Good Evening, this is the Commonwealth Report. News for the public, not the powerful.
Does Trump Plan to STEAL Iran’s Oil?
Here’s what’s really driving this war. It’s not nukes. It’s not democracy. It’s oil. Trump told the Financial Times this weekend he wants to “take the oil in Iran,” seizing Kharg Island, the tiny Persian Gulf hub that handles roughly 90% of Iran’s crude exports. He compared it to Venezuela, where the US earlier this year effectively grabbed control of that country’s oil industry after capturing Nicolás Maduro. The Pentagon is reportedly drawing up plans for ground raids. Trump says he wants to “blow up and completely obliterate” Iran’s oil wells if a deal isn’t reached. Patrick Bigger of the Transition Security Project said it plainly: Trump “truly believes that the US is entitled to whatever resource it desires.” That’s not foreign policy. That’s armed robbery on a global scale. Nearly two thousand Iranians are dead after 33 days of bombing. Two hundred and seventeen of them were children. And the man in the White House wants to know how he gets the oil.
35 Nations Unite to Open Hormuz. They Didn’t Invite Us.
The world is organizing without us. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Britain will host talks involving 35 nations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz through diplomacy. The United States is not on the guest list. A quarter of the world’s oil passes through that waterway. Meanwhile, Trump called European leaders “cowards,” told them to “go get your own oil,” and said America “won’t be there to help you anymore.” France, Italy, and Spain have banned US warplanes from their airspace and their bases. Spain’s prime minister called the war illegal. Italy agreed. France denied blocking US flights, but the rift is real and widening. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says the strait remains “firmly and dominantly” under their control, despite Trump’s repeated claims that victory is just around the corner. When the president of the United States gets locked out of the room while 35 other nations try to solve the crisis he created, that’s not an embarrassment. That’s a signal to the entire world about what American leadership has become.
Did Trump Hold Ukraine Hostage to Drag Europe Into His War?
The Financial Times is reporting something that should stop every American cold. Trump threatened to cut off weapons to Ukraine unless European NATO allies agreed to join his coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Europe said no, calling it impossible while the war rages. Trump went ballistic. He threatened to pull funding from PURL, NATO’s weapons purchase program for Ukraine, and possibly end all US support for that country. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte had to scramble to get key allies to at least release a statement of support. A White House spokesperson confirmed Trump’s fury, saying “the United States will remember this.” So let’s be clear. Trump just threatened to abandon a democratic nation fighting for its survival against Russian invasion, because European allies wouldn’t sign onto his Iran oil grab. Ukraine’s people are the bargaining chip. That’s not an alliance. That’s extortion. And it tears apart everything America has claimed to stand for since 1945.
Did the Supreme Court Just Slam the Door on Trump’s Citizenship Power Grab?
In a scene no one has ever seen before, Donald Trump sat in the Supreme Court this morning and watched his own justices take apart his executive order on birthright citizenship. Trump was there for about 75 minutes. He’s the first sitting president to ever attend oral arguments at the nation’s highest court. The visit was controversial from the start, with critics calling it an attempt to intimidate the bench. It didn’t work. Both liberal and conservative justices, including Trump’s own appointees Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch, hammered the government’s lawyers with hard questions. Chief Justice Roberts told the solicitor general flat out: “It’s the same Constitution.” Trump left before the opposing attorney even finished speaking, then posted on Truth Social that America is “STUPID” for having birthright citizenship. The 14th Amendment has protected every person born on American soil since 1868. It was written to put that right beyond the reach of any politician. The court’s ruling is expected by late June. If Trump loses, it won’t be for lack of trying to pack the room.
Is Someone Planning to Hack the 2026 Midterms?
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sounded the alarm this week. In a sit-down interview, the 86-year-old California Democrat warned voters to be “on guard,” saying Republicans may try to “creep into the technology” of voting machines and create a “false count” in the upcoming midterms. She called for litigation, legislation, mobilization, and communication to protect the vote. She also predicted big Democratic wins, if the elections are actually run fairly. Republicans, meanwhile, have pushed the SAVE Act through the House, requiring specific ID documents to vote, a measure critics say is designed to squeeze out eligible voters who don’t carry the right paperwork. Add in partisan redistricting across red states, and you’ve got a multi-front assault on the ballot box. Pelosi put it plainly: Republicans have “no commitment to the rule of law.” Free elections aren’t just a right. They’re the only thing standing between a democracy and something much darker.
STRANGE ALERT! God Has Been Teleporting Your FEMA Director to Waffle House. No, Really.
Alright. We have to talk about the man Donald Trump put in charge of disaster relief for 340 million Americans. His name is Gregg Phillips. He has zero experience in disaster management. But he does have years of pushing Trump’s baseless election fraud claims. That was apparently enough. Now CNN is reporting that Phillips has been telling podcasts that God has been physically teleporting him against his will. He says he was about to head to a Waffle House, and ended up at a different Waffle House in Rome, Georgia, 50 miles away. His friends called him and he said “I’m at a Waffle House.” They said “That’s not possible.” He said “But it was possible. It was real.” He added, with great solemnity, “Teleporting is no fun.” His car has also reportedly been lifted up and dropped in a ditch outside a church in Albany, Georgia. When CNN called him out, Phillips deleted his post and responded “Haters gonna hate.” Senator Mazie Hirono summed it up perfectly: “With over 340 million people in this country, you’d think we could find people grounded in reality to run our government programs.” You’d think. The man can’t explain how he ends up at Waffle House. But he’s in charge of billions of dollars for flood and hurricane victims. Sleep tight, America.
And that’s the way it is, Tonight Wednesday, April 1, 2026. I’m Thom Hartmann.
