On this week’s Substack convo, Charlie Sykes and Matt break down the latest escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict, plus:

— Why it feels like déjà vu and a “kabuki dance,” with the Strait of Hormuz closed, Trump boxed in by markets, and sinking poll numbers

— Cabinet drama: Kash Patel’s alleged drinking issues and freak-out, and Pete Hegseth’s Pulp Fiction “Bible verse” recitation.

— Washington elites still don’t know “what time it is”: Media nostalgia at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and the death of the old norma

l— Conspiracy karma: MAGA turning on itself with staged assassination attempt theories, crisis actor claims. — The rise of AI-generated fake Trump supporters

— How parasocial relationships and lonely audiences fuel grifty streamers (see Nick Fuentes)

— Virginia redistricting referendum, and why unilateral disarmament on gerrymandering is naive in the Trump era— And MUCH more!

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– Who is Matt Lewis? –Matt K. Lewis is a political commentator and the author of Filthy Rich Politicians.

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U.S.–Iran Tensions Explode, MAGA Meltdown, and the Death of ‘Normal’ Politics