Episode Details

5️⃣ The Strait of ‘Iran’, Open but Chained

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” on Friday morning. President Trump quote-posted “THANK YOU!” in all caps and then, in a second Truth Social post the same morning, confirmed the U.S. naval blockade would remain in force “until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100 percent complete.” “It’s easy to be cynical when you hear pronouncements of victory,” MeidasTouch Chief Washington Correspondent Scott MacFarlane said on The Fivestack, noting the conspicuous Republican silence and Ann Coulter’s reaction: “yay, the strait that was open before we began bombing is open again. Everybody pretend this is a huge victory for Trump, so he’ll end this catastrophe.” Host Zev Shalev pointed out that the ceasefire depends on Hezbollah, which is not a party to the agreement, and on a prospective Axios-reported deal unfreezing $20 billion in Iranian funds in exchange for uranium. “It sounds a lot like the Obama deal,” Shalev said. Wyoming Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, declining to mention the president by name, told reporters she had “record food pantry needs right here, right now, this week” in her state.

4️⃣ Mejia Wins New Jersey in a Blowout

Progressive Democrat Analilia Mejia, backed by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, won the special election to fill Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill’s House seat, defeating Republican Joe Hathaway by a wide margin. “That suburban New Jersey district is not blue-blue,” MacFarlane said. “Democrats fought like hell to win that seat in 2018. They fought like hell to preserve it in ‘20, ‘22, and ‘24. If that’s uninteresting, if that’s not contested in a serious way, it’s a barometer of where things are headed.” Trump has predicted a Republican landslide in November; thirty-six House Republicans have already announced they will not seek reelection — a record. Shalev noted that the administration’s urgency on Iran is reading less like foreign policy and more like campaign management.

3️⃣ The Blanche Coup

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal defense attorney, is converting the Department of Justice into a one-man enforcement arm, Shalev said. Blanche this week told his department to “move on” from the Epstein files while 2.5 million documents remain sealed. His office moved to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions of a dozen Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes. And Blanche is personally overseeing an expanding criminal inquiry into former CIA Director John Brennan, with six or more witnesses queued. U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro, MacFarlane reported, separately filed a motion Friday seeking to have the Justice Department refund restitution fines paid by a pair of January 6 defendants — money that had been earmarked for the victims’ fund covering the 140 police officers injured that day. “That symbol means something,” MacFarlane said. “We are still auditioning for Trump’s approval.”

2️⃣ Oil Prices and the Limits of the Victory Lap

Crude prices tumbled on Araghchi’s announcement — WTI down roughly 12 percent, Brent down 10.5 percent — but gasoline prices at the pump are unlikely to deliver relief before November, and Republican campaign strategists know it. “Gas prices go up by an elevator,” MacFarlane quoted his former CBS colleague Jill Schlesinger. “They go down by a slow spirally staircase.” At a Thursday press opportunity, Trump, asked how much longer Americans would pay high gas prices, replied, “Well, they’re not very high.” “He doesn’t seem to have a real grasp on what his economy is doing to the everyday person,” Shalev said. MacFarlane’s harder point: “Trump’s running the Biden playbook. Which failed. It doesn’t work.” The GOP’s midterm plan — run hard on the Trump tax cuts this spring — has been swamped by pump prices and grocery receipts.