The conspicuous silence of Trump and Musk's foreign allies
You're reading an excerpt from the WorldView newsletter. Sign up to get the rest, including news from around the globe and interesting ideas and opinions to know, sent to your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Divorces are often difficult for those caught up in the middle, so spare a thought for Argentine President Javier Milei. The libertarian leader threw in his lot with President Donald Trump, casting himself as a MAGA fellow traveler. He carried out numerous visits to the United States on missions tailored specifically to ingratiate himself to the American president. But he also served as a direct source of inspiration for tech billionaire Elon Musk, who took up Milei's radical revamping of Argentina's economy and gutting of its federal government as a model for what his U.S. DOGE Service should achieve. Milei even gifted Musk a chainsaw, the visceral icon of what he sees himself wielding in Buenos Aires.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
14 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Global Markets Mixed; U.S.-China Trade Talks in Focus
U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open Monday after gains last week buoyed by optimism around U.S.-China trade talks, and after the U.S. jobs market held up better than expected. The main focus this week is on those trade talks in London, while U.S. inflation data for May are due on Wednesday.
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'When He Least Expects It': Michael Cohen Warns Elon Musk Of Trump's Revenge
Michael Cohen, former longtime personal attorney to Donald Trump, on Sunday warned Elon Musk that the president isn't done with him yet. 'They're going to really go after Elon Musk like nobody has seen, ever, in this country because they can,' he said on MSNBC on Saturday. 'And one thing Elon doesn't understand is this political guerrilla warfare that they're going to conduct against him.' Cohen warned that Trump can use the power of government to target Musk's companies and even his citizenship. Musk and Trump last week had a spectacularly public falling out, and over the weekend the president slammed his one-time pal as 'very disrespectful' and warned him of 'serious consequences' if he supported Democrats. Cohen said that while Trump has also downplayed the feud, the president is likely already plotting against the billionaire behind the scenes. 'I just wish him well,' Trump said on Friday. 'No he doesn't,' Cohen said. 'Because while Elon Musk is taking a step back thinking Trump is taking a step back, what Trump is actually doing is weaponizing the Department of Justice through his attorney general and other people, and they are gonna drop the hammer on him out of nowhere when he least expects it. That's the playbook.' See more of his conversation with MSNBC's Ali Velshi below:
San Francisco Chronicle
20 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
China says its exports to the US fell nearly 10% in May, as trade talks are due to start in London
China's exports to the United States sank fell nearly 10% in May from a year earlier, new customs data show, adding to pressure on the world's second largest economy as a new round of trade talks with Washington was due to start later Monday in London. China's total exports rose 4.8% last month, slowing from an 8.1% year-on-year increase in April. Imports declined 3.4% year-on-year, leaving a trade surplus of $103.2 billion. China exported $28.8 billion to the United States in May, while its imports from the U.S. fell 7.4% to $10.8 billion, the report said. Still, exports to Southeast Asia and the European Union remained robust, growing 14.8% and 12%, year-on-year. Exports to Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia were sharply higher, and exports to Germany jumped more than 12%. 'The acceleration of exports to other economies has helped China's exports to remain relatively buoyant in the face of the trade war,' Lynne Song of ING Economics said in a commentary. Many businesses had rushed orders earlier in the year to try to beat higher tariffs. Once new import duties took effect, shipments slowed. Exports will likely rebound somewhat in June thanks to a 90-day suspension of most of the tariffs China and the U.S. imposed on each other in their escalating trade war, Zichun Huang of Capital Economics said in a report. 'But with tariffs likely to remain elevated and Chinese manufacturers facing broader constraints on their ability to sustain rapid gains in global market share, we think export growth will slow further by year-end,' Huang said. Despite the tariffs truce, rancor between Beijing and Washington has persisted, with angry exchanges over advanced semiconductors, 'rare earths' that are vital to many industries and visas for Chinese students at American universities. The round of negotiations due to take place later Monday in London follow a phone call last week between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. It's unclear if that exchange will lead to any significant progress during the talks this week. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday, Trump said Xi had agreed to restart exports of rare earth minerals and magnets to the U.S. which China had slowed, threatening a range of U.S. manufacturers that relied on the critical materials. There was no immediate confirmation from China. The trade data released on Monday showed a nearly 21% plunge in the value of China's rare earths exports in January to May compared with a year earlier. In terms of volume, those exports rose 2.3%. Similar trends can be seen in exports of other products and commodities, such as shoes, ceramics and cell phones, as slowing demand causes prices to fall. Other data released Monday highlighted the pressure on China's own economy from slowing exports. Imports have faltered since manufacturers import many of the components and materials needed for the goods they assemble for the world. At the same time, China's own domestic markets are suffering. The government reported that consumer prices fell 0.1% in May, evidence of sluggish demand. The persisting deflation partly reflects lower food prices, economists said.
