Latest news with #DrudgeReport
Politico
3 days ago
- Business
- Politico
DraftKings bets on politics
With help from Katherine Long and Daniel Lippman PROGRAMMING NOTE: PI will be off Thursday but will be back in your inboxes on Friday, June 20. FIRST IN PI: Sports betting powerhouse DraftKings is jumping into electoral politics with a new corporate PAC. The DraftKings PAC will be led by the platform's senior director of federal affairs, Lauren Pfingstag Vahey, and senior vice president and deputy general counsel, Griffin Finan. — DraftKings is one of the first major sports betting platforms to start a corporate PAC. Fantasy sports company PrizePicks started a PAC in 2023, and prominent casinos like MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment as well as the American Gaming Association — which DraftKings belongs to — also have their own federal PACs. — Sports betting has taken off in the U.S. since it was legalized by a 2018 Supreme Court decision, with nearly $150 billion wagered across 38 states and Washington, D.C., last year, according to the AGA. But that popularity has begun to earn the industry a closer look from regulators concerned about personal finance and addiction. — Earlier this month, Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law legislation that will hit sportsbooks with a new per-transaction tax. The move triggered an outcry from the gaming industry, which contended that the fees would prompt some bettors to take their action from regulated platforms that provide state revenue to unregulated ones. — At the federal level, lawmakers introduced a bill last year aimed at creating new consumer protections. The Senate Judiciary Committee also held a hearing in December diving into legalized sports betting, and two of the committee's members separately called for an antitrust investigation into DraftKings and rival sportsbook FanDuel. — DraftKings' PAC isn't the company's first foray into political spending: It dropped $420,000 on federal lobbying last year, according to disclosure filings. The sportsbook also gave $502,000 in in-kind donations to President Donald Trump's inaugural committee, FEC filings show. Happy Wednesday and welcome to PI. We'll be off tomorrow, and POLITICO's Daniel Barnes will be pinch-hitting for your host when we return to your inboxes Friday. Say hello and send him your lobbying and legal tips: dbarnes@ And be sure to follow him on X: @dnlbrns. You can always reach me on Signal, email me at coprysko@ and follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko. FIRST IN PI II — THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY: The National Taxpayers Union is launching a new website that will spotlight the stories of small businesses that have been hit by Trump's tariff policies by posing as a copycat of the Drudge Report. — The Tariffs Report will emulate Drudge's bulletin board-style of aggregation to feature stories of 'real pain born by small businesses in a constantly changing environment with tariffs imposed, paused, or postponed regularly,' the conservative anti-tax group announced. —'We hope that the small business stories featured on The Tariffs Report encourage the administration to reject broad-based tariff increases and focus on other policies to achieve its worthy goal of trade that supports American prosperity,' said Bryan Riley, who leads the group's Free Trade Initiative. — NTU isn't alone in imitating the Drudge Report. In April, the White House launched its own take on Drudge's anachronistic format to promote positive news coverage of the president and his administration. ENERGY LEADERS LOBBY ON MEGABILL: Lobbyists and industry leaders are increasing their efforts to salvage some of the energy tax credits included in the Inflation Reduction Act, as the Senate megabill text proposes cuts to certain credits, our Timothy Cama writes for E&E News. — Battery maker Energizer Holdings, chemical manufacturer Johnson Matthey, the Hydrogen Jobs Now Coalition, battery recycler Ecobat and the Clean Energy Buyers Association have all hired new lobbyists in recent months to advocate for credits they support. But the true impacts remain unclear as Republican leaders continue to revise the spending package. TECHNET'S MILESTONE: Silicon Valley trade group TechNet has added three more industry players to its ranks, crossing the 100-member threshold. Persona and Runway join the ranks of major tech players like Apple, Google, Intuit, Meta and Amazon at the nearly three-decade-old association. K STREET'S NEW AI PLAYER: A new startup hoping to corner the market for artificial intelligence in the advocacy world announced a series of investments today from top government affairs and communications firms. — Delve, which was founded by former GOP opposition researcher Jeff Berkowitz, has secured backing from BGR Group and Rokk Solutions along with Silicon Valley