Trump weakness at dealmaking leaves him stuck in Iran folly
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
You better eat your Wheaties today because there's a lot of news to cover.
Money.
Time for the business. All eyes on the new Fed chair. The economic fallout from the war is a temporary power. The president is now a major crypto industry operator. Is this White House for sale?
Politics.
Is there an energy to respond to this aggressive gerrymandering? It has never been more important to be informed and engaged.
Money Power Politics with Stephanie Ruhle. Weekdays at 9 a.m. Eastern on MSNOW. Folks, we have a whole lot to get to tonight. And so just settle in for a moment because it's busy. Todd Blanch's nomination to be the permanent attorney general is hanging by a thread. And Donald Trump is now threatening to withdraw that nomination altogether. Trump's war in Iran is raging on. And there is new reporting that the president is growing exasperated with his lack of options. And Democrats, well, they just got some good news about their prospects in the midterms as the Trump administration grows more unpopular by the day. We're going to get to all of that and more over the next hour. But I want to start tonight with an intervention for a guy who, well, I think might have a serious problem.
Do you regret getting so involved in politics? Do you think it was a good thing to do?
I think I got a little too involved in politics, got carried away, frankly. Hmm. Great job, Elon. The first step is admitting you have a problem. That was Elon Musk this week in an interview with The Economist, confessing that he got too involved in politics. It turns out that guy just can't quit because less than a week after that interview, we got this news first reported by Axios last night. Quote, Elon Musk is planning a massive push for the Republican Party in this year's midterms. A report that Musk's resuscitating his dormant super PAC and has been in talks with Trump's team about how he can help in the midterms. The New York Times then posted a story of their own, revealing that Musk plans to spend at least $100 million in this year's election.
He apparently intends to target Senate races in five states, Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, and Ohio. And he's thinking about getting involved in North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas as well. Now, folks, does that sound like a guy who really thinks he's too involved in politics? Remember, Just remember what happened the last time Elon decided to enter the political arena and become involved in politics. After helping Trump get elected in 2024, Musk sparked outrage and protests all across the country when he and his merry band of 20-year-olds started hacking away at critical government programs, firing career civil servants, and cutting social safety nets, all without delivering any discernible benefit to the American people.
But like anyone with a serious problem, Elon Musk is still in denial about all of that.
I think there is, it is a fair criticism that the way you shut down a whole bunch of programs probably, in fact, certainly caused unnecessary suffering. No. No?
No.
You don't buy that at all?
It caused a lot of complaining. Hmm, Elon Musk says everything is going fine and everyone is just complaining. Well, Harvard School of Public Health estimates that Musk's closure of USAID led to deaths of hundreds of thousands of people abroad. And researchers predict those same cuts could lead to millions of more deaths by the end of this decade. And how is the government doing with foreign aid and the aftermath of Musk cuts? Well, this week, the State Department participated in a global conference in Brazil, right? All good. Where they presented this map to conference attendees to highlight their funding of HIV programs in Africa. Okay, folks, now look closely at this map. You will see that they mislabeled every single African country on the continent.
Not a single one is in the right place. So that's how things have been going since Musk gutted foreign aid programs and more than a year ago. And what about Musk's goal of cutting the deficit? Well... He didn't do that either.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–7:34
2
How did Elon Musk's recent political activity and $100M plan for midterms come to light?
7:34–13:40
3
What were the consequences of Musk's earlier federal cuts and foreign‑aid rollbacks?
13:40–42:19
4
How will Musk likely deploy his midterm funding and why might it backfire?
42:19–43:46
Speakers
8 identifiedMore from The Briefing with Jen Psaki
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