Latest news with #TrumpWorld
Daily Mail
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE How Trump finally put down the MAGA revolt over the Epstein Files... with the help of Fox News boss Rupert Murdoch, reveals MARK HALPERIN
In the immortal words of Jake Blues: 'We're getting the band back together.' And in Trump World, that doesn't mean a sedate jazz quartet playing Sunday brunch at Mar-a-Lago. It means the war drums are beating, the banners are flying, and the MAGA battalions—splintered just last week over Ukraine, immigration, and echoes from the Epstein grave—are once again marching in lockstep behind their brash commander, Donald J. Trump. What prompted this reunion after a rare moment of dissent and discomfort among the faithful? A Wall Street Journal article. Specifically, a story alleging that years ago, Trump sent a bawdy, perverse birthday note to none other than Jeffrey Epstein, his ambiguous bosom buddy/partner in crime /dear pal/nebulous acquaintance/welcome-unwelcome Mar-a-Lago rando drop-in. Whatever legitimate gripes MAGA influencers may have had with Trump last week over his tease-and-freeze strategy with the Epstein files, they were instantly superseded by rage at the WSJ story. Indeed, nothing can cause the MAGA compatriots to close ranks more forcefully than a projectile tossed by the mainstream press. To this crowd, the facts of the story were both irrelevant and suspect. (Obscene birthday cards to his friends? Cutely crude communiques? Dirty cartoons?) Never mind that the Wall Street Journal is owned by Rupert Murdoch, a magnate whose employees at Fox News probably stock more MAGA hats in the News Corps warehouse than Trump has golf balls at Bedminster. To Team Trump, the media is always shady, and the Journal article was the perfect trigger: spicy headline, a stench of scandal, and a clear shot at the Big Man. The signal went out: Hold all friendly fire, line up those ducks, circle the wagons. Trump is undersiege. Again. Within hours, the MAGAsphere came alive. TikTokers with red hats and ring lights declared war. MAGA mouthpieces who spent the last two weeks grumbling about 'betrayal' by the boss now leapt to Trump's defense. 'They're trying to take down our guy,' one YouTuber growled with bitter passion. 'You don't have to love every tweet. But we've seen this play before.' This is the oldest card in the Donald deck: Trump v. The Media. And no matter how many times it's used, it still works. The playbook fits neatly on the narrowest of cocktail napkins at this point: step one, the mainstream press comes for Trump; step two, the base rallies around Trump; step three, Trump rallies everyone by lobbing a few dozen all-caps posts about 'FAKENEWS' and 'EVIL LIARS' on Truth Social. There is no room for nuance or context, just blind ride-or-die loyalty. For the past month, however, as the Trump White House punted, hedged, and backtracked about its plans for Epstein transparency, in a manner both classically Washington-shifty and, frankly, cinematically weird, that loyalty showed signs of strain. A few cracks, a couple of questions, mutterings of concern and accountability. The phrase 'we love Trump but…' started creeping into podcasts and social media convos like mold into a Florida condo. Not anymore. This week, that 'but' was gone, replaced with fanatical oaths of allegiance. 'He's not perfect,' one prominent MAGA radio host said, 'but he's ours.' Never mind that the Wall Street Journal is owned by Rupert Murdoch (pictured right), a magnate whose employees at Fox News probably stock more MAGA hats in the News Corps warehouse than Trump has golf balls at Bedminster. That's as close to soul-searching as this movement gets. And the relief throughout the MAGA community was palpable. Being at odds with Trump is exhausting for this crew. It's like criticizing the sun for being too hot. Yes, it scorched you a little, but what are you going to do? Live in the dark? So now, the vibe is pure reunion tour, the Rolling Stones with fewer tee-shirts and more spicy Karoline Leavitt quotes. The 'Trump Train' is back on the tracks, and the memes are electric. As for Donald Trump, he knows exactly what happened, and how to react. Like a veteran showman who pauses mid-concert so the crowd can sing the chorus, he stoodback and watched his people belt out his favorite lyrics: WITCH HUNT! HOAX! DEEP STATE! Is it strategy or pugilism? At this point, does it matter? The result is the same: another attempted takedown turns into another rallying cry. Another week that looked like a schism ends in unity. The institutional press, which Trump paints as his biggest enemy, turns out to be, yet again, his best friend in the world. To be sure, MAGA occasionally flirts with complexity. MAGA cohorts weigh tariffs against donor wishes while sipping craft cocktails in Nashville, or argue about immigration optics while lining up for strawberry ice cream in Idaho. But when the red alert blares, the movement doesn't do gray areas. It does fealty. It does affront. It does us versus them. So, now the band is back together, singing in harmony. The song at the top of the charts is 'The Fake News Blues,' and the MAGA fans in the crowd sing along happily.
