‘Merz might turn out to be a transitional figure,' says analyst on German elections
Paula Newton speaks with David Broder, the Europe Editor at Jacobin, and Constanze Stelzenmüller, Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution, about the results of the German elections.
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2 hours ago
The implosion of a powerful political alliance: Trump and Musk in their own words
Last Friday, President Donald Trump heaped praise on Elon Musk as the tech billionaire prepared to leave his unorthodox White House job. Less than a week later, their potent political alliance met a dramatic end Thursday when the men attacked each other with blistering epithets. Trump threatened to go after Musk's business interests. Musk called for Trump's impeachment. Here's a look at the implosion of their relationship in their own words. 'Today it's about a man named Elon. And he's one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced. He stepped forward to put his very great talents into the service of our nation and we appreciate it. Just want to say that Elon has worked tirelessly helping lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations.' — Trump, May 30, Oval Office remarks ___ Trump invited cameras into the Oval Office last week to bid farewell to Musk, who said he was stepping away from his government work to focus on his businesses. Trump spoke effusively of Musk and his work with the Department of Government Efficiency for nearly 15 minutes straight. "I'll continue to be visiting here and be a friend and adviser to the president," Musk said. He marveled at the gold-tinged decorations Trump placed around the Oval Office. 'The oval office finally has the majesty that it deserves thanks to the president,' he said. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' — Musk, Tuesday, post on X. ___ Days after their Oval Office meeting, Musk escalated his previously restrained criticism of Trump's 'big, beautiful' budget bill, the president's top congressional priority. Still, he kept his critique focused on their policy disagreement. He did not go after Trump by name, even as he called on Republican lawmakers to vote down the bill and threatened political retribution against those who took Trump's side. 'In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,' Musk wrote on X. Uncharacteristically for a man who rarely lets a snub go unanswered, Trump did not respond. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Musk's views on the bill were not a surprise to Trump, and his social media posting 'doesn't change the president's opinion.' Musk continued Wednesday, approvingly sharing social media posts and memes that criticized the budget's price tag and deficit impacts, though still directing his ire at Congress. 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore." -- Trump, Thursday, Oval Office meeting with the German chancellor. ___ Trump said he was 'very disappointed in Elon" and was surprised by his benefactor's criticism. The war of words escalated rapidly from there. It all played out on their respective social media platforms, with Musk posting on X and Trump on Truth Social. Musk dismissed Trump's criticism. 'Whatever,' he wrote. He shared old Trump social media posts urging lawmakers to oppose deficit spending and increasing the debt ceiling. 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate," Musk posted, a reference to Musk's record political spending last year, which topped $250 million. 'Such ingratitude,' he added. Trump said Musk had worn out his welcome at the White House and was mad that Trump was changing electric vehicle policies in ways that would financially harm Musk-led Tesla. 'Elon was 'wearing thin,' I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!' Trump wrote. He added: 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' 'Time to drop the really big bomb: Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' — Musk, Thursday, X post. ___ In a series of posts, he shined a spotlight on ties between Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who killed himself while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Some loud voices in Trump's 'Make America Great Again' movement claim Epstein's suicide was staged by powerful figures, including prominent Democrats, who feared Epstein would expose their involvement in trafficking. Trump's own FBI leaders have dismissed such speculation and there's no evidence supporting it. 'Yes,' he wrote.
