Who Cut the Cheese?

Elon’s Loss, Cory’s Gain

In a closely watched and heavily funded Supreme Court election in Wisconsin, Democrats turned back Elon Musk's millions for a rare, but potentially foretelling win. Musk wanted to be the big cheese in Wisconsin as he handed out million dollar checks and delivered a speech while wearing a cheesehead hat, essentially making the election a referendum on himself—an election which he claimed could "determine the fate of Western civilization" and "the entire destiny of humanity." Those are some high cheese stakes. Humanity, as it turned out, won. It's not that the Musk money didn't have an impact. The cheddar spread by the cheese wiz went a long way and GOP turnout was solid. It's just that the fervor he helped create against himself (and Trump) was even more powerful, as Dem turnout was high enough to put Elon's ketamine-spirited brand through a cheese grater. AP: Democrats’ win in Wisconsin court race also is a big loss for Elon Musk. "Judge Susan Crawford preserved liberals’ narrow majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court Tuesday by defeating conservative Brad Schimel, but in a way the real loser of the election was billionaire Elon Musk ... Musk’s court race defeat wasn’t only because of crushing Democratic margins in deep blue cities such as Madison and Milwaukee. Crawford’s margins were higher in places where the Musk-backed group America PAC had been active. That included Sauk County, just north of Madison, which Crawford was carrying by 10 points after Trump won it by less than 2 points in November. On Sunday, Musk headlined a campaign rally in Green Bay with 2,000 people. Trump won Brown County, which includes the city, by 7 percentage points last year. But on Tuesday, it went for Crawford." (This a relatively small victory amid a lot of destruction. But it's definitely a sign that Musk is better off putting his money where his mouth isn't.)

+ Wisconsin and Florida elections provide early warning signs to Trump and Republicans.

+ "Here’s the problem with calling an election a referendum on your agenda: You could lose. Democrats will now control the state’s high court for years, and have fresh evidence that campaigning against Musk and DOGE works, after 71 days of ineffectively whacking at them in DC." Semafor: Democrats’ anti-Musk campaign pays off in Wisconsin.

+ How is the Musk brand impacting his car business? Tesla reports 13% drop in first-quarter vehicle deliveries from a year ago. That said, the stock is soaring today. Why? There could be a clue in the next story...

+ Politico: Trump Tells Inner Circle That Musk Will Leave Soon.

2

The Energizer Vegan

Cory Booker, New Jersey Senator and probably America's most famous vegan, answered the call from millions of Americans yearning for someone to take a stand. Well, he took a stand. And he held that stand. NYT (Gift Article): Cory Booker Condemns Trump’s Policies in Longest Senate Speech on Record. "Without bathroom breaks but with occasional pauses for encouraging questions from his fellow Democrats, Mr. Booker read from a binder of notes and waved a small copy of the U.S. Constitution. He gesticulated and roared. At times, he draped himself over his lectern. His voice grew hoarse. But it remained strong ... 'My voice is inadequate,' Mr. Booker said more than 19 hours into the speech. 'My efforts today are inadequate to stop what they’re trying to do. But we the people are powerful.'" (Full disclosure: Cory Booker is a friend of mine. And I feel pretty honored to say that today.)

+ Anyone watch? 400 million likes on TikTok seems good.

+ Did Booker's speech change anything in terms of what Trump is trying to do or the political leverage held by the GOP? No. But maybe it changed something in those feeling a little alone or de-energized in the fight for something better. Alexander Vindman: On the Bravery of Senator Booker. "We should never forget that the vision of America held by Trump and his cronies is fundamentally unpopular and goes against the spirit of what made this country great. For now, we must focus on small victories and channel our energy towards resisting by any means possible, but we should never forget that we are not alone. I applaud Senator Booker for his bravery and strength on the Senate floor today, may he be an example to us all."

+ "Booker's speech officially surpassed the previous record set in 1957 by noted segregationist Strom Thurmond, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes to oppose the Civil Rights Act." A Black Senator breaking a segregationist's record at this moment in American history. It was a good day.

+ How the hell did he stand that long and not take any bathroom breaks? Booker said "he hadn't eaten since Friday and stopped drinking fluids Sunday night so he wouldn't have to go to the bathroom." (I'm a man about the same age as Cory and even if I stopped drinking fluids in 2019, I'd still have to wake up and pee at least twice during the night.)

3

You Never Promised Me a Rose Garden Speech

"President Donald Trump will announce the details of his 'Liberation Day' plan at 4 p.m. ET, as he aims to redraw economic agreements with US trading partners. Trump and his team were still weighing options as of late yesterday, with no final decision made yet ahead of the Rose Garden announcement." Here's the latest. The plan is still in limbo and if past is any predictor, it will still be in limbo after Trump announces his latest plan. Economies, markets, investors, and corporations like predictability and stability. Oh well. My guess is that Liberation Day will be just another day when you'll be liberated from more of the stock gains you made during the Biden era.

