Trump vs. The Future, Trump vs. The E.U., Trump vs. The Economy, & Trump vs. Big Tech
November 7, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Thursday! Today, we’ll be talking about some of Trump’s plans for the future, the Middle East, the E.U.’s thoughts on Trump, a really cool road, wildfires, the economy, and tech leaders’ thoughts on Trump.
Here’s some good election-related news (since we’re about to get into some election-related bad news): Paul Rudd was spotted handing out water bottles to people in line to vote in Philadelphia. He said, “It’s a wonderful thing that all these young people are out voting.” Also, Sabrina Carpenter is the artist who registered the most new voters for the 2024 Presidential Election while on tour.
“The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vince Lombardi
The Morning After The Morning After
Election night might be in the rearview mirror, but that means it’s time to keep your eyes on the road ahead. Let’s take a look (again) at how Trump’s campaign promises might work out now that he’s secured the presidency.
Trump’s plan for the economy is to raise tariffs on international goods, deregulate the oil and housing markets, deport millions of immigrants, and cut corporate taxes. Raising tariffs is expected to cause inflation, while his plan to allow housing to be built on federal land will likely only affect housing prices in a few states like Nevada and Arizona. Oil producers are unlikely to actually increase their sales despite Trump’s plan to open up federal land to drilling as they want to keep oil prices up. Cuts to corporate taxes, according to experts, will increase federal debt by over $4 trillion, and won’t actually guarantee lower prices for consumers.
As for the climate, the Trump administration is expected to cut funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, place anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. into a key position to influence America’s health policy, and maybe even place Elon Musk at the helm of a government efficiency agency.
Playing Ping Pong With Missiles
You might have forgotten that there’s a region-wide conflict going on in the Middle East. Iran is planning a retaliatory strike against Israel, which launched a barrage of missiles at Iranian military installations on October 25. According to U.S. intelligence, Iran is coordinating with its allied Shia militia groups in Iraq to launch airstrikes on Israel from both Iranian and Iraqi territory. The U.S. has warned Iraq’s government that Israel would likely strike targets on Iraqi soil if the Shia militia is successful in their attacks.
Israel’s military says it has almost finished its “complete evacuation” of the northern Gaza Strip. According to the IDF, “there is no intention of allowing the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return to their homes.” Humanitarian aid will now only be allowed into the southern portion of Gaza, as the Israelis claim there are “no more civilians left” in the north. International humanitarian groups say that Israel is carrying out the “generals’ plan” – giving civilians a deadline to leave the north before treating every living human in the area as an enemy combatant – but the IDF claims that’s not the case. Last month, the U.N. estimated that there were still 400,000 civilians living in northern Gaza. While footage has shown lines of people fleeing the area, it’s not clear how many civilians are left in the north.
Trans-Atlantic Trade Tensions
- After two and a half years of watching the war in Ukraine on its eastern flank, the European Union will soon have to deal with a cross-Atlantic trade war with its ally to the west. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose 10% tariffs on all foreign goods (plus 60% duties on Chinese goods), which are expected to harm a Europe that’s become increasingly reliant on U.S. trade.
- Before a trade war breaks out, though, European leaders are hoping that Trump won’t actually make good on his campaign promises. “Let us work together on a transatlantic partnership that continues to deliver for our citizens. Millions of jobs and billions in trade and investment on each side of the Atlantic depend on the dynamism and stability of our economic relationship,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen soon after the race was called for Trump.
- But as the saying goes, “hope for the best, prepare for the worst.” In case Trump decides to pull the trigger on his tariff plans, European leaders say they’re ready to engage in a tit-for-tat with Washington. The E.U. claims it’s developed an arsenal of trade war weapons in recent years, but we’ll have to see how exactly the bloc responds to prospective U.S. tariffs.
What’s Better Than A Yellow Brick Road?
