Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: ‘Better TACO Tuesday than World War III’

‘Better TACO Tuesday than World War III’

Apr 08, 2026

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With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco, Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray

On today's Playbook Podcast: Jack and Dasha discuss President Donald Trump's last-minute climbdown on Iran, NATO chief Mark Rutte’s trip to Washington and last night's fascinating election result in Georgia.

Good Wednesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, still slowly exhaling. It’s Day One of the ceasefire in Iran. Get in touch.

In today’s Playbook …

— The war in Iran is on hold for now. So who wins the peace?

— It’s one battle after another as NATO chief Mark Rutte arrives in Washington.

— And why Dems are feeling revved up about last night’s election results.

DRIVING THE DAY

WHAT DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES: “A big day for World Peace!” Trump trumpeted on Truth Social at 12:01 a.m., a mere 16 hours after threatening to erase an entire civilization off the face of the planet. Iran has “had enough” of war, Trump said, and “so has everyone else.” Plenty of people will be nodding along with that.

So let the good times roll: “There will be lots of positive action!” Trump predicted. “Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process … This could be the Golden Age of the Middle East!!!” You don’t need to read too far past the hyperbole to get the crucial point: “Two-week” ceasefire or no, Trump is already moving on.

And let’s be clear: Given the unpopularity of this war in America, the devastating impact on oil prices, the rapidly worsening global economic outlook and Trump’s looming May 14 summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, it’s hard to imagine Trump reviving his bombing campaign. Oil prices have already plummeted below $100 a barrel following the ceasefire announcement. Stock markets are surging. He’s not going to want to go back.

So brace yourselves for the White House comms blitz. Your zone is about to be flooded with Trump world messages that America won the war, even before this two-week negotiation gets underway. This is “total and complete victory,” Trump told the AFP last night. “100 percent. No question about it.” It’s the first of what will surely be many “exclusive” calls with journalists today.

And watch the surrogates follow: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine will hold a news conference at 8 a.m. to explain how America’s military goals have been achieved. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will deliver the same message at a press briefing at 1 p.m. “This is a victory for the United States,” Leavitt said unequivocally on X. We’re unlikely to see any “Mission Accomplished” banners, but the message from the White House is clear.

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But here’s the problem: This “total victory” narrative looks tough to sell. Clearly these past few weeks have been painful for Tehran, and Hegseth and Caine will rattle off an astonishing number of military targets that U.S. and Israeli missiles flattened. But is the regime actually worse off?

The charge sheet: Iran’s leadership structures remain intact. Its hard-liners now have total control. Sanctions have been lifted, for now. Missiles can be rebuilt. The enriched uranium remains in Iran. And the discovery that even the full force of the American military cannot prevent Iran from turning one of the world’s most important shipping lanes into a de facto parking lot — with a hefty pay-to-leave barrier — will not be quickly forgotten.

Strait talking: Crucially, the ceasefire statement from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi last night — reposted in full by Trump on Truth Social — states that even during this two-week period, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will only be permitted “via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces.” In other words, the U.S. has already accepted that Iran can impose limits on shipping in the Strait — limits that did not exist before the war began.

And there’s more: Iran is already charging punitive tolls for passage through the strait, and AP reports this will continue during the ceasefire. Trump’s description of Iran’s 10-point list of demands as “a workable basis on which to negotiate” suggests further concessions are entirely possible. Iran’s national security council is already taking a victory lap, though Trump railed angrily at CNN last night for reporting it.

Much remains unclear. Pakistan — the central mediator — said the ceasefire includes Israeli attacks on Lebanon, but Israel said overnight it does not. There are reports Iran continued firing missiles at neighboring countries after the ceasefire was agreed. And there’s no clarity at all on what happens to Iran’s enriched uranium, though Trump told AFP it will be “perfectly taken care of.”

These are all issues to be hammered out — or not — in the days and weeks ahead. (Pakistan has proposed in-person talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad this Friday, though neither side has yet confirmed.) In the meantime, Democrats will be hammering home their message that this was an expensive, pointless war — and ultimately a strategic defeat.

On the conservative side, it’s the pro-war voices who sound upset today. “We must remember that the Strait of Hormuz was attacked by Iran,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said. “It is imperative Iran is not rewarded for this hostile act.” Graham demanded a congressional vote on the peace plan and said “every ounce” of enriched uranium must be “removed from Iran.” Fox News host Mark Levin also sounds disappointed. This “total and complete victory” is not the outcome they desired.

