkansas Turning Point chapter, expressed his disillusionment starkly: "I used to be a big Trump fan, like in 2016, because he spoke his mind. I think there's a lot of things with this administration now that I don't agree with."

Cox said he's "not very interested in joining the new group" — an ominous indictment coming from a longtime activist in the organization.

Pope Leo XIV has made clear he has no interest in continuing his public feud with Donald Trump. During his 11-day African tour, the pontiff firmly rejected the notion that he's been debating the American president, insisting his peace message transcends partisan politics.

According to Politico, Leo addressed the spiraling controversy that has dominated headlines all week. "There's been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects, but because of the political situation created when, on the first day of the trip, the president of the United States made some comments about myself," Leo said.

"Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary, trying to interpret what has been said."

The Pope was defending his remarks at a peace meeting in Bamenda, Cameroon — a city at the epicenter of a separatist conflict ravaging the country's Anglophone region for nearly a decade. In those remarks, Leo had blasted the "handful of tyrants" who were ravaging Earth with war and exploitation, Politico is reporting.

Leo emphasized the remarks predated Trump's attacks. "My remarks were written two weeks ago, long before Trump's criticisms began," he explained, undercutting Trump's narrative that the Pope was specifically targeting him.

"And yet as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate again the president, which is not in my interest at all," Leo said, making clear he views the controversy as a distraction.

Looking forward, the Pope signaled his priorities lie elsewhere. "I primarily come to Africa as a pastor, as the head of the Catholic Church to be with, to celebrate with, to encourage and accompany all the Catholics throughout Africa."

Doubling down on a recent podcast where she excoriated MAGA influencers who are reveling in the attention given to them for turning on Donald Trump, longtime conservative commentator S.E. Cupp pointed out that she got death threats for opposing the president after he took office in 2016 so they get no grace from her.

During an appearance on CNN's “Table for Five,“ Cupp launched into an extensive rant aimed at newly minted Trump critics like Megyn Kelly and ex-Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), accusing them of “buyer's remorse.”

“I have been out in these streets since 2015 opposing this un-American, anti-democratic, fascistic garbage,” she began. “And while at the same time, these people that they're mentioning, the Marjorie Taylor Greene’s, that name them, the long list have been defending it [MAGA] for fun, for money, for clicks, for fame.”

Adding “Not all converts are the same,” she continued, “It's not just for Democrats to decide [acceptance]. It's for never-Trumpers who are conservative as well, to decide we should not be aligning with people who are losers, liars and grifters who have only come to see the light, because either it's politically expedient or it's profitable or whatever.”

“For the professional liars, losers and grifters? No, we don't want you!” she exclaimed. “And just because you've come to where we have been for ten years, doesn't mean you get to use us to launder your reputations — not happening on my watch. And I don't like this conversation where it's like, ‘well, shouldn't we give them credit?’ No, no, no credit, no credit. It's the 11th hour. It's the 11th hour of this and he is a lame duck. He has gone in two years, what took you so long?”

“This is personal,” she admitted. “I've gotten death threats. I have lived this life at the expense of my profession, the expense of friendships, at the expense of money. I've done it. It's been hard, but it's my conscience telling me to do it. You don't get to flip a switch and say I don't like him anymore.”

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During his speech at a sparsely attended Turning Point USA rally in Phoenix on Friday night, Donald Trump started riffing on UFOs and “unexplained aerial phenomena,” which had the entire panel on MS NOW’s “The Weekend” both baffled and amused.

The president, as is his habit, jumped from topic to topic, eventually settling on UFO’s, telling the crowd, “I think I'm doing the best job of anybody, really. I recently directed the Secretary of War to begin releasing government files relating to UFOs and unexplained aerial phenomena.”

He then added, “I figured this was a good crowd because I know you people, you're really into that. I don't know that I am, I thought I'd save it for this crowd because you're a little bit out there.”

