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Fox News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
The 'Never-Trumper'
As seen on Gutfeld!, Greg's commentary on two of Obama's female secret service agents involved in a fracas. Also, the ego of the 'Never-Trumper. Greg breaks it down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit James Laverty
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
ABC bosses urged The View to tone down its Trump-bashing. But are Whoopi & Co. listening?
In the days since it was reported that the top executives at ABC News and its parent company Disney urged The View to tone down its politics, the largely Trump-bashing hosts of the daytime talk show have only grown more strident with their rhetoric. At times, it's even seemed like the show's panelists — specifically long-running moderator Whoopi Goldberg and outspoken Never Trumper Ana Navarro — have made a point of defying the corporate request to pull back on their politically charged commentary. 'You know, people always want us to be respectful and do the things and talk about the stuff we talk about. We can do all of that,' Goldberg exclaimed last Thursday, holding up a pocket Constitution while condemning the president for accepting a luxury jet from Qatar. 'But when you are blatantly giving the country the middle finger, that is blatant,' she added. 'You're not supposed to do that!' Navarro, who recently spoke to Disney chief Bob Iger about the show's political tone and coverage, wasted no time going after Trump this week after returning from the Memorial Day break. 'If Joe Biden said that, we'd be talking about his cognitive skills and cognitive decline for days,' she said after the show aired a clip of Trump flubbing the word 'cryptologic' during a recent speech. 'You know, he calls the way he speaks the weave, I call the thing on his head the weave.' That was just one small blip, meanwhile, in a lengthy opening segment on Tuesday that focused intently on Trump using his Memorial Day speech and soxcial media post to attack and slam his political rivals. And much as she did on a few days prior, Goldberg appeared to deliver a not-so-subtle message to the C-suite about the editorial direction of the show. 'Whatever it is, it's on us. We have work to do,' she proclaimed to applause from the in-studio audience. 'We have to get out and make sure we put the balance back into this country.' Meanwhile, Wednesday's broadcast represented the third straight episode in which The View kicked off with a lengthy segment tearing into Trump and his administration, this time over the president issuing a pardon to reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley. The MAGA-backing couple, whose daughter spoke at the Republican National Convention, were convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud in 2022 for defrauding community banks of $30 million in fraudulent loans. And at the end of the A-block on the show, Goldberg once again waved around her pocket Constitution while chastising the Trump White House, all while suggesting it is a moral imperative that the show call out the actions of this president. 'When you want to know 'does this pass the smell test,' all you've got to do is check it out here. See, because there are things you don't do in America that we — the Constitution says it. It's not us saying it. It's saying we don't do this in America,' she exclaimed. 'I get that your whole family has figured out a way to make money from the country. I get it. OK. That's what you do,' Goldberg continued. 'That's what you've always done. What I don't like is that you get pi**y with other people doing the same thing. Either it's not good for everybody, or it's good for everybody. Somebody make up their mind!' The Independent has reached out to ABC News for comment. The impassioned anti-Trump screeds, of course, are nothing new on this show. In fact, it has become a feature for the better part of a decade, even when Joe Biden occupied the White House for four years. Additionally, the past week's new shows have continued the basic format that has been in place in recent months. While the show typically leads off with a 'Hot Topic' centered on political news, the rest of the program tends to feature a variety of other issues that the panel tackles. For instance, on Wednesday's telecast, the Chrisley segment was followed by discussions centering on drama with a Real Housewives cast member and Gen Z taking 'adulting' classes, alongside interviews with Julianne Moore and Ashley Tisdale. However, with Trump back in the White House, and Disney welcoming him back into office by paying him $15 million to settle his lawsuit over Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos' inaccurate on-air assertion that Trump had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll, the media landscape has suddenly shifted. Now, the massive conglomerates and mega-billionaires who control the legacy media have shown their willingness to cozy up and capitulate to a temperamental commander-in-chief who has made attacking the free press a hallmark of his new administration. It is within this current environment that ABC News chief Almin Karamehmedovic and Disney boss Bob Iger asked the outspoken hosts of The View, which Trump and his allies have long complained about, to tone down the political tenor of the show and lean more into general interest coverage and celebrity interviews. 