investor Moxxie Ventures for the AI tool Berkowitz designed for K Street. — 'When you're trying to pull an industry into the future, it requires resources,' Berkowitz told Bloomberg's Kate Ackley, who writes that Berkowitz 'also acknowledges the limits of technology in [an] industry built on personal connections.' — The AI startup, a spinoff of Berkowitz's research outfit of the same name, 'will use the new funds to hire more engineers as it works to build out its platform that includes numerous news and data sources aimed at helping lobbyists research policy positions and write memos for clients, he said. In a demonstration, Delve's deep research tool drafted a memo on the state of play around the Trump administration's steel and aluminum tariffs.' — Delve's new investments come as the lobbying and public affairs world grapple with how best to integrate AI into the industry in order to maximize its potential and steer clear of the various risks of the rapidly evolving technology. Professional associations for the industry, like the National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics and the Public Affairs Council, have set out to craft guidelines for AI's use in influence efforts. ANNALS OF FUNDRAISING: 'Just months into the tenure of a new party leader, Ken Martin, the Democratic National Committee's financial situation has grown so bleak that top officials have discussed whether they might need to borrow money this year to keep paying the bills,' The New York Times' Shane Goldmacher and Reid J. Epstein report in an eyebrow-raising look at the party's finances. — 'Fund-raising from major donors — some of whom Mr. Martin has still not spoken with — has slowed sharply. At the same time, he has expanded the party's financial commitments to every state, and even to far-flung territories like Guam.' — The malaise burst out in the open earlier this week with the news that a pair of prominent labor leaders — Randi Weingarten and Lee Saunders — were leaving their roles at the committee. 'Fellow Democrats are grumbling that Mr. Martin, who quietly accepted a raise after taking the post, has been badly distracted by internal battles. So far, they say, he has been unable to help unite his party against Republicans, who control the federal government,' according to the Times. ON THE AIRWAVES: Hospital and patient advocacy group Coalition to Strengthen America's Healthcare released a new ad as part of its ongoing seven-figure ad blitz on Medicaid cuts. The spot, titled 'These Halls,' begins in the halls of Congress before cutting to a hospital and arguing that Medicaid cuts would devastate hospital care. — The ad follows the release of the Senate's proposed Medicaid cuts, which went further than the House bill. The Senate version would curtail states' abilities to impose taxes on providers, a move that was strongly opposed by hospital executives as the taxes help increase hospital payments. — Industry leaders and lobbyists are urging GOP lawmakers to reconsider. The ad cites decreased services, hospital closures and longer wait times as some of the impacts of the proposed cuts. SPOTTED last night at happy hour hosted by the Fiber Broadband Association, the Rural Broadband Association, the Telecommunications Industry Association and the Wireless Infrastructure Association at Santa Rosa Taqueria, per a tipster: Marissa Mitrovich of FBA; Colin Andrews, Patrick Lozada and Melissa Newman of TIA; Mike Saperstein and Stephen Keegan of WIA; Makenzie Shellnutt and Mike Romano of NTCA; Harsha Mudaliar of the FCC; Tom Hastings of Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) office; Al David Saab of Sen. Roger Wicker's (R-Miss.) office; Johanna Shelton of Rep. Frank Pallone's (D-N.J.) office; John Lin of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; Asad Ramzanali of the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator; Tim Donovan of the Competitive Carriers Association; Bill Wilhelm of Frontier Communications; and Crystal Tully of Wiley Rein. — And at a Mozilla mixer held yesterday on the Glen Echo Group office's rooftop, per a tipster: Linda Griffin, Jenn Taylor Hodges and Brandon Samuel of Mozilla; Halie Craig of Origin Advocacy; Katie Barr and Halley Roth of Glen Echo Group; Chris Lewis of Public Knowledge; Ali Sternburg and Tricia McCleary of CCIA; Colin Crowell of Blue Owl Group; Joseph Coniglio of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation; Khloe Greenwood and Ali Guckes of Franklin Square Group; Keir Lamont, Beth Do and Justine Gluck of the Future of Privacy Forum; Nathalie Maréchal of the Center for Democracy & Technology; Simone Shenny of the Cato Institute; Brian Smith of Roblox; Peter Chandler of Internet Works; Marshall Erwin of Fastly; Christine Bannan of Proton; Tim Lynch of Yahoo; Jessica Jones of Zoom; and David Peluso of KDCR Partners. Jobs report — Varun Jain is joining