Letters from an American

April 17, 2026
Strait of Hormuz opens after 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon takes effect, Trump hits media circle announcing that the war with Iran is over, Trump claims Iran has agreed to all the US terms, but Iran’s top negotiator rejects these claims, Article in the Atlantic claims FBI's Kash Patel is barely functioning, House Democrats create task force to focus on corruption in the administration, Several organizations have filed briefs challenging Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, Members of the House and the Senate introduce act to ban presidents and vice presidents from stealing taxpayer money.
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April 16, 2026
Congress is back in session, Republicans are reckoning with Victor Orbán’s fall, With Trump’s erratic behavior, rising oil prices, and the Iran War, Republicans are rushing to grab turf before the midterms, Administration is targeting Minnesota by overturning the ban on mining upstream from the Boundary Waters, Trump is threatening to fire Jerome Powell again, Tulsi Gabbard has sent criminal referrals for Trump’s enemies to the DOJ, MAGA loyalists are realizing that there may be repercussions for their actions, Republicans are turning back to Islamophobia to reclaim support from their base, Past supporters are considering abandoning their investments in Trump interests, Trump posts frantically about the White House ballroom. 
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April 15, 2026
Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln spent the evening of April 14 at Ford’s Theater in Washington, That night, John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box and fatally shot Lincoln, As Americans mourned Lincoln’s death, Andrew Johnson restored the political power of the Confederates, Congress fought back, and after discrimination based on race became punishable, the Confederate rhetoric turned to economics, Right wing movements, claiming they fought for individual liberty expanded, eventually joined the planning and execution of the January 6 attack on the Capitol in 2021, Trump pardoned the participants, On April 15, President Abraham Lincoln died, breaking the hearts of those who supported his actions to preserve American democracy. 
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April 14, 2026
Viktor Orbán’s loss of control of the Hungarian government has changed the political game in the US, Trump’s emotional state “seems to be fraying,”  Trump’s post, depicting him as Jesus, has generated an outcry from his followers, Rep Jamie Raskin introduces a bill to create a commission to evaluate the president’s mental state, The 25th Amendment establishes a process for evaluating a president’s fitness for office, The disastrous situation in Iran continues as Republicans refuse to take a strong stand against the war, Pam Bondi does not show up to testify under oath before Congress about her handling of the Epstein files. 
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April 13, 2026
Péter Magyar won the Hungarian election in a blowout, He revealed that Viktor Orbán was using government money to finance CPAC in the US, The modern day Republican Party has followed a historical pattern, endorsing the idea that society works best if a few wealthy men run everything, When Trump was elected, wealth had concentrated among the top 1% and skewing the vote was underway to advance this ideology, Orbán’s model was irresistable to right wing leaders, Trump and Vance have followed Orbán’s model, The dramatic rejection of Orbán by Hungarian voters represents a rejection of the radical right, FDR, calling for a “new deal” offered a blueprint for rebuilding democracy.
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