Before the countdown, breaking news: White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, with Trump announcing it on Truth Social just before noon. She plans to work from the White House full-time during treatment, raising immediate questions about who is steering the ship during a war with no exit strategy and a president who spent the weekend threatening reporters with treason.

5. TSA Agents Walk Out as DHS Shutdown Hits One Month

One month into the DHS funding lapse and America’s airports are falling apart. TSA agents missed their first full paycheck and hundreds have quit outright, with callout rates tripling from 2% to 6% and hours-long security lines crippling major airports in Houston, Atlanta, New Orleans and Austin. Airports in Denver, Seattle and Las Vegas are now begging the public to donate grocery gift cards and food to federal employees who are working without pay. “This is a father of three that lives at home with his mom, has a full-time job and they’re not paying him to do that job,” as one agent’s situation was described. “What they’re doing instead is saying, be a real patriot and show up and work for free.” The timing could not be worse — this is March break, the war with Iran has elevated security concerns, and the government cannot even pay the people keeping the skies safe.

4. Afghan Veteran Dies in ICE Custody Within 24 Hours

Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal fought alongside U.S. special forces in Afghanistan for ten years, earning distinguished awards for translating and protecting American troops. He was legally evacuated after the fall of Kabul, had a pending asylum case, a completed USCIS interview, and six children — one an American citizen. On Friday morning, ICE agents in unmarked vehicles arrested him in his Dallas driveway in front of his kids. By Saturday he was dead — the 24th person to die in ICE custody this fiscal year, putting the administration on pace to nearly double last year’s record. “If you think you are safe in the United States of America because you did work for the United States of America, no one’s safe in the United States of America,” Blundell said. “It doesn’t matter what you did for America.”

3. Trump Is Losing the Youth Who Elected Him

A Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll shows 70 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds disapprove of Trump, with only 51 percent of his young voters certain to vote in the midterms versus 77 percent of Harris voters. Joe Rogan, who endorsed Trump in 2024, called the Iran war “so insane” and said Trump had “betrayed” his supporters. But the disaffected youth aren’t moving toward Democrats — they’re radicalizing further right into Nick Fuentes territory, with 31 percent of Republicans under 50 now self-identifying as racist and a majority of GOP men under 50 denying or doubting the Holocaust. “This griper movement is going to be much more violent than anything in the MAGA movement,” Blundell warned, pointing to Tucker Carlson’s embrace of Fuentes and the question of who inherits the party after Trump.

2. Six Airmen Named as Every Ally Refuses to Help

The Pentagon released the names of the six American airmen killed when their KC-135 refueling tanker crashed over western Iraq, bringing total U.S. deaths to 13 in a war Congress never authorized. Trump is now publicly demanding that NATO allies send warships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz — and every single one is saying no. Germany’s defense minister asked what two frigates would accomplish when the most powerful navy on the planet has already “won the war.” Trump, in a Financial Times interview, warned NATO countries that their refusal would mean “a very bad future.” On Air Force One he accidentally told the truth: “I really am demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory because it is their territory. It’s the place from which they get their energy.” As Shalev noted, threatening to delay the March 31 summit with Xi Jinping may be the one smart move left — 60 percent of Hormuz oil flows to Asia.

1. Trump Threatens Reporters With Treason

The President of the United States said Sunday that reporters covering his war should be charged with treason — which carries a minimum of five years in federal prison and a maximum of life. In a 400-word Truth Social rant, Trump accused the media of spreading Iranian propaganda and said outlets publishing critical coverage “should be brought up on Charges for TREASON.” On Air Force One he doubled down, calling ABC “maybe the most corrupt news organization on the planet,” refusing questions from a female reporter he called “a very obnoxious person,” and declaring “I actually think it’s pretty criminal.” FCC Chair Brendan Carr immediately followed up by threatening to revoke broadcast licenses. “It doesn’t get more Putin-esque or North Korea-esque than that,” Blundell said. As Shalev pointed out, the real treason is being committed by a president providing aid and comfort to America’s enemies through a war that has enriched Russia, empowered China, and destroyed the American economy.

THE PATTERN

Day 421: Donald Trump started a war, lost control of it, can’t get a single ally to help clean up his mess, and is now threatening to imprison the reporters who tell the truth about it. As Blundell’s father Jimmy used to say: you catch more flies with honey than you do with s**t. And never beat the horses you’re trying to win the race with.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

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