Republicans should welcome Democrats' turn to ‘abundance'
James Pethokoukis is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of 'The Conservative Futurist.'
The 'Abundance' bros have arrived! And the MAGA bros should be excited!
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Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Trump Is Bending Institutions to His Will. Now, He Wants To Control Google's Search Results
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. It should come as no surprise that the man who vowed to be a dictator only on "day one" has spent the first six months of his presidency trying to assert control over companies and institutions. President Donald Trump has attempted to bully his perceived foes into silence or submission. Consider the destructive ways that Trump has seized control over institutions. He has held the Paramount–Skydance merger hostage to pressure 60 Minutes over its editorial decisions. He forced Meta to pay $25 million to settle his own baseless lawsuit over so-called unfair treatment. He demanded that Harvard hand over surveillance footage of lawful student protests and pressured law firms to bend a knee to his self-serving whims. In Trump's quest for control and compliance, Google's search engine results, which millions of Americans rely on every day, could be the next target. A logo sits illuminated outside the Google booth at ISE 2025 on Feb. 4, 2025, in Barcelona, Spain. A logo sits illuminated outside the Google booth at ISE 2025 on Feb. 4, 2025, in Barcelona, Justice Department's 2021 suit against Google is rooted in something fundamentally boring: the company's "search distribution agreements" with companies like Apple and Samsung. It's a relatively narrow case that's spanned three administrations, and seemingly too dry to spark fears of an authoritarian, MAGA-controlled internet. But Trump's appointees keep letting the mask slip. For them, it's actually about cracking down on Google's control over its own search results and content policies. When Judge Amit Mehta ruled against Google in early 2024, the company's competitors and critics came out of the woodwork for a gleeful round of remedy wishcasting. Former President Joe Biden's DOJ, riding a wave of anti-corporatism on the left, proposed a far-reaching set of remedies that strayed well beyond the original case. As the remedies stage unfolded this year, Trump's DOJ made clear that it didn't see this case as a matter of competition policy, but as a vehicle to punish Google for exercising its free speech rights. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche dropped the pretense at the start of the remedies trial, telling reporters that the case was necessary because "Google has deplatformed conservative speech and has put its thumb on the scale politically for years." Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater went even further, calling Google a threat to "our freedom of speech, our freedom of thought." Never mind that the actual case says nothing about speech or censorship. To Trump's administration, this is about control, not market share. And they're pulling every lever they can to make sure this case ends the way Trump wants. The Justice Department's latest set of proposed remedies would put Trump appointees directly under the hood of Google's search engine for the next three to six years. If adopted by Judge Mehta, the DOJ's proposal would allow Trump to hand-pick a five-person "technical committee" with broad control over Google's business and products for a decade. Google's committee would get unprecedented access to all of Google's "secret sauce": source code, algorithms, and internal systems. They could examine any internal Google document or interview any Google employee. The DOJ's proposal would also let the Trump administration decide who counts as a "qualified competitor" to Google, and hand those companies the benefits of Google's innovation for free. That opens the door for Trump-aligned platforms like Truth Social and Rumble to get special treatment. Trump has shown, time and again, that he's more than willing to weaponize the government to advance his interests. It's easy to see where this road leads. Just look at how Trump ousted the Kennedy Center board, simply because he didn't like a drag show. Now, Trump's hand-picked loyalists are reshaping the Center's programming to serve his ideological agenda. At an institution meant to celebrate free expression, dissenting voices are no longer welcome. Imagine Googling "Donald Trump" and seeing only glowing coverage. Imagine Googling for information on immigration or abortion rights, only to be funneled into MAGA propaganda. If that sounds far-fetched, it shouldn't. We've already seen what Trump does with power: he punishes critics, installs loyalists, and bends once-independent institutions to his will. Now, the president stands to gain unprecedented influence over the world's most powerful information tool. It's now up to Judge Mehta to decide whether to hand Trump that power. Let's hope he stops short of giving Trump another weapon to wield against dissent. Adam Kovacevich is founder and CEO of the center-left tech industry coalition Chamber of Progress. Adam has worked at the intersection of tech and politics for 20 years, leading public policy at Google and Lime and serving as a Democratic Hill aide. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
MAGA divide over Iran splinters Trump allies
The prospect of U.S. involvement in an increasingly volatile conflict between Israel and Iran has cleaved clear divisions within the MAGA movement – a rarity over the course of President Trump's decade-long political career. Top Trump allies have pleaded their case in recent weeks directly to the president and on social media for why the U.S. should fully avoid engaging in any dispute between Iran and Israel. On another side, other Trump allies are arguing it is in the president's interest to take a more aggressive posture toward Iran. Some have suggested the schism could fracture the president's coalition. Sources who spoke with The Hill downplayed that notion, arguing Trump is the ultimate arbiter of what constitutes 'America first.' Here is who falls into each camp. A vocal group of influential MAGA voices have been banging the drum in recent days to argue against any kind of U.S involvement in a conflict with Iran. Those figures have made the case that targeting Iran would contradict Trump's 'America First' foreign policy rhetoric and would echo the mistakes of the George W. Bush administration, which Trump has sharply criticized. 'This is exactly the same pitch as the Iraq war,' former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon said on Tucker Carlson's show on X. Carlson has also been an outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Middle East, going as far as to call out by name individuals he claimed were 'warmongers' in the president's ear. The former Fox News host voiced frustrations after Israel late last week launched missile strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities and killed multiple top Iranian military officials. Carlson wrote that Trump was 'complicit in the act of war' and said what occurs next in the region 'will define Donald Trump's presidency.' Those comments did not sit well with Trump, who derided Carlson as 'kooky' in a social media post. Coming to Carlson's defense was a typically staunch Trump ally: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). She posted on X that Carlson's opposition to foreign wars did not make him 'kooky.' 