How we got here: Despite his two-day electioneering jaunt to Hungary, VP JD Vance played a key role in getting this agreement over the line, a person close to the White House tells Dasha. “He's been making and fielding tons of calls,” the person said, describing Vance as “the president’s closer” on multiple occasions. CNN reports Vance is planning to attend peace negotiations, and could even add a stop in Pakistan to his current itinerary.

Needless to say: This is more helpful positioning for Vance with an eye toward 2028 — and follows yesterday’s must-read NYT extract of the forthcoming Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan tome, which cast the VP as the only real anti-war voice in the room. He’s due to speak at another event in Hungary today.

In the meantime: The rest of the world is letting out a cautious sight of relief — for now, POLITICO’s Daniella Cheslow and Gigi Ewing report. “Better TACO Tuesday than World War III,” one European official said.

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ON TO THE NEXT

STUCK IN A RUTTE: Flying into this whirlwind today is NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who’s hoping to use his status as Europe’s premier Trump whisperer to save the fracturing alliance. Trump savaged NATO as a “paper tiger” after allies’ refusal to join his war. Rutte will spend the morning with Secretary of State Marco Rubio before meeting Trump at 3:30 p.m. at the White House. There are no plans for media access, emphasising this won’t be the usual mutual love-in.

Mission impossible: POLITICO’s Eli Stokols and Victor Jack spoke to 10 current and former NATO officials in advance of this mission, and few give Rutte much chance of success. The mood in Europe is increasingly hostile. “You cannot subject European partners to months of tariff harassment and badmouth the support provided by NATO countries in Afghanistan alongside the U.S., and then expect the Europeans to jump to action whenever Trump wants,” said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a German centrist lawmaker who heads the European Parliament’s defense committee.

Helpfully for Rutte, NATO allies have been working on a plan to get the Strait of Hormuz reopened once the war ends, though details of how it might work are scarce. British PM Keir Starmer has been coordinating, and flew to the Middle East today to hold further discussions with Gulf states.

But it seems unlikely Trump is in the mood to forgive and forget. Both he and Rubio said NATO would be reassessed once the war in Iran is over.

Quiet quitting: As Eli and Victor note, Trump “cannot formally withdraw from NATO without a two-thirds vote by the Senate or an act of Congress,” which ain’t gonna happen. But a senior administration official tells them Trump “has other ways to reduce our commitment.” Although the official wouldn’t specify further, Trump “could conceivably cut U.S. funding for NATO operations, draw down its force posture in Europe or halt the sharing of intelligence with Ukraine.”

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TRAIL MIX

TIME FOR SOME DOMESTIC NEWS: Democrats’ overperformance in two elections last night in Georgia and Wisconsin has Republicans nervous ahead of the midterms.

In Georgia: Republican Clay Fuller sailed past Democrat Shawn Harris in the special election to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia’s reddest district, POLITICO’s Andrew Howard reports. But Fuller’s margin of victory is on track to be less than half of Trump’s 37-point win in 2024 — leaving Democrats bullish in the Peach State as they charge toward a key Senate in November.

In Wisconsin: Liberal judge Chris Taylor sailed to victory in Wisconsin, expanding the state Supreme Court’s liberal majority and locking it in until at least 2030, POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy reports. Although Taylor was favored to win, she beat opponent Maria Lazar by more than 20 points — about double the margin of victory with which liberal Susan Crawford beat her opponent last year, when Elon Musk spent millions of dollars to defeat her.

And here’s one more: Further down the ballot, Democrats in Wisconsin were also celebrating winning the mayoralty in Waukesha. The NYT’s Mitch Smith reports, “the city of Waukesha is the seat of Waukesha County, which has long been a center of conservative activism and has helped fuel statewide wins for Republicans in closely divided Wisconsin.”

MEANWHILE IN CALIFORNIA: Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-Calif.) gubernatorial campaign denied he had ever behaved inappropriately with female staffers, calling allegations against him a “false, outrageous rumor” spread by “flailing opponents who have sadly teamed up with MAGA conspiracy,” POLITICO’s Melanie Mason reports. Those claims of wrongdoing have ballooned on social media, fueled by several left-leaning online influencers.

SCOOP — AI industry backs five Dems: Leading the Future, the umbrella group coordinating the AI industry’s $125-million super PAC network, is throwing its weight behind five House Democrats as it works to shape legislative fights around AI, POLITICO’s Brendan Bordelon scoops. The group is backing Reps. Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Sam Liccardo (Calif.), Yvette Clarke (N.Y.), Suhas Subramanyam (Va.) and Jimmy Gomez (Calif.). It’s the latest sign that Leading the Future plans to spend its considerable war chest on both sides of the aisle, even as voters increasingly view tech companies as aligned with Republicans.

