Senior editor for politics, policy, and ideas at Vox. Formerly: Washington Post, NBC News, Semafor. Email me at benjy.sarlin at voxmedia dot com.https://bsky.app/profile/benjysarlin.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/benjysarlin.bsky.social/post/3mjkgypodf22dDonald Trump messed with the wrong pope. Pope Leo XIV is not Pope Francis. He starts with more buy-in from Catholic conservatives, and the war is a more divisive topic among them than other political fights. More from @christianpaz.bsky.social: https://www.vox.com/politics/485838/donald-trump-pope-leo-jd-vance-catholic-fight-feud-francis-traditionalist-liberal-iran-war-vatican15 Apr 2026 17:42 +0000at://did:plc:42hra5aefoooifqcbcszdfy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjkgypodf22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/benjysarlin.bsky.social/post/3mjflg2uxus2hDonald Trump did something blasphemous? Wow, you're telling me this for the first time. More surprising is how hard the pushback on the right was this time — which may be symptomatic of deeper problems beneath the surface. Read @christianpaz.bsky.social: https://www.vox.com/politics/485563/trump-pope-ai-blasphemy-art-christ-evangelical-religious-right13 Apr 2026 19:18 +0000at://did:plc:42hra5aefoooifqcbcszdfy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjflg2uxus2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/benjysarlin.bsky.social/post/3mjda4oj7j22sOrban defeat should make for some good ol' discourse in the US. First: LOL Vance. But second: The opposition united behind a conservative "Never Orban" defector to neutralize cultural attacks. Imagine Ds running Liz Cheney instead of campaigning with her. https://www.vox.com/politics/485521/hungary-election-results-2026-viktor-orban-peter-magyar12 Apr 2026 20:50 +0000at://did:plc:42hra5aefoooifqcbcszdfy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjda4oj7j22shttps://bsky.app/profile/benjysarlin.bsky.social/post/3miyzrwixhs2eToward a new unified TACO theory https://www.vox.com/politics/485141/trump-taco-iran-ceasefire08 Apr 2026 19:30 +0000at://did:plc:42hra5aefoooifqcbcszdfy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3miyzrwixhs2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/benjysarlin.bsky.social/post/3mhihtkljzs2a“Iran doesn’t want to become one of these countries in which the US and Israel take military action based on a Google Calendar reminder every six months” https://www.vox.com/politics/483150/iran-forever-war-mowing-grass-israel20 Mar 2026 12:01 +0000at://did:plc:42hra5aefoooifqcbcszdfy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhihtkljzs2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/benjysarlin.bsky.social/post/3mh6tvczmqs2i“One thing people forget,” he said, “is that we haven’t even reached the PTSD part yet. We’re still in the trauma part.” Voices from inside Iran on facing bombs above and bullets below. https://www.vox.com/politics/482389/voices-from-iran-war-dispatches16 Mar 2026 16:10 +0000at://did:plc:42hra5aefoooifqcbcszdfy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mh6tvczmqs2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/benjysarlin.bsky.social/post/3mg4fqbbg4s2oIran's Khamenei was the first recognized head of state killed by a foreign power in decades. @joshuakeating.bsky.social digs into why these killings have become so rare, whether it was legal, and if it's an omen of more assassinations to come. https://www.vox.com/politics/481307/khamenei-killing-world-leaders-assassination02 Mar 2026 23:27 +0000at://did:plc:42hra5aefoooifqcbcszdfy5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg4fqbbg4s2o