Longly is the New Bigly

Trump's Speeeeeeeeech

Instead of Trump's address to Congress, I watched the Warriors-Knicks game; partly for my sanity and partly because I'm pretty sure the game was shorter. The highly-partisan, rally-esque diatribe ran a cool 99 minutes. I know government is in cost cutting mode, but I move that we hire a Congressional band. Sometimes, even presidents need to be played off the stage. (Maybe he just wanted a speech so long that even Nancy Pelosi couldn't rip it in half.) In fairness, Trump had to squeeze in lot of falsehoods and offend a lot of allies. Glenn Kessler in WaPo (Gift Article) with a fact-check that also doubles as a pretty good overview of the entire speech: Fact-checking 26 suspect claims in Trump’s address to Congress. 26 suspect claims in 99 minutes. If my math is right, his pace is slowing. The most notable aspect of the speech was the attack on social security. These attacks are usually followed by action. It's something to keep an eye on. (In the meantime, the Warriors won.)

+ There's no doubt that the speech appealed to the most enthusiastic Trump supporters and Maganablers. But even for them, it probably seemed a bit long. "Much of what Trump said was inflammatory, radical, and dangerous. But it was also familiar, his by-now-standard mix of braggadocio and self-pity, partisan bile and patently absurd lies. It turns out that even the most unhinged of Presidential speeches can seem kind of boring if it goes on long enough." Susan Glasser in The New Yorker: Trump’s Golden Age of Bunk. (They're keeping egg prices high so they'll be too expensive to throw during speeches.)

+ "Armed with a portfolio of fabricated statistics, Trump judged that 'the first month of our presidency is the most successful in the history of our nation — and what makes it even more impressive is that you know who No. 2 is? George Washington.' Republican lawmakers laughed, whooped and cheered. Usually, such talk from Trump is just bravado. But let us give credit where it is due." Dana Millbank in WaPo (Gift Article): In just five days, Trump has set the country back nearly 100 years. This line captures the moment perfectly. "The blizzard of executive orders that Trump has issued, though constitutionally alarming, can be rescinded by a future president. Elon Musk’s wanton sabotage of federal agencies and the federal workforce, though hugely damaging, can be repaired over time. But there is no easy fix for Trump’s smashing of the security and trade arrangements that have kept us safe and free for generations."

+ David Frum gets at exactly what I've been worried about when it comes to Trump's policy moves, which are wildly unpopular and will hurt his base as much as anyone. The only way this makes sense is if Trump doesn't care about the politics and the only way he doesn't care about the politics is if he doesn't plan on free and fair elections in 2026. Trump, By Any Means Necessary. "He talks of the Democrats as remorseless enemies. At the same time, he is making political choices that would normally seem certain to deliver those enemies a big majority in the House after the midterms. Is he delusional? Crazy reckless? Or is this a signal that the man who tried to overturn the election of 2020 has some scheme in mind for the 2026 midterms?"

+ We knew Greenland and Panama would be offended by Trump, but saying no one has ever heard of Lesotho? Come on. Ka nnete, monna, reka globe.

2

The Brutalist

"Quite apart from their politics, Trump and Vance are rude. They are cruel. They berated and mistreated a guest on camera, and then boasted about it afterward, as if their ugly behavior achieved some kind of macho “win.” They announced that they would halt transfers of military equipment to Ukraine, and hinted at ending sanctions on Russia, the aggressor state. In his speech to Congress last night, Trump once again declared that America would “get” Greenland, which is a part of Denmark—a sign that he intends to run roughshod over other allies too. These are the actions not of the good guys in old Hollywood movies, but of the bad guys. If Reagan was a white-hatted cowboy, Trump and Vance are Mafia dons. The chorus of Republican political leaders defending them seems both sinister and surprising to Europeans too. 'I never thought Americans would kowtow like that,' one friend told me, marveling." Anne Applebaum in The Atlantic(Gift Article): The Rise of the Brutal American.

+ U.S. pauses sharing the intelligence Ukraine uses for strikes on Russia.

3

And Then, Depression Set In

The cost of tariffs will not be popular when they make their way down to voters. And that definitely includes Trump voters. They're not too popular with economists either. "The world economy could face a crash similar to the Great Depression of the 1930s unless the U.S. rows back on its plans to impose steep tariffs on imports, a senior official at the International Chamber of Commerce warned." WSJ (Gift Article): Tariff War Risks Sinking World Into New Great Depression, International Chamber of Commerce Warns.