Following the clip, co-host Jonathan Capehart had a puzzled look on his face, paused and then offered, “Yes, if you missed it, Trump bragged. We are. We are, quote, ‘Ending wars all over the place,’ with just one little exception. The president also took aim at NATO, calling it, quote, ‘absolutely useless’ and returned to familiar grievances on immigration and trans-athletes.”

Turning to guest Dana Milbank from NOTUS, he brought up the UFO comments.

"I mean, we were chuckling over the UFO files,” he began as Milbank interrupted with “The UFO files, I am with him on that.”

“I think if I had had the kind of week that this president had had with Iran, with inflation, with the Pope, I too would be talking about UFOs,” Milbank added. “It didn't begin with that. I mean, I know JD Vance was saying they're all demons, in fact. So the aliens are in fact demons, so this predates.”

“So this has been building. I mean, we're going to blow the lid off of this one,” he joked. “Clearly a distraction. 100% approval rating; distraction is urgently needed.”

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A claim by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that there is great happiness within the Trump administration –– and the Department of Justice –– was shot down by a former high-ranking DOJ official on Saturday morning.

Appearing on MS NOW’s “The Weekend,” former DOJ pardon attorney Liz Oyer not only dismissed the Blanche boast but also admitted she found it highly humorous.

In an interview, Blanche, who replaced the fired Pam Bondi, stated, “[Trump] is somebody who has high expectations for his Cabinet and for this administration. It's not just the Department of Justice, it's in every single area. And so that type of communication from President Trump should make every American happy, because it means that there's an executive, a chief executive, that is making sure every one of his Cabinet members are working as hard as they should.”

Asked for comment, Oyer smiled and replied, “It's not even funny, but I literally laughed out loud when I first heard Todd Blanche say that. And I laugh every time I hear him say that because it's so absurd. No one is happy about what's happening at the Justice Department right now. It is a travesty, it is ruining the justice system in our country.”

Pressed if Blanche is “auditioning” to keep Bondi's former job, Oyer had a ready answer.

“That's exactly what's going on around the entire Justice Department. It's this cast of insane characters who are falling all over themselves to try to impress the big boss in the hopes that they will be the next Pam Bondi.”

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Donald Trump's ability to pack arenas is evaporating.

The president who once filled sports venues across the country couldn't even come close to filling a 4,500-seat Arizona church on Friday night, exposing the dramatic erosion of his political momentum.

According to the Washington Post, Trump was the featured speaker at a Turning Point USA rally in Phoenix at Dream City Church. Despite his boast earlier in the day on Truth Social about addressing a "BIG CROWD," the turnout was sparse and underwhelming.

The attendance numbers tell the story. A Turning Point USA spokeperson claimed only about 3,000 people attended — meaning the church was roughly two-thirds full at best. For a president who once commanded arena-sized audiences, the half-empty megachurch represents a stunning reversal.

The demographic breakdown was equally telling, reports the Post. The megachurch was supposed to be a venue for Trump to drum up support among young voters. Instead, he found an audience whose members skewed older and were focused on divisions within their own party.

Even longtime supporters were shocked by the sparse crowd. One Trump voter, Diane Niemann, a retired dental hygienist, told the Post she was "was not planning to come to the Friday event until she saw there was hardly a line to get in."

"I'm totally shocked," Niemann said.

The causes are multiple and converging. Voter dissatisfaction with Trump's unpopular Iran war is depressing turnout. The declining fortunes of TPUSA after founder Charlie Kirk was killed have weakened the organization's mobilization capacity. And underlying economic anxieties are sapping enthusiasm.

Niemann herself acknowledged the political vulnerability. She's worried about the midterm elections, and her daughter in Las Vegas has been complaining about gas prices, the Post noted. At $4.98 per gallon, even longtime political activists can read the political tea leaves.

A coalition of business groups, restaurateurs, and lawmakers in Texas has been formed to push back against the anti-immigrant policies of Donald Trump’s administration as sales collapse and companies struggle to find employees.

