Your morning update from Salon.

Crash Course subscribers can join the conversation. Click the speech bubble icon to leave a comment. Tap the heart if you liked today’s edition.

If you believe the official line, Pope Leo XIV is the direct successor to the apostle Peter, Jesus Christ’s chosen representative of his church on Earth. He’s the chief living representative of the new covenant between God and man that allows all to seek forgiveness for their sins. Even if you don’t believe any of that, Leo is the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the largest organization on Earth spreading that message of absolution through belief.

On the evening of the Christian Sabbath , Donald Trump accused the supreme pontiff of not taking a hard-enough stance on thieves (penitent or otherwise). The president used a standard-issue Republican political attack — namely that liberals are too soft on crime — against the head of the Catholic Church. In that satire-defying way unique to Trump, he touted his political record and the performance of the stock market to rebuke the metaphorical holder of the keys to heaven.

“I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History,” Trump wrote. “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican. Unfortunately, Leo’s Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me.”

The pope has led thousands in a prayer that explicitly asks God to wipe our record clean of all trespasses. His immediate predecessor, Pope Francis, made a point of washing the feet of prison inmates to emphasize his status as a servant of the church for all people. So if anybody was going to be “weak on crime,” it was definitely going to be Pope Leo. That Trump even feels comfortable leveling such an attack against the pope speaks to the embarrassing orthodoxy in American politics, where forgiveness is inherently seen as weak.

As part of its semi-permanent campaign to peel off the few remaining centrist Republicans, the Democratic Party has positioned itself as just as pro-punishment as the GOP. Democrats generally went along with the “tough on crime” rhetoric of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, painting criminal offenders as permanently irredeemable people who need to be locked away for as long as possible. There was no room in American politics for a belief like the church’s, that all people can seek and find forgiveness.

Furthermore, Democrats have done precious little to moderate from that position in the intervening years, even as actual crime rates have trended downward for over three decades. Heading into the 2026 midterms, they’ve once again made a hard-line stance on crime part of their platform. With neither major party offering an alternative to continued mass incarceration, offering any form of redemption to those convicted of crimes seems downright heretical.

This email isn’t being written during a lightning storm, and I’m no schismatic. While the sentiment that we need a third major party is legitimate, it’s highly doubtful that any of them will have the clout anytime soon to nail their grievances on the DNC’s doors. But it’s disgraceful that the supposed big tent offered by the Democrats doesn’t offer any room for those who’ve run afoul of man’s law.

What do you think? Should Pope Leo XIV be to the left of Markwayne Mullin on the issue of crime? Are there any Democrats willing to stand for the dignity of the convicted? Sound off in the comments.

First lady's surprise announcement adds mystery to scandal White House has struggled to contain. Read more.

Support the progressive journalism you trust. Become a Salon member today!

Fox News is misleading MAGA grandmas again. Read more.

Don't wait. Sign up for The Hustle to unlock our side hustle database. Unlike generic "start a blog" advice, we've curated 100 actual business ideas with real earning potential, startup costs, and time requirements. Join 1.5M professionals getting smarter about business daily and launch your next money-making venture.

Get the guide