AllAfrica
25-06-2025
- Business
- AllAfrica
Trump vs Powell is the war that really matters
Donald Trump's multitasking skills are on graphic display as his White House wages two wars simultaneously – one abroad, one at home. The US president's big gamble in bombing Iran is upending global markets in unpredictable ways. Though Trump claimed there's a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, he's already lashing out angrily to early breaches in the deal by both Tehran and Jerusalem. Yet his assault against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is making its own waves in Asian markets. It's not just Trump, of course, but his top lieutenants gunning for a Fed chief failing to bow to demands for lower interest rates. Vice President JD Vance says, 'the refusal by the Fed to cut rates is monetary malpractice.' Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says, 'our Federal Reserve Chair is obviously afraid of his own shadow. These high interest rates make no sense. Enough is enough!!' Appearing on CNBC, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett complained: 'I think there's no reason at all for the Fed not to cut rates right now. And I would guess that if they see one more month of data, they're going to really have to concede that they've got the rate way too high.' Trump, meanwhile, lashed out at Powell anew on Tuesday (June 24). He posted on social media that: ''Too Late' Jerome Powell, of the Fed, will be in Congress today in order to explain, among other things, why he is refusing to lower the rate. Europe has had 10 cuts, we have had ZERO. No inflation, great economy — we should be at least two to three points lower. Would save the USA 800 billion dollars per year, plus. What a difference this would make.' Trump World's assault on the globe's most powerful central bank is something markets have never seen before. The Fed isn't just the most respected US institution abroad. It's also a key protector of nearly US$3 trillion of Asian savings parked in US Treasury securities. As Trump threatens to reduce the Fed's independence, Asia is very much on the frontlines. Its export-driven economies would be hit hard by a surge in US yields or by a sharp drop in the dollar as investors cut their losses and flee. Analysts at UBS speak for many when they warn the dollar is now 'unattractive', with further declines expected as the US economy loses momentum. In congressional testimony this week, Powell did his best to pretend all's well between Trump World and the Fed. 'For the time being, we are well-positioned to wait to learn more about the likely course of the economy before considering any adjustments to our policy stance,' Powell said. So far, the worst fears about the tariffs fueling an inflationary surge haven't come to fruition. 'The effects on inflation,' he said, 'could be short-lived, reflecting a one-time shift in the price level. It is also possible that the inflationary effects could instead be more persistent.' Powell largely glossed over Trump's torrent of attacks on the Fed's autonomy, singling him out as a 'numbskull.' The Fed, as Powell made clear, has yet to decide which is the bigger risk — inflation or a sharp slowdown in growth. As Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic told Reuters, 'I would see the last quarter.. is sort of when I would expect we would know enough to move.' Yet, notes Andrew Brenner at NatAlliance Securities, Powell was unable to 'convince markets of hawkishness. The markets are telling Powell that he will be lowering rates much more quickly than he portrayed today. We just don't know about July. We would need a weak payroll report.' Investors are paying close attention to events in the Middle East, where Israel and the US are clashing with Iran. Though Trump claims there's a ceasefire, he's already calling out Tehran and Jerusalem for early breaches of the deal. In the meantime, Trump's war with the Fed is tantalizing markets. For now, many investors are cheered that Powell is proceeding carefully so as not to provoke Trump. 'Markets are finally breathing again,' observes Haris Khurshid, chief investment officer at Karobaar Capital. 'The easing in Middle East tensions, paired with Powell striking a more flexible tone, is giving equities room to run and volatility a much-needed pause.' Analysts at Evercore ISI note that Powell's testimony 'continues to point to September as the next decision point and, on our read, is consistent with a September cut as a reasonable central case, but very far from guaranteed.' There's clearly a range of opinions at the Fed about the need for rate cuts. Yet two Trump appointees seem ready to hit the monetary accelerator. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman recently said that 'should inflation pressures remain contained, I would support lowering the policy rate as soon as our next meeting in order to bring it closer to its neutral setting and to sustain a healthy labor market.' Also, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on CNBC that any tariff-fueled inflation is likely to be temporary and tentatively endorsed cutting rates next month. Yet wildcards abound amid Trump's attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities and his tariffs. Apollo Global Management economist Torsten Slok can't help but wonder if there's some method to Trump's madness. In a note titled 'Has Trump Outsmarted Everyone on Tariffs?,' Slok notes that 'maybe the strategy is to maintain 30% tariffs on China and 10% tariffs on all other countries and then give all countries 12 months to lower nontariff barriers and open up their economies to trade.' Slok says that Trump, by extending the deadline for tariffs by one year, would give other countries and US companies ample time to adjust to a 'new world with permanently higher tariffs.' This approach, he says, would reduce uncertainty, giving a boost to employment, business planning and financial markets. 'This would seem like a victory for the world and yet would produce $400 billion of annual revenue for US taxpayers,' Slok adds. 'Trade partners will be happy with only 10% tariffs and US tax revenue will go up. Maybe the administration has outsmarted all of us.' In the meantime, though, it seems clear that the dollar's days of being collateral damage amid Trump's one-man arms race are far from over. The Japanese yen is now on the cusp of the 140 level to the dollar, as the US currency hits three-year lows versus a basket of top currencies. The worry in Tokyo is that a continued drop would trigger intense yen-selling and the unwinding of the so-called 'yen-carry trade.' On another, a plunging dollar would trigger an epic risk-off trade. Paul Tudor Jones, who founded the $16 billion macro hedge fund Tudor Investment Corp, thinks a sharp dollar drop lies ahead as the Fed slashes interest rates. He thinks the dollar could be 10% lower within the next 12 months. 'You know that we are going to cut short-term rates dramatically in the next year,' Jones tells Bloomberg. 'And you know that the dollar will probably be lower because of it. A lot lower because of it.' Jones thinks Trump will replace Powell with an 'uber dovish' leader who will bow to demands for lower rates. There's speculation that Trump might tap current Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to lead the Fed. Trump managing to name a loyal political appointee as Fed chief could backfire in Asia, the region that holds the largest stockpiles of US Treasury debt. Already, 'there's clearly solid dollar selling,' observes strategist Kit Juckes at Societe Generale. Case in point: what becomes of the target Trump put on Fed Chair Powell's back. Unhappy that Powell warned US tariffs might cause stagnation, Trump said the Fed leader's 'termination cannot come fast enough.' Trump's threats to fire Powell sent shockwaves through world markets. Though US leaders in the past jawboned Fed policymakers at times to lower rates, none had ever publicly demanded subservience. A simultaneous plunge in stocks and bond prices had Trump toning down his rhetoric. Yet economist Krishna Guha at Evercore ISI calls the episode 'self-defeating.' By publicly undermining Powell, Guha says, Trump 'risks putting upward pressure on inflation expectations, making it harder for the Fed to cut rates.' Even so, few buy Trump's insistence that he has 'no intention of firing' Powell. In the next breath, after all, Trump says he wants the Powell Fed to a 'little more active' in easing policy. As the Fed ignores Trump's pleas, expect his war with the central bank to intensify in real-time. Follow William Pesek on X at @WilliamPesek
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump has brutal two-word nickname for Stephen Miller, report claims
President Donald Trump famously has a penchant for making up nicknames to mock his enemies. There's Crooked Hillary, Sleepy Joe, Lyin' Ted Cruz, and Little Marco Rubio. There's now another to add to the list: 'Weird Stephen.' The epithet has been applied to the deputy chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller, according to biographer Michael Wolff. 'There is an awareness that Stephen Miller is a problem,' Wolf said on The Daily Beast podcast. 'And even Trump calls him 'Weird Stephen.' Because he is weird, by the way. I mean, you can't spend a moment with him and not say, 'Oh, something's off here.'' 'He doesn't make eye contact,' Wolff added. 