According to a report from the New York Times, there is tension in the deeply conservative state, as the economic impact on restaurants, in particular, is no longer tenable, with owners considering closing up shop.

According to the Times’ Jesus Jiménez, the owner of the Revolver Taco Lounge in Dallas, Regino Rojas, claimed day-to-day business reminded him of the year COVID shut the country down — but worse.

“I think this, right now, is worse than the pandemic,” he lamented.

About 50 percent of Texas restaurants reported that they were not profitable last year, up from 38 percent in 2024, according to the Texas Restaurant Association.

The Times is reporting, some of that has been the result of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration: In Texas, where by some estimates nearly 10 percent of the work force is undocumented — compared with about 4.5 percent of the U.S. work force — restaurant owners have said that the crackdown has created a chilling effect among their workers, regardless of their immigration status.

Feeling the strain, the Texas Restaurant Association and business leaders have started a coalition called Seat the Table, pressing Congress and the White House to create work permits for “long-term, law-abiding immigrants playing critical roles from farms to restaurants.”

In backing the coalition, the Texas Restaurant Association, in a state with strong conservative roots, made clear that it was not calling for "amnesty," nor was it asking for a pathway to citizenship for immigrants.

“I think the vast majority of Americans recognize that there is a large group of undocumented immigrants who have been literally keeping food on our tables,” said Kelsey Erickson Streufert of the Texas trade group, according to the Times. “And if we remove those people, it is going to hurt everyone in terms of higher prices.”

Adam Orman, who owns the restaurants L’Oca d’Oro and Bambino in Austin, said some immigrants in the area feared coming to work because of anxiety around arrests.

“Do I think that work permits would help? Yes,” Mr. Orman claimed. “But we also need to change the enforcement tactics, so that people aren’t afraid to go to work, people aren’t afraid to go spend money.”

The strain on labor has extended to Texas’s agriculture industry. Sam Lash, a co-founder of Farm to Table, a wholesale company based in Texas that connects local farmers with chefs, said farms across the state were struggling to find workers, according to the report.

“There’s been a really symbiotic relationship between Texas farmers, Texas restaurant owners and immigrant labor for many generations,” Lash said. “I’ve been doing this for 18 years, there has never been a time where it is more difficult to access consistent, reliable, skilled labor from immigrants.”

Longtime Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberly Strassel, an avid and unapologetic supporter of Donald Trump, battered Vice President JD Vance, saying the more he tries to make himself front-page news, the worse he looks.

"There is definitely such a thing as bad publicity." Strassel wrote late Thursday, noting that Vance's high-profile failures have created a pattern of self-inflicted personal political damage.

Vance's recent stumbles are mounting at an alarming rate, she noted. The Ohio Republican delivered a high-profile speech for Viktor Orbán's re-election in Budapest — Orbán lost in a landslide. He played a central role in Iran negotiations — the talks collapsed. He spoke at Turning Point USA in Georgia — the headline was that Vance had little response to antiwar heckling.

The core problem, Strassel suggested, is Vance's compulsive need for attention, explaining, "Mr. Vance's approach is all show and all tell. He's everywhere, all the time—squeezing out every opportunity to let America know how central he is to the Trump operation and the 'new' Republican coalition."

Strassel documented Vance's frenetic schedule: "He's at the March for Life, calling for a baby renaissance. He's at the Munich Security Conference, berating European allies. He's in the Oval Office, goading the Ukrainian president into an argument. He's trekking Greenland, threatening to make it America's. He's in Rome, meeting not one but two popes. He's all over government, rooting out fraud."

"It isn't working," she bluntly advised.

The Journal columnist suggested Vance use former VP Mike Pence as a model ("Put your head down") and pointed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the way he conducts himself: work quietly, achieve results, let accomplishments speak for themselves –– "The payoff has been dramatic."

"A year ago, 3% of CPAC attendees rated Mr. Rubio their top choice. This time he got 35%," she recalled before adding, "The more Mr. Vance thrusts himself into the fray, hopping up and down for attention, the more Mr. Rubio looks presidential."

