Tucker Carlson has gone public with a private Oval Office exchange in which Trump brushed off the human cost of war with Iran, a claim that lands badly for anyone worried about how the conflict is being run.

• Carlson says he warned Trump days before the war started that Israel was pushing it to weaken Iran and the Gulf states and to force US bases out of the region.
• Trump reportedly agreed with that read, then answered "in the end, we all die anyway."
• Carlson is now openly calling for Trump's removal under the 25th Amendment over his threats to use nuclear weapons on Iran.
• Congress is doing nothing, with Republicans unwilling and most Democrats supportive of the war.
• The war is hitting the economy at a bad moment: with federal debt above $40 trillion, bond yields are high because investors doubt the US is good for it.

Outlook: No institutional check is in sight, so the war and the nuclear threats look set to continue while borrowing costs stay high.