America For Sale
Audio Recording by George Hahn, Illustration and Charts by Shira Seri Levi
Speculation: A Phone Call That Could Happen
SCENE: A top secret communications room in the White House.
TIME: Next week.
NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER: Secure satellite phone connection via Starlink established and confirmed. Sir, the next voice you hear will be that of President Putin. Go ahead, please, Moscow.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Donald?
DONALD TRUMP: Vlad! It’s great, really great to hear from you.
PUTIN: Same here, and may I congratulate you for your total and complete victory. Your digital coin, very interesting development.
TRUMP: Vladimir, nobody’s ever seen anything like it. The most successful coin in history, maybe ever. People are saying it’s tremendous.
PUTIN: We have interest in large purchase. Very large. But Donald, situation with NATO … it complicates things.
TRUMP: Horrible organization, NATO. Horrible. They’re not paying their fair share, never have. These European countries, they’re laughing at us.
PUTIN: If you publicly question Article 5, perhaps we discuss bigger coin purchase. Much bigger.
TRUMP: The biggest. And you know what? NATO’s obsolete. Always has been. We’re looking at all our options, and people are going to be very happy with what we do. Very happy.
PUTIN: Good, Donald. We start with 50 million in coins. Maybe more after NATO statement.
TRUMP: Beautiful. Just beautiful. You’re going to love these coins. Everyone loves these coins.
You have to give it to the president, this is 3D grandmaster chess corruption vs. the checkers corruption Democrats have been playing.
More Speculation: A Call That Could Have Happened
SCENE: Phone conversation at 1236 Longworth H.O.B., the office of Speaker of the House Emerita Nancy Pelosi
TIME: Last week.
NANCY PELOSI: Paul, that firm you mentioned last week — the health-care AI one — what was the name?
PAUL PELOSI: There’s a few. The one that’s received the most press is Tempus AI.
NANCY: I was in a Medicare briefing today, and they are planning on pouring substantial resources into AI-driven diagnostics and care management. I believe Tempus was on their list.
PAUL: Understood. I’m on it.
It was disclosed on Tuesday, January 21, that Representative Pelosi, and/or related parties, had purchased between $50k and $100k of call options on Tempus AI, Inc. (TEM). That day, the stock registered the biggest one-day gain in its history, surging 35%.
These are each their own flavor of corruption. I respect the Trump grift more than the plain vanilla trading on material nonpublic information. It’s more creative, and if you’re going to abuse the public trust, you should do it for billions vs. millions.
For Sale
America has just put out a “for sale” sign, and every corrupt government and company around the world has taken notice.
Instead of Russia offering Trump cash for abandoning Ukraine, it might be one side in Sudan’s civil war, which, though you don’t hear about it much here in the U.S., is the bloodiest ongoing conflict in the world.
Or maybe one of the makers of Red Dye No. 3, recently banned for use in food by the FDA after it was found that high exposures caused cancer in rats, will offer to put some money into $TRUMP if the president finds his veto pen.
During his first term, Trump owned a hotel in D.C. that was patronized by rich people, governments, and businesses who wanted something from the federal government. $TRUMP coin is more elegant: a vehicle that gives parties a discreet, easy way to pay off the president of the U.S. Think of the coin as a price discovery tool for bribery, a mixture of eBay and PayPal for corruption.
$TRUMP and $MELANIA are such obvious grifts, they embarrass one of the most shameless communities in our economy: the crypto bros who backed his candidacy. CNBC host Ran Neuner accused the presidential family of “grifting at the expense of the entire crypto community.” It’s likely that, as the grift dust settles into a Category 5 hurricane of indefensible losses (e.g., $MELANIA shed two thirds of its value in five days), Congress will be less amenable to the legislation the community has been advocating for. Just as my generation has pulled future generations’ prosperity forward for our benefit, via deficit spending, Trump is borrowing massively against the increasing credibility of the asset class to enrich himself and light the sector on fire.
Citizens (Dis-)United
We shouldn’t be surprised. The U.S. has been on this road since the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United, which took limits off campaign spending by corporations and other groups. The court held that existing restrictions violated the First Amendment, equating the ability to spend money on campaigns with the right to free speech. The result has been a deluge of corporate cash into our elections. Any small inhibitions or shame politicians may have felt about selling themselves to the highest bidder disappeared. Trump is doing loudly what other politicians do quietly. Now that he’s been reelected he’s not even pretending. The Washington Post claims that “democracy dies in darkness.” Maybe. What’s more apparent is that capitalism (competition, rule of fair play, trust in markets) dies in the full light of day. As Dylan sang, “Money doesn’t talk, it swears.” Right now, it’s telling the American public to go fuck itself.
