Elon Musk criticizes Trump's tax bill that cuts electric vehicle credits
Elon Musk slammed the US Senate's latest version of President Donald Trump's multi-trillion dollar tax bill Saturday, warning that the cuts to electric vehicle and other clean energy credits would be 'incredibly destructive' to the country.
Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, posted on his social media platform X about the bill, which the Senate advanced in a contentious vote late Saturday. Musk recently left Trump's side after working for several months as the head of Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
The bill would destroy millions of US jobs and give 'handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future,' Musk said.
The tech billionaire's latest criticism of the package threatens to reawaken his public rift with Trump that began after the world's richest man left his cost-cutting job in the administration.
The bill would bring a quicker end to a popular $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric vehicles.
While the earlier proposal would have ended the incentive at the end of this year for most EV sales, the new version terminates the credit after Sept. 30. Tax credits for the purchase of used and commercial electric vehicles would end at the same time.
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
How Democrats in America's most Jewish city embraced a critic of Israel for New York mayor
NEW YORK: In choosing Zohran Mamdani as their candidate for mayor, Democrats in America's most Jewish city have nominated an outspoken critic of Israel, alarming some in New York's Jewish community and signaling a sea change in the priorities of one of the party's most loyal voting groups. The 33-year-old democratic socialist's surprisingly strong performance against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo makes clear that taking a stance against Israel is no longer disqualifying in a Democratic primary. The state Assembly member has declined to support the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state, refused to denounce the term 'global intifada' and supports an organized effort to put economic pressure on Israel through boycotts and other tactics. Yet he excelled in the city with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, and with the support of many Jewish voters. Mamdani's success reflects the ideological realignment of many American Jews since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel that led to Israel's invasion of Gaza. Many Democratic voters, including Jews, have grown dismayed by Israel's conduct in the war and are deeply critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That is especially true among younger, more progressive voters, many of whom have rejected the once-broadly accepted notion that anti-Israel sentiment is inherently antisemitic. For others, Mamdani's showing has spurred new fears about safety and the waning influence of Jewish voters in a city where anti-Jewish hate crime has surged. Last year, Jews were the target of more than half of the hate crimes in the city. 'Definitely people are concerned,' said Rabbi Shimon Hecht, of Congregation B'nai Jacob in Brooklyn, who said he has heard from congregants in recent days who hope Mamdani will be beaten in the November general election, where he will face Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, Republican Curtis Sliwa, and possibly Cuomo, if he stays in the race. 'I think like every upsetting election, it's a wake-up call for people,' Hecht said. 'I strongly believe that he will not be elected as our next mayor, but it's going to take a lot of uniting among the Jewish people and others who are concerned about these issues. We have to unify.' Veteran New York Democratic political strategist Hank Sheinkopf put it more bluntly, predicting a hasty exodus of religious Jews from the city and a decline in long-standing Jewish influence that would be replicated elsewhere. 'It's the end of Jewish New York as we know it,' he said, adding: 'New York is a petri dish for national Democratic politics. And what happened here is what will likely happen in cities across the country.' Israel was a key campaign issue Mamdani's top Democratic rival, the former governor, had called antisemitism and support for Israel 'the most important issue' of the campaign. Mamdani's backers repeatedly accused Cuomo of trying to weaponize the issue. Many drew parallels to the way Republican President Donald Trump has cast any criticism of Israel's actions as antisemitic, claiming Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their own religion. For some Mamdani supporters, the election results signaled a rejection by voters of one of Cuomo's arguments: that an upstart socialist with pro-Palestinian views posed a threat to New York's Jewish community. Many were focused on issues such as affordability in a notoriously expensive city, or flat-out opposed to Cuomo, who was forced to resign in disgrace amid sexual harassment allegations. Aiyana Leong Knauer, a 35-year-old Brooklyn bartender who is Jewish and backed Mamdani, said the vote represented 'New Yorkers, many of them Jewish, saying we care more about having an affordable city than sowing division.' 'Many of us take really deep offense to our history being weaponized against us,' she said. 'Jewish people all over the world have well-founded fears for their safety, but Jews in New York are safe overall.' Others agreed with Mamdani's views on Israel. Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, an anti-Zionist, progressive group that worked on Mamdani's behalf, said Mamdani 'was actually pretty popular among a lot of Jewish voters.' 'That is not in spite of his support for Palestinian rights. That is because of his support for Palestinian rights,' she said. 'There has been a massive rupture within the Jewish community and more and more Jews of all generations, but especially younger generations,' she said, now refuse to be tied to what they see as a rogue government committing atrocities against civilians. Polls show support for Israel has declined since the war began. Overall, a slight majority of Americans now express a 'somewhat' or 'very' unfavorable opinion of Israel, according to a March Pew Research Center poll, compared with 42 percent in 2022. Democrats' views are particularly negative, with nearly 70 percent holding an unfavorable opinion versus less than 40 percent of Republicans. Beyond the mayoral race Mamdani's wasn't the only race where Israel was on voters' minds. In Brooklyn, City Councilwoman Shahana Hanif, who represents Park Slope and surrounding areas, drew criticism for her Palestinian advocacy. Some said she had failed to respond forcefully to antisemitic incidents in the district. Yet Hanif, the first Muslim woman elected to the City Council, easily beat her top challenger, Maya Kornberg, who is Jewish, despite an influx of money from wealthy, pro-Israel groups and donors. That outcome dismayed Ramon Maislen, a developer who launched Brooklyn BridgeBuilders to oppose Hanif's reelection and said antisemitism did not seem to resonate with voters. 