K&L Gates as an of counsel in its public policy and law practice. He previously was deputy general counsel at the Biden Transportation Department. — Saul Hernandez is now vice president for government affairs at Charter Communications. He previously was a principal at theGROUP and is an NCTA alum. — The International Bottled Water Association is adding Jeremy Pollack as vice president of government relations. He was most recently with the Water Quality Association, where he served as director of government affairs. — Samantha Kemp is now director of government affairs at Target. She previously was deputy director of government affairs at Albertsons Companies. — Kendra Wharton is returning to Wharton Law, where she previously worked as a defense attorney for Trump. She's currently associate deputy attorney general and DOJ's senior ethics official. — Carolyn Davis is now communications director at Better Markets. She previously was director of external communications at Leadership for Educational Equity. — Karen Davis is now vice president of business development and marketing at the American Society for Radiation Oncology. She most recently was chief development and external affairs officer for the National Council on Aging. — Sharmistha Das has rejoined Crowell & Moring as a partner. She most recently was deputy chief of staff and deputy general counsel at DHS. — William Benson is now a staff assistant for the Domestic Policy Council at the White House. He most recently was a communications intern at America First Policy Institute. New Joint Fundraisers Balderson Victory Fund (Rep. Troy Balderson, Your Ohio Republican Team, NRCC) ROYCE WHITE VICTORY FUND (Royce White for Senate, Stop the Left PAC) New PACs Arsenal PAC (Hybrid PAC) North Star PAC (Hybrid PAC) New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS Ballard Partners: Altamed Health Services Corporation Ballard Partners: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Wgc USa, Inc. Capitol Resources, LLC: Health Resources Cgcn Group, LLC: Solar Landscape Chartwell Strategy Group LLC: Uniformed Firefighters Association Dga Group Government Relations LLC: Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. Ervin Graves Strategy Group, LLC: 3D Glass Solutions, Inc. Ervin Graves Strategy Group, LLC: Dc Police Union First Principles Strategies, LLC: Old North Strategies, LLC On Behalf Of Qualexa Healthcare, LLC Hogan Lovells US LLP: Click Therapeutics, Inc. K&L Gates, LLP: Talus Renewables, Inc. Michael Best Strategies LLC: America's Health Insurance Plans, Inc. Michael Best Strategies LLC: Ford Motor Company Miller Strategies, LLC: Aclara Technologies Inc. Rising Tide Associates: American Combat Boot Alliance Rjl Solutions: Indiana State University Rjl Solutions: Trans-Care Ambulance S2R, LLC: National Association Of Convenience Stores The Artemis Group, LLC (Oklahoma): Viasat, Inc. Tiber Creek Group: Patient Square Capital Vision Americas LLC: Atlas Lithium Corporation New Lobbying Terminations Husch Blackwell Strategies: A. T. Still University
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Andor' Creator on That Stunner 'Genocide' Speech and Its Real-Life Inspiration
Great sci-fi often serves as an allegory for current social and political issues. But never before has Star Wars hit such a topical bullseye — intentional or not — as Tuesday's episodes of Andor season two when a character delivered a stunner speech that warned of rising government authoritarianism, the dilution of fact-based reality, and the reluctance to use the word 'genocide.' More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Andor' Star Denise Gough on Dedra Meero's Worst Nightmare Coming True How May the 4th Became Known as Star Wars Day and How It's Being Celebrated The Best May the 4th Gifts for 'Star Wars' Superfans, from R2-D2 Watches to the Force-Inspired Candles Airing on Disney+ the same day a Drudge Report headline became the latest to warn of 'America's Slide Into Authoritarianism,' the acclaimed drama series featured a sequence where the courageous politician Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) risks her life to deliver a speech before the Galactic Senate where she furiously attacked Emperor Palpatine and his Imperial forces. But one can also easily imagine her words being said by a politician on C-SPAN right now. 'I believe we are in crisis,' Mothma says. 'The distance between what is said today and what is known to be true has become an abyss. Of all the things at risk, the loss of an objective reality is perhaps the most dangerous. The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil. When truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest.' And then, referring to a prior sequence where Imperial forces massacred peaceful protesters on the planet Ghorman — a world the Imperials invaded to exploit a precious mineral — Mothma says, 'What took place yesterday… was unprovoked genocide.' At this, the other senators cry out in protest at Mothma's use of the word. 