CNBC
3 hours ago
- CNBC
Europeans say society is broken — and Brits want a rule-breaking leader to fix it, poll finds
People across Europe say their countries are in decline and society is broken, according to a new Ipsos poll shared with CNBC. Negative sentiment has grown in the past four years across Europe's major economies – with citizens in Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy all increasingly sharing the belief that society is "broken" over the past four years. Ipsos U.S. President Clifford Young on Thursday told CNBC "the predisposition towards populism and anti-establishment sentiment is very stable and high at a global level." Populist sentiments have dominated electoral discussions across Europe, with the hard-right Patriots for Europe group securing over 10% of the vote at last year's European Parliament election. Within the past week, a Trump-backed candidate won the Polish presidency in a narrow second round vote, while in Romania the pro-EU Nicusor Dan won in a run-off presidential vote after losing the first round to a far-right candidate. In Germany, 77% of respondents said they believe society is broken – up 16 percentage points since this research was conducted in 2021. Great Britain and France both also saw double-digit percentage increases. Europe's largest economy has seen its share of political upheaval in recent months. Germany's far-right Alternative für Deutschland party secured over 20% percent of the national vote in February's election, doubling its vote share since 2021. The country's two traditional centrist parties have since formed a government and passed legislation allowing major borrowing for defense and infrastructure. Teneo's Carsten Nickel on Thursday described the German government's plans as "a massive, large scale, live experiment in Europe's biggest economy. With 500 billion in public investment, can you actually bring the AfD vote down?" Economic concerns appear to be adding to populist sentiment across the continent. Across every European country that participated in the survey, people were more likely than not to believe their economies are rigged to advantage the rich and powerful. Around 72% of Brit respondents agreed with that statement, the highest number in Europe and more than any other country in the G7. But the sentiment was shared across the globe, with a majority of 29 of the 31 countries included in the report saying their economies are rigged. University of York academic Daphne Halikiopoulou says right-wing populist parties are adjusting their messaging to appeal to those voters. "These parties are increasingly talking economics in a way that appeals to what I call peripheral voters, so people who don't vote for the far-right as an endorsement, but rather as [a] protest against other parties, mainstream parties, who they think have failed them socially and economically." Brits were the most likely to support turning to a "strong leader who breaks the rules" as the solution to the problems they see in their economy. More than half of respondents agree a strong leader was needed, compared to just 24% of people in Germany wanting a rule-breaking leader, and only 38% in the United States. Young says this is a sign of "people being extremely frustrated because they don't feel like they're getting their just dues," while Lizzie Galbraith, senior political economist at Aberdeen, said "there's been evidence in the UK for some time now that there is the level of dissatisfaction with the status quo … the drop in living standards is probably a really good reason for why that dissatisfaction is there". The U.K.'s governing Labour Party is facing pressure in the polls from the right-wing Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage, who recently outlined a plan to expand welfare payments and cut taxes. But pressures on the public finances could limit the government's ability to make spending offers of its own to try and boost its popularity. Nickel told CNBC that "extremely limited fiscal space" is making the Labour government more reactive to "short-term fiscal and ultimately, interest rate trends, then being able to look at the longer term and really make the investments that would be required, or that might make a difference." Those financial pressures could also impact the policy platforms of populist parties if they are successful in securing power across Europe. Galbraith says "actually implementing those policies in practice would be far more challenging." She added, "We have often seen populist parties moderate when they sort of enter government because of those fiscal constraints that they find themselves in." France is scheduled to be the next major European economy to head to the polls when it holds presidential elections in 2027, and it is another country where we have seen signs of public frustration. 65% of respondents to Ipsos' survey agreed that "society is broken" in the country. Galbraith described the French government's position as "really difficult", warning that President Emmanuel Macron will be "suffering with political divisions right up until the presidential election" as he looks to deliver economic reforms through a deeply divided National Assembly. National Rally leader Marine Le Pen has been barred from running in the election after being convicted of embezzlement — an allegation she denies. Halikiopoulou says the decision could be a "double-edged sword", with the far-right party looking to present themselves as having been "victimized".
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Musk says Trump tariffs will cause a recession later this year
Elon Musk predicted Trump's tariffs will trigger a recession later this year. Musk's comment comes amid a growing public fallout with the president. Wall Street has expressed similar concerns over Trump's tariffs. Elon Musk predicted Donald Trump's tariffs will send the economy into recession, one of many verbal barbs the tech billionaire threw at the president on Thursday as their relationship collapsed into acrimony. "The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year," Musk wrote on X while reposting another tweet that called Trump's tariffs "super stupid." The morning began with Trump saying he was disappointed by Musk's opposition to his "One Big Beautiful Bill" during a press appearance to welcome the German Chancellor to the White House. The feud intensified when Musk called out Trump's "ingratitude," and suggested establishing a new political party. The SpaceX cofounder also proposed decommissioning the company's Dragon spacecraft after Trump threatened to cut his government contracts, although Musk backed off that idea pretty quickly on X. Fractures between the two emerged after Musk left his role recently at the White House. On Tuesday, Musk blasted the Republicans' tax-and-spending-cut bill, which Trump helped to shepherd through the House, calling it "pork-filled'" and a "disgusting abomination." Musk isn't alone in criticizing the potential fiscal impact of this legislation. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated it could increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over a decade. Other experts also agree with Musk that Trump's tariffs could have a negative impact on the US economy. JPMorgan predicted a 60% chance of a US recession after Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on April 2. The bank adjusted the possibility down to below 50% recently after Trump paused most of his highest tariffs. In a March interview with Fox News, Trump had also declined to rule out the possibility of a recession. "I hate to predict things like that," said Trump. "There is a period of transition," he added, "because what we're doing is very big. We're bringing back wealth to America. That's a big thing, and there are always periods of, it takes a little time, it takes a little time." Read the original article on Business Insider