'And then he talks to you in this monotone voice, and it feels very revvy, you know, the engine of his voice keeps going, and you kind of step back.' Wolff was discussing the possibility that Miller might lose his standing in Trumpworld if his efforts to deport large numbers of immigrants fail. Miller has called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest at least 3,000 migrants a day. However, Trump at one point wavered in his stance on the removals. The Washington Post reported on Monday that the administration was reversing a planned pause on immigration raids on worksites connected to the agricultural, hotel, and restaurant industries. The Department of Homeland Security announced that raids would resume at such worksites during a Monday morning call with representatives from 30 ICE offices. Miller battled the initial pause on the raids. Wolff noted that the president's spectacular falling out with Elon Musk, the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency, is what can happen if someone within Trump's orbit acquires too much power. 'Trump, who is lazy, lets other people be in charge, until they're perceived as being in charge. Then they're no longer in charge,' said Wolff. 'Michael Wolff is a lying sack of s*** and has been proven to be a fraud,' a White House spokesperson told The Daily Beast in response to the claims regarding the nickname. 'He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination—only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain.' Top ICE officials had a heated discussion with Miller late last month as the Trump adviser berated them for falling short on the number of arrests. 'Miller came in there and eviscerated everyone. 'You guys aren't doing a good job. You're horrible leaders.' He just ripped into everybody. He had nothing positive to say about anybody, shot morale down,' an official who spoke to those in the room during the meeting told the Washington Examiner. 'Stephen Miller wants everybody arrested. 'Why aren't you at Home Depot? Why aren't you at 7-Eleven?'' the official added, recounting what happened. 'Stephen Miller did not say many of the things you state,' ICE deputy assistant director of media affairs Laszlo Baksay told the Examiner. Following the ouster of National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Trump said he was considering Miller for the role. Secretary of State Marco Rubio currently serves as the national security adviser in an interim capacity. "I think he sort of indirectly already has that job. Because he has a lot to say about a lot of things, he's a very valued person in the administration, Stephen," Trump said last month. A former Trump adviser told NBC News last month that 'Stephen is the president's id. He has been for a while. It's just now he has the leverage and power to fully effectuate it.' Trump told NBC News that it would be a 'downgrade' to appoint Miller to be national security adviser. 'Stephen is much higher on the totem pole than that,' said Trump. 'I don't know that there is any policy area where his guidance is not sought,' the adviser added. 'The president might not always go with exactly what he wants, but his input is always listened to.' A top Trump adviser added to NBC News that 'President Trump built much of his current political success by standing with the American people on immigration, and doing what others have been unwilling or unable to do — close the border.' 'There has been no bigger advocate of that in the history of the country than Stephen Miller,' the adviser said. 'That, at its core, is why the president trusts him so much and relies on him to a degree that is matched by very few.'
Japan Today
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Scientists long ago envisioned the end of climate cooperation
Scientists previously modelled various impacts on climate change and other global challenges By Kelly MacNAMARA They warned it could happen: a world of surging nationalism, stalling economic development and the unravelling of decades of international cooperation on climate change and other global challenges. Long before Donald Trump lurched away from diplomatic norms and the international rules-based order, scientists mapped out different potential futures to understand the possible implications for greenhouse gas emissions. Developed a decade ago, five of these "pathways" became crucial to the work of the United Nations' IPCC climate expert panel. These are not predictions for the 21st century. Rather, they envision what could happen with various societal changes including for trade, economic development, technological innovation and global population. The most optimistic narrative foresees sustainable growth and improved equality. A second "middle-of-the-road" scenario is an extension of current trends. The third is a world riven by rivalries, a fourth is blighted by increasing inequality, and the fifth assumes supercharged economic growth grounded in expanding fossil fuel use. Keywan Riahi, of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, who coordinated the development of the so-called Shared Socioeconomic pathways (SSPs), said the world has largely developed in line with the third scenario in recent years. While it is certainly not a perfect fit, what we see now "is a much more fragmented