A line as few others could write it: "constitutional ignoramuses and moral buffoons." Jen was talking about the goons in the WH, but she just as easily could have thrown in at least two and possibly more members of the Supreme Court, whose partisan rulings in this century have helped lead us down this perilous path. But the good guys will win, as long as the Pope and others are willing and able to call out injustice, hypocrisy, and ignorance wherever they see it.
The good guys will only win if we ALL jump in to the battle. We cannot rely only on those who have high visibility. Ad is often said, democracy is not a spectator sport!
That's what I meant by "others." I'm treating this like it's a cage match for democracy and doing everything a non-rich private citizen can do to help the good guys.
The confounding issue is that the two SCOTUS justices you reference are Catholic (Alito and Thomas, and probably Kavanaugh) as is JD Vance, who makes a big deal of it. Religion does not necessarily make people tolerant, and often quite the opposite, sadly.
Recently Franklin Graham of the Billy Graham Foundation has sent me two fundraising letters. I sent them back saying that Pope Leo has stood up and spoken against ICE and its actions.... Mr. Graham has kept silent.
I am curious about what his branch of Christianity is in favor of.
AND....
My postman is keeping fit and strong delivering fund raising letters to me daily. I received two from the Charlie Kirk Foundation. I cut the messages in shreds and mailed them back to them.
Last week a questionaire arrived from Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch. It is the 2026 National Deportation Census, asking for a donation of course. It's a MAGA questionaire and just disgusting. I could ignore it but I think I will take joy in shredding it up and mailing it back.
Small victories... but worth the cost of a postage stamp.
You must have voted for the orange felon in the past and donated to all those causes to receive all those begging letters. It sounds like you just found "our" side. Congratulations.
Not really. I donated just once to Liz Cheney as a result of her courageous stand against Trump, although I disagree with her on almost every other point. I've never donated to Trump. And now I get the occasional MAGA begging letter.
In fact, 6 of the justices are Catholic:Roberts,Thomas, Alito,Sotomayor, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett. Gorsuch was raised Catholic but is now Episcopalian (Catholic light)
Daniel, Pope Leo has already done this to a Catholic Church in the south. They are no longer allowed to give the sacrements of marriage, baptism, communion, etc.
The problem is that this good information doesn't get out to the public. We need Substack and Norm and Jen and Scott Dworkin, etc.
What about those involved in ICE shenanigans? A nun was arrested in Tejas. Violations if church sanctuaries? Dividing familiesw as a matter of policy? Lots of Catholics involved in wronfully targeting Trump's "enemies". Making false allegations about federal prosecutors and investigators involved in the Russian investigation? Involved in murder of civilians in foreign countries? Involved in mass murder?
What stayed with me wasn’t only your critique of MAGA, but Pope Leo’s reminder of what America is at its best.
His vision is neither triumphalist nor cynical. It is rooted in the conviction that every person possesses an inherent dignity that precedes the state, and that our constitutional experiment is measured not by the power we wield but by the principles we uphold. That’s a moral vocabulary we’ve been missing.
As someone who has spent much of the past year thinking and writing about liberal democracy, Jewish identity, and the obligations we owe one another, I found his words both moving and hopeful.
Thank you for continuing to make the constitutional and moral case. Pope Leo’s message was a timely reminder that the enduring strength of the American experiment lies not in personalities or power, but in the ideals that call each generation to become something better than the last.
To Trump and his supporters, the only person entitled to "reverence, protection and care" is Trump himself.
As for the title of Ms. Rubin's post, MAGA folks do not want to learn. They are willfully ignorant, cannot think for themselves, and will support whatever hate comes out of Trump's mouth.
According to a report from The Guardian today, there is beginning to be a wobble/weakening in the force as some MAGA supporters are finding themselves falling farther behind financially as a result of Trump's policies.
At the periphery, many have repented and are remourseful.
AI Overview
Leaving MAGA is the primary organization and support community dedicated to empowering individuals to exit the Make America Great Again movement. Founded by former MAGA insider Rich Logis, the group focuses on personal rehabilitation, facilitating family reconciliation, and helping former adherents transition to mainline conservatism, moderation, or liberalism.
