“Well, tariffs are taxes, and when you put a tax on a business, it’s always passed through as a cost. So, there will be higher prices. The only trade that means anything is the individual who buys something. That’s the only real trade. And that by very definition, if it’s voluntary, is mutually beneficial, or the trade doesn’t occur.”
A typical starter home now costs $1 million or more in more than 200 U.S. cities, according to a new report from Zillow. Five years ago, there were only 85 cities in 10 states where starter homes—defined as being in the lowest third in terms of home values—exceeded $1 million. Now the number is up to 233 cities in 25 states.
“Everyone says ‘When, when, when are you going to sign deals?’ We don’t have to sign deals. We could sign 25 deals right now if we wanted to. We don’t have to sign deals. They have to sign deals with us. They want our market. We don’t want a piece of their market. We don’t care about their market.”
— President Trump, quoted by the New York Times, on trade deals his administration is supposedly negotiating.
“General Motors lowered its full-year profit outlook, just two days after suspending earnings guidance, citing exposure to as much as $5 billion in auto tariffs being levied by President Donald Trump,” Bloomberg reports.
The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.3% annual pace from January through March, the first drop in three years, as President Donald Trump’s trade wars disrupted business, the Associated Press reports. First-quarter growth was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the United States tried to bring in foreign goods before Trump imposed massive tariffs.
“Despite promises to cut spending during the campaign and his first few months in office, President Trump’s federal government has spent about $220 billion more in his first 100 days compared to the same time period last year,” CBS News reports. “In fact, the government is now spending more, day to day, than was spent in nine of the last 10 years. The exception: 2021, when the government was spending trillions to fight the coronavirus pandemic and prevent an economic disaster.”
CNN: “Consumer confidence sank 7.9 points in April to a reading of 86, the Conference Board said in its latest survey released Tuesday. That’s the lowest level since May 2020 and a larger decline than economists had projected. … The survey’s Expectations Index, which captures people’s outlook on the economy, plummeted 12.5 points this month to 54.4, the lowest level in 13 years.”
A new CNN poll finds a 59% majority of the public now says President Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions and a 55% majority say that Trump’s tariffs have been bad policy. Overall, 69% of the public considers an economic recession in the next year to be at least somewhat likely, including 32% who say that’s very likely.
The International Monetary Fund yesterday lowered its 2025 growth outlook for the US and the global economy, citing heightened uncertainty and economic disruption caused by President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs. The IMF trimmed the 2025 US growth estimate to 1.8% from 2.7%, the largest reduction among the world’s advanced economies, and cut the global growth forecast to 2.8% from 3.3%. The fund cautioned the trade policy climate and ongoing conflicts between the US and other tariff-hit countries are discouraging investment and spending. US inflation is now predicted to reach 3% this year, one percentage point higher than the IMF’s January projection, while the risk of a US recession has increased to 40%, up from 25% in October.
It’s one thing to, at Christmas, give your kid an Atari.
It’s another thing, at midlife, to gift yourself a Ferrari.
But when you’re the U.S. President,
You’ve got to be wary of those emoluments,
And don’t go accepting $400 million jets from the Qataris.
“Democrats are coming around to a new mantra: winning the argument is less important than winning elections. If the path to victory means embracing economic populism, they’ll do it. If they have to make room for new faces, then sayonara, old friends. If they need to tack to the center on some social issues, so be it. If winning requires doing more podcasts, or embracing Instagram influencers, or campaigning on permitting reform, they’ll give it a try. Because now that Democrats have seen what a second Trump presidency looks like, they’re relearning the lesson they should have known all along: only winning is winning.”
“Well, tariffs are taxes, and when you put a tax on a business, it’s always passed through as a cost. So, there will be higher prices. The only trade that means anything is the individual who buys something. That’s the only real trade. And that by very definition, if it’s voluntary, is mutually beneficial, or the trade doesn’t occur.”
“It appears that Trump does care about the internal character of regimes he deals with. Rather than following a foreign policy that ignores values altogether, Trump has a clear preference for values that are, in the American context, historically anomalous or—to put it in less neutral terms—bad. And he wishes to spread those values around the world. … Whatever you say about this policy, it is not amoral. The primary difference between the Trump doctrine and traditional American values promotion is that the former, rather than seeking to impose a moral world order, aspires to create an immoral one.”
“This isn’t ‘The Hunger Games’ for immigrants. This is not, ‘Hey, if you lose, we are shipping you out on a boat out of the country.’”
— Television producer Rob Worsoff, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, confirming that he’s working with the Department of Homeland Security on a reality television show.
“While many have speculated that the Qataris have offered Trump the luxurious plane to curry favor with the famously transactional president, there may be a simpler rationale: they just don’t want it anymore. … The royals have failed to sell the plane, which was put on the market in 2020, according to an archived listing. Giving it away could save Qatar’s rulers a big chunk of change on maintenance and storage costs… Making Trump happy would be an added bonus.”
“The Trump administration has deported at least two immigrants to war-torn South Sudan in defiance of a federal court order, according to attorneys for the immigrants,” Politico reports.
According to new Axios Harris Poll 100 survey results, Elon Musk’s polarizing political activism appears to have come at the expense of his largest companies, as Republicans expressed more favorable opinions than did Democrats. Tesla was in 8th place in the 2021 reputation ranking of America’s 100 most visible companies, but last year tumbled to 63rd and now is near the very bottom at 95th. It placed dead last in “character,” while placing near the bottom in areas like “ethics” and “citizenship. Six other automakers place higher, with the highest being Toyota at No. 4 and the lowest being Ford at No. 60.
“Pope Leo XIV spurned J.D. Vance on Sunday, offering him a quick greeting after his inaugural mass while holding extensive private meetings with other world leaders,” the Daily Beast reports. “The first American pope shook Vance’s hand during a brief, 17-second exchange during the procession line after the mass.”
“The Trump administration is working on a plan to permanently relocate up to 1 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya,” NBC News reports. “In exchange for the resettling of Palestinians, the administration would potentially release to Libya billions of dollars of funds that the U.S. froze more than a decade ago.”
A new J.L. Partners survey found 46% of Republican voters are ready to back Vice President J.D. Vance as President Donald Trump’s successor, while no other named prospect got more than double-digit support. Just 8% would back Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, while 7% supported Vivek Ramaswamy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) each received 6% support.