Tik Tik Tik (Tok)
Last year, Trump decided to ignore the real national security concerns that had been voiced about the app. TikTok became politically useful to him, and Jeffrey Yass, one of the largest shareholders of its Chinese parent company ByteDance, gave $100m to GOP groups.
TikTok now has about 2 billion global users and about 170 million in the U.S. ByteDance is required by law to turn user data over to China’s Ministry of State Security on demand. According to Pew Research, about 40% of young Americans now get their news from TikTok. The app is a neural jack connecting Beijing with the wet matter of America’s youth. A 14-year-old American spends approximately 14 hours a week on the platform. Think about this: a full day every week on a platform influenced by the CCP. Would we have let the Kremlin own CBS/ABC/NBC in the sixties?
When Trump’s efforts to make ByteDance sell during his first term failed, he signed an executive order banning TikTok, which was later overturned in court — he needed a law. Last year, then, Congress debated and overwhelmingly approved, and President Biden signed, the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” which gave ByteDance until January 19 of this year to sell to a non-Chinese buyer. ByteDance fought the law in court and lost. On January 17, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that the law was constitutional.
Then January 19 came, and TikTok shut down in the U.S. — for a few hours. TikTok returned from the dead almost immediately, as ardent TikTokers, with the aid and encouragement of ByteDance, posted and protested that a ban would deprive them of their free speech rights and/or their livelihoods. This is ground zero for why we should ban it. A social media app used by half of Americans and controlled by an aggressive foreign rival just confirmed it can spin up millions of citizens, particularly young people, to influence important government policy. TikTok (i.e., the CCP) will do this again. If China invades Taiwan, TikTok is the propaganda tool Radio America never dreamed of. It’s much easier to fool Americans than to convince them they’ve been fooled.
Blink
On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order delaying the ban for 75 days, saying he wanted to engineer a deal that would give the U.S. half-ownership of the app. “If I don’t do the deal it’s worth nothing,” he said. “If I do the deal it’s worth a trillion dollars.”
This is not a new concept — there’s even a word for it: socialism. Socialism is when the state controls the means of production. America has proven, in spades, that the full body contact of competition creates more economic growth than the government cosplaying a business. Whether it’s the U.K. investing in DeLorean or Obama propping up Solyndra, it usually doesn’t end well.
Unserious
One of my favorite moments in Succession was when Logan Roy told his children: “You are not serious people.” He knew his kids were expectant and lacked the real-world skills and backbone to make good on their threats. We risk our allies, adversaries, and trade partners sensing that we, too … are not a serious people.
Better Seats
I’m not entirely sure how we got here, but I think it has something to do with the way money and business success have become so venerated in our culture. More money used to mean a better meal on a plane; now it’s a (much) better life. Just as we always find uses for additional bandwidth and energy, our consumer economy never runs out of incentives to amass more money.
I’m taking my son on the Eurostar (which has three ticket classes) to see a Paris Saint-Germain F.C. game where there are the seats we bought (£220), plus 11 higher categories, including ones with access to an indoor restaurant, heated seats, and a player meet & greet before the game (that’s £3,500). My first (real) date, with Maureen Burke, was in the 11th grade. I took her to see Springsteen at the Great Western Forum. Nosebleed seats were $12, and seats in the front 5 rows on the floor were $48. We sat in the $12 seats. i) I had no money; and ii) I thought it was super cool — “look how high up we are!”
More recently, for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the “It’s Been a Long Time Coming” VIP Package would set you back $899. However, it did include a VIP parking pass, merchandise, and a dedicated entrance. For perspective, on an inflation-adjusted basis, premium tickets to Swift cost 5x what Springsteen did 42 years ago. This is all to say that not only is our government increasingly corrupt, but also: Being a teen in 1982 was … better. But that’s another post.
Whores
The most disappointing thing about our elected officials is not that they’re whores, but what cheap whores they are. For his $250m investment in Trump, the wealthiest man in the world was able to increase his purse by $140b (56,000% ROI). The increase in wealth had nothing to do with the performance of his businesses, but the market’s belief that we are now in a kleptocracy and the distinction between winners and losers is no longer about innovation but proximity to power. The polar vortex of corruption is here, as greater incentives, fewer guardrails, and the sense that character is no longer valued in America have cast a chill across capitalism.