Noting that Department of Justice investigators are busy working in his “backyard” of Florida on election theft conspiracy theories promoted by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, former state attorney of Palm Beach County Dave Aronberg told the hosts of “Morning Joe” it will end in embarrassment for all involved.

Brought on to discuss Gabbard’s efforts to get a whistleblower criminally charged for informing on Donald Trump, Aronberg claimed there is little value in the conspiracy theory Gabbard is pushing and, should the DOJ follow her lead, the cases will fall apart quickly.

Speaking with co-host Jonathan Lemire, the attorney laughed at Gabbard, claiming her only real goal is to avoid being fired by Donald Trump.

“Jonathan, this is Tulsi Gabbard trying to stay in President Trump's good graces,” Aronberg remarked. “Remember, she had contradicted him on the Iranian nuclear threat. She's always been a MAGA outsider. Remember, she ran for president as a Democrat in 2016, was critical of Donald Trump then. And so now after the firings of Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi...”

"She knows that she's one more controversy away from getting a Truth Social post, wishing her well in her future endeavors,” he added with a laugh.

Pointing out that the whistleblower case she is pressing “will get a prosecutor laughed out of court,” he later added, “She's been accused of covering up a whistleblower complaint relating to the intercept of a phone call between two foreign nationals who discussed someone close to Trump, but that's not hurting her with the president.”

“Trump badly wants his enemies locked up, so Gabbard is winning points for effort,” he noted. “So as far as what you mentioned, nothing has come of her accusations of a treasonous conspiracy. But prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida, in my backyard, are investigating those allegations. And if the rhetoric leads to a prosecution, it will quickly meet the fate of the [NY AG] Letitia James and [former FBI Director] James Comey cases –– quick dismissals and egg on the faces of everyone involved.”

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Supporters of Donald Trump reacted poorly to the president’s attack on former MAGA supporters who have parted ways with the president over his military adventurism in Iran and Venezuela, with the prospect that Cuba could be next on his list.

The president started his day on Friday by once again snarling at Tucker Carlson who lost his job at Fox News in part because he boosted the president’s incorrect claim that the 2020 election was stolen.

Trump wrote, “Tucker is a Low IQ person - Always easy to beat, and highly overrated!!! So are Megyn Kelly, ‘Candace’(Really Dumb and mentally ill!), and Bankrupt Alex Jones, who is completely ‘fried.’ There are others, also! Then we have some that are VERY GOOD, true MAGA all the way, and smart. I should do a list of good, bad, and somewhere in the middle. Wouldn’t that be fascinating??? President DJT.”

More than a few commentators on his Truth Social post urged the president to “stop,” saying he has more important matters to deal with and that he is damaging his America First “legacy.”

"So you’ve simply given up on the deportations we voted for now? What a failure of a president you’ve become. I’ve never been more ashamed of my vote,” complained John Deucey, which was seconded by Christina, who agreed by writing, “I regret voting for you.”

Aryan Gurhar pointed out, “These people have lost so much defending you, especially Alex Jones, and they stayed with you all along. But you shill for Israel so hard, that you’d give up these valuable friendships of yours for Israel.”

Nick Fuentes fan Dano2929, raged, “TRUE FACT Trump you are all alone in November we all feel the same way as Nick does you betrayed the American people you protect p--------- and I put up ample proof you want to protect your little p--------- in your government you got one giving you advice right next to you and I'll keep posting and posting and posting and thrown into your face until you actually work for the American people instead of f------ Israel and your little p--------- crew.”

“Just stop it! Good Lord! A lot of these people went out of their ways to campaign for you. Attacking them constantly is beneath you. Just let it go,” wrote anti-immigrant Bad Panda.

Jack Elliott also lamented, “You are not America first anymore. Donors first.”

“No Mr President. You are not winning attacking these four patriots,” noted FIFAKing.

Michelle accused, “Really working to hand the country over to the democrats. Nice work. Your legacy isn’t what I’d want.”