'We were very disappointed with our neighbors' response,' he said. While campaigning against Hanif, he said he was routinely screamed at by residents and accused of supporting genocide. 'I think that those of us in the Jewish community that are attuned to that are cognizant that there's been some kind of cultural sea change that's occurring,' he said. 'What we're seeing is a legitimatization of hatred that isn't happening in any other liberal or progressive space.' Mamdani's record and rhetoric Mamdani has repeatedly pledged to fight antisemitism, including during an appearance on 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,' where he was grilled on his stance. He was joined on the show by city comptroller and fellow candidate Brad Lander, the city's highest-ranking Jewish official, who had cross-endorsed him. He has also said he would increase funding for anti-hate crime programming by 800 percent. But many of his comments have angered Jewish groups and officials, most notably his refusal to disavow the phrase 'globalize the intifada,' which has been used as a slogan in recent protests. Many Jews see it as a call to violence against Israeli civilians. In a podcast interview, Mamdani said the phrase captured a 'a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.' Given another opportunity to condemn the phrase, Mamdani on Sunday told NBC's 'Meet the Press' that it was not his role to police speech and he pledged to be a mayor who 'protects Jewish New Yorkers and lives up to that commitment through the work that I do.' Mamdani also supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which aims to pressure governments, schools and other institutions to boycott Israeli products, divest from companies that support the country, and impose sanctions. The Anti-Defamation League calls it antisemitic and part of a broader campaign to 'delegitimize and isolate the State of Israel.' Mamdani has also said that, as mayor, he would arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli leader tried to enter the city. The ADL in a statement Thursday warned candidates and their supporters not to use 'language playing into dangerous antisemitic canards that time and time again have been used to incite hatred and violence against Jews.' In his victory speech, Mamdani alluded to the criticism he'd received and said he would not abandon his beliefs. But he also said he would 'reach further to understand the perspectives of those with whom I disagree and to wrestle deeply with those disagreements.'
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Intercepted Iranian communications downplay damage from US attack: Report
Intercepted Iranian communications downplayed the extent of damage caused by US strikes on Iran's nuclear program, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing four people familiar with classified intelligence circulating within the US government. A source, who declined to be named, confirmed that account to Reuters but said there were serious questions about whether the Iranian officials were being truthful, and described the intercepts as unreliable indicators. The report by the Post is the latest, however, to raise questions about the extent of the damage to Iran's nuclear program. A leaked preliminary assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency cautioned the strikes may have only set back Iran by months. President Donald Trump has said the strikes 'completely and totally obliterated' Iran's nuclear program, but US officials acknowledge it will take time to form a complete assessment of the damage caused by the US military strikes last weekend. The White House dismissed the report by the Post. 'The notion that unnamed Iranian officials know what happened under hundreds of feet of rubble is nonsense. Their nuclear weapons program is over,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was quoted as saying by the Post. In an interview broadcast on Sunday on Fox News, Trump reiterated his confidence that the strikes had destroyed Iran's nuclear capabilities. 'It was obliterated like nobody's ever seen before. And that meant the end to their nuclear ambitions, at least for a period of time,' he said on the 'Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo' program.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Trump blasts 'communist' winner of NY Democratic primary
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump branded the winner of New York City's mayoral Democratic primary a 'pure communist' in remarks that aired Sunday, an epithet the progressive candidate dismissed as political theatrics. Zohran Mamdani's shock win last week against a scandal-scarred political heavyweight resonated as a thunderclap within the party, and drew the ire of Trump and his collaborators, who accused Mamdani of being a radical extremist. The Republican's aggressive criticism of the self-described democratic socialist is sure to ramp up over the coming months as Trump's party seeks to push Democrats away from the political center and frame them as too radical to win major US elections. 'He's pure communist' and a 'radical leftist... lunatic,' Trump fumed on Fox News talk show 'Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.' 'I think it's very bad for New York,' added Trump, who grew up in the city and built his sprawling real estate business there. 'If he does get in, I'm going to be president and he is going to have to do the right thing (or) they're not getting any money' from the federal government. Trump's White House has repeatedly threatened to curb funding for Democratic-led US cities if they oppose his policies, including cutting off money to so-called sanctuary cities which limit their cooperation with immigration authorities. Mamdani also took to the talk shows Sunday, asserting he would 'absolutely' maintain New York's status as a sanctuary city so that 'New Yorkers can get out of the shadows and into the full life of the city that they belong to.' Asked directly on NBC's 'Meet the Press' whether he is a communist, Mamdani — a 33-year-old immigrant aiming to become New York's first Muslim mayor — responded 'No, I am not. 'And I have already had to start to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I'm from, who I am, ultimately because he wants to distract from what I'm fighting for,' Mamdani said. 'I'm fighting for the very working people that he ran a campaign to empower, that he has since then betrayed.' The Ugandan-born state assemblyman had trailed former governor Andrew Cuomo in polls but surged on a message of lower rents, free daycare and buses, and other populist ideas in the notoriously expensive metropolis. Although registered Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one in New York, victory for Mamdani in November is not assured. Current Mayor Eric Adams is a Democrat but is campaigning for re-election as an independent, while Cuomo may also run unaffiliated.