- California is still struggling to build its long-promised bullet train connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles, but Japan has already moved past that technology. Now, Japan’s government is planning to build a ‘conveyor belt road’ connecting Tokyo and Osaka to automate cargo transportation between the two urban centers as it faces a nationwide labor shortage.
- Tokyo, located in the east of Japan, is about 320 miles (515km) away from Osaka in the country’s western reaches. The proposed conveyor belt road would carry one-ton containers between the two cities 24/7, with automated forklifts loading and unloading the boxes. Human drivers would then be used to bring the cargo to its final destination. Tests on the technology are set to begin as early as 2027, and experts say the road could cost up to ¥3.7 trillion ($23.9 billion).
More Mixed Nuts
- French, German defense ministers set to discuss fallout of Trump win (Politico)
- North Korea’s involvement in Ukraine draws China into a delicate balancing act (Guardian)
- Record-high pollution sickens thousands in Pakistan’s cultural capital of Lahore (AP)
- Controversial bill to reinterpret New Zealand’s founding document reaches parliament (Guardian)
Earth’s Winds Cause Fires
- Winds whipped through California yesterday, leading to an increased risk of wildfires in the state. The National Weather Service in Los Angeles changed its red flag warning for increased fire danger to include a “particularly dangerous situation” label.
- With predicted gusts between 50 and 100mph (80 and 161km/h) and humidity levels as low as 8%, officials in several counties urged residents to keep an eye out for fast-spreading blazes.
The Markets Love The Orange Man
- Trump’s reelection is really all anyone can think about right now (or is that just us?), so let’s take a look at how it affected the economy. The Dow jumped by 1,507 points, or 3.57%, to close at a new record high, marking the first time the index has gained more than 1,000 points in a single day since November 2022.
- The S&P 500 jumped by 2.5%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed 2.95% higher, and the U.S. dollar had its best day in two years. The price of Bitcoin also hit a new high, increasing nearly 8% in early trading and climbing above $75,000 to a record high. Dogecoin, a favorite of billionaire and Trump supporter Elon Musk, was up as much as 18%.
More Nuts In America
- Rafael forecast to become a major hurricane before hitting western Cuba (NBC)
- How Kamala Harris lost: The fatal flaws in a doomed election bid (USA Today)
- Most states that considered abortion rights amendments approved them (NPR)
- Republican Bernie Moreno ousts Sherrod Brown in Ohio Senate race (Politico)
- How to cope with post-Election Day stress (CNN)
- 2 poll workers die after vehicle swept off highway in floodwaters (ABC)
The Sycophants In The Drivers’ Seats
- Before the election, we wrote a few stories about the tech billionaires lining up to kiss Trump’s ring, trying to get in the former president’s good graces in case he won the election. Now, even more of the CEOs who shape our world are making that same “business decision.” Here are some highlights from the heads of Meta, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft.
- “Congratulations to President Trump on a decisive victory. We have great opportunities ahead of us as a country. Looking forward to working with you and your administration,” wrote Meta CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg on his company’s Twitter/X alternative, Threads. In a book supposedly written by the president-elect published earlier this year, Trump wrote that Zuckerberg would “spend the rest of his life in prison” if the Meta CEO made a wrong move against him in the 2024 election.
- Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella all tweeted similar sentiments congratulating Trump on his sweeping victory soon after the election. Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai went the extra mile in his tweet, stating that “we are in a golden age of American innovation” and even attaching an image of the electoral map. Maybe the president will give him an A+ and a gold star for that one?
More Loose Nuts
- Travis Kelce says brother Jason was ‘defending his family’ in phone-smashing incident (NBC)
- What does Trump’s election mean for EVs, Tesla, and Elon Musk? (The Verge)
- Judy Garland’s “Wizard of Oz” ruby slippers up for auction 19 years after they were stolen (CBS)
- ‘Kardashians’ Producer Fulwell 73, LeBron James’ SpringHill Co. in Talks to Merge (Variety)
- Apple reportedly facing first-ever EU fine over App Store rules (The Verge)
