The Changing Political Game
4/15/202610 min
April 14, 2026
Viktor Orbán’s loss of control of the Hungarian government has changed the political game in the US, Trump’s emotional state “seems to be fraying,” Trump’s post, depicting him as Jesus, has generated an outcry from his followers, Rep Jamie Raskin introduces a bill to create a commission to evaluate the president’s mental state, The 25th Amendment establishes a process for evaluating a president’s fitness for office, The disastrous situation in Iran continues as Republicans refuse to take a strong stand against the war, Pam Bondi does not show up to testify under oath before Congress about her handling of the Epstein files.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsHeather Cox Richardson· Host0:00
[outro music] April 14th, twenty twenty-six. There are signs the political game has changed in the United States since Hungarian voters rejected Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's leadership on Sunday, April twelfth. His party's loss of control of the government to a super majority of its opponents undermined the belief that right-wing authoritarianism was an unstoppable force in world politics. Since MAGA Republicans had tied themselves to Orbán and his movement, his loss also weakens their own claims to inevitable victory over those trying to protect democracy. On Sunday night, President Donald J. Trump appeared to melt down on social media. In The Atlantic today, Tom Nichols noted that Trump's emotional state seems to be fraying. This weekend, he attacked Pope Leo XIV, presented himself as Jesus Christ, and then jabbed at his phone until dawn. Nichols notes that after Trump attacked the Pope and portrayed himself as Jesus, he posted an AI version of a Trump Tower on the moon. "Sure," Nichols writes, "why not?" Then Trump posted a meme of how Senators Bernie Sanders, an independent of Vermont, and Chuck Schumer, a Democrat of New York, and former President Joe Biden all look old,