Pope Cheeto, Wharton's review of its grad's tariff plan and more
You might want to read this, #5 -- a few recommended reads from Fight the Fire
Compiled by Sam Bellamy
Pope Cheeto?
Ever the sensitive guy, Donald Trump waited three days after his nap at the funeral of Pope Francis before joking to reporters that he’d like to be the next pontiff. And he waited a full week before he posted an AI-generated image of himself (that’s A.1 to you, Secretary McMahon) in full pope regalia on the official White House account.
The post angered quite a few Catholics around the world and drew the condemnation from the New York State Catholic Conference. “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President," the group posted on X. "We just buried our beloved Pope Francis, and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us."
Sen. Lindsey Graham chimed in with what were presumably jokes, though it’s hard to tell when so much of his routine bow-and-scraping borders on the absurd. And, of course, there was lots of ridicule on social media, including observations that Trump knows more about poping than anyone.
What should not be lost in this is that Pope Francis was frequently at odds with Trump and made pointed remarks about his treatment of immigrants, so much so that JD Vance traveled to Rome shortly before the pope’s death to try to shore up support.
Given Trump’s “I am your retribution” worldview, does anyone not think he took great glee is posting that image of himself as his final word to Pope Francis?
Patience, Donnie. Elon is almost gone
My favorite coverage of the Trump-as-pope story comes from FoxNews10 in Mobile, Alabama, which accidently headlined its story online, “Trump jokes that he'd like to be president.”
About our graduate …
Trump likes to boast that he graduated from Wharton, touting it as proof that he’s a stable genius. He once ridiculed his now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio by saying, “So I went to the Wharton School of Finance, which is considered the best business school, okay? Gotta be very smart to get into that school, very smart. The Rubios of the world cannot get into that school, believe me.”
But the alumni notes from Wharton aren’t nearly as effusive. The Penn Wharton Business Model, an economic analysis initiative frequently cited by Democrats and Republicans in Congress, recently examined the president’s tariff plan.
Some remedial work may be in order for the graduate, it appears.
“Many trade models fail to capture the full harm of tariffs,” the report states. “PWBM projects Trump’s tariffs (April 8, 2025) will reduce long-run GDP by about 6% and wages by 5%. A middle-income household faces a $22K lifetime loss.”
Stay tuned. He’ll let us know which of his billionaire friends to write that check to.
The very average governor
Trump’s repeated abuse of Rubio, only to elevate him later to a high-level position, is nothing new, of course. That’s how he treats “friends” and supporters.
Brian Kemp, the governor of Georgia, knows that all too well. As Trump and Republicans try to recruit him to run for the U.S. Senate next year, let’s take a look at some of the quotes Kemp’s opponent is certain to use against him.
Trump assailed Kemp again and again after the 2020 election for not acquiescing to pressure to help steal the victory from Joe Biden. Trump called Kemp a “fool” and a “clown” for not pushing the state legislature to change the election results in Georgia and blasted “little Brian Kemp” as “a bad guy. He’s a disloyal guy. And he’s a very average governor.”
The two supposedly made amends, but the feud was renewed during Trump’s campaign last year. At a rally last August, Trump again accused Kemp and his wife, Mary, of disloyalty and said, “Atlanta is like a killing field and your governor ought to get off his ass and do something about it.”
Kemp no doubt will follow in the footsteps of Rubio, Ted Cruz and others who’ve endured Trump’s abuse, then bowed to him as if nothing ever happened.
Mary Kemp may be a harder sell, though. Last fall, she said she planned to write in her husband’s name on the ballot rather than vote for Trump. Maybe she should be the one going to the Senate.
His vulgarities & degradation of anyone he takes issue with are the behaviors of a sociopath. His insecurities mixed with his actions from training to intimidate are his legacy.