world," Riahi told AFP. "Collaboration is more difficult, economic development is actually also not so optimistic." Scientists' original description of the SSP3 scenario was: "A resurgent nationalism, concerns about competitiveness and security, and regional conflicts push countries to increasingly focus on domestic or, at most, regional issues." This "rocky road" is arguably the worst of all the hypothetical futures. Planet-heating emissions are second only to economic expansion driven by oil, gas and coal. But the fractured SSP3 world ranks first when it comes to damages from climate change, showing the largest population boom, and the weakest economic growth. This scenario "reflects a current strain of populist isolationist politics that is ascendent today", climate scientist Zeke Hausfather noted in a recent newsletter post. In 2021, Hausfather got blowback for calling SSP3 "Trump World". But "the actions in his second term around energy and trade seem to be playing out much more closely to SSP3 than other pathways", he said. The U.S. has ditched the Paris climate treaty, turned its back on global cooperation on science, trade and health, and eviscerating its international development budget. Washington has lambasted U.N. sustainable development goals, especially related to climate change and women's rights. Domestically, the world's second biggest carbon polluter has undermined progress on low-carbon technology, cancelled climate research, and even stymied weather data collection. World leaders have expressed their disquiet. "The global economy thrived on a foundation of openness and multilateralism underpinned by U.S. leadership... but today it is fracturing," said European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde in late May. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney declared the global trade system in place for 80 years "over", and China's Xi Jinping urged the preservation of "the international order based on international law, and global fairness and justice". Not destiny There are important ways in which today's reality differs from the hypothetical SSP3 world. World population projections are significantly lower, for instance. And the development of climate tech has been "much more successful", Riahi said. A dramatic drop in the cost of solar and wind power, as well as electric vehicles and batteries, has boosted the growth of low-carbon technologies. Carbon dioxide emissions have also slowed, while predicted warming for the end of the century is lower than a decade ago -- albeit still reaching catastrophic levels. Scientists are currently updating SSP projections and crafting a new set of climate narratives. They have much to unpack. Riahi said that even if there was a "complete collapse of climate policies globally", the previous worst-case emissions projections will likely not materialise because clean energy has become so cheap. At the same time, he said, the world will almost certainly overshoot the Paris deal's aspirational goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in the coming years. This has forced scientists to consider a new set of questions. What is the new best-case scenario for bending emissions down to zero? If current policies persist, will emissions stay high for a longer period, causing temperatures to keep rising in the coming decades? "What are the implications climatically of this high overshoot, which is unfortunately a more and more likely scenario if you extrapolate what we see at the moment?" said Riahi. © 2025 AFP
Time of India
06-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Musk vs Trump Feud: 10 ways they can destroy each other—legally
When Thomas Anderson is first unplugged from the Matrix, his body convulses. His mind rejects the truth. 'He's going into arrest,' they warn, as his world crumbles. Because when you've lived too long in an illusion, reality doesn't just disappoint—it short-circuits you. That's where Elon Musk is now. He's been yanked out of the warm, binary womb of TrumpWorld. No more bromance tweets. No more wink-wink White House briefings. No more red-carpeted corridors of power where he could whisper about AI doomsday while nudging SpaceX contracts. Just cold, hard betrayal. And now? Now he wants revenge. Here are 10 gloriously real, absurdly powerful, and completely legal ways that Trump and Musk can rip each other apart—like Neo and Agent Smith in an alley full of bad ideas. 1. Trump Pulls the Plug on Musk's Federal Billions Trump, fresh off a fiscal sobriety bender and looking for budgetary scapegoats, has a new mantra : 'No woke space toys on my dime.' He's already floated cutting $3 billion worth of contracts to Musk's empire. That's not just pruning—it's taking a chainsaw to the money tree. Tesla loses its tax credits. Starlink gets kicked out of the Pentagon's good books. SpaceX is told to sit in the corner while Blue Origin waves from the Oval Office with a smug Bezos smirk. This isn't just defunding—this is strategic neutering. 