Money has not washed over just our government, but also what has traditionally been a powerful check on corruption, the media. ABC’s Bob Iger sold out and settled rather than fight a lawsuit Trump brought over George Stephanopoulos’s on-air remark that Trump had been “found liable for rape,” a suit that looked very winnable for ABC. Jesus, Bob, really? FYI, the judge in the case also used the R word.
Many are now afraid of confronting Trump and First Lady Elonia, not because they think they might wrong them, but because they are worried about the aggravation and expense of being sued. In the end, the media and the citizenry are making a money choice when what is called for is a moral choice. (See above: Bob Iger.) For people who are not economically secure, it’s upsetting but understandable. For Bob Iger, it’s shareholder value colliding with cowardice. Last year the Disney CEO made $41m. But I’d argue he is increasingly impoverished.
The latest race to the bottom is blanket pardons. After Biden preemptively pardoned his family, Trump granted “a full, complete, and unconditional pardon” to all January 6 defendants, including Enrique Tarrio, the former national leader of the Proud Boys, who was convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, and Julian Khater, who pleaded guilty to pepper-spraying Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick in the face. Sicknick suffered several strokes and died the day after the attack.
Dawg 2028
There’s a rumor on Reddit that I’m running for President in 2028. That fits — I do possess the key attributes (wealth, narcissism, outdoor plumbing). Should I be victorious, I pledge to the American People the following: a full and unconditional pardon of all UCLA alumni, Great Dane breeders, and owners of Damn the Torpedoes (vinyl). Together, we will make America Tom Petty again.
Life is so rich,
P.S. Hear more on my thoughts on $TRUMP and what’s next for TikTok on this week’s Prof G Markets. Listen and subscribe here on Apple podcasts or here on Spotify.
P.P.S. Join Section for a conversation with LinkedIn founder and OpenAI founding investor Reid Hoffman on making ourselves superhuman with AI. It’s next Wednesday. RSVP for free here.
Alarming. I don’t fully understand how crypto works, so please explain in a future pod what we need to know:
Will anyone ever be able to trace where the bribes came from? If not, this means that the Sociopath in Chief can set up any corrupt deals he wants with any country or group of terrorists and nobody will ever know?
That is truly terrifying, Scott. Is there no one in power aware of this risk? Is Congress too old/corrupt/powerless to even try to put a stop to this? The future of the world, not just the US, is at stake.
Please elaborate. Are there no guardrails at all? I’m telling myself in four years, or two, we can sleep again, but this could have existential risks. Would this kind of grift bring down crypto itself, or will it just continue? Again, I don’t understand how it works. Thank you.
Trumpers, can’t you go watch Fox or something and leave the rest of us grownups to talk. We don’t care what you think.
I wish there was an episode of Schoolhouse Rock that explained how to continue believing in American democracy and capitalism as an exhausted, media-weary adult who is smart and thoughtful.
This makes me wonder if some level of corruption is to be expected, and that it’s impossible to prevent or punish all of it. To use a shitty poker analogy: this hand sucks and everybody else cheats. Casinos are fairer than this.
Thanks for creating and sharing your writing. It’s one of my favorite reads of the week.
Prof G,
I have heard you all week railing against Trump’s “let’s make a deal” with TikTok calling it socialism. However, I think you are wrong. I don’t think Trump wants the US Government to buy TikTok, I think he wants it. I agree with you on his uber-grift with his crypto, so why would he stop there? He makes a deal for a large share of TikTok then doesn’t enforce the ban.
Scott, I’m a big fan. But you, along with the rest of the media, have your facts wrong on the TikTok ban. The ban went into effect on January 19 exactly as they said it would. Go to the Apple App Store or Google play store. You will not find the app available to download. This is always what the law required. The ban that was passed by Congress, signed by President Biden, and upheld by the Supreme Court applies to the distribution of the app in the App Stores. That is why Apple and Google are not allowing new downloads of the app, they would be fined billions of dollars for violating the law. Yes, if you have the app on your phone, it will continue to work. that was always the intent. But if you lose the app or it glitches out or you get a new phone, you will not be able to get it back. That is why people are starting to sell phones with the TikTok app on it on eBay and other places for thousands of dollars. Trump’s executive order is not worth the paper that it is printed on. It is not a thing. The president does not have the authority to overturn a law via EO. It doesn’t work that way. TikTok will have to sell to an American company, or Congress will have to pass a new law. Those are the only two options. Otherwise the ban will remain in effect. It is in effect right now. I hope you read this and comment accordingly on your next pod!
