When billionaires feel like victims, you know they’re planning something.
Good Morning. It’s April 1st, but let’s be clear—none of what follows is a joke, though much of it reads like one.
On the world stage, Trump has once again reminded us that he considers diplomacy little more than a real estate deal. Yesterday, he threatened to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil exports if Vladimir Putin doesn’t “make a deal” to end the war in Ukraine. What that deal should include, he didn’t say, just that he’ll “know” if Putin is doing the job or not. As usual, Trump’s foreign policy runs on vibes and bravado, not strategy. He also blamed Ukraine’s interest in NATO for starting the war, repeating one of the Kremlin’s most consistent propaganda lines. While he claims he hasn’t actually spoken to Ukrainian officials, he’s heard, "through you," as he told reporters, that they’re tying mineral deals to NATO access. The Ukrainian government flatly denies this, but accuracy has never been the point.
Back at home, Trump’s “Tariff Liberation Day” is looming, and markets are feeling it. Peter Navarro, back from whatever economic cave he hibernates in, appeared on Fox News to announce a $6 trillion tax increase, framed, of course, as a tax cut. According to Navarro, the tariffs will raise $600 billion a year, making this one of the largest single revenue shifts in U.S. history. It amounts to roughly 2% of GDP and would raise the federal government’s share of the economy to over 19%, well above the post-1975 average. Even Democrats haven’t dared attempt such a massive grab, and they’re the ones supposedly addicted to raising taxes.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Fed’s GDP forecast for Q1 is currently in the red, estimating a 0.5% contraction. Recession fears are growing fast, with Goldman Sachs now placing the odds at 35%. Trump, as always, couldn’t care less. When asked about rising car prices from his new auto tariffs, he brushed it off. “If the prices on foreign cars go up, they’re going to buy American cars,” he said. "We have plenty." He neglected to mention that U.S. automakers tend to raise their prices too, because they can.
Elon Musk has been equally busy spinning up grievance narratives for his base. Over the weekend, he reposted a Fox News chart falsely implying the Biden administration is giving millions of undocumented immigrants Social Security numbers. The reality? SSNs have always been issued to certain noncitizens, refugees, asylum seekers, and legal work-permit holders. It’s not new, not scandalous, and certainly not evidence of voter fraud. But that didn’t stop Musk from breathlessly calling it “mind-blowing.” What’s actually mind-blowing is how easily people fall for it.
In another classic Musk moment, he reposted a thread complaining that Brazil, Romania, and France have “banned opposition candidates” from running for president. Left unmentioned, of course, is that in each case the banned candidates were convicted criminals. Unlike the U.S., where a convicted felon can still run for the highest office in the land, other democracies apparently believe ethics and accountability should matter in leadership. In Musk and Trump’s world, accountability is just persecution with better branding.
On that note, Trump is now openly saying the military will protect him from political opposition. He described dissenters as “the enemy from within,” and said he expects the military to deal with them if necessary. Meanwhile, Musk is echoing that authoritarian energy, declaring that anyone caught vandalizing a Tesla will face the “full power of the federal government.” It's not about the law, it’s about flexing state power to protect their brands, their egos, and their grip on influence. Both are building a narrative in which disagreement is treason and retribution is policy.
And speaking of retribution, the national security world is still reeling from the fallout of a leaked Signal group chat where senior Trump officials, including National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, discussed military strikes. The kicker? Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was added to the chat by accident and later published screenshots of the conversation. Making matters worse, evidence has emerged that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s login credentials were compromised in previous data breaches, including a Russian email address tied to his name. As of now, over half of registered voters, and nearly 40% of Republicans, believe Hegseth should resign. Trump, of course, calls it all a “glitch.”
Today also happens to be Election Day in Wisconsin, where voters will decide the future of abortion rights, redistricting, and the independence of the judiciary. And wouldn't you know it, Elon Musk is elbows-deep in this race too, funding PACs, offering cash bounties for signatures, and reportedly buying influence. With record-breaking outside spending and billionaire interference on full display, we can only hope Wisconsin voters see through the fog and make their voices heard anyway.
And finally, a quick personal note. Over the last seven days, on Facebook alone, I’ve received over 40,000 comments. I do my best to keep up, reading, responding, blocking trolls, researching, and writing, but I’ll be honest: my patience is wearing thin. I’ve already nuked a number of accounts that bring nothing to the table but memes and MAGA nonsense, and I’ll continue to do so without hesitation. I don’t have the bandwidth to entertain bad-faith actors while doing all the rest.
A few of you have generously offered to help moderate (thank you), and I’ve reached out to some trusted friends as well. I’m also working behind the scenes to migrate to Substack and other platforms so we’re not locked into Meta’s little fiefdom forever. And to those of you who’ve pitched in to “buy me a coffee”, you’re keeping the lights on, literally and figuratively. Thank you.
Here’s to clarity, accountability, and calling out the real April Fools before they burn the place down
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