'Yes, genocide!' she repeated. 'And the monster screaming the loudest, that we helped create, the monster who will come for us all, soon enough, is Emperor Palpatine.' It's worth noting that Andor season two began production in November 2022 and wrapped around February 2024. So filming was completed long before the reelection of Donald Trump and just a few months after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 (the latter having sparked much debate among experts over the last two years — such as here and here — over the right or wrongness of using the word 'genocide' when describing Israel's military response in Gaza). Nonetheless, the scene has some viewers on social media interpreting the moment as pro-Palestinian. Asked about the sequence and its real-life inspirations, Andor creator Tony Gilroy told The Hollywood Reporter, 'The really sorry truth about the about this question — and we get it a lot — is that peace and prosperity and calm are the rarities. Those are rarities throughout the last 6,000 years of recorded history. You could drop this show at any point in the last 6,000 years, and it would make sense to some people about what's happening to them.' Continued Gilroy: 'I mean, the control of truth has always been a scabbard of power. Power dictates the narrative, and always has tried to always do that. Look at what the Empire does to Ghorman with their propaganda campaign. The very first scene [in the season] that Krennic has where he talks about Ghorman, that's based on the Wannsee convention — the convention where the Nazis got together and planned the final solution over a business lunch. You could say all this about the Gulf of Tonkin — which got America into Vietnam — or you could say the burning of the Reichstag [which paved the way to the Nazi's rise to power], or you could say the sinking of the Lusitania [which pushed America into World War I]. You go all the way through history, and power is the control of truth. So I think with that speech, we were looking to be timeless and classic.' Added the creator, a bit wearily, 'And I'm not psychic.' The second and final season of the Star Wars drama has been not pulling punches when it comes to depicting a wartime drama. In addition to that Wannsee convention scene (see the real-life photos and how closely the Andor setting matched up), the show made headlines during its premiere episodes by staging the first rape attempt in Star Wars content in a scene involving Bix (Adria Arjona). 'I get one shot to tell everything I know — or can discover, or that I've learned — about revolution, about battles, with as many incidents and as many colors as I can get in there, without having [the story] tip over,' Gilroy said about the latter sequence. 'I mean, let's be honest, man: The history of civilization, there's a huge arterial component of it that's rape. All of us who are here — we are all the product of rape. I mean armies and power throughout history [have committed rape]. So to not touch on it, in some way… It just was organic and it felt right, coming about as a power trip for this guy. I was really trying to make a path for Bix that would ultimately lead to clarity — but a difficult path to get back to clarity.' Andor Disney+'s acclaimed Star Wars drama series which currently has the highest rating of any Star Wars TV show or movie on Rotten Tomatoes. The show follows the adventures of Rebel Alliance leader Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and leads up to the events in the film Rogue One. The final three episodes air next week. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise 'Yellowstone' and the Sprawling Dutton Family Tree, Explained
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why TACO trade gets under Trump's skin
President Trump has fielded questions from the Oval Office in recent weeks about Elon Musk's drug use, sensitive matters of diplomacy and the ethics of accepting a Qatari jet as a gift to be used as Air Force One. He's chafed at some of those questions, but few set him off like the one he received about the concept of the Wall Street TACO trade, an acronym that stands for 'Trump Always Chickens Out.' 'Don't ever say what you said,' Trump snapped at a reporter last week when first asked about the trend. 