Spot on. Wishful thinking would be that the new crypto team and congress set a law that any elected officials cannot create their own coins; that’s at the very lowest bar of regulation, I’m not holding my breath.
The grift is so plain and unsophisticated, but I guess that’s where the moral compass is at, money and power beget more money and power.
This harkens back to the days of John McCain. Get the lobbyist out of Washington. Maybe after MAGA burn down the house, we might consider moving Lobbyists to Omaha? Refresh. Restart. Recommit?
I always like reading your perspective on things. PJ O Rourke wrote a book back in the 80’s about Congress, he called it a “Parliament of Whores”. If our beloved leaders were Whores back then, and it has only worsened since, perhaps Whores is too nice a word for what is happening today. Congress now operates more like organized crime, extorting business and the citizenry to get the laws and regulations, or lack thereof, to make themselves rich. You think Rick Scott used $100 million of his own money to get elected because he felt a civic duty. No, the word is out, you can make lots of money, insider trading, kickbacks, interest free loans, all legal in the US Congress.
I agree with most things you say Scott, but unfortunately I must disagree about the security threat TikTok poses. It’s like Police Academy -Mission to Moscow where the bad guys are trying to take over by using a computer game to control people. TikTok is no more a security threat than Meta or X is, only difference is they are American but yo use a word you use a lot, they are more mendacious than TikTok is. Why was there no talk of banning TikTok in the EU ? I tell you why, it’s because the EU have robust and effective GDPR data protection rules. The US doesn’t have anything comparable. And with how Trump regime has started one week in, you cant exactly trust the US to do the right thing or to secure and safeguard data. We all know meta had sold millions of user data to the highest bidder (Cambridge Analytica) and not all for benign purposes.
There are far bigger threats to youth in the US rather than TikTok. See how quick and unanimous it was to ban TikTok (regardless of how brief) than it is to ban automatic weapons that are used in high school shootings killing scores of innocent children every year.
Priorities are all messed up. And I genuinely fear for the US over the next few years. The public have been hoodwinked and fooled into placing their trust in a convicted felon who clearly doesn’t respect the law. That to me, is much more a concern to our youth than watching an entertaining and engaging video app.
So depressing! Can’t wait until all the Trump corruption open class actions are litigated!
Damn good article. Spot on. Thank You…..that someone is still brave enough to speak about the new reality. The decay of Rome is undeniable and sad…..there is no more morality.
you got my vote.
BTW, I don’t live in America but we watch from afar as when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. My personal view is that America is going through an America is going through a revolution. It’s not the bloody type (yet) but everything about this says revolution to me. The only problem is that it feels more like Castro’s Cuban revolution than the first American revolution. Right intention, wrong people.
Loved this post Scott and team. Well done!!!
BTW, I don’t live in America but we watch from afar as when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. My personal view is that America is going through an America is going through a revolution. It’s not the bloody type (yet) but everything about this says revolution to me. The only problem is that it feels more like Castro’s Cuban revolution than the first American revolution. Right intention, wrong people.
Prof. G, Ok, we get it….you despise Donald Trump. As a fan of your market views, analytics, and business commentary, it is disappointing to see that the TDS is beginning to really undermine your credibility. This long article mentions very little of the clear corruption and financial misbehavior of the previous administration….whom you supported. The WEF gang, and Biden / Harris supporters such as Soros and SBF are more than equally deserving of the criticisms you are leveling. Try to get back to a place of intellectual balance in your analyses, because such a one sided agenda is not a good look for a “professor”.
John Crane you are an idiot
Yep, almost impossible to find a politician who does not have both front trotters in the trough these days.
” It’s much easier to fool Americans than to convince them they’ve been fooled.” – If that ain’t the truth.
One interesting upside about Trump deporting people who are illegally in the US. During the 1660s bubonic plague in the UK, the poor people who managed to not die, got to ask for higher wages because there was a shortage of available workers.
It will be interesting to see how many people Trump can find and deport.
Less illegal labour will seriously increase inflation, increase interest rates and increase the payments the US government has to pay on its massive debt.
I agree with Trump when it comes to border security and forcing Mexico to do more at their end.
Great comment.
The US let Rupert Murdoch have Americans citizenship and a media company and he has done more to destroy America than any other media outlet. Prince Harry just got an apology and a large pay-out because no one from News Corpse wanted to go to court and lie for their employer, much to the amusement of the BBC. Years ago, Murdoch got the Tories to cut the Beebs’ budget and only do minimal reporting on the US.