+ The big question, of course, is how many of the tariffs on Canada and Mexico will actually stick. The flip flops by the administration have created wild volatility in the markets (and suggest there's not really a hardfast plan other than chaos). Right now, the market thinks the tariff announcements are total B$. White House open to more exemptions after pausing auto tariffs.

+ If the tariffs end up amounting to nothing (which is my bet), then what's the point of offending our neighbor and close ally? Americans are unhappy with Trump's tariffs. Canadians are furious.

4

Spin Doctor

"Hydraulic machines whooshed in a sprawling Kansas factory as melted vinyl squeezed through molded stampers like pancake batter, turning out fresh new albums about once a minute. Workers inspected the grooves for imperfections, fed album jackets into a shrink-wrapper and stacked the finished products on tall dollies for shipping ... Pacing the floor was Chad Kassem, the company’s founder, who was bit by the audiophile bug as a 22-year-old who’d run into trouble with the law and now, four decades later, is a top player in the booming business of vinyl ... 'What I’m all about,' he said, 'is saving the world from bad sound.'" Ben Sisario in NYT (Gift Article): The Wizard of Vinyl Is in Kansas.

5

Extra, Extra

Don't Doge Reality: "Purging progressive influence. Musk-style corporate restructuring. Public relations strategy for spending cuts. Legal challenge to expand executive power. Political cover for fiscal policy." The DOGE cuts are about a lot. What they're not about is saving significant money. FT: Doge’s actual impact is less than $10bn. Meanwhile, from Wired (the publication providing the best DOGE coverage): Some DOGE Staffers Are Drawing Six-Figure Government Salaries. What DOGE is also doing is punishing people who have dedicated themselves to working for the federal government. Even the parts of the federal government that people love. Defector: Why Bully The National Park Service? "In an email sent down the chain by a Department of Interior Regional Finance Officer and viewed by Defector, agency administrative officers were alerted that "the spending threshold for all purchase and travel cards" would be reset the following day, to a new maximum of one dollar."

+ Star Linkup: Not everyone is losing money with all the administration's changes. Elon Musk Is About to Make Bank Thanks to Trump’s Internet Overhaul. Someone is coming out the winner when it comes to all the Panama Canal talk, too. BlackRock's Panama Canal deal is latest win for chief Larry Fink's strong start to Trump era.

+ Pay Day: "The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday reined in some of the Trump administration's sweeping effort to eliminate foreign aid that has been authorized by Congress." So far, they're only required to pay for work that has already been done. Supreme Court upholds a lower court order to force USAID to pay contractors.

+ Idaho Torpedo: "The Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was originally filed by the Biden administration [which] had argued that emergency-room doctors treating pregnant women had to provide terminations if necessary in Idaho, which has one of the country’s strictest abortion bans." Trump administration moves to drop Idaho emergency abortion case with national implications.

+ Net Loss: "Among the main reasons for a Hamas military build-up before the attacks, an eight-page public summary of the report listed an Israeli 'policy of quiet' towards the group, apparently referring to a policy of restraint in the use of force to keep Hamas’s military capability in check. It also listed Netanyahu’s acquiescence in the flow of funds from Qatar to Gaza, a policy designed to divide Palestinians by boosting Hamas at the expense of the Palestinian state." Israel’s Shin Bet says Netanyahu policies helped pave way for 7 October. Meanwhile. The US is holding secret talks with Hamas. (Hopefully this goes better than the last time Trump negotiated with terrorists.)

+ I'm OK, You're OKKK: "Arellano’s article focused on the KKK’s place in Anaheim city politics a century ago. The AI-generated alternate viewpoint downplayed the KKK’s history there, saying that 'local historical accounts occasionally frame the 1920s Klan as a product of ‘white Protestant culture’ responding to societal changes rather than an explicitly hate-driven movement.'" It only took a day for LA Times' new AI tool to sympathize with the KKK.

6

Bottom of the News

"While there seems to be no relief in sight for the high cost of eggs, it almost feels counterintuitive for people to celebrate two cracking, but it is a welcome distraction from the current political turmoil." America’s most popular eggs have just hatched: Live bald eagle cam delivers on its promise of great drama. (Now that I've watched all of Netflix and Max, I'm watching this.)

+ One moment, calm waters. The next, a 900-pound dolphin landed on their boat. (She was too heavy to flipper.)