“When Tesla shareholders approved an unprecedented $1 trillion pay package for Elon Musk last year, they bet on Musk’s ability to drive up the stock price, hit new performance milestones and establish Tesla as a robotics and artificial intelligence juggernaut,” the Washington Post reports.
“But those who believed the pay package would lead Musk to make a clean break with the political activity that had left the company in turmoil were mistaken.”
New York Times: “The companies running online prediction markets, where ordinary people bet on real-world events, can count on intense interest in what President Trump might have up his sleeve…”
“At the intersection of the prediction market industry and Trump world is Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son. He is both an investor in and an unpaid adviser to Polymarket, and a paid adviser to Kalshi … That has created questions about whether regulators could have been swayed by simply knowing the interests of the president’s son.”
New York Times: “Mr. Cuomo has managed to keep most details about his podcasting career under wraps. But a review of previously unreported court records and interviews with a dozen people involved show the lengths he was willing to go to restore his name.”
“It began with Quake Media. But when the start-up began unraveling, Mr. Cuomo tried others in the Republican spectrum. He courted a conservative talk radio powerhouse and had a portentous run-in with a Republican rival in a familiar red beret. And, in a bizarre twist, the podcasts he made may soon be owned by a well-known Fox News host.”
“An investment fund run by prominent Trump supporters tried to sell sponsorships for a conference it pitched to companies as the ‘Inaugural U.S. Treasury A.I. Summit,’ during which it said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would unveil the Treasury Department’s artificial-intelligence strategy,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The fact that a private conference was marketed as a government-hosted event designed to unveil U.S. government policy startled ethics experts.”
Wall Street Journal: “She signed with a top Hollywood talent agency, Creative Artists Agency, in February to represent her in speaking and publishing engagements; CAA previously represented her. Harris’s team has asked for $250,000 a speech, according to people familiar with the discussions, and interest has so far has been limited.”
“With U.S. companies concerned about retribution from Trump, lucrative paid speeches have been challenging to get for top Democrats and even some Republicans.”
The Trump Organization’s online store is now selling “Trump 2028” hats, suggesting the president wants to run for a third term.
A pair of boxer shorts that belonged to President John F. Kennedy sold at auction for $9,100, the New York Post reports.
President Trump’s political operation is profiting from his flurry of executive orders by hawking gear such as “Make Greenland Great Again,” “Gulf of America” and “DOGE” T-shirts, along with the black “dark MAGA” caps worn by Elon Musk, Axios reports.
Disgraced former Rep. George Santos (D-NY) made $400,000 selling personalized videos on Cameo, federal prosecutors said in a court hearing Tuesday, ABC News reports.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is recording short videos on Cameo for $500 apiece.
“As Donald Trump prepares to begin his second four-year term, one cruise company is giving Americans the choice to opt out and escape,” The Guardian reports.
“The residential cruise line Villa Vie Residences announced earlier in November that it was launching a program that will allow travelers to join its ship, the Odyssey, at any port as it traverses around the world for the next several years. The trip is expected to travel to 425 ports across 140 countries, and the program will cost less than $40,000 a year.”
“The program is being offered in one-, two-, three-, and four-year packages. The one-year package is called Escape From Reality and the two-year package is called Mid-term Selection.”
The FBI raided the New York City apartment of Shayne Coplan, the founder and CEO of Polymarket, Axios reports.
“Polymarket is one of the most active prediction betting markets, gaining mainstream attention during the recent presidential election.”
New York Times: “Supporters of prediction markets such as Polymarket, Kalshi and PredictIt, where bettors could wager on the outcome of the election, said that the odds reflected reality faster and better than opinion polls. With President-elect Donald J. Trump’s resounding win, those claims seem to have been borne out.”
“It’s a major moment for betting markets, which have been around for years but surged to prominence in this election cycle.”
Financial Times: Was the Polymarket Trump whale smart or lucky?
Washington Post: “The merchants and their customers have become a polarizing staple of Trump’s campaign events this election season, promoting shirts with different slogans and spellings of the same vulgar attack. While not the majority of Trump rallygoers, their persistent presence speaks to how much the candidate’s fans have echoed his demeaning attacks on Harris in even more offensive terms.”
“Many supporters say they revel in his unfiltered rhetoric and see it as a core part of his appeal, effectively creating a safe harbor at his events for vicious insults.”
“Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn has spent much of the last three years claiming the 2020 election was stolen, turning baseless conspiracy theories into a cottage industry centered around live events, a documentary and political fundraising through dark money groups,” CNN reports.
“But under oath in a court deposition earlier this year, Flynn for the first time on record acknowledged there was no evidence to support a key part of some election fraud claims — that an executive at Dominion Voting Systems helped rig the 2020 election through the company’s voting machines.”
“A month later, Flynn was back on TV, telling Chris Cuomo on NewsNation that the 2020 election was ‘filled with fraud’ and that there is ‘clear evidence’ to back it up. Pressed for details, Flynn declined to elaborate.”
Washington Post: “Around $2 billion in cryptocurrency has been wagered on predicting the next president on Polymarket as of Friday. The New York-based company says it receives tens of millions of visits per month.”
Wired: “Polymarket has had a lot of success this year. The pro-Trump billionaire Peter Thiel and ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin announced they had raised around $70 million in funding for the company this past May. The site’s monthly traffic has grown to around 20 times more than what it was at the time of the investment.”
“Betting markets also secured a big win earlier this month when a US appeals court gave Kalshi, a predictions startup, the green light to offer markets on which party would take over Congress next year. While the case hasn’t been completely resolved, it likely won’t be decided before election day. This means election markets are here to stay, much to the joy of political influencers and elites like Musk online.”
NBC News: “With just weeks left before the November election, former President Donald Trump has taken to promoting items and businesses that are not at all connected to his presidential campaign…”
“While running for president this cycle, Trump has also promoted a sneaker brand, boots and even Bibles — all of which are business and not campaign ventures. He has long mixed business with politics; prior to his legal battles that have raged for years now, those potential conflicts of interest were the subject of far greater attention.”
“But the fact that Trump is promoting his business interests again in the closing weeks of the campaign has his Democratic rivals saying it is proof he is unfocused, and even some of his allies saying the effort is unwise.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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