Let’s catch up a bit:
The world’s richest bigot is going through some things. “Musk’s SpaceX tumbles back to Earth, dragging Tesla stock down with it” - The Washington Post
Musk has shed hundreds of billions in wealth, demoting him from trillionaire status, and SpaceX’s stock price has been cut practically in half. On top of that, electric vehicle maker Tesla has lost more than 18 percent of its value over the past week, in part after falling short of its quarterly earnings expectations, as investor patience for its artificial intelligence and robotics bets has worn thin.
Trump escalates war on voting. Trump asks SCOTUS to permit blocks on mail-in ballots before midterms - POLITICO
Another TACO Tuesday? “As U.S. Pauses Strikes, Iran Is No Rush to Resume Cease-Fire Talks” - The New York Times
Iranian officials have said they have not agreed to a cease-fire, and that they are in no hurry to talk directly to the Americans.
Instead, Iranian officials have emphasized that they are in a position of strength, with military officials boasting about their success on the battlefield and diplomats dismissing U.S. claims that they are eager to return to negotiations.
The rhetoric coming from Tehran is an indication that Iran’s leaders appear comfortable with the limbo state of its war with the United States, believing that they can handle a return to conflict and that they have leverage over President Trump.
O Canada. “Canadian visits to U.S. plummet amid Trump tariffs, ‘51st state’ talk”
The GOP finds its issue: “Republicans highlight new DSA platform in calling Democrats communists” | AP News. Meanwhile, Michigan Senate candidate, Abdul El-Sayed keeps it classy. “Ideally you put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message, and all of a sudden starts to sound a lot different,” El-Sayed said.1 Meanwhile, new poll shows GOP Senate candidate with double digit lead over El-Sayed:
Happy Tuesday.
This is Not (Unfortunately) a Parody
Donald Trump finds himself stuck in his war of whim, unable to find a way out of what is turning out to be a mess, inside a quagmire, wrapped in a defeat. As Chalie Warzel writes in the Atlantic, “Even Trump Can’t Spin This One.”
If President Trump has one true skill, it is conjuring up alternate realities and getting his supporters to accept them….
That era may be coming to a close, in large part because of the way he and his administration have bungled the war in Iran. Trump seems unable to spin this conflict, divert sufficient attention away from it with a new controversy, or end it outright. His social-media posts, which once acted as a de facto assignment editor for the mainstream media, no longer command the same attention or respect. Now, interspersed with AI slop and inexplicable middle-of-the-night reposting binges, Trump’s Truth Social screeds sound more like the fevered ramblings of a radicalized Facebook uncle.
Really, you have to see the slop for yourself.
**
On today’s “To the Contrary Podcast,” Nicholas Grossman joins me to talk about the AI slop that Trump is deploying in an effort to… what? Scare the Iranians? Distract from his next TACO? Make him look tough to his supporters, or to himself?
Grossman, who is the editor of Arc Digital, and professor of international relations at the University of Illinois, joins me for a wide-ranging discussion that includes the humiliating White House Correspondents' Dinner, the global implications of the Saudi nuclear deal — and what a post-Trump Reconstruction project might look like.
Some highlights of my conversation with Nicholas Grossman
Does Trump think the AI slop will intimidate the mullahs?
Does bribery explain the Saudi nuke deal?
Post-Trump, Democrats need to take power seriously.
Subscribers can listen to an ad-free version right here… or you can watch on YouTube / Listen (and subscribe) on Apple/ Spotify / iHeart / RSS Feed
**
Note: If you enjoy conversations like this one, or just want to hang around with smart, sane people, please consider joining us. As you know, we depend on the kindness of strangers to keep doing this work. And the dogs and I are immensely grateful for your generous support.
Tuesday dogs
Our French dog, Zok, is staying far away from the fires in Bordeaux and doing some sightseeing.
On Monday, several Democrats were quick to slam his comments.
“Violent, vulgar threats have no place in a democratic electoral contest,” said Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.). “With political violence on the rise, we need to be doing everything we can to lower the temperature — not raise it. It’s the American people who suffer most when we degrade the political process this way.”
Some took El-Sayed’s remarks as an attack on the party. Shannon Watts, founder of gun violence prevention group Moms Demand Action, said on X that El-Sayed “doesn’t mean Republicans.”
Another gun control activist, Fred Guttenberg, wrote: “That is what Abdul El-Sayed and his DSA movement think of Democrats and the party.” Guttenberg — whose daughter was killed in the Parkland, Florida, school shooting — urged Michiganders to support El-Sayed’s primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, and “show AES the loss he deserves.”
