Let’s start with good news that portends well for the future of democracy in America: Viktor Orbán suffered a crushing electoral defeat after a sixteen-year reign that mimicked Trump’s autocratic tactics in the US. The Hungarian people were fed up with Orban’s aspiring dictator act and repudiated him at the ballot box in an incontestable victory for the opposition party, led by Péter Magyar. See The Guardian, Hungarian opposition ousts Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power | Hungary.
Orbán conceded quickly after early returns showed that he was headed for a historic defeat. That is the same scenario we experienced on November 4, 2025—the first “Election Day” after Trump’s 2024 win. Up to and including November 4, 2025, Trump was making statements suggesting that the November elections might be “rigged” and raising questions about whether he would accept the results. See, e.g., Democracy Docket (11/4/2025), Trump Pushes Baseless Claims of ‘Rigged’ California Election, Promises ‘Criminal Review’ of Mail Ballots
Do you remember what happened after the polls closed on November 4, 2025? Nothing! Democrats won by commanding margins everywhere, and Trump retreated into finger-pointing and scapegoating the GOP! See CBS News, (11/4/2025) Democrats sweep key races in 2025 elections in early referendum on Trump. Trump posted, “TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT.”
Trump’s pre-emptive claims of “rigging” gave way to “I didn’t lose, Republicans lost” because “I wasn’t on the ballot.”
Orbán knew there was no upside in contesting his landslide loss over the weekend, just as Trump knew in November 2025 that claims of “rigging” were pointless in the face of Democratic double-digit wins everywhere.
We must remain vigilant against attempts to interfere with the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential election. But we are not helpless victims. We can shape the course of history by the simple but powerful act of showing up at the ballot box. It is that easy and that hard. We did it in November 2020 and 2025; we can do it in 2026!
Let’s take confidence and hope from the people of Hungary who began the long, difficult task of reclaiming their democracy from an anti-democratic autocrat who inflicted significant damage during his tenure. We have likewise begun that long, difficult task and have made significant headway. We should look to November 2026 not with fear and anxiety, but with hope and determination!
The world turned upside down.
Developments regarding Iran over the last 72 hours make it seem like the world has turned upside down.
Trump declares blockade of Strait of Hormuz.
On Friday, Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would be open “fairly soon,” suggesting that an international coalition of nations would reopen the Strait. On Sunday, Trump announced the US “will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.” That action is likely illegal under international law (for the same reasons that Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz is illegal) and will increase the price of oil worldwide, increasing inflation in the US. CENTCOM tried to walk back Trump’s statement by limiting it to ships entering or departing from Iranian ports—an action that would also likely be illegal under international law!
Trump says US Navy will “interdict” commercial vessels that transit the Strait after paying a “toll” to Iran
Trump announced that the US would “interdict” ships that previously transited the Strait of Hormuz by paying a “toll” to Iran. See, Time, quoting Trump, “I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.”
In the old days, “interdicting” commercial ships in international waters was commonly known as “piracy.” Whatever label is attached to the US’s ‘interdiction’ of commercial vessels at sea—while Trump insists we are not at war—the US has dubious legal authority to do so.
Did the “non-existent” Iranian navy turn back two US Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz?
In a weird story, CENTCOM announced that two US ships “transited” the Strait of Hormuz in a mine-clearing operation. See Al Jazeera, US says two naval ships ‘transited’ Strait of Hormuz for mine-clearing. (CENTCOM said two US ships “transited the Strait of Hormuz and operated in the Arabian Gulf as part of a broader mission to ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines previously laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps)
But radio traffic intercepted by commercial ships in the region suggests that Iranian ships told the US ships to turn back and released a drone in the direction of the US ships. The Iranian government claims the US ships turned back as ordered by the Iranian ships. See Fortune, ‘This is the last warning.’ Iran threatens U.S. warships after they throw down the gauntlet for winner-take-all Strait of Hormuz.
Per Fortune, the IRGC challenged the Navy destroyers as they transited, according to a radio conversation recorded by a civilian ship that was shared with the Wall Street Journal.
“This is the last warning. This is the last warning,” the IRGC said. [¶]
Iranian media said the [US] destroyers turned around after being confronted by the IRGC, which reportedly launched a drone in the direction of the destroyers. The IRGC also said any attempt by military ships to cross the strait would be met with a “firm and forceful response.”
To be clear, the Iranian government is not a reliable narrator of events in the Gulf region. But the interception of messages by commercial ships in the area suggests that some type of interaction took place between Iranian ships and the US Navy.
So . . . what is happening? Hegseth and Trump say the Iranian navy has been destroyed. But the above reporting suggests that an Iranian vessel challenged two US ships and fired a drone in the direction of the US ships. Something seems fishy . . . .
The so-called “peace negotiations” were a sham.
I left the worst for last. Recall that Trump threatened to destroy the “whole civilization” of Iran last Tuesday. Looking for an offramp, he said that Iran’s 10-point peace proposal was a promising platform for future negotiations. The US and Iran met in Islamabad over the weekend to negotiate a peace agreement.
Long story short, after a single day of negotiations, Vice President JD Vance announced that the negotiations were a failure because Iran had “chosen not to accept our terms.” See Time.
It sounds like JD Vance is unclear on the concept of “negotiations.” If the US believes “accepting our terms” is the only way a peace negotiation can succeed, then there will never be peace. Unless a party is willing to compromise, peace negotiations are pointless.
The peace negotiations in Islamabad were a sham—as demonstrated by the fact that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were at a UFC “cage match extravaganza” as JD Vance was attempting to end a conflict that threatens the lives of US soldiers and the livelihoods of US citizens. See Daily Beast, Donald Trump Struts Around UFC Cage Match in Miami as JD Vance Flees Peace Talks in Pakistan.
Trump confirmed that the negotiations were a sham before he appeared at the cage match with the Secretary of State in tow. Before heading to the cage match, Trump told reporters he didn’t care whether the negotiations succeeded: ‘Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me.’”
Trump attacks Pope Leo as being “weak on crime.”
Sunday evening, Trump claimed that the only reason the American Pope Leo XIV was elected was that “they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
But it gets worse. Trump accused Pope Leo of being “weak on crime,” an ironic statement from a guy who pardoned 1,500 January 6 insurrectionists and has promised mass pardons on his last day in office to “anyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval Office.” More to the point, Trump has no idea about the teachings of Jesus or Christian theology, which prominently feature forgiveness and mercy.
Concluding Thoughts
We can see the promise of a post-Trump America in the Hungarian people's victory over Orban. Like us, they have a long way to go to repair the damage inflicted by a single autocratic leader. But the journey must begin somewhere. We have started on our path of resistance and renewal. We have a long way to go, but we are on the path. That is enough for today. Tomorrow will bring more challenges, and we will face them as they come, one at a time.
