The Ugly

More than 500 political scientists warn that the US is rapidly shifting toward authoritarianism under Trump’s second term (NPR)

Republicans have become less likely over the past year to say Russia is an enemy of the US – and more likely to call it a partner or competitor. (Pew Research)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects slower growth and higher inflation in the US as a result of Trump’s trade policies

  • “We are entering a new era as the global economic system that has operated for the last 80 years is being reset.” The phrase, uttered by Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), isn’t one you hear every day. The trade war declared by Trump against the entire world, with the highest tariffs in more than a century, represents a reversal of the post-World War II international economic order. For now, the uncertainty typical of cycle changes prevails, but one thing seems clear: Trump has slammed the brakes not only on the U.S. economy, but on the global economy as a whole. (El País / NYT / Quartz)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a major reorganization of the State Department that will cut 700 jobs, shut down 132 offices, and eliminate several human rights and democracy programs (The Guardian)

Federal judge orders Trump administration to rehire all Voice of America and Radio Free Asia staff (CBS)

Tesla’s quarterly earnings plunged by 71 percent compared to the first quarter of 2024 (WaPo / The Verge / TechCrunch )

Trump administration continues to defy judge’s order

  • In refusing to reveal much of anything about the administration’s role in improperly sending the man, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, to El Salvador or its subsequent efforts to seek his freedom, department lawyers repeatedly claimed that the information constituted state secrets that needed to be protected. (NYT)

Trump wasted no time in squandering the hand he’d been given. It’s not just the destructive tariffs. It’s also the chaos, as policy zigzags wildly, and the craziness. If you were a foreign investor, would you want to bet on America right now? Would you even want to visit to look at investment prospects, given the risk that you might be imprisoned by ICE because you once sent a text critical of Trump? (Paul Krugman)

Former Vice President Al Gore on Monday compared President Donald Trump’s administration to Nazi Germany

  • Speaking at an event at the start of San Francisco’s Climate Week, Gore said the Trump administration was “trying to create their own preferred version of reality” to achieve their sweeping objectives similar to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party in the 1930s and ‘40s.
    “I understand very well why it is wrong to compare Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich to any other movement,” Gore said to an audience of roughly 150 climate advocates and policymakers gathered at a science museum on San Francisco’s waterfront. “It was uniquely evil, full stop. I get it. But there are important lessons from the history of that emergent evil.” (Politico)

US stocks and dollar plunge as Trump attacks Fed chair Powell (BBC)

Dow headed for worst April since 1932

  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed almost 1,000 points on Monday and is headed for its worst April performance since 1932, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500’s performance since Inauguration Day is now the worst for any president up to this point in data going back to 1928, according to Bespoke Investment Group. Worries about trade restrictions and the prospect of President Trump firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell have investors bracing for greater losses ahead. (WSJ)

The US dollar briefly fell below 140 yen on Tuesday after Trump ramped up his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not reducing interest rates. (The Mainichi)

Tesla slides as analyst warns of ‘Code Red’ ahead of earnings

  • Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said Tesla’s chief executive officer should step back from his controversial work at the Department of Government Efficiency and re-focus his attention on the carmaker. Tesla is facing a “code red” moment as it prepares to report first-quarter earnings Tuesday, the analyst said. “Musk needs to leave the government, take a major step back on DOGE, and get back to being CEO of Tesla full-time,” Ives wrote in a report to clients Sunday. “Tesla is Musk and Musk is Tesla… and anyone that thinks the brand damage Musk has inflicted is not a real thing, spend some time speaking to car buyers in the US, Europe, and Asia. You will think differently after those discussions.” (Bloomberg)

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon crisis is much worse than you think (The Daily Beast / Axios / NYT)

 
An immigrant held in US custody ‘Has Simply Disappeared’

  • The immigrant does not appear on a list of people sent to a prison in El Salvador, and his family and friends have no idea of his whereabouts. He has essentially disappeared (NYT)