4

Air Frier

"That toaster is part of the trick to pulling this off. Because, surprisingly, the burger tastes like Shake Shack should. On a recent flight from Boston to Atlanta, the only giveaway that this was an in-flight meal was the lack of French fries—a dish most airlines are still trying to perfect. Fries tend to lose their crispiness when they’re reheated, and nobody wants a soggy potato stick." This is huge news for those who find it difficult to go without fast food for a few hours at 30,000 feet. Bloomberg(Gift Article): With Shake Shack in First Class, Airline Food Is No Longer a Joke. (You want flies with that?)

5

Extra, Extra

Stairway to Heaven: "I imagine it as a very long staircase that ends with the eradication of TB and starts hundreds of years ago, when one in seven people were dying of TB. And we’ve been walking up that staircase. We can take steps forward or we can take steps back. And — I’m sorry. I got a little emotional. We didn’t take a step back. We fell down the staircase. And it is devastating. You report that hundreds of thousands of people have seen their treatment interrupted. The majority of those people will die. Elon Musk tweeted yesterday, 'I’ve never physically hurt anyone.' And I just disagree with that. Hundreds of thousands of people are going to die, and they’re going to die for no good reason. They’re not even going to die because we decided to stop providing foreign aid. They’re going to die because we decided to stop providing foreign aid in the most chaotic, unpredictable, inconsistent, radical way possible. It seems merely punitive to me." John Green in the NYT (Gift Article): We Fell Down the Staircase. That's the pain we're inflicting abroad. What about here: Michael Mina: I Study Measles. I’m Terrified We’re Headed for an Epidemic. That's the pain that's coming. What about the pain that's already here? Texas Banned Abortion. Then Sepsis Rates Soared.

+ In the Red: "President Trump is focused on what teams American transgender athletes can race on, and China is focused on transforming its factories with A.I. so it can outrace all our factories. Trump’s 'Liberation Day' strategy is to double down on tariffs while gutting our national scientific institutions and work force that spur U.S. innovation. China’s liberation strategy is to open more research campuses and double down on A.I.-driven innovation to be permanently liberated from Trump’s tariffs. Beijing’s message to America: We’re not afraid of you. You aren’t who you think you are — and we aren’t who you think we are." Tom Friedman in the NYT (Gift Article): I Just Saw the Future. It Was Not in America. And from Martin Wolf in FT: China senses an opportunity in Trump’s cultural revolution. "In sum, the Chinese believe they can survive Trump’s onslaught. Indeed, many believe it may help them, by destroying US credibility and perceptions of its competence."

+ Eric Rolled: "The judge overseeing the corruption case against Eric Adams has dismissed the charges against the New York City mayor, and in a spilt with the Trump Justice Department, ordered that the charges cannot be brought again." (In other words, the Trump Justice Dept got rid of the charges against Adams but now has no leverage to make him do their bidding. The art of the deal.)

+ Share Button: "Members of President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, including White House national security adviser Michael Waltz, have conducted government business over personal Gmail accounts."

+ Limp: Ugh, another law firm folds in the fight. Law Firm That Employs Doug Emhoff Bends the Knee to Trump. "We know this news is not welcomed by some of you and you would have urged a different course of action. Needless to say, this was an incredibly difficult decision for Firm leadership." (Firm leadership? Seems limp to me.)

+ Long Division: Israel is ‘seizing territory’ and will ‘divide up’ Gaza, Netanyahu says.

+ Val Kilmer: "Val Kilmer, the charisma-oozing leading man who lost himself portraying such tormented, self-loathing characters as Jim Morrison, gunslinger Doc Holliday and Batman during his all-too-brief career, died Tuesday. He was 65. Kilmer, who came to fame for playing the competitive naval aviator Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky alongside Tom Cruise in Tony Scott’s 1986 mega box-office hit Top Gun, died of pneumonia in Los Angeles." (For many of us. he came to fame in Real Genius.)

+ Generational Flooding? I usually don't cover weather forecasts here, but, uh...Millions Across U.S. at Risk for Significant Tornadoes and ‘Generational’ Flooding This Week.

+ Tits Up? NYT: Hooters Files for Bankruptcy, but Its Restaurants Will Stay Open. One franchisee explained "he was planning what he called a 're-Hooterization,' or rebrand, which would include ending the chain’s 'bikini nights.'"

6

Bottom of the News

Maybe Hooters should focus on the Irish market. "A famous statue in Dublin has been assigned a security detail in an effort to stop tourists from squeezing its breasts. Molly Malone, a fictional fisherman’s wife who serves as an unofficial mascot for the city, is said to bring good luck to travelers who rub her breasts."

+ New road design has neighbors in Pennsylvania suburb calling for change: "It's ridiculous."

+ Reminder: New stuff in the NextDraft store!