I had the same reaction, instantly, as yours to the headline’s basic assumption that MAGA voters want to learn anything. We can only hope that GOP voters who aren’t in MAGA’s chronic state of moral blindness and fealty to a dictator may yet have the capacity to think for themselves and choose democratic aims and alliances. But I wouldn’t bet on it.
Couldn’t agree more Ms. Rubin regarding your positive analysis of Pope Leo. But I also find it difficult, and really incomprehensible, to accept that five of the nine Supreme Court judges can claim to be devout Catholics, yet continue to extend powers to Trump that are not only arguably unconstitutional, but morally and ethically wrong. Apparently, they appear to be unreachable by the leader of their church. But not surprising given that most lied during their confirmation hearings. One doesn’t have to struggle too hard to guess exactly what their nightly prayers beg for.
Their nightly prayers have been answered. They retain more power and station than deserved; they worship the false god of mammon more than the one that is extolled by the Catholic Church and their supposed faith.
Jennifer Rubin’s words are matched by Pope Leo in a tribute to the America created in the Declaration of Independence. It is almost ironic that the Pope understands the meaning of America far better than its President and selected enablers. Perhaps it is because he grew up in that America and now brings those ideas and values to the Papacy. He did it in a language we should all understand-not the English, but the meaning. I may be a Baptist, but I have a new respect for the Pope. I may not believe we need that intermedia between man and God, but he spoke as an intermedia between God and Nation. Jennifer Rubin interweaves her own words with those of the Pope in a heartfelt essay. Go Jen!
Every life has a beginning and an end. The real privilege in life is to bring good into the world, especially if it resonates through the years enriching the lives of others. Those who leave suffering and hardship behind them will be remembered but as a curse. Trump, MAGA, and the Yellow Republicans will be remembered as the little people, as the people of anger and bitterness, an object lesson of the consequences of making the world a smaller, hostile place.
The founding precept of MAGA is Us(good) vs. Them(bad). It is an exclusive movement (meant to exclude 'those people') with its own exclusive religion - Christian Nationalism. It truly is the neo-confederacy and seeks to return America to its presumed glory days of the 1850s. It is a movement of, by, and for authoritarian white men. And, should they succeed, it would usher in the new Republic of Gilead.
It appears to have begun a little already. His faithful are feeling the pinch of higher prices all around, and with wage stagnation, some are beginning to feel that his policies aren't helping them to keep up, let alone get ahead. They're beginning to realize that they are not winning, as promised.
And the list of “those people” to be excluded is expanding, to include all women. Essentially, the only ones who belong are elite white Christian males (ie the Epstein class). I think that may be problematic for MAGA.
We need a president who understands the actual job and doesn't just see it as a way to do anything he thinks of without thought of what its effect will be.
There is something truly meaningful in the words, "Acting Presidential", thinking of the coutry's good first. Not as something he doesn't care about, as he has stated.
We need a president and not the dictator we now have with the
help of SCOTUS. Their most recent gift to DJT that he can fire people has kept me awake at night. He is now free to replace all heads of groups with his cult followers. Norm and his fellow lawyers will have their hands full with new cases.
When the law, the facts & science don’t matter; when criticism of or resistance to the MAGA con, grift, extortion & thuggish violence is a criminal conspiracy… Please, 86 47 & his capos with a Blue Tsunami. #VoteBlue!
Well said! The Pope gets that all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. He believes that immigrants must be recognized for their contributions to our democracy and what makes us great and unique. The fact that we are separated by two shining seas is evident. It took immigration from Europe and other nations to populate the United States 🇺🇸 of America. The Pope gets that people risked their lives to make America the unique democracy it is. It’s always a work in progress. Until equal rights are extended to all Americans we will continue to be mediocre because each and every one of us bring something to the table.
By the simple act of taking Leo as his regnal name, he brought front and center the Church's teachings against blind pursuit of wealth and exploitation of workers. Read Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical "Rerum Novarum," and John Paul it's 1991 commentary, "Centesimus Annus." They're quite interesting when you consider that our Vice President and most of SCOTUS actually believe that they're good Catholics.
