SEASON 4 EPISODE 78: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (2:30) BREAKING: Trump attacks and threatens Pope Leo in insane online rant, criticizing him for being opposed to Nuclear Weapons. Then in an in-person interview upon his return to Joint Base Andrews tonight insists Pope Leo was wrong to SUPPORT Nuclear Weapons. Trump then posts an image of himself dressed in Jesus-like attire apparently healing a hospital patient. No comment yet from the world's 1,200,000,000 Catholics. (8:30) SPECIAL COMMENT: I know, I know, lots of stuff just happened: Orban topples in Hungary, Vance beclowns himself there and in talks with Iran, Trump basically ends the ceasefire and threatens war against EVERY country in the world if they send a ship through the strait of Hormuz, the Houthis are trying to blockade the OTHER shipping bottle-neck there, Trump caught staring at cleavage at the cage fighting in Miami, Swalwell self-defenestrating.

But I'll stick to this: The Melania Trump speech about Epstein was the single most important public statement by anybody connected to Trump in the last decade. She, personally, out of nowhere, moved the Epstein story back to center stage. A month of world-shaking cataclysm by her husband to bury the Epstein story and HIS COVER-UP OF IT and in 535 words she undid all that.

And the thing that will keep this story alive for months: NONE of her words were in defense of her husband. She never said WE are innocent. She said I am innocent. She said it TWENTY FOUR TIMES. Her speech could’ve been only FIVE words long. Five words that may end the Trump presidency:

I’M not taking the fall.

PLUS: No, Swalwell isn't the victim and the allegations aren't anonymous and this isn't a Roger Stone set-up. He just knew there was a story, the way in 2017 I knew there was a story that would end up getting Matt Lauer fired from NBC and I knew it six days before Lauer knew it. That "B" follows "A" does not mean "A" caused "B."

B-Block (42:00) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Chuck Todd blames Trump's pardons on Biden because Chuck Todd Disease. The Financial Times with one of the great corrections of our time. The banner if not the roof falls in on Gov. Shapiro. And what exactly are Kalshi, pro golf, and golfer Bryson deChambeau trying to sell in a commercial that ends with deChambeau evidently moving to a crashed UFO to beat an injured extraterrestrial to death with some golf clubs?

C-Block (56:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: My greatest sports record fell last night. It was 21 years and two months between episodes of ESPN's SportsCenter that I anchored. My old friend Rich Eisen has now made it 23 years. A good time to describe the Rip Van Winkle effect, and the bizarre stories about my goin' back to Bristol, Bristol, Bristol, in 2005, 2013, and 2018.