'The move was not framed as an edict, one source said, but the suggestion alone rankled the hosts,' the Daily Beast reported about the meeting Karamehmedovic had with the show's stars and executive producer, which featured him pointing out the celebrity guest who drew high ratings. 'The group pushed back forcefully, with hosts like Navarro noting the show's audience routinely seeks out its perspective on politics, especially when the administration's radical attempts to upend the government can potentially affect their daily lives,' the Beast added. A source familiar with the matter told The Independent that the network 'constantly has conversations with talent based on viewer feedback, and this instance was no different,' adding that the meeting was merely 'about balance in the show on topics' and not necessarily 'talking about Trump.' While the meeting wasn't framed as an edict, and the hosts reportedly found Karamehmedovic's request to tamp down the politics 'silly' since it would 'look kind of bad' to their audience, the issue remained a sticking point for Navarro. She would eventually broach the subject with Iger, whom she ran into during Disney's recent upfront advertiser presentation. After Navarro thanked him for allowing the hosts to continue to do 'their job in a politically turbulent environment,' the Beast reported, Iger said that while he does support The View, he 'reaffirmed that the show needed to tone down its political rhetoric.' The conversation with Navarro revealed that the 'suggestion to tone down the politics went all the way to the top.' And though the corporate effort to tamp down the political coverage could very well be nothing more than an attempt to find the right balance for a talk show to broaden its viewership, it is impossible not to view it through the lens of the current administration's war against the media – which includes ABC. Despite Disney's settlement on the Stephanopulos interview, the president has continued to rail against the news network. Earlier this month, he fumed at an 'ABC fake news' reporter for grilling him on the luxury jet that the Qatari royal family gifted him. 'Let me tell you, you should be embarrassed asking that question,' he growled. Days later, he would threaten to sue ABC News over the way the network has reported on the $400 million jumbo jet from Qatar, wondering why Iger doesn't 'do something about ABC Fake News' while referencing his previous defamation suit against the network. Trump is also in talks to settle a $20 billion lawsuit against CBS News over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, even though legal experts have called the complaint frivolous and the network itself says it is 'completely without merit.' However, because the network's corporate parent Paramount is looking to complete a mega-merger with Skydance that it needs the administration to approve, Paramount chair Shari Redstone has urged the board to settle with Trump to push the deal through. The potential payment to Trump has resulted in the resignations of CBS News chief Wendy McMahon and 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens, who made it clear they would not apologize as part of any settlement.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Loses Final AAA Credit Rating As Markets And Bitcoin Fall — Will the Risk-Off Panic Continue?
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Financial markets were thrown into turmoil Friday after Moody's—the last major ratings agency maintaining the U.S.' pristine credit status since 1917—shocked investors by downgrading the country's long-term credit rating. The stunning announcement triggered immediate selling across both traditional and cryptocurrency markets, leaving investors scrambling to reassess positions heading into an uncertain weekend. In what many analysts are calling a watershed moment for global finance, Moody's dropped its bombshell announcement 11 minutes before futures trading closed on Friday—leaving traders with no immediate way to respond. The ratings agency downgraded US debt from AAA to Aa1, joining Fitch, which downgraded the U.S. in 2023, and the 2011 cut by S&P. Don't Miss: — no wallets, just price speculation and free paper trading to practice different strategies. Grow your IRA or 401(k) with Crypto – . Moody's cited 'the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns.' The agency further warned it 'expects borrowing needs to continue to grow and for it to weigh on the US economy as a whole'—a sobering assessment that could push up interest rates and create additional financial burdens for Americans already struggling with tariffs and inflation. The Nasdaq futures contract (NQ1!) immediately cracked below its yearly opening level—a technically devastating break that signals potential further carnage when markets reopen next week. The White House response added another layer of controversy to the market upheaval. In a statement on X, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung suggested Moody's analysis might be politically motivated, writing: 'Mark Zandi, the economist for Moody's, is an Obama advisor and Clinton donor who has been a Never Trumper since 2016. Nobody takes his 'analysis' seriously. He has been proven wrong time and time again.' This political dimension adds further uncertainty for markets already processing the first time in over a century that