'Americans want cheap gas, groceries, bills, and housing. They want affordable insurance, safe communities, and good education for their children. They want a government that works on these issues,' Greene posted on Tuesday. 'Considering Americans pay for the entire government and government salaries with their hard earned tax dollars, this is where our focus should be,' Greene added. 'Not going into another foreign war.' On the other end of the spectrum are the Trump allies who have advocated for Trump to take an aggressive approach toward Iran. That has taken on different forms, including those cheering on Israel and urging U.S. support for its ally as Israeli forces strike Iran, as well as those pressing for Trump to more directly go on offense against Tehran. One of the leading figures in that push has been Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is among Trump's top allies on Capitol Hill. Graham has in recent days made the case that Iran had its opportunity to negotiate with the administration, but that the time for action was now. Graham late Monday called for Trump to be 'all in,' whether that meant providing bombs to Israel, flying joint operations with the Israeli military or even replacing Iranian leadership. 'Four presidents have promised to make sure Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon. It will be Donald J. Trump who delivers on that promise very soon,' Graham said Tuesday. Mark Levin, a Fox News host who Trump watches and cites regularly, has also pushed back on the notion that pushing back on Iran amounts to a betrayal of the MAGA movement. 'There's nothing new or good about isolationism, which, in a word, is appeasement,' Levin wrote in a New York Post op-ed published Monday. 'The isolationists tell us that to oppose this is to be a warmonger and anti-MAGA,' Levin added. 'No, they're not MAGA. But we've seen their like before.' A third category of MAGA voices emerged in the last 48 hours as some influential voices more or less expressed deference to Trump in whatever he decided. Those figures have essentially made the case that Trump has earned the trust of his supporters, and that even some military action would not amount to a betrayal of the 'America first' movement. 'He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment. That decision ultimately belongs to the president. And of course, people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy,' Vice President Vance wrote in a lengthy social media post on Tuesday. 'But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue,' added Vance, who served in the Marines. 'And having seen this up close and personal, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish American people's goals. Whatever he does, that is his focus.' Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder and a figure with significant influence in Trump's orbit, essentially made the case late Monday that the president knows best and won't alienate his base, whatever he decides. 'He is not an isolationist. He is willing to use violent and precise force against our enemies…if and when necessary,' Kirk told Jesse Waters on Fox News. 'President Trump understands his base extraordinarily well. He knows that his base does not want another Iraq, does not want Libya, does not want a civil war or bedlam where the United States is left carrying the bag,' Kirk added. 'But also President Trump has been morally clear for a decade, Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.'
Axios
3 hours ago
- Axios
Trump's MAGA purity test
Ten years after Donald Trump hijacked the GOP with a promise to burn down the establishment, his own movement is warning him not to go soft. Why it matters: On two core articles of faith — no foreign wars and no protections for unauthorized immigrants — the Trump administration is facing a rare MAGA purity test. Zoom in: No debate has proven more divisive for the "America First" movement than Israel's war against Iran, and whether the U.S. should intervene to fully eliminate Tehran's nuclear program. MAGA's most outspoken isolationists — Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — have warned that joining the war would betray Trump's legacy and potentially destroy his presidency. Pro-Israel hardliners — Laura Loomer, Mark Levin, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) — argue that nothing would be more "America First" than striking a regime that chants "Death to America" and has plotted to assassinate Trump. The intrigue: Amid mounting signs that the U.S. is considering joining the war, Trump says his fundamental position — that Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon — has never wavered. Trump even publicly smacked down Carlson over his criticism of U.S. involvement, telling The Atlantic: "Well, considering that I'm the one that developed 'America First' ... I think I'm the one that decides that." Vice President Vance, a fierce critic of foreign interventions, defended Trump's position in a lengthy X post in which he said the president "may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment." Back at home, prominent MAGA voices were stunned to read Trump's Truth Social post last week suggesting that unauthorized immigrants who work in agriculture or hospitality might be spared from deportation. MAGA purists such as Bannon and Charlie Kirk believe that every immigrant here illegally should be deported — with some claiming Trump's new guidance created unfair carve-outs for "big agriculture." Much of the backlash landed on Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, after Axios and others reported she had lobbied for the exemption, citing potential labor shortages. "She needs to be removed," activist Ned Ryun wrote Sunday. Rollins hit back at the criticism, urging MAGA to "ignore the noise from the fake news media and the grifters trying to divide us," and declaring she supports "deportations of EVERY illegal alien." The latest: Amid the backlash, the Department of Homeland Security reversed Trump's guidance just a few days later, telling immigration agents to continue raids at farms, hotels and restaurants after all, the Washington Post first reported. Trump, sensitive to the outrage from his base and hardline immigration advisers, also on Sunday ordered expanded operations in Democrat-run cities and stressed that "all" undocumented immigrants must be deported. The big picture: Some MAGA influencers see the Iran and immigration flashpoints as inextricably linked. Bannon warned on his "War Room" podcast that getting "sucked into" a prolonged war in the Middle East would distract from Trump's most important domestic priority: mass deportations. Other Trump supporters view the two issues — helping Israel attack Iran and deporting unauthorized immigrants — as part of the same fight to preserve "Western Civilization."