'That's a nasty question. To me, that's the nastiest question.' The TACO trend has struck a particular nerve with the president, who built his brand on his business acumen and presents himself as a master dealmaker. The TACO acronym has caught on in political circles in recent weeks, though the term was coined by a Financial Times columnist. The acronym is reference to traders on Wall Street becoming less reactive to Trump's tariff announcements based on the pattern that he will ultimately pull them back or kick them down the road. The president initially threatened tariffs on Mexico and Canada in early February but ultimately delayed imposing them. Trump imposed sweeping 'reciprocal' tariffs on dozens of nations on April 2 but announced one week later there would be a 90-day reprieve where the tariffs were lowered to 10 percent. More recently, he threatened a 50 percent tariff on goods from the European Union, only to announce within days they would be postponed amid negotiations. But the simple TACO acronym has clearly gotten under Trump's skin, and Democrats and other opponents of Trump have seized upon it because it undercuts his persona as a savvy businessman whose every move is that of a dealmaker outwitting his opponents. While Trump allies see the president's reversals as a sign of necessary flexibility and part of a grand plan, the TACO acronym suggests Trump gets rattled at the first sign of trouble. The Drudge Report poked fun at Trump over the phrase late last week, with a front page that covered the president in Mexican food. Democrats, seeking to further irk the president, parked a taco truck outside the Republican National Committee's headquarters Tuesday that was wrapped with an image of Trump in a chicken suit. Reports said it ran out of the free tacos it was providing in an hour. The White House has presented Trump as a master negotiator while brushing off the criticism from Democrats and traders. But it's hard to argue the uncertainty surrounding Trump's tariff regime isn't itself an issue. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked Tuesday about business leaders who want to see certainty but haven't gotten it with Trump's tariff approach. 'You also have U.S. business leaders begging to meet with this president and begging to come to the White House to talk to him because they know that he is a negotiator in chief, that he is making good deals on behalf of the American worker,' Leavitt responded. One lingering question is whether Trump's distaste for the 'TACO' moniker might influence his decision-making moving forward. The president's views on tariffs on trade imbalances are deeply held, and he is not going to back off his aggressive use of tariffs any time soon. That was made clear last Friday night, when he announced he was doubling tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from 25 percent to 50 percent. 'Rest assured,' Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday, 'tariffs are not going away.' That decision came after the courts handed Trump a couple of losses on tariffs, ruling his use of one law to justify the trade regime was illegal. Trump responded by using a different law to double the steel and aluminum tariffs. There are multiple key deadlines approaching that will further test whether Trump is all bluster or whether he's willing to follow through on threats that could have major economic consequences. The 90-day extension Trump granted the country-specific tariffs is set to expire July 8, and investors will be closely monitoring whether the president is willing to extend the pause or whether higher tariff rates on imports will be reinstated. Trump also delayed his 50 percent tariff threat against the European Union until July 9 after talking with the president of the European Commission. It means July 8 and 9 will be either a sequel to 'Liberation Day' or a TACO day to remember. President Trump promised to settle the war in Ukraine before he even took office and has positioned himself as a 'peacemaker' seeking to put out fires around the globe. But nearly five months into his term, he's finding it more difficult than he had hoped as negotiations drag on in Ukraine and the Middle East and a nuclear deal with Iran proves elusive. 'I think Trump is fishing around for something that he can call a peace deal,' said one former diplomat. The former diplomat noted the Good Friday Agreement, a major diplomatic success, took years to successfully negotiate to halt decades of violence in Northern Ireland. Trump promised to swiftly end the war in Ukraine throughout the 2024 campaign. The conflict began in 2022 when Russian forces invaded Ukraine. While Trump has spoken with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky multiple times about ending the conflict and officials from both countries have met for direct talks, it's not clear the two sides are any closer to a ceasefire. Russia has made clear it's not interested in a pause in fighting, and Ukraine in recent days launched a drone attack to target bombers in Russian territory. 'I would just like to remind everybody how far we have come in just four months,' press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. 