Trump wants the Europeans to drop many of their restrictions on social media, so Facebook and X can have free rein to destroy the fabric of their societies, just like in the US, but it is going to be a tough battle. Thankfully the EU, as a collective are much more difficult to bribe than officials in the US.
Trump will spend the next 4 years fleecing corporations and foreign governments, with little regard for how it helps or hinders the American people. Those companies that do not want to move their manufacturing to the US will just personally remunerate Trump.
Occasionally companies have to pay. The Sackler family owned Purdue Pharma, the producers of OxyContin, just agreed to a $7.4bn opioid settlement. Americans died. No shortage of evidence that doctors were clearly lied to.
The EU and Australia largely avoided the Sackler led opioid crisis by having strict laws around S8 pharma drugs. Many medical practices won’t even prescribe them.
Raging Moderate? Let me see–Elon did a Nazi salute? Our corrupt government might get a shake-up by a guy who moves fast and breaks things? With Mr. steady Biden ,Putin invaded Ukraine and Israel was under siege. As a moderate (voted for Biden once and Trump once) maybe it is time for George Costanza policies. i.e. whatever they were doing now do the opposite.
Scott – sorry you don’t see the merit of the EO’s – elections have consequences!
Scott – clearly this comments section needs some moderation. It’s devolved to resemble X, and I quit that well BEFORE Elon bought it and completed it’s transformation to a cesspool. So much for civil discourse!
The guy below who said you need to be more positive is right. Just before Trump won this election (for a change) I said to people, “all of you MAGA folks that voted for him, come see me in 3 years and we’ll see how you’re feeling about his leadership.”
Since the inauguration and the flurry of EOs, I’m positive it won’t take 3 years for them to go, “holy shit!” My revised timeline is < 12 months, as they wake up and realize that what he and his band of sycophants are doing is having a disproportionately negative impact on them.
They'll be storming D.C. again, but this time it won't be the Capitol – it'll be the White House!
You can just choose not to read other’s comments. Funny how one side always wants to restrict free speech for no good reason. Have you learned nothing from Zuckerberg?
Giving you all sorts of Musk-Blocking-People-on-X side-eye right now.
I am thinking most MAGA voters should be able to realise they were taken for a ride in under 6 months and one of the angry ones, who’s a gun owner, assassinating Trump. If one of them doesn’t do the job, US security services, who understand just how big a threat Trump is to national security and America’s security alliance partnerships, will do the job.
My money is on Trump not finishing his 4 years in office.
I can get money out of elections/politics and it won’t be as hard as you think. We have the Internet/mobile and computers in our pockets – voter information should look like iTunes and running for office should be $99. We’re building the platform now – the “level playing field” of election information. If anyone is interested, I’d be happy to demo… Jim
Wow! The butt-hurt expressed in your essay almost sounds terminal.
I will send you a case of Vaseline as soon as possible.
And remember: BOHICA – it’s going to be a LONG 4 years.
Touch grass (when you can).
This is a shit job of an article.
The public’s obliviousness to the corruption is amusing when I remember how outraged people were not that many years ago when cable TV started carrying Al Jazeera. Scandal!! Moral outrage!! How dare they!! Boycott now!!
I’m convinced the average American is getting dumber, and this past election verified that. I literally had a debate with a Trump supporter about Hitler and the Holocaust, and he made some comment like, “Well, we’re no better for killing Hitler.” I was stunned, this person had no idea Hitler killed himself, holed up in his bunker. You can imagine how little else the person knew.
I need you to never stop writing these articles – they are the sole, tangible pieces of evidence I have to prove that I am not, in fact, the crazy one.
History will judge President Trump as one of the greatest leaders we have had in the past century. Biden will soon be forgotten like a bad nightmare.
Trump is completely concentrated on building prosperity in the country so people have the opportunity to aspire to a better life for themselves and their family.
The current system is not working so let’s try the MAGA route for the next four years!
The “people” who genuinely believe that orange shitler will improve their lives gotta be some of the dumbest assholes to ever live.
Hey “LOL Republicans”, where were you for the last two months? Finally done sulking from the election results?
Keep reading about MAGA types who voted Trump as they couldn’t afford to eat steak. Trump hires foreign workers for his buildings. H1’s for tech jobs. Americans won’t be able to afford even beans. 4 years to a country where the middle class becomes the lower class fighting climate change bowing to trillionaires. Best of luck to you.