2. Musk Threatens the Republic via Rocket Blackmail Musk didn't wait to be hit first. He threatened to decommission the Dragon spacecraft —the one that ferries NASA astronauts and lunch packets to the International Space Station. The unspoken message? Nice space programme you've got there. Be a shame if something happened to it. Suddenly, space diplomacy looks more like a hostage negotiation with a Bond villain in a Twitter hoodie. 3. Trump Can Yank Elon's Security Clearance Every time Elon boasts about top-secret briefings, there's an Air Force general somewhere crying into his gin. His clearance—granted through his role in military space launches—could be revoked with one swipe of Trump's Montblanc pen. Without it, Musk becomes a liability rather than an asset. He can still launch memes, just not missiles. And without Pentagon favours, his whole 'Iron Man meets Ayn Rand' routine collapses into a Reddit thread. 4. Elon Funds a Third Party Just to Spite Him In classic Musk fashion, the Tesla tzar tweeted a poll asking if he should start a new centrist political party. It was part libertarian fantasy, part MAGA middle-finger, and 100% chaos. Over 1.8 million people voted 'Yes.' Even if it doesn't win , a Musk-backed third party could siphon off enough voters to sabotage Trump's 2028 ambitions. Think Ross Perot meets a Neuralink experiment gone rogue. 5. Trump Targets Musk's Ketamine Chronicles Bannon has demanded a drug probe into Musk's ketamine-fuelled soirées, suggesting the billionaire is 'not of sound mind.' That's ironic coming from a man who looks like he was raised on moonshine and conspiracy theories. But in TrumpWorld, personal destruction is political strategy. Imagine Musk dragged into a Senate hearing with Marjorie Taylor Greene asking, 'Were you or were you not high when naming your child X Æ A-12?' 6. Musk Unleashes Epstein Allegations Without warning, Musk lobbed a digital hand grenade: that Trump's White House deliberately delayed the release of Epstein files because his name may have been in them. He offered no evidence—just vibes and vengeance. But in a country where 30% of voters think Wayfair sells children, that's enough to spark headlines, hearings, and hashtags. When Elon says, 'Mark this post,' he's not just trolling—he's threatening to turn on the lights in a room no one wants to see. 7. Trump Ends DOGE—the Bureaucratic Crypto Baby The Department of Government Efficiency, nicknamed DOGE, was Musk's vanity project: part startup, part prank, part Silicon Valley fever dream. Its mission? Replace Washington's bureaucratic sludge with blockchain optimism and quarterly reports. Trump could axe it tomorrow and return the halls of power to their natural state: clogged, confused, and blissfully analog. No more agile government. No more 'lean federalism. ' Just 500-page PDFs printed in triplicate. 8. Elon Withholds the Final $100M Musk had pledged a total of $350 million to support Trump's 2024 run. But the final $100 million is still hanging —like a Sword of Damocles in a cryptocurrency wallet. Trump, a man who treats loyalty like a Costco membership, doesn't forgive open wallets with closed zips. This isn't just about money—it's about respect. And Musk knows just how much Trump hates being ghosted, especially by someone richer. 9. Trump Questions Musk's Citizenship The Birther playbook is back. Bannon claims Musk is an 'illegal alien.' Never mind that Elon's been a naturalised American citizen since 2002. Trump doesn't need facts—just vibes, slogans, and a red hat. Expect rallies where Trump says, 'Elon? Great guy. But I'm hearing things. People are saying.' That's how the political meat grinder starts: with an innuendo and ends with a Senate subcommittee. 10. Musk Starves MAGA's Internet Starlink, Musk's satellite internet service, powers vast swathes of rural America—aka MAGA heartland. One well-timed update and Fox Nation stops loading. Steve Bannon's podcast gets frozen mid-rant. Truth Social becomes Truth Unavailable. Musk doesn't even need to admit fault. He can just smirk and say, 'Server overload. We're working on it.' MAGA may love him, but they'll riot if they miss Tucker's rerun. Final Thought: Welcome to the Unplugged War This isn't a feud—it's a glitch in the Matrix. Two megalomaniacs, both convinced they are The One. Trump, the spiritual father of populist politics. Musk, the meme-mad prophet of techno-libertarianism. They fed each other, validated each other, needed each other. But now the code is breaking. And if The Matrix taught us anything, it's this: when reality reasserts itself, the ones who rejected it scream the loudest. Musk took the red pill. Trump wrote the damn pill into law. Now they're locked in a fight to see who can bend reality back first. Only one can emerge from the simulation. The other gets ratioed on his own app.