'It was inconceivable last year at this time for Russia and Ukraine to be engaged in direct talks. And it's because of this president's insistence and determination to get this war to an end that those two countries sat down yesterday.' Any significant changes to the situation may still be, as Trump likes to say, two weeks away. In the Middle East, Israel continues to target Hamas in Gaza, where tens of thousands of people have died in an Israeli military campaign and watchdog groups have said a humanitarian crisis is unfolding. The Trump administration's latest peace proposal, which it said Israel supported, landed with a dud when officials said the Hamas response was 'totally unacceptable.' And on Iran, Trump has for weeks teased the possibility of a nuclear agreement coming together and talked up the idea of Tehran prospering economically. But Axios on Monday reported that the proposal from the Trump administration would allow for low-level uranium enrichment by Iran, something that would undercut public comments from the president and his top aides. 'Under our potential Agreement — WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM!' Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social. Brett Samuels is a White House reporter for The Hill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Why TACO trade gets under Trump's skin
President Trump has fielded questions from the Oval Office in recent weeks about Elon Musk's drug use, sensitive matters of diplomacy and the ethics of accepting a Qatari jet as a gift to be used as Air Force One. He's chafed at some of those questions, but few set him off like the one he received about the concept of the Wall Street TACO trade, an acronym that stands for 'Trump Always Chickens Out.' 'Don't ever say what you said,' Trump snapped at a reporter last week when first asked about the trend. 'That's a nasty question. To me, that's the nastiest question.' The TACO trend has struck a particular nerve with the president, who built his brand on his business acumen and presents himself as a master dealmaker. The TACO acronym has caught on in political circles in recent weeks, though the term was coined by a Financial Times columnist. The acronym is reference to traders on Wall Street becoming less reactive to Trump's tariff announcements based on the pattern that he will ultimately pull them back or kick them down the road. The president initially threatened tariffs on Mexico and Canada in early February but ultimately delayed imposing them. Trump imposed sweeping 'reciprocal' tariffs on dozens of nations on April 2 but announced one week later there would be a 90-day reprieve where the tariffs were lowered to 10 percent. More recently, he threatened a 50 percent tariff on goods from the European Union, only to announce within days they would be postponed amid negotiations. But the simple TACO acronym has clearly gotten under Trump's skin, and Democrats and other opponents of Trump have seized upon it because it undercuts his persona as a savvy businessman whose every move is that of a dealmaker outwitting his opponents. While Trump allies see the president's reversals as a sign of necessary flexibility and part of a grand plan, the TACO acronym suggests Trump gets rattled at the first sign of trouble. The Drudge Report poked fun at Trump over the phrase late last week, with a front page that covered the president in Mexican food. Democrats, seeking to further irk the president, parked a taco truck outside the Republican National Committee's headquarters Tuesday that was wrapped with an image of Trump in a chicken suit. Reports said it ran out of the free tacos it was providing in an hour. The White House has presented Trump as a master negotiator while brushing off the criticism from Democrats and traders. But it's hard to argue the uncertainty surrounding Trump's tariff regime isn't itself an issue. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked Tuesday about business leaders who want to see certainty but haven't gotten it with Trump's tariff approach. 'You also have U.S. business leaders begging to meet with this president and begging to come to the White House to talk to him because they know that he is a negotiator in chief, that he is making good deals on behalf of the American worker,' Leavitt responded. One lingering question is whether Trump's distaste for the 'TACO' moniker might influence his decision-making moving forward. The president's views on tariffs on trade imbalances are deeply held, and he is not going to back off his aggressive use of tariffs any time soon. That was made clear last Friday night, when he announced he was doubling tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from 25 percent to 50 percent. 