JD added, “It's a shame you are going against MAGA like MTG. You believe lies from your advisors. So sad. Most of us agree with her. Gas is still high, us under 40 cant afford a home or to pay our student loans. Groceries still high. And u care about other countries.”

During an appearance on MS NOW on Friday morning, conservative journalist David Drucker built upon his recent reporting on the state of the GOP in Indiana to note that there is a civil war going on inside the Republican Party with money being spent to oust lawmakers in safe seats.

Speaking with the hosts of “Morning Joe,” Drucker explained that Indiana is ground zero in the fight between Donald Trump partisans and the traditional wing of the party that exploded during the debate on redistricting that the president demanded.

The fallout from the battle is still ongoing, he noted.

"For those that are up for election this year, the president promised retribution,” he reminded the hosts. “And so his political team and supported by Senator Jim Banks, a Republican senator of Indiana, Republican Governor Mike Braun, they are spending up to around $6 million or so to try and oust eight of the incumbents who are running for re-election.”

“I spent some time in Indiana last week, and, you know, what I found was that a normally sort of collegial and sort of old school conservative Republican party in Indiana is being turned upside down over this fight on redistricting,” he continued. “And, you know, the ads that are running are not necessarily about redistricting, but President Trump's endorsement still carries a lot of weight in this red state. Republican voters there are, by and large, very happy with the president.”

“But nobody really knows how this is going to end up,” he added. “It's just it's another front in this sort of ongoing Republican civil war, if you will, between the pro-Trump forces and the sort of Reaganite Republicans that are trying to hang on past the Trump era.”

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More than a few members of the army of lawyers Donald Trump has deployed to sue his enemies and keep him out of courtrooms due to lawsuits are waiting hat in hand to be paid with the Save America PAC the president used to pay them now wallowing in red ink.

According to MS NOW's Hayes Brown, Trump's fundraising machinery has hit a wall now that he's no longer actively running for office. "

According to recent Federal Election Commission filings, the funding stream Trump has been using to pay out millions to law firms is running "very, very low on cash," Hayes is reporting.

The numbers tell a story of financial collapse, the report notes. Save America PAC has only $1.19 million in cash on hand while owing $1.6 million in unpaid legal bills. That debt exists even after the committee has already spent nearly $2.3 million on legal fees so far this year. Make America Great Again PAC is in even worse shape: only $28,087 in cash against $763,000 in debts.

Trump's legal bills have been astronomical. Between the two PACs, Trump funneled $50 million toward his legal fees over the course of 2023 alone. Rather than paying from his own pocket, billionaire Trump has instead diverted MAGA fans' cash into his political committees to cover his mounting legal costs.

The law firms owed the most money are NechelesLaw LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

The report singled out Susan Necheles, lead partner at NechelesLaw, who represented Trump in the 2024 New York "hush money" case that resulted in Trump being convicted on 34 counts of fraud. She's still waiting to be paid.

Save America transferred an additional $1.6 million to MAGA PAC since January in a desperate attempt to keep both committees solvent. Despite the infusion, MAGA PAC's cash position remains tenuous after spending another $1.3 million on legal fees in just the last quarter.

Hayes suggested Trump has exploited a gaping hole in campaign finance law to avoid personal liability, writing, "It is only thanks to a gaping hole in campaign finance law, such as it is, that not a single penny of those payments will come from the president directly. Instead, those debts will all likely be covered courtesy of his loyal donors, many of whom were never told exactly where their contributions would be going."

He added, "Trump has managed to convince his devotees that his personal life and political life are so intermingled that political attacks on him are attacks on them as well. It follows then that even as the money they've sent him in response has gone toward supporting Trump's lawlessness, his criminality and his avaricious quest to siphon ever more money into his own pockets, the response has been to shrug, pull out their wallets and add more dollars to the collection basket."

Donald Trump's ramped-up saber-rattling and erratic pronouncements are also having the effect of rattling European leaders who once embraced his form of nationalism, leading them to publicly express their differences.

