By Bobby Sample
This has been neither the first nor the last short period of time in which scandals come on a near-daily basis for Donald Trump, and usually we don’t need all of that news here.
However, in tangent with the president’s plummeting approval scores (even in the MAGAverse), it can be encouraging to hear confirmation of this administration coming apart, right?
For an example, in the video above, Joanna Coles and Hugh Dougherty of The Daily Beast review what they label as the most politically damaging week of this president’s second term in office: the one leading to their podcast date of April 3. And this was all well before Donald promised to destroy a civilization yesterday morning, only to announce a temporary cease-fire by yesterday evening.
Here are some topics they cover–some of it genuinely good news–with our links to alternate sources added in.
March 31
- Donald’s ballroom construction is halted, pending review by Congress. Bush-appointed U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon notes in his ruling: “The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. He is not, however, the owner!”
- Donald visits the Kennedy Center, onto which he has physically tacked his own name, for a performance of Chicago and gets booed there. Various news outlets (such as AP) report that the boos were outgunned, more or less, by the cheers and applause from others in the crowd. Here’s an account of a journalist who was detained by security for being one of the booers.
- For Bryon Noem to lead a secret life online would normally remain his business. But, his marriage to recently ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem raises national security questions such as, did the Noems make the office vulnerable to blackmail, and what became of the screening process for cabinet members anyway?
April 1
- Donald shows up for Supreme Court oral arguments on whether to uphold the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship in the U.S. He goes unacknowledged by the justices, who carry on with their job (and appear on the path to rule against the president’s wishes). In a breach of court decorum, less than an hour later he storms out of the room, having failed to intimidate the court with his mere presence. Later he angrily tweets that his nation is “the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow ‘Birthright’ Citizenship!”
- In truth (if not in Truth Social) at least 35 countries have unconditional birthright citizenship like the U.S., including our neighboring Canada, Mexico, and most of Central and South America, according to Citizens International. Another 40 countries, mostly in the eastern hemisphere, have birthright citizenship with conditions attached.
- The White House posts video of an “Easter lunch” possibly by mistake, as they quickly take it down from public view (but not before copies are made and shared widely). Donald’s rambling speech is followed by various religious leaders’ fawning invocations, including that of Faith Office senior advisor Paula White, who most overtly compares her cult leader to Jesus Christ. Not a problem for Donald in real time, but embarrassing in hindsight as the offensive footage goes viral, and just a few days after Pope Leo rebuked this administration for spewing its prayers for martial victories with “hands full of blood.”
April 2
April 2- News breaks of Pam Bondi‘s firing as Attorney General. Despite friendly lip service toward her, reportedly Donald is unsatisfied with her (poor) success rate of using the Justice Department to persecute his enemies in politics and journalism. An image of her portrait thrown in the trash at the Justice Department (where she was deeply unpopular) goes viral, and statements like that of Rep. Dave Min suggest we haven’t seen the last of her in hearings of the House Oversight Committee.
- Donald’s public address on his war with Iran was intended by his advisors to calm markets; instead, oil prices shot up during and after his wearily delivered, largely off-book speech, due to his threats of more strikes.
And one more…
This more recent example of seasonal tone-deafness, we add ourselves.
At the White House Easter Egg Roll April 6, we get the surreal spectacle of Donald rambling about the Iran War (with some brags thrown in about the military wrath dealt to Venezuelan fishermen) with the Easter Bunny trapped beside him, apparently questioning his life choices. This rabbit’s got to be wondering what Jesus and his fishermen friends would have to say about all of this.
Sources:
- “Judge Rules White House Ballroom Construction Must Halt Until Conress OKs it,” NPR, March 31, 2026.
- “Journalist detained for booing Trump at Kennedy Center Chicago performance” by Christopher Wiggins, The Advocate, April 5, 2026.
- “Webcam Model Linked to Bryon Noem Asks DHS Not to Kill Her” by Joshua Rhett Miller, Newsweek, April 3, 2026.
- “Trump Attends Supreme Court Oral Arguments, Then Leaves an Hour In” By Ann E. Marimow, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, and Miriam Jordan, The New York Times, April 1, 2026.
- “75 Countries with Birthright Citizenship,” Citizens International, November 27, 2025.
- “White House deletes video footage from Easter event where Trump was compared to Jesus” by Rhian Lubin, Independent, April 2, 2026.
- “Pope seems to rebuke Hegseth in remarks about leaders with ‘hands full of blood’” by Rory Carroll, The Guardian, March 29, 2026.
- “Trump fires Pam Bondi as US attorney general” by Nandita Bose, Andrew Goudsward, and Jana Winter, Reuters, April 2, 2026.
- “Pam Bondi’s portrait already taken down at Justice Department” by Ken Dilanian and Carol Leonnig, MS NOW, April 3, 2026.
- “Statement: Rep. Dave Min on Firing of Pam Bondi,” Min.house.gov, April 2, 2026.
- “Oil prices jump and shares drop after Trump threatens more Iran strikes” by Osmond Chia and Peter Hoskins, BBC.com, April 2, 2026.
- “Watch: Trump sends warning to Iran at White House Easter Egg Roll,” Associated Press via PBSNews.com, April 6, 2026.