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US and Iran Approve Limited Ceasefire - the Wednesday AM Quickie 4/8/26

By Corey Pein —

I understand show business is a business, but you'd think it would be bad form to celebrate replacing someone who was fired to appease the regime, as Stephen Colbert was. You'd also think it would be a mark of shame to guest on CBS's replacement late night comedy show. I guess we'll see! - Corey

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THE BIG NEWS

US and Iran Agree to Limited 2-Week Ceasefire

Yesterday morning, Donald Trump was promising to inflict a genocide on Iran, possibly by ordering the launch of nuclear weapons against a country that did not attack the United States. "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again," Trump wrote on Truth Social, by way of describing the consequences if Iranian leaders failed to meet his demands.

By last night, Trump had backed down, announcing that he had agreed to a Pakistani proposal for a two-week ceasefire with Iran. Many details are unclear, as the Associated Press reports:

"Iran's Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and that it would negotiate with the United States in Pakistan beginning Friday. Neither Iran nor the United States said when the ceasefire would begin, and attacks took place in Israel, Iran and across the Gulf region early Wednesday.
"Israel backed the US ceasefire with Iran but the deal doesn't cover fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Wednesday.

Per NBC News, Trump used the word "workable" to describe a plan by Iran that calls for the withdrawal of US forces from "all bases and positions in the region." But as the AP reports, he later called public one version of the Iranian plan "fraudulent, without elaborating."

It's hard not to see this as a tacit admission of defeat by Trump, who launched a war without strategy or clear objectives that allowed Iran to increase its control over the vital oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Still, oil prices dropped immediately.

"Better TACO Tuesday than World War III," one European official quipped, per Politico. Likewise, many Democrats welcomed the news that Trump has pulled back from the brink, whatever the cost to US standing and the economy.

Others remain skeptical. "This statement changes nothing," New York Squad Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says, per the New York Times. "The president has threatened a genocide against the Iranian people and is continuing to leverage that threat. He has launched a massive war of enormous risk and of catastrophic consequence without reason, rationale, nor congressional authorization — which is as clear a violation of the Constitution as any." I've got more for you on the domestic political considerations below.

Nuclear-Armed Maniac Alarms Congress

More than 70 elected Democrats called for Donald Trump's removal from office yesterday in response to the genocidal threats he made against Iran before the ceasefire declaration, NBC News reports. Congress has been out of session since March 27, but some, like Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, called for the House and Senate to reconvene, impeach, and convict Trump to remove him from power. Others, like California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, called on Trump's own cabinet to begin the process of removing him from office by invoking the 25th Amendment to the Constitution and finding him unfit to serve.

Even some Republicans joined the chorus of outrage, like former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson, and Alex Jones. But not everyone is convinced Trump's loyalists will turn against him even in such extreme circumstances. Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse wrote that "unfortunately, invoking the 25th is not realistic right now, given his oddball cabinet of sycophants and eccentrics, and Republican 'spines of foam.' We're going to have to buckle down and win this the old-fashioned way."

Elections Roundup: California Gov. Candidate Eric Swalwell Denies Sexual Misconduct Rumors

  • Trump-Backed Republican Clay Fuller Wins Race for Marjorie Taylor Greene's Former House Seat, But Democrats Make 25-Point Gain "We're going to beat him next time," Democrat Shawn Harris says. via the Associated Press, NBC News, and the New York Times.
  • 'Wow': Democrats Have a Good Night in Wisconsin Liberal judge Chris Taylor won a state supreme court seat by a 20 percentage point margin, and Democrat Alicia Halvensleben was elected mayor of Republican-leaning Waukesha. via Politico, the AP, and the New York Times.
  • Opposition Denounces US Interference as JD Vance Stumps for Viktor Orban in Budapest During the rally for the far-right authoritarian ruler of Hungary, Vance called Donald Trump to share a message of support, but Trump twice declined to take his vice president's call. via the Washington Post, the Guardian, and Politico.
  • Leftist Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed Refuses to Disavow Streamer Hasan Piker "This whole gotcha game, platform policing, cancel culture — I thought we were over it," El-Sayed says. via Politico and Fox News.

QUICKEST QUICKIES

  • Artemis II Astronauts Send Back Amazing Pictures from the Far Side of the Moon Their mission almost complete, the four-person crew is due for splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Friday. via the Associated Press, the New York Times, and Space.com.
  • Bill Gates 'Welcomes' His Chance to Testify to Congress About Jeffrey Epstein on Friday Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will also appear before the House Oversight Committee next month. via the Washington Post and Politico.
  • Kanye West Barred from Entering Britain; Music Festival That Invited Him Canceled Despite his antisemitic comments, Ye "performed two sold-out shows at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles last week, which earned a reported $33 million." via the Washington Post and the Guardian.
  • American Journalist Shelly Kittleson Released After Getting Kidnapped in Baghdad Last Week "Like many freelancers, she often worked on a shoestring budget and without the protections afforded by large news organizations to staff." via the AP and BBC News.

SOME NUMBER

800

That's how many people ICE arrested based on tips from the Transportation Security Administration since the start of Donald Trump's second term, according to a Reuters investigation.

ON THE SHOW TODAY

4/8: Emma will be hosting solo; the guests will be Seamus Malekafzali, freelance journalist and co-host of the Turbulence podcast, and Effie Phillips-Staley, a Democratic primary candidate challenging Mike Lawler in New York's 17th congressional district.

DON'T MISS MR CLIPS‌

Alex Jones Pal Drops INSANE Plot to Coup Trump

I actually like the Truman Show idea, it's crazy enough to work.

Pro-War Democrats Will Lose in 2026

Josh Gottheimer is an embarrassment.

PARTING WORDS

"If [Donald] Trump chooses to keep me as acting, that's an honor. If he chooses to nominate me, that's an honor. If he chooses to nominate somebody else and I go back to being the DAG, that's an honor. If he chooses to nominate somebody else and asks me to go do something else, I will say, 'Thank you very much. I love you, sir.'"

-- Acting attorney general Todd Blanche, speaking to reporters yesterday in his first press conference since taking over from Pam Bondi. Blanche also said that only Trump knows why he fired Bondi, and that Trump has the "right" and the "duty" to criminally prosecute "men, women, and entities" that he has a grudge against.

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