the U.S. has lost all of its perfect credit ratings. Despite the downgrade, Moody's considers the U.S. outlook 'stable' for now, partly due to 'its long history of very effective monetary policy led by an independent Federal Reserve.' However, this assessment comes as questions have been raised about whether the Fed independence will continue to be respected under the current administration. Cryptocurrency markets, already showing significant weakness, faced compounding pressure as the Moody's news broke. Bitcoin's technical picture has rapidly deteriorated with: Repeated rejections at critical trend line support on four-hour charts A textbook series of lower highs pointing to accelerating bearish momentum Failure to overcome established weekly resistance despite multiple attempts These bearish technical signals, now amplified by macroeconomic uncertainty, have created what some traders are calling 'the perfect storm' for digital assets. While Bitcoin has weathered previous downturns, the confluence of technical weakness and sovereign credit concerns presents an unprecedented challenge. Trending: New to crypto? on Coinbase. For investors trying to navigate the turbulence, several make-or-break price levels now stand between orderly correction and potential capitulation: The $100,678 threshold represents the last significant swing low on four-hour timeframes A crucial institutional demand zone between $95,700 and $97,300 may provide temporary relief Most critically, $93,548 marks the yearly opening price—a psychological line in the sand If these support levels fail to hold—particularly the yearly open—technical analysts warn of potential acceleration to the downside as stop-loss orders trigger and leveraged positions unwind. The Moody's downgrade forces investors to confront uncomfortable questions about America's fiscal trajectory and its implications for the global financial system. With U.S. Treasury securities serving as the world's risk-free benchmark, a credit downgrade of this magnitude could ripple through everything from mortgage rates to pension funds. Moody's noted that 'increasing government revenue or reducing spending could restore America's AAA rating,' but current fiscal policy direction may be moving in the opposite direction. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget recently projected that proposed tax cuts could add $3.3 trillion to the nation's debt over the next decade, with annual deficits potentially jumping from $1.8 trillion in 2024 to $2.9 trillion by 2034. Even more alarming for markets, the country is already approaching another summer deadline when the US could potentially default on its debt unless the borrowing limit is raised, according to Treasury Department estimates—setting up yet another debt ceiling showdown that could further destabilize markets. For cryptocurrency investors specifically, the timing couldn't be more precarious. Bitcoin's vulnerability at key technical junctures now coincides with a potential shift in the macroeconomic narrative that had previously supported digital asset valuations. As markets digest these developments, volatility will likely intensify across all asset classes. Whether this becomes a brief episode of uncertainty or the catalyst for a broader risk-off cycle may depend on how policymakers respond and whether Bitcoin can defend its critical support architecture in the coming days. Read Next: A must-have for all crypto enthusiasts: . 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. Image: Shutterstock Send To MSN: 0 This article US Loses Final AAA Credit Rating As Markets And Bitcoin Fall — Will the Risk-Off Panic Continue? originally appeared on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Miami Herald
22-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
What Credit Rating Cut Means for America's Economy
On May 16, Moody's lowered the U.S.'s credit rating from "Aaa" to "Aa1," stripping the country of the perfect score held since 1917 and casting an even brighter spotlight on Washington's long-running fiscal troubles. "Successive U.S. administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs," Moody's wrote in its assessment. "We do not believe that material multi-year reductions in mandatory spending and deficits will result from current fiscal proposals under consideration." "The U.S.'s fiscal performance is likely to deteriorate relative to its own past and compared to other highly-rated sovereigns," it added. The White House has brushed aside the downgrade, describing it as largely symbolic and dismissing both the lagging indicator and the rater. The administration denies that the U.S. possesses anything other than strong fiscal footing and top-shelf creditworthiness. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN that he did not "put much credence" in Moody's rating and that the "trillions of dollars" coming into the U.S. thanks to President Donald Trump's recent Middle East tour was an encouraging enough signal of investor confidence and economic health. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung called Mark Zandi, Moody's chief economist, a "Never Trumper" who had "been proven wrong time and time again." "When you look at the world, the world has confidence in the United States of America and our economy," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said when asked to respond to the credit rating cut. "So there's a lot of optimism in this economy, and the president disagrees with that assessment," she added. Economists have told Newsweek that while the downgrade itself does not spell any new concerns for the American economy beyond potentially weakening already shaky market confidence, the conditions that prompted Moody's decision have long shadowed over the country's fiscal trajectory. With the downgrade, Moody's joins the other two major credit rating agencies—Fitch and S&P—that withdrew the U.S.'s perfect rating in 2023 and 2011, respectively. In its assessment, Moody's acknowledged that the U.S. "retains exceptional credit strengths such as the size, resilience and dynamism of its economy and the role of the U.S. dollar as global reserve currency." However, it said the decision to downgrade was based on the U.S.'s ballooning federal debt, which had helped push the deficit to a staggering $36 trillion. "It is appropriate, I think, to downgrade the U.S. debt, given the size of current debt and deficits," said William Gale, the chair in federal economic policy at the Brookings Institution and a co-founder of the Tax Policy Center. More significant, he told Newsweek, was the "implied disregard" for addressing these issues, exemplified by the current budget—the "one big, beautiful bill"—being advanced by Republican House leadership with the support of Trump. The reconciliation bill in its current form includes a multitrillion-dollar hike to the nation's debt ceiling, an extension of Trump's 2017 tax cuts—with a view to making these permanent—and spending cuts that do little to offset these reductions in federal inflows. "If the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is extended, which is our base case, it will add around $4 trillion to the federal fiscal primary (excluding interest payments) deficit over the next decade," Moody's wrote on Friday. The GOP has not secured unanimous support for the bill in either chamber, the primary holdouts being fiscal hawks concerned about the unavoidable and significant increases to the deficit that would occur. The White House has denied that the bill will add to the deficit, even as independent experts and budget watchdogs offer a conflicting assessment. Gale said the bill would add to the risks posed by a ballooning debt "in every way." He added that if interest rates surpass economic growth, "then we are in for a particularly rocky ride, as the debt/GDP burden will start to spiral upward." "We have the resources to cover our debt over the near term, and the long-term outlook is addressable provided politicians are willing to make some harder choices," said John Canavan, a lead financial market analyst at Oxford Economics. "The current reconciliation bill working through Congress suggests that politicians aren't yet prepared to make those choices." The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) estimates that the reconciliation bill will add "roughly $3.3 trillion" to the national debt. "We should not pass any legislation that will add to deficits until we improve our fiscal situation, and the current form of the bill would—even after accounting for growth," Maya MacGuineas, the president of the CRFB, told Newsweek. MacGuineas said Moody's announcement wouldn't "be a tipping point" as the information on which it was based was already known to investors. However, she added that it would contribute to "higher interest rates and market gyrations," which in turn have "a negative effect on growth." Interest rates rose following Moody's announcement, the BBC reported, briefly surpassing 5 percent to reach their highest level since October 2023. The CFRB projected that the U.S. would pay close to $1 trillion in interest on its national debt in 2025, almost triple 2020 levels and surpassing the country's world-leading defense budget of $850 billion. "We are now at the point with interest payments larger than spending on national defense. That makes us highly vulnerable in terms of geopolitics and national security," MacGuineas said. "Unfortunately, it is not an exaggeration to say that over time it will undermine our role as a superpower, as it has to other countries in the past." Related Articles Republicans Are Now Trapped by Their Own BudgetUS Warned of 'Death Spiral' of DebtNearly 3 Million Will Have Taxes Raised Under New PlanAmerican Socialists Are Bleeding Cash and a Democrat Is Celebrating 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Newsweek
22-05-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
What Credit Rating Cut Means for America's Economy
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. On May 16, Moody's lowered the U.S.'s credit rating from "Aaa" to "Aa1," stripping the country of the perfect score held since 1917 and casting an even brighter spotlight on Washington's long-running fiscal troubles. "Successive U.S. administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs," Moody's wrote in its assessment. "We do not believe that material multi-year reductions in mandatory spending and deficits will result from current fiscal proposals under consideration." "The U.S.'s fiscal performance is likely to deteriorate relative to its own past and compared to other highly-rated sovereigns," it added. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty The White House has brushed aside the downgrade, describing it as largely symbolic and dismissing both the lagging indicator and the rater. The administration denies that the U.S. possesses anything other than strong fiscal footing and top-shelf creditworthiness. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN that he did not "put much credence" in Moody's rating and that the "trillions of dollars" coming into the U.S. thanks to President Donald Trump's recent Middle East tour was an encouraging enough signal of investor confidence and economic health. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung called Mark Zandi, Moody's chief economist, a "Never Trumper" who had "been proven wrong time and time again." "When you look at the world, the world has confidence in the United States of America and our economy," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said when asked to respond to the credit rating cut. "So there's a lot of optimism in this economy, and the president disagrees with that assessment," she added. Economists have told Newsweek that while the downgrade itself does not spell any new concerns for the American economy beyond potentially weakening already shaky market confidence, the conditions that prompted Moody's decision have long shadowed over the country's fiscal trajectory. What Does This Mean for the US Economy? With the downgrade, Moody's joins the other two major credit rating agencies—Fitch and S&P—that withdrew the U.S.'s perfect rating in 2023 and 2011, respectively. In its assessment, Moody's acknowledged that the U.S. "retains exceptional credit strengths such as the size, resilience and dynamism of its economy and the role of the U.S. dollar as global reserve currency." However, it said the decision to downgrade was based on the U.S.'s ballooning federal debt, which had helped push the deficit to a staggering $36 trillion. "It is appropriate, I think, to downgrade the U.S. debt, given the size of current debt and deficits," said William Gale, the chair in federal economic policy at the Brookings Institution and a co-founder of the Tax Policy Center. More significant, he told Newsweek, was the "implied disregard" for addressing these issues, exemplified by the current budget—the "one big, beautiful bill"—being advanced by Republican House leadership with the support of Trump. The reconciliation bill in its current form includes a multitrillion-dollar hike to the nation's debt ceiling, an extension of Trump's 2017 tax cuts—with a view to making these permanent—and spending cuts that do little to offset these reductions in federal inflows. "If the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is extended, which is our base case, it will add around $4 trillion to the federal fiscal primary (excluding interest payments) deficit over the next decade," Moody's wrote on Friday. The GOP has not secured unanimous support for the bill in either chamber, the primary holdouts being fiscal hawks concerned about the unavoidable and significant increases to the deficit that would occur. President Donald Trump speaking to the press, with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson behind him, following a House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 20. President Donald Trump speaking to the press, with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson behind him, following a House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May White House has denied that the bill will add to the deficit, even as independent experts and budget watchdogs offer a conflicting assessment. Gale said the bill would add to the risks posed by a ballooning debt "in every way." He added that if interest rates surpass economic growth, "then we are in for a particularly rocky ride, as the debt/GDP burden will start to spiral upward." "We have the resources to cover our debt over the near term, and the long-term outlook is addressable provided politicians are willing to make some harder choices," said John Canavan, a lead financial market analyst at Oxford Economics. "The current reconciliation bill working through Congress suggests that politicians aren't yet prepared to make those choices." The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) estimates that the reconciliation bill will add "roughly $3.3 trillion" to the national debt. "We should not pass any legislation that will add to deficits until we improve our fiscal situation, and the current form of the bill would—even after accounting for growth," Maya MacGuineas, the president of the CRFB, told Newsweek. MacGuineas said Moody's announcement wouldn't "be a tipping point" as the information on which it was based was already known to investors. However, she added that it would contribute to "higher interest rates and market gyrations," which in turn have "a negative effect on growth." Interest rates rose following Moody's announcement, the BBC reported, briefly surpassing 5 percent to reach their highest level since October 2023. The CFRB projected that the U.S. would pay close to $1 trillion in interest on its national debt in 2025, almost triple 2020 levels and surpassing the country's world-leading defense budget of $850 billion. "We are now at the point with interest payments larger than spending on national defense. That makes us highly vulnerable in terms of geopolitics and national security," MacGuineas said. "Unfortunately, it is not an exaggeration to say that over time it will undermine our role as a superpower, as it has to other countries in the past."
