Sending Weapons Through A Sidedoor & More Tariff Threats
On last week's episode we tried to peer into the (heart) and mind of Bibi Netanyahu to figure out what his desired endgame is for Iran and the Middle East at large. If you haven't already, give it a listen or a watch. Seriously, go now!
Aside from staring into the depths of Bibi's blackened soul, we surveyed some of the danger lurking behind all the tax cuts in the GOP's new bill. I swear we found some laughs in there somehow.
Aside from those stories, here are a couple others we've been tracking:
Good Business vs Human Decency? One Guess Which Wins
Trump has agreed to continue supporting Ukraine through direct aid. Oh wait, no he didn't. It can never be that simple. Despite using increasingly harsh language to describe Putin's actions--"He talks nice and he then bombs everybody in the evening" --Trump is still clinging to some kind of neutrality in the conflict. In a convoluted new plan, the US has agreed to sell weapons - at full price - to European countries who will then give them to the Ukrainians. Among others, Germany and Norway have both agreed to buy defense systems to help defend Ukrainians from Russian bombs. I suppose the ends in this case are worth the ridiculous means, but the insistence on this being about business and not the defense of people suffering under an illegal war is just sad.
The US Continues to Push the EU Toward China
Dissatisfied with the progress of his trade envoys, Trump sent letters to 24 countries plus the EU threatening higher tariffs by August 1 unless current negotiations became more favorable to the US. While the recipients of these letters, which I have no doubt were completely rational 🙃, are all saying they want to continue working toward a deal, many are also talking about the need to "[diversify their] trade relationships" and are considering closer trade ties to China. So basically, let's just shoot everyone in the foot, including ourselves.
This Friday we'll drop an episode of an interview with returning guest Corey Brettschneider about the recent Supreme Court term. It's a great conversation that we're excited to share. Until then, have a great week!
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