A line as few others could write it: "constitutional ignoramuses and moral buffoons." Jen was talking about the goons in the WH, but she just as easily could have thrown in at least two and possibly more members of the Supreme Court, whose partisan rulings in this century have helped lead us down this perilous path. But the good guys will win, as long as the Pope and others are willing and able to call out injustice, hypocrisy, and ignorance wherever they see it.
The good guys will only win if we ALL jump in to the battle. We cannot rely only on those who have high visibility. Ad is often said, democracy is not a spectator sport!
That's what I meant by "others." I'm treating this like it's a cage match for democracy and doing everything a non-rich private citizen can do to help the good guys.
The confounding issue is that the two SCOTUS justices you reference are Catholic (Alito and Thomas, and probably Kavanaugh) as is JD Vance, who makes a big deal of it. Religion does not necessarily make people tolerant, and often quite the opposite, sadly.
Recently Franklin Graham of the Billy Graham Foundation has sent me two fundraising letters. I sent them back saying that Pope Leo has stood up and spoken against ICE and its actions.... Mr. Graham has kept silent.
I am curious about what his branch of Christianity is in favor of.
AND....
My postman is keeping fit and strong delivering fund raising letters to me daily. I received two from the Charlie Kirk Foundation. I cut the messages in shreds and mailed them back to them.
Last week a questionaire arrived from Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch. It is the 2026 National Deportation Census, asking for a donation of course. It's a MAGA questionaire and just disgusting. I could ignore it but I think I will take joy in shredding it up and mailing it back.
Small victories... but worth the cost of a postage stamp.
You must have voted for the orange felon in the past and donated to all those causes to receive all those begging letters. It sounds like you just found "our" side. Congratulations.
Not really. I donated just once to Liz Cheney as a result of her courageous stand against Trump, although I disagree with her on almost every other point. I've never donated to Trump. And now I get the occasional MAGA begging letter.
Agreed. I think we've seen that with Christian Nationalism. Those people think God gives them the right to suppress anyonen who isn't white and male.
In fact, 6 of the justices are Catholic:Roberts,Thomas, Alito,Sotomayor, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett. Gorsuch was raised Catholic but is now Episcopalian (Catholic light)
When the church starts excommunicating people who hold themselves out as Catholic but act like NAZIs, I'll believe it.
I have disagreements with the Catholic Church, but I respect this pope for this statement.
He's a "Mench".
agreed..
The Catholic church actively supported the first round of Nazis. They jumped at the chance to get rid of Jews.
But during WWII, the Vatican worked surreptitiously to get soldiers out of Italy, who were in hiding. Downed airmen, for example.
they already have...I believe that was what pope benedict's resignation was all about...
Viable candidates:
JD Vance: Vice President, who converted to Catholicism in 2019.
Marco Rubio: Secretary of State,
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Secretary of Health and
Human Services.Sean Duffy: Secretary of Transportation.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer: disgraced former Secretary of Labor.
And Vance is holding monthly religious services on government property. I hope someone else can tell this part of the story better than I am...
But it is disgraceful because they are trying to use religion as another way to make people hate other people.
Daniel, Pope Leo has already done this to a Catholic Church in the south. They are no longer allowed to give the sacrements of marriage, baptism, communion, etc.
The problem is that this good information doesn't get out to the public. We need Substack and Norm and Jen and Scott Dworkin, etc.
If you mean the SSPX, Latin Mass churches, they were excommunicated but they aren't necesaarily MAGA.
According to AI, the only MAGA priest who has been defroked was Frank Pavone. https://ministrywatch.com/pro-life-priest-pavone-defrocked-for-blasphemous-posts/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21236090829&gbraid=0AAAAA9nqtdNer0wJmRYIDGCtDq1L5_HIu&gclid=CjwKCAjw6rfSBhAqEiwA_yocpin-qy2mRA2ZNEDXBBzM2r1S9pbBkW7N4Q_SsL00zFVWAUPgeGzyfxoCfIUQAvD_BwE
NYT has followed Rev. Frank Mann, who may/may not have been involved in a Trump pardon of David Gentile, a private equity executive who was convicted in a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of mostly mom-and-pop investors, some of whom lost their retirement savings. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/21/us/politics/trump-fraudster-priest-investigation-brooklyn.html
What about those involved in ICE shenanigans? A nun was arrested in Tejas. Violations if church sanctuaries? Dividing familiesw as a matter of policy? Lots of Catholics involved in wronfully targeting Trump's "enemies". Making false allegations about federal prosecutors and investigators involved in the Russian investigation? Involved in murder of civilians in foreign countries? Involved in mass murder?