Keep reading about MAGA types who voted Trump as they couldn’t afford to eat steak. Trump hires foreign workers for his buildings. H1’s for tech jobs. Americans won’t be able to afford even beans. 4 years to a country where the middle class becomes the lower class fighting climate change bowing to trillionaires.
I encourage you to read “Strongmen” by Ruth Ben-Ghait.
Such a familiar tone. Cult of personality reaching level we last saw in Stalins era
DJT does not give a shit about this country, your family, or you, and in 12 months that will be painfully obvious even to sycophants like …. you.
Go say 140/130 years back and see the same as what is happening today. Without internet of course but with fantastic lies and the like in the information of that time: the newspapers. It went on for say 30 years with the billionaires of the time getting things done like they wanted and maybe W.R. Hearst was the E. Musk of the time? Just to say there is nothing new under the sun. Hopefully US citizens will not have to go through a new super crash as in the 1930’s to find out they had – to do something about it – have the power to do it. Who’s going to write a parallel story about then and now?
Scott, I’m a big fan. But you, along with the rest of the media, have your facts wrong on the TikTok ban. The ban went into effect on January 19 exactly as they said it would. Go to the Apple App Store or Google play store. You will not find the app available to download. This is always what the law required. The ban that was passed by Congress, signed by President Biden, and upheld by the Supreme Court applies to the distribution of the app in the App Stores. That is why Apple and Google are not allowing new downloads of the app, they would be fined billions of dollars for violating the law. Yes, if you have the app on your phone, it will continue to work. that was always the intent. But if you lose the app or it glitches out or you get a new phone, you will not be able to get it back. That is why people are starting to sell phones with the TikTok app on it on eBay and other places for thousands of dollars. Trump’s executive order is not worth the paper that it is printed on. It is not a thing. The president does not have the authority to overturn a law via EO. It doesn’t work that way. TikTok will have to sell to an American company, or Congress will have to pass a new law. Those are the only two options. Otherwise the ban will remain in effect. It is in effect right now.
We have made money our God – to hell with following Jesus – follow the money!
Scott, you really have become so negative. Nothing but conjecture of crime, bribes. Etc. Why don’t you use your analytics to outline how much money Trump lost during lawfare, vrs. What Pelosi, and others made during the same period. Let’s not forget, Senator Collins now a millionaire, etc. it would be very instructive to
see what this Cabal called the Congress and Senate members made against what President Trump lost? You have to try and be more positive Scott.
Trumpies are so fucking cooked LOL
“Be more positive” as America gets sold out by a rapist, fascist, felon. Go fuck yourself shitbag.
Hey moderator, calling someone a shitbag makes it past your review?
Thank you for the excellent article, Professor Scott. The current situation in America is very serious and we Brazilians are following it with interest.
I live in the northeast of Brazil and I was present at the XP Inc event in São Paulo (August 2024). Your participation (“Entrepreneurship and the future of Brazil”) was excellent.
Scott,
Your newsletter has been informative and entertaining until the recent election. Maybe I missed the part where you admit to such a deep bias. While “1440” claims to provide “unbiased fact-based news”, they should reevaluate their partnership with you as your latest post projecting a fantasy of Trump corruption is a bridge too far. Especially when anyone not suffering from TDS sees the actual treasonous corruption of the Biden family over the past decade (pardons needed!). You have an audience and I hope you don’t waste it catering to the delusional left who refuse to accept that the majority of Americans reject their lunatic ideologies. You may never agree with the policies, but you should acknowledge that leadership has returned to the White House, and the World is already better for it.
Hey look, more braindead Trump trash telling Scott how mean he’s being to their favorite rapist felon.
Nazis gonna get theirs 🔫
Hey moderator, going to do anything about this one?
Let this loser who lives in his mom’s basement cry all he wants. It’s quite amusing, actually.
“More recently, for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the “It’s Been a Long Time Coming” VIP Package would set you back $12,500.”
This is misleading/false. The most expensive face value VIP package for the Eras Tour, It’s Been A Long Time Coming, was $899. Anything above that would be on the secondary market (ie, scalpers on StubHub).
Regular face value tickets ranged from $49-499, and VIP $199-899.
Prof’s point is that letting the rich run away with everything isn’t trickling down for everybody else, which was (and still is) the cover story.
Thanks Kelsey. You’re correct, we got this wrong…fixed. FYI, at $899, the tix are 5x what best seats to Springsteen (inflation adjusted) cost in 1984. Thanks again.
If you’re planning on running for president, you ought to push for a ban on hypnotherapists and psychologists now. They really did a number on Biden, and you don’t want to owe fealty just for being declared competent to run.