You know it's a strange week when the governments of Israel and Lebanon seem to be getting

along better than the 47th American President and the first American Pope.

But here we are.

The Strait of Hormuz is more or less open for the moment, but the American blockade

on Iranian shipping continues, and since the only short thing in the Middle East is sudden

and dramatic change, no one knows what next week will bring. I can safely predict, however, that in the coming

days, President Trump will post something inflammatory on social media. Next.

This is Washington Week with the Atlantic.

Good evening and welcome to Washington Week.

In the year 1076, Pope Gregory the 7th excommunicated King Henry IV, the Holy Roman Emperor,

who would challenge the authority of the church to appoint bishops.

Excommunication for Henry meant that his subjects would no longer be required to pledge their loyalty to him. This put the emperor in a bit of a pickle, and he wound up standing in the

snow barefoot for three days at Canossa begging the Pope to forgive him. I tell this story as a

reminder that challenging the authority of popes has, on occasion, not worked out so well for temporal

political leaders. This doesn't mean that we're going to see Donald Trump barefoot in the

Vatican anytime soon, but I am suggesting that fighting popes comes with special political

risks. Donald Trump has achieved what he's achieved to date by being more rhetorically reckless,

blunter, and more insulting

than any president in history. But are there limits? I'll discuss this question and other questions

with my panel tonight. Leanne Caldwell is the chief Washington correspondent for Puck. Stephen Hayes

is the editor of The Dispatch. Jonathan Lemire is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a co-host of Morning Joe on MS Now.

And Michael Shearer is a staff writer and a White House correspondent at the Atlantic.

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