That started to happen last week.
don't leave voters off of the dummy and clown list
True, unfortunately. What possessed 7 million Democrats to sit out the 2024 presidential election? They just handed a psycho the keys to the kingdom.
they can be part of the list also !
Jennifer,
What stayed with me wasn’t only your critique of MAGA, but Pope Leo’s reminder of what America is at its best.
His vision is neither triumphalist nor cynical. It is rooted in the conviction that every person possesses an inherent dignity that precedes the state, and that our constitutional experiment is measured not by the power we wield but by the principles we uphold. That’s a moral vocabulary we’ve been missing.
As someone who has spent much of the past year thinking and writing about liberal democracy, Jewish identity, and the obligations we owe one another, I found his words both moving and hopeful.
Thank you for continuing to make the constitutional and moral case. Pope Leo’s message was a timely reminder that the enduring strength of the American experiment lies not in personalities or power, but in the ideals that call each generation to become something better than the last.
Brad, you expressed this wonderfully. Thank you!
What a beautiful essay, Ms. Rubin!
To Trump and his supporters, the only person entitled to "reverence, protection and care" is Trump himself.
As for the title of Ms. Rubin's post, MAGA folks do not want to learn. They are willfully ignorant, cannot think for themselves, and will support whatever hate comes out of Trump's mouth.
According to a report from The Guardian today, there is beginning to be a wobble/weakening in the force as some MAGA supporters are finding themselves falling farther behind financially as a result of Trump's policies.
Very predictable.
At the periphery, many have repented and are remourseful.
AI Overview
Leaving MAGA is the primary organization and support community dedicated to empowering individuals to exit the Make America Great Again movement. Founded by former MAGA insider Rich Logis, the group focuses on personal rehabilitation, facilitating family reconciliation, and helping former adherents transition to mainline conservatism, moderation, or liberalism.
https://leavingmaga.org/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23148398284&gbraid=0AAAAA-Ib8gO4JPBm7H-JuL1R4Rxee0abK&gclid=CjwKCAjw6rfSBhAqEiwA_yocpgszSouQj5rL-rvNaLaFd2ldTd4mcAsfoPuQiaZxnky-PPlBK-laxRoCozcQAvD_BwE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnBj232NhOY
Very good! The more the better, and I wish them success in their abilities to talk to and persuade others of that same point of view.
How wonderful to hear that Rich Logis is working to help the MAGA cult members become rehabilitated.
I had the same reaction, instantly, as yours to the headline’s basic assumption that MAGA voters want to learn anything. We can only hope that GOP voters who aren’t in MAGA’s chronic state of moral blindness and fealty to a dictator may yet have the capacity to think for themselves and choose democratic aims and alliances. But I wouldn’t bet on it.
It's one of the issues we have to consider. How to convince our Republican friends that to vote Democratic is not a denial of what
is often a family tradition ---- but that it is necessary for America to get out of this swamp, and we need their help.
We do indeed need their help within the big pro-democracy tent.
Couldn’t agree more Ms. Rubin regarding your positive analysis of Pope Leo. But I also find it difficult, and really incomprehensible, to accept that five of the nine Supreme Court judges can claim to be devout Catholics, yet continue to extend powers to Trump that are not only arguably unconstitutional, but morally and ethically wrong. Apparently, they appear to be unreachable by the leader of their church. But not surprising given that most lied during their confirmation hearings. One doesn’t have to struggle too hard to guess exactly what their nightly prayers beg for.
Their nightly prayers have been answered. They retain more power and station than deserved; they worship the false god of mammon more than the one that is extolled by the Catholic Church and their supposed faith.
don't give the church ideals it doesn't have, remember the Spanish Inquisition etc.
and protecting pedophiles in every country it has a church....
