“Australia approved a social media ban for children aged under 16 after an emotive debate that has gripped the nation, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech,” USA Today reports.
Elon Musk Joined Trump Family for Thanksgiving
“Tesla CEO Elon Musk had a seat at the family table for Thanksgiving dinner at Mar-a-Lago, joining President-elect Donald Trump, Melania Trump and their 18-year-old son Barron, in the latest indicator of Trump’s growing bond with the world’s richest man,” CNN reports.
Quote of the Day
“You have to be open to them — when I say you, the left — has to be open to them not agreeing with us on everything, having some heterodox views on politics, making some jokes that we don’t like or even find offensive. I mean, everyone’s like, ‘Where’s our Joe Rogan?’ It’s like, well, we had Joe Rogan. He was our Joe Rogan and then everyone said, ‘Fuck you, no’ when they made a big fuss out of Bernie Sanders going on his show.”
— Jon Favreau, on Pod Save America.
Project 2025 Is Alive and Well
“During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump swore he had ‘nothing to do with’ a right-wing policy blueprint known as Project 2025 that would overhaul the federal government, even though many of those involved in developing the plans were his allies,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Trump even described many of the policy goals as ‘absolutely ridiculous.’ And during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, he said he was ‘not going to read it.'”
“Now, as he plans his agenda for his return to the White House, Mr. Trump has recruited at least a half dozen architects and supporters of the plan to oversee key issues, including the federal budget, intelligence gathering and his promised plans for mass deportations.”
“The shift, his critics say, is not exactly a surprise. Mr. Trump disavowed the 900-page manifesto when polls showed it was extremely unpopular with voters. Now that he has won a second term, they say, he appears to be brushing those concerns aside.”
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Biden Suddenly Stopped Taking Photos with Staffers
Playbook: “As grim reality has set in following Donald Trump’s election victory, those staffers toiling away in the West Wing and EEOB have had something else sapping their morale — and blowing up their group chats: a growing concern that they might not get their departure photos with the president, a meaningful memento for those who have served in this and past administrations.”
“Earlier in Biden’s administration, when staffers started to head off to other jobs, these sessions would be scheduled with roughly a week’s notice… It was one small, good thing to look forward to for staffers dealing with the aftermath of Election Day and the end of their time on campus. Instead, dozens of them have grown upset.”
“Biden did not take any departure photos for several months, perplexing staffers who’ve always appreciated his personal touch.”
Said a former staffer: “They just took them off his schedule months ago, and no one knows why. Of course the culture is bad over there if they’re not doing the little things.”
Saudis Abandon Defense Treaty Over Israel Stalemate
“Saudi Arabia has abandoned its pursuit of an ambitious defense treaty with Washington in return for normalising relations with Israel and is now pushing for a more modest military cooperation agreement,“ Reuters reports.
“In a drive to get a wide-ranging mutual security treaty over the line earlier this year, Riyadh softened its position on Palestinian statehood, telling Washington that a public commitment from Israel to a two-state solution could be enough for the Gulf kingdom to normalise relations.”
Justice Department Girds for Test of Independence
“President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to install loyalists have left officials fearful that he intends to carry out his threats of retribution but hopeful that rule-of-law norms can hold,” the New York Times reports.
Mexico’s President Sure Country Can Avoid Tariffs
“Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum is convinced that her country can reach a deal with the US to avoid the 25% tariff threatened by US President-elect Donald Trump, she told reporters in Mexico City,” Bloomberg reports.
“The US’s No. 1 trade partner has a plan if Trump does impose tariffs but Sheinbaum — who spoke with the president-elect on the phone on Wednesday — says she’s convinced that it won’t be necessary to implement. Instead, she said Mexico and the US can collaborate in the face of Trump’s concerns on migration and drug-trafficking. She insisted that Mexico would not be subordinating itself to the US by doing so.”
Putin’s ‘Secret Daughter’ Living in Paris
Russian president Vladimir Putin has a secret daughter who’s living in Paris under a pseudonym, the Times of London reports.
Elizaveta Krivonogikh uses the family name of a deceased ally of Putin.
Texas Gears Up for Trump’s Mass Deportations
Washington Post: “Gov. Greg Abbott and other top officials have spent the past four years positioning themselves as the Biden administration’s greatest antagonists — and heirs to the border enforcement campaign begun by the last Trump administration. Despite having no constitutional authority on immigration enforcement, they have used tools of the state to dramatically escalate anti-immigrant policy and legislation locally while steering a similar narrative nationally.”
“Among their moves: pumping $11 billion into Abbott’s Operation Lone Star border enforcement, busing migrants to distant states and targeting organizations that advocate for them. All marked a clear departure from the “compassionate conservatism” of a Texas GOP that once granted in-state tuition to undocumented students and resettled thousands of refugees.”
Trump Brushes Back RFK Jr.
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent weeks lobbying Donald Trump to nominate an Agriculture secretary who would be his ally in a war with the sugar, soybean, corn and other farm commodity interests he argues are poisoning Americans,” Politico reports.
“Working largely from his home in California, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services even meticulously vetted and put forward his own list of candidates to run the massive agency responsible for the country’s farm and food policy, according to three people familiar with the discussions.”
“But Trump went a different direction. Instead, the president-elect made a wild-card pick — a former White House aide with little formal experience in agriculture policy and no record on the public health concerns driving Kennedy’s agenda.”
What Trump Likes About Biden’ ‘Horrible’ Foreign Policy
New York Times: “He wants friendly relations with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, may slash U.S. support for Ukraine and has threatened to withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He admires foreign autocrats and shows little interest in Mr. Biden’s goal of championing democracy abroad. He is hostile to international organizations and treaties including the United Nations and the Paris climate accord.”
“But amid the many areas of potential disruption, Mr. Trump will also find plenty of things to like in Mr. Biden’s policies. Beyond the glaring exceptions of Europe and his plans for Russia and Ukraine, Mr. Trump’s initial approach could bear a surprising resemblance to the Biden status quo.”
CNN: Trump’s Ukraine envoy has a plan to end the war that Putin may revel in.
Trump Is Tapping Deep Conservative Network
Think tanks and advocacy groups preparing for a second Trump term have reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in donations since 2020, Bloomberg reports.
Fox News Reaps Benefits of Donald Trump Victory
“Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News has captured nearly three-quarters of all US cable news audiences in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election victory, as liberal Americans tune out of the former reality star’s transition to a second term in office,” the Financial Times reports.
“Fox’s daily audiences have surged 40 percent since the November 5 vote, while viewership of the more left-leaning MSNBC and CNN have dropped 38 percent and 27 percent respectively, according to Nielsen figures.”
Can Trump Really Claim a Mandate?
In his victory speech on Nov. 6, President-elect Donald Trump claimed Americans had given him an “unprecedented and powerful mandate,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“But given that Trump’s lead in the popular vote has dwindled as more votes have been counted in California and other states that lean blue, there is fierce disagreement over whether most Americans really endorse his plans to overhaul government and implement sweeping change.”
“The latest tally from the Cook Political Report shows Trump winning 49.83% of the popular vote, with a margin of 1.55% over Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Turkeys in the Cabinet
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Casting the Cabinet
“People who are casually following the recent announcements from President-elect Donald Trump about how he intends to staff the upper ranks of the executive branch could be forgiven for thinking they were reading about a beauty contest, not political appointments,” the New York Times reports.
“If, during his first administration, Mr. Trump boasted of his generals from ‘central casting,’ now, it seems, he has applied the same principle to the whole shebang.”
