Trump takes an unprecedented approach to corporate affairs. Arab states stay quiet while other nations around the world decry the conditions in Gaza. And a woman’s viral saga about falling in love with her psychiatrist spurs an existential question about AI chatbots.
Here’s what to know today.
As the CEO in chief, Trump gets what he wants from companies
Donald Trump has controlled his own businesses for decades. Now, as president, he’s taking an increasingly active role in individual corporations’ affairs — and several of them are meeting his demands. This represents a break with past administrations that may have been unwilling or unable, politically, to bring similar pressure to bear on businesses. Even some of Trump’s opponents see the appeal of his efforts.
In the past few months, Coca-Cola said it would produce soda with cane sugar in the U.S. Two major semiconductor makers agreed to give the government a cut of their sales to China. And Paramount paid millions to settle allegations Trump levied against CBS’ “60 Minutes,” days before the administration approved the media conglomerate’s merger with Skydance Media.
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Trump also hasn’t shied away from making explicit warnings. In the past week alone, he called for Lip-Bu Tan, the CEO of chipmaker Intel, to step down (though reversed course days later after a White House visit) and said Goldman Sachs should fire its chief economist because of the company’s bearishness on his tariffs.
“It’s so much different than the first time,” said a Republican lobbyist whose firm represents several Fortune 500 companies, of how Trump’s actions differ from his first term. “He’s just acting like a businessman.”
A progressive strategist who said he “disagrees with the guy on almost every issue” concedes that Democrats could take a page out of Trump’s strategy and “adapt to the changing presidency” to take on corporations.
The fear of reprisals has firms making strategic decisions to forgo any kind of legal challenge to his methods. Over the longer term, Ryan Bourne, a chair at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute, predicts Trump’s antics could give way to a less efficient economy. “Where it can lead is businesses, rather than focusing on creating value, now seek to play footsie with politicians more and more,” Bourne said. Read the full story here.
More politics news:
- Trump announced this year’s host of the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony: himself. But, he insisted, “I didn’t want to do it. OK?”
- As Trump’s directive to crack down on Washington, D.C., crime moves forward, a new law enforcement checkpoint goes up in a bustling neighborhood.
- Trump does not intend to discuss any possible divisions of land during his meeting tomorrow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he told European leaders on a call yesterday.
- A new ICE detention facility set to open in Texas offers a preview of the problems that may arise as the Trump administration ramps up mass deportations.
- E.J. Antoni, Trump’s pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was a “bystander” at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, social media footage shows.
- The dozens of Democratic legislators who fled Texas amid a redistricting fight are charting a plan for what comes next as the state’s first special legislative session winds down.
Why Arab rulers aren’t more vocal about Gaza
With deaths from starvation and Israeli bombardment mounting in Gaza, countries around the world have become more vocal in criticizing Israel for its conduct and pledging to recognize a Palestinian state. But Arab states have notably been much less vocal, leaving Palestinians, their supporters and some analysts angry. “The Arabs are napping,” said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, adding that leaders “have buried their heads in the sand.”
There have been small signs of support. For example, Arab states have participated in airdrops of aid and food convoys into Gaza, but Palestinians say it’s nowhere near enough to ward off a looming famine; and Egypt and Qatar have mediated talks between Israel, Hamas and the U.S., but they have not led to an end to the conflict.
Experts say Gulf Arab states’ ties with Israel have more to do with politics than public attitudes. Several states host U.S. military bases that analysts say help shield them from regional rival Iran. And access to Israel’s tech sector has been a draw for some states. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Israel have floated plans for Arab countries to accept Gaza refugees. But fearing renewed Palestinian militancy and accusations of aiding ethnic cleansing, these Arab nations have rejected the idea. Read the full story here.
Mediation ordered for Ohio State over sex abuse lawsuits
Ohio State University has been ordered to resolve via mediation the remaining lawsuits filed by former students who claim that Dr. Richard Strauss molested them, mostly under the guise of giving physicals, while he was a school employee from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s. The university still faces five active lawsuits from 236 men alleging the school failed to protect them.
U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson issued the mediation order on Monday and referred the cases to Layn Phillips, who mediated the lawsuits filed against Michigan State by some 200 women athletes who were sexually abused by sports doctor Larry Nassar.
An independent investigation in 2019 concluded that Strauss sexually abused at least 177 male athletes and students, and that coaches and administrators knew about it for two decades but failed to stop him. The university said it has paid out $60 million in settlement money already. Read the full story here.
Read All About It
- Taylor Swift teared up during a podcast interview with her boyfriend (and his brother), chatting about her upcoming album, the start of their relationship, getting the master recordings for her music and more.
- A company that proposed a $30 billion data center on land owned by the widow of NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt in rural North Carolina will not move forward with the project after intense backlash.
- ICE allegedly sent three children, including a boy with Stage 4 cancer, to Honduras with their deported mothers despite the moms’ claims they wanted to stay in the U.S., according to a lawsuit.
- A man accused of faking his own death and fleeing the U.S. to avoid sexual assault and fraud allegations has been convicted of rape in Utah.
- A woman searched an Arkansas state park for a diamond for her engagement ring. On her very last day, she hit the jackpot.
Staff Pick: What happens when chatbots shape your reality?
As AI chatbots become a regular tool in people’s lives, recent incidents have put a renewed spotlight on how the people-pleasing nature of these bots can influence users’ sense of reality.
For Kendra Hilty, a TikTok user whose saga about falling in love with her psychiatrist has gone viral, her chatbots are like confidants. But “I do my best to keep them in check,” she told me in an email this week. Still, stories such as Hilty’s are sparking widespread discourse about the use of AI chatbots for validation, which is why I explored mental health experts’ rising concerns about AI-fueled delusions, as well as how tech companies have struggled to combat the issue. — Angela Yang, culture & trends reporter
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