Jennifer Rubin’s words are matched by Pope Leo in a tribute to the America created in the Declaration of Independence. It is almost ironic that the Pope understands the meaning of America far better than its President and selected enablers. Perhaps it is because he grew up in that America and now brings those ideas and values to the Papacy. He did it in a language we should all understand-not the English, but the meaning. I may be a Baptist, but I have a new respect for the Pope. I may not believe we need that intermedia between man and God, but he spoke as an intermedia between God and Nation. Jennifer Rubin interweaves her own words with those of the Pope in a heartfelt essay. Go Jen!
Every life has a beginning and an end. The real privilege in life is to bring good into the world, especially if it resonates through the years enriching the lives of others. Those who leave suffering and hardship behind them will be remembered but as a curse. Trump, MAGA, and the Yellow Republicans will be remembered as the little people, as the people of anger and bitterness, an object lesson of the consequences of making the world a smaller, hostile place.
The founding precept of MAGA is Us(good) vs. Them(bad). It is an exclusive movement (meant to exclude 'those people') with its own exclusive religion - Christian Nationalism. It truly is the neo-confederacy and seeks to return America to its presumed glory days of the 1850s. It is a movement of, by, and for authoritarian white men. And, should they succeed, it would usher in the new Republic of Gilead.
The resistance is growing, even among some of the faithful as they see that their needs are not being met.
Just wait until the tRumpcession or tRumpression begins!
It appears to have begun a little already. His faithful are feeling the pinch of higher prices all around, and with wage stagnation, some are beginning to feel that his policies aren't helping them to keep up, let alone get ahead. They're beginning to realize that they are not winning, as promised.
And the list of “those people” to be excluded is expanding, to include all women. Essentially, the only ones who belong are elite white Christian males (ie the Epstein class). I think that may be problematic for MAGA.
We need a president who shares the moral grounding of the pope.
We need a President who cares about other people as much as he cares about himself.
Putting the people first would today be a novel concept and action.
We need a president who understands the actual job and doesn't just see it as a way to do anything he thinks of without thought of what its effect will be.
There is something truly meaningful in the words, "Acting Presidential", thinking of the coutry's good first. Not as something he doesn't care about, as he has stated.
We need a president and not the dictator we now have with the
help of SCOTUS. Their most recent gift to DJT that he can fire people has kept me awake at night. He is now free to replace all heads of groups with his cult followers. Norm and his fellow lawyers will have their hands full with new cases.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and just where are you going to find that person ?????????????? How about Jon Bon Jovi ?
Thank you Jennifer. A touching morning read.
THank you. Somehow your magnificent writing (and the Pope!) restores my belief in equality...
Lovely to read your essay Jen. Hope you're recovering.
Pope Leo looks hail and hearty and will be so for years to come.
The 🍊 is decaying before our eyes as his appeal and "peel" sloughs off.
I truly wish that he is aware and suffers bigly, because he's causing death and destruction everywhere.
When the law, the facts & science don’t matter; when criticism of or resistance to the MAGA con, grift, extortion & thuggish violence is a criminal conspiracy… Please, 86 47 & his capos with a Blue Tsunami. #VoteBlue!
Well said! The Pope gets that all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. He believes that immigrants must be recognized for their contributions to our democracy and what makes us great and unique. The fact that we are separated by two shining seas is evident. It took immigration from Europe and other nations to populate the United States 🇺🇸 of America. The Pope gets that people risked their lives to make America the unique democracy it is. It’s always a work in progress. Until equal rights are extended to all Americans we will continue to be mediocre because each and every one of us bring something to the table.
I'm not Catholic, but I have great respect for Pope Leo. His warmth and compassion always shines through.
By the simple act of taking Leo as his regnal name, he brought front and center the Church's teachings against blind pursuit of wealth and exploitation of workers. Read Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical "Rerum Novarum," and John Paul it's 1991 commentary, "Centesimus Annus." They're quite interesting when you consider that our Vice President and most of SCOTUS actually believe that they're good Catholics.
#John Paul II. Damned autocorrect.