According to the Washington Post's Steve Hendrix and Stefano Pitrelli, longtime Trump ally Nigel Farage — who spearheaded Brexit — is now publicly distancing himself from the president, making it clear by bluntly telling reporters, "I happen to know him, but that's by the by."

Farage is not alone.

Across Britain and Europe, nationalist leaders are "squirming" at the mention of Trump and retreating from him after positioning his second term as a triumph for populism. Fifteen months in, the links between Trump's MAGA movement and Europe's nationalist parties are at the breaking point, the Post is reporting.

Pro-Trump politicians from London to Rome — already uncomfortable with his on-again, off-again tariffs, and his obsession with seizing Greenland, and then the surprise Iran attack — have discovered limits to their loyalty as his "genocidal rhetoric" becomes more frightening, Hendrix and Pitrelli are reporting.

Germany's right-wing Alternative for Germany party co-chair Tino Chrupalla recently accused the Trump administration of potential "war crimes" in targeting civilian infrastructure in Iran.

France's Marine Le Pen condemned Trump's "erratic" war goals and warned of "catastrophic consequences" on fuel prices. "It is becoming apparent that very little preparation was done," Le Pen told the French daily Le Parisien. Her protégé, Jordan Bardella — a prime contender for the French presidency next year — recently condemned Trump's "imperial ambitions."

Political scientist Ivan Krastev told the Post, "Trump seems to be a nationalist who does not understand nationalism, particularly the nationalism of others."

"There was a view at the start that the administration would provide a tailwind, because you now had a U.S. administration that shares their values, their policy goals, their political agenda," explained Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at the Eurasia Group consultancy. "That's totally fallen apart now."

Trump's conduct with regard to the Pope and the Vatican has only exacerbated the exodus. After claiming personal credit for Pope Leo XIV's selection because he's American, Trump shared an AI-generated image depicting himself in a white robe performing a Christ-like healing before hastily deleting it after it created a firestorm.

That led Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister who has spent a year positioning herself as a bridge between Trump and Europe, to issue a rare criticism.

"I find President Trump's words towards the Holy Father unacceptable. The pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal for him to call for peace and to condemn every form of war."

A year before convicted felon Jeffrey Epstein died in a prison cell under mysterious circumstances, a friend who was teaching at Arizona State University worried about accusations of sexual harassment and asked for help, which led Epstein to suggest he turn to Donald Trump's White House.

According to Politico's Bianca Quilantan, the texts and emails show Epstein believed Trump's efforts to weaken protections for sexual misconduct accusers could provide physicist Lawrence Krauss, who was teaching at ASU, an escape route from disciplinary proceedings.

"My friends in the White House HATE the title ix c----," Epstein wrote to Krauss in April 2018, using a crude sexist slur to describe his contempt for women protected by Title IX enforcement.

"Ironic but he might be your out," Epstein added without clarifying who he was specifically discussing, Politico is reporting.

Krauss, a noted Trump critic, was willing to give it a shot, replying,: "Ironic indeed! But I will take it."

According to Quilantan, the text and email exchanges also illuminate Trump's Title IX agenda and attitude toward women. Advocates for sexual assault survivors say the Epstein emails prove what they've long argued: the Trump rollback was designed to shield accused men from accountability, not to protect fairness.

"This Epstein email and essentially his blessing and support of the Trump 2020 rule, it just really affirms what we've been saying all along," Shiwali Patel, senior director of Education Justice at the National Women's Law Center told Politico. "It's meant to be an anti-survivor rule. I don't know if it could be made any more clear after the Epstein files revealed his role in support of it."

Trump has claimed he and Epstein, once a frequent Mar-a-Lago guest, had a falling out years before Epstein's 2019 prison death. But the newly released correspondence demonstrates that Epstein believed he retained White House connections during Trump's first term — and was actively using them to help accused harassers escape consequences.

The White House declined to comment. Krauss did not respond to requests for comment, Politico reported.