Electric Blues

The EV Reversal, Alrights Reserved

During a visit to Ford yesterday, President Trump responded to an employee who heckled him about the Epstein files by flipping the bird and mouthing the words, “F-ck you.” The sentiment from American car manufacturers—not to mention Mother Nature—is likely mutual. After all, Trump has helped to throw the US electric vehicle industry into reverse, and that move has left a trail of red ink in its wake. From Bill Saporito in the NYT (Gift Article): $25 Billion. That’s What Trump Cost Detroit. “It is a critical part of every chief executive’s job to anticipate the future. Failing to recognize and adapt to change can be the difference between thriving or disappearing. That’s why corporate leaders are continually bracing their companies against a host of possibilities: another pandemic, global conflict, rising interest rates, climate change and competitors that arise from nowhere. But it is pretty difficult to futureproof your company against stupid. This is exactly what the American automobile industry is facing as a result of Donald Trump’s gratuitous war against electric vehicles.” (Rage anxiety is the new range anxiety.) Environmental matters aside, this reversal of policy, and fortune, is worth a few expletives because it puts America behind in a key growth market that’s thriving abroad and further delays the buildout of the infrastructure required to put an end to the perennial question, “Where do I plug this thing in?”

+ Industry matters aside, I’ve found EVs to be more convenient, faster, quieter, and generally better to drive. I wonder if anyone has an extension cord long enough to reach Europe or China. North America was the only market where EV sales were down last year. Even in the US, the current slowdown could be a temporary speedbump. GM CEO Mary Barra: “Once someone buys an EV, they’re 80% more likely to buy another EV ... Our destination is to get to the all-EV future we’ve been talking about.” In the meantime, that future is being turned into a demolition derby.

2

Greenland Lubber

“What happens in Greenland doesn’t stay in Greenland. Turns out, the fate of the world’s largest island has outsize importance for billions of people on the planet. That’s because of the one thing that Greenland is quickly losing: ice ... As the Arctic warms, potential new trading routes open up, as well as access to mineral riches, including those that are vital for clean energy technologies useful for slowing climate change. In short, climate change makes the Arctic more accessible and more of a strategic target for world powers, a fact not lost on President Trump.” NYT(Gift Article): Why Greenland Matters for a Warming World.

+ Of course, for Denmark and Greenland, the climate threat is being exacerbated by climate change’s chief accomplice. And he’s being taken literally and seriously. Denmark’s Army Chief Says He’s Ready to Defend Greenland. Meanwhile, “Sweden’s prime minister said today that his country would also be sending soldiers to Greenland.”

+ Nothing attracts Trump like the combination of climate change-induced disasters and the prospect of antagonizing an ally. So he’s insisting that America must own Greenland. Predictably, that set up for a tense meeting among regional representatives visiting DC today. Here’s the latest from The Guardian: ‘Our perspectives continue to differ,’ say Danish and Greenlandic ministers after US meeting. (It’s endlessly sad to see America’s leaders treating our longtime allies almost as badly as it treats our own citizens.)

3

Investigating Reporters

“It is exceedingly rare, even in investigations of classified disclosures, for federal agents to search a reporter’s home. A 1980 law called the Privacy Protection Act generally bars search warrants for reporters’ work materials, unless the reporters themselves are suspected of committing a crime related to the materials.” NYT (Gift Article): F.B.I. Searches Home of Washington Post Journalist in a Leak Investigation. (If they find classified docs in her bathroom, she gets to be president.)

+ WaPo (Gift Article): FBI executes search warrant at Washington Post reporter’s home. “Investigators told Natanson that she is not the focus of the probe. The warrant said that law enforcement was investigating Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system administrator in Maryland who has a top-secret security clearance and has been accused of accessing and taking home classified intelligence reports that were found in his lunchbox and his basement ... In December, [Hannah] Natanson wrote a first-person account about her experience covering the workforce as President Donald Trump’s administration created upheaval across the federal government. She detailed how she posted her secure phone number to an online forum for government workers and amassed more than 1,000 sources, with federal workers frequently reaching out to her to share frustrations and accounts from their offices.”

+ I thought the administration was proud of the damage it’s done to offices across the federal government. Why wouldn’t they want the story out there? “Donald Trump’s destruction of the civil service is a tragedy not just for the roughly 300,000 workers who have been discarded, but for an entire nation.” Franklin Foer in The Atlantic (Gift Article): The Purged.

4

Alright, Alright, Alrights Reserved

“Over the past several months, the ‘Interstellar’ and ‘Magic Mike’ star has had eight trademark applications approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office featuring him staring, smiling and talking. His attorneys said the trademarks are meant to stop AI apps or users from simulating McConaughey’s voice or likeness without permission—an increasingly common concern of performers.” WSJ (Gift Article): Matthew McConaughey Trademarks Himself to Fight AI Misuse. (Hey, if I looked like Matthew McConaughey, I’d trademark myself, too...)

5

Extra, Extra

Send Out the Troops: “U.S. intelligence has assessed that if the United States were to conduct a military strike against Iran, Tehran would retaliate by again attacking military bases in the region.” U.S. Moves Some Personnel From Key Air Base as Tensions Mount With Iran. (The same move was undertaken before the bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites.) Here’s the latest on the protests and the retaliation from CNN.

+ Export in a Storm: “The enormous trade surplus for the full year came despite efforts by President Trump to use tariffs to contain China’s factories. The tariffs reduced China’s trade surplus with the United States by 22 percent last year. But Chinese factories increased sales to other regions, in many cases bypassing American tariffs by shipping goods to the United States through Southeast Asia and elsewhere.” NYT (Gift Article): China Announces Record Trade Surplus as Its Exports Flood World Markets.

+ Visa Versa: “The State Department said Wednesday it will suspend the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia and Somalia, whose nationals the Trump administration has deemed likely to require public assistance while living in the United States.”

+ Grant Rant: We’ve made some good progress in the fight against drug overdoses in recent years, and we know from the boat bombings that the administration cares deeply about the drug issue. Oh, wait. Trump administration sends letter wiping out addiction, mental health grants.

+ Elon Story Short: “This is a moment when those with power can and should demand accountability. The stakes could not be any higher. If there is no red line around AI-generated sex abuse, then no line exists.” Charlie Warzel and Matteo Wong in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Elon Musk Cannot Get Away With This. For now, as I’ve argued, he’s not only getting away with it. Between massive funding rounds and new government contracts, he’s thriving with it.

+ Can You Jeer Me Now? “The first big outage of 2026 is here, as Verizon customers across the US ... complain that service has been spotty or nonexistent starting at around noon ET.” (I wondered why I hadn’t received any political fundraising text spam for five straight minutes...)

6

Bottom of the News

“A trending mobile app is making it hard to ignore just how lonely and bleak modern life can feel for some”... The app enables users to “add an emergency contact to the app and then check in daily by tapping a bright green round button with a cartoon ghost at the center. If a user fails to check in for two consecutive days, the app sends an email to their emergency contact on the third day.” An App Called ‘Are You Dead?’ Is Climbing the Apple Charts. (I wish I’d known about this app sooner. It’s a lot easier way to provide proof of life than sending out a couple thousand words every day...)