'Rest assured,' Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday, 'tariffs are not going away.' That decision came after the courts handed Trump a couple of losses on tariffs, ruling his use of one law to justify the trade regime was illegal. Trump responded by using a different law to double the steel and aluminum tariffs. There are multiple key deadlines approaching that will further test whether Trump is all bluster or whether he's willing to follow through on threats that could have major economic consequences. The 90-day extension Trump granted the country-specific tariffs is set to expire July 8, and investors will be closely monitoring whether the president is willing to extend the pause or whether higher tariff rates on imports will be reinstated. Trump also delayed his 50 percent tariff threat against the European Union until July 9 after talking with the president of the European Commission. It means July 8 and 9 will be either a sequel to 'Liberation Day' or a TACO day to remember. President Trump promised to settle the war in Ukraine before he even took office and has positioned himself as a 'peacemaker' seeking to put out fires around the globe. But nearly five months into his term, he's finding it more difficult than he had hoped as negotiations drag on in Ukraine and the Middle East and a nuclear deal with Iran proves elusive. 'I think Trump is fishing around for something that he can call a peace deal,' said one former diplomat. The former diplomat noted the Good Friday Agreement, a major diplomatic success, took years to successfully negotiate to halt decades of violence in Northern Ireland. Trump promised to swiftly end the war in Ukraine throughout the 2024 campaign. The conflict began in 2022 when Russian forces invaded Ukraine. While Trump has spoken with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky multiple times about ending the conflict and officials from both countries have met for direct talks, it's not clear the two sides are any closer to a ceasefire. Russia has made clear it's not interested in a pause in fighting, and Ukraine in recent days launched a drone attack to target bombers in Russian territory. 'I would just like to remind everybody how far we have come in just four months,' press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. 'It was inconceivable last year at this time for Russia and Ukraine to be engaged in direct talks. And it's because of this president's insistence and determination to get this war to an end that those two countries sat down yesterday.' Any significant changes to the situation may still be, as Trump likes to say, two weeks away. In the Middle East, Israel continues to target Hamas in Gaza, where tens of thousands of people have died in an Israeli military campaign and watchdog groups have said a humanitarian crisis is unfolding. The Trump administration's latest peace proposal, which it said Israel supported, landed with a dud when officials said the Hamas response was 'totally unacceptable.' And on Iran, Trump has for weeks teased the possibility of a nuclear agreement coming together and talked up the idea of Tehran prospering economically. But Axios on Monday reported that the proposal from the Trump administration would allow for low-level uranium enrichment by Iran, something that would undercut public comments from the president and his top aides. 'Under our potential Agreement — WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM!' Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social. Brett Samuels is a White House reporter for The Hill.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Drudge mocks Trump with ‘TACO' page
Matt Drudge mocked President Trump on Thursday with a headline on his aggregation page, making fun of a new trade on Wall Street in reaction to the president's economic policies. 'TACO,' as the trade has become known among investors and traders, stands for 'Trump always chickens out' and looks to capitalize on the major fluctuations in the market resulting from the president's on-again, off-again tariff policies. On Thursday afternoon, the Drudge Report featured the lead headline 'TACO' with a photo illustration of Trump dressed in a suit made of tacos and wearing a taco crown. Trump was asked about the trade during a press conference with reporters Wednesday and scoffed at the trend. 'I've never heard that. You mean because I reduced China from 145 percent that I set down to 100, and then down to another number, and I said you have to open up your whole country?' Trump responded. 'And because I gave the European Union a 50 percent tariff and they called up and said, 'Please let's meet right now.'' The Drudge Report has for years been a widely read aggregation site known for its tabloid headlines and oddball angles, particularly among conservatives. Drudge has turned on Trump in recent years, however, attacking the president over his policies and some of his more controversial comments. The White House recently launched a Drudge lookalike site, featuring a similar style of aggregation directing visitors to pro-Trump stories and articles. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