THE SAGA CONTINUES: “Michigan Senate candidate El-Sayed declines to disavow Hasan Piker’s past comments,” by POLITICO’s Adam Wren and Aaron Pellish: “In an interview with POLITICO while standing next to [Hasan] Piker, [Abdul] El-Sayed said he believes it’s ‘critical’ that Democrats embrace Piker, who has drawn criticism from Democrats and Republicans over his comments about Israel and U.S. foreign policy — including from El-Sayed’s two most formidable opponents, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.”

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BEST OF THE REST

MAMDANI EXCLUSIVE: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani tells POLITICO’s Jason Beeferman that his plan for free buses in New York City won’t be happening this year.

INVESTIGATION NATION: The Justice Department’s civil rights division is investigating Cassidy Hutchinson, who became a household name from her testimony in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, NYT’s Alan Feuer and Michael Schmidt report: “The move was a highly unusual one by Justice Department leadership, directing a criminal case that appears to involve accusations of lying to Congress to a specialized unit that normally focuses on systemic civil rights abuses like police misconduct and racial discrimination.”

CARTE BLANCHE: Trump is not in a rush to replace former AG Pam Bondi permanently and seems perfectly content with letting acting AG Todd Blanche, his former personal attorney, lead the department, Bloomberg’s Courtney Subramanian and Jeff Mason report.

DEMOCRACY WATCH: The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index finds democracy’s global downward march was arrested last year. But the U.S. was the “glaring exception,” the report’s authors wrote, as the country tumbled from 28th to 34th in the world: Among the Trump administration actions it cites for the decline are the crackdown on immigrants, the weaponization of law enforcement, the Jan. 6 pardons and lawsuits against the press. Dive into the full index here

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TALK OF THE TOWN

THE KIDS ARE NOT ALRIGHT — “Why D.C.’s ‘teen takeovers’ have become a political lightning rod,” by WaPo’s Jenny Gathright, Meagan Flynn and Juan Benn Jr.: “The weekend’s events once again have exposed fault lines among D.C.’s politicians, who can’t agree on how best to approach to the sometimes-unruly events, along with the frequent disconnect between adults and teens. It’s a policy question that has even higher stakes in the nation’s capital, where President Donald Trump has fixated on issues of public safety and order and is willing to flex his authority over the city in unprecedented ways.”

OUT AND ABOUT — D.C.’s cherry blossom crowd headed to Japanese Ambassador Shigeo Yamada’s grand Nebraska Avenue residence last night for an evening of saké, sushi and spring sunshine. Raising a toast to the audience, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau told those present — including “cherry blossom princesses” from every state in America — that the U.S.-Japan relationship is “probably the single most important bilateral relationship that we have.” (Nevermind Trump popping off at Japan earlier this week over the Iran war.)

— DSPolitical, the Louisiana Democratic Party and the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus hosted a welcome reception last night for the spring DNC meeting in New Orleans. SPOTTED: New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, DNC Chair Ken Martin, Mark Jablonowski, Ryan Fanning, Jane Kleeb, Nikki Fried, Charlie Bailey and Lizzie Serber.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Vaughn Hillyard, senior White House reporter at MS NOW, and Devan Cayea, managing director for the chair and CEO of Accenture, welcomed Hudson Hillyard-Cayea on Saturday. Pic

TRANSITIONS — Danielle Finley Yosif is now chief of staff in the office of the general counsel at the Department of Education. She previously worked for the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors. … Lauren V. Anderson is now public policy and government affairs manager at Palo Alto Networks. She previously worked for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) … Chuck Todd … POLITICO’s Christian Guirreri, Grant Verploeg, Emily Lussier and Corbin Hiar … Mary Beth Cahill … former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay … Dave Shaw … Semafor’s Nicholas Wu … Seymour Hersh … Robin Sproul of Javelin … Mike Leiter of Skadden Arps … WaPo’s Zach Goldfarb … John Williams of Amundsen Davis … Annie Palisi … Mike Cohen of Congress in Your Pocket … Ro’s Meghan Pianta … Jim Garamone … Jessica Nigro of Lucid Motors … Joel Rubin … David Crane ... Melissa Wagoner Olesen … Aaron Klein ... Dan Gainor … Emily Hamilton … Brencia Berry … Susan Brophy … Gray TV’s Priscilla Huff … Ellen Fern … CJ Warnke of House Majority PAC … Raymond Siller … Bryant Gardner of Winston and Strawn … Allen Jamerson … Holly Bekesha of Clarion Strategies

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