Ari Melber Says It's Important Not to Lose ‘Your Ability to Be Outraged About Lies' Amid Trump-Musk Corruption
MSNBC's Ari Melber didn't downplay the situation facing, uh, the country during his show on Wednesday, but he did have some advice for people looking ahead to pushing back against Donald Trump and Elon Musk: 'Maintaining your ability to be outraged about lies and the misuse of tax dollars' is crucial.
That point came after a lengthy look into Donald Trump's relationship with Musk, as typified by Tuesday's Tesla promotion at the White House.
'The headline you've probably heard, markets are slumping, and it's hitting Elon Musk's Tesla extremely hard, a crash there, the steepest drop in five years, landed for that company this week, as Musk has been doing just about everything, but spending full time running Tesla, working with the government, working with political speeches and appearances, instead of focused on his companies, where so many people expect him to keep track of the stock,' Melber said.
'Meanwhile, Trump and Musk's alliance is now using your taxpayer resources and the White House itself for the extremely odd, controversial and allegedly possibly corrupt presentation that you see here,' he continued, referring to said White House Tesla promosion.
'The pair spent 30 minutes at the White House on what many called an obvious ad and conflict of interest, where the President United States hawked Tesla at the White House to an invited group of reporters,' Melber continued. 'Trump also basically suggesting he was shopping for a new car, and hawked the products an intrepid photographer showing that Trump's notes revealed a price list of Tesla cars, meaning this was quite specifically a sales job for one company owned or tied to his own political ally.'
Melber made the point that this 'obviously' involves a big , a big part of Musk's wealth,' and added that the notes 'read like a Tesla sales pitch.' Soon after, he noted how in addition to the brazen corruption of this, it also breaks a specific promise both Trump and Musk made recently, that Musk would 'recuse' himself if ever U.S. policy and Musk's business interests became connected by policy.
Melber then contrasted the current situation to that of the failed solar power company Solyndra, which received a $539 million loan cosigned by the Obama administration in 2009 but declared bankruptcy in 2011. An investigation ultimately determined there was no evidence of wrongdoing or illegal or unethical political influence. Nevertheless it was a big issue in the 2012 election, with Republicans accusing Obama of using his office to promote the company illegally.
:The federal government picked a winner, and it turned out to be a loser,' Melber said about that situation. 'Now Republicans defend, some even cheering, Trump hand picking his view of a winner on the White House lawn for a political ally, while Musk uses X, the platform he bought to stream, to broadcast the appearance of what some see as a political favor.'
'It's not what a free market looks like. We are witnessing, in a very blatant way, the fusion of selected businesses that are on the winners list and the government, which is using your taxpayer dollars at the very time that this administration's policies are crashing the markets, including Tesla, and all of this done by these people who very publicly and falsely claim they would recuse over any conflicts, the first step catching them, maintaining your ability to be outraged about lies and the misuse of tax dollars and fact checking,' Melber concluded.
The post Ari Melber Says It's Important Not to Lose 'Your Ability to Be Outraged About Lies' Amid Trump-Musk Corruption | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Senate Republicans are down to the wire on Trump's tax bill
After months of fierce debate, Senate Republicans are preparing Saturday to advance President Donald Trump's mammoth tax and immigration agenda — though their compromise still may not be sufficient to satisfy conservatives in the House. The GOP is set to unveil its version of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act — legislation to extend nearly $4 trillion of tax cuts, enact campaign promises such as no tax on tips, fund the White House's mass deportation drive and begin building Trump's 'Golden Dome' missile defense system — to tee up a crucial procedural vote.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Billionaire Dan Loeb Sold Third Point's Entire Stake in Tesla in Favor of a High-Yield Dividend Stock That's Doubled in Under 2 Years
Form 13Fs offer investors a quarterly snapshot of which stocks Wall Street's top money managers have been buying and selling. Though Tesla may have enjoyed a brief "Trump bump," a number of operating concerns have emerged. Meanwhile, billionaire Dan Loeb has piled into a slow-but-steadily-growing dividend stock whose shares have doubled since hitting their low in July 2023. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › Nothing is more valuable on Wall Street than data. The only problem for investors is that keeping atop the latest data releases is a daunting task that can allow something of importance to slip through the cracks. For example, what can arguably be described as the most important data dump of the second quarter occurred on May 15. But because it was at the start of earnings season and packaged so closely to important economic data releases from the federal government, investors might have overlooked the May 15 filing deadline for Form 13Fs with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A 13F is a required filing no later than 45 calendar days following the end to a quarter by institutional investors with at least $100 million in assets under management (AUM). It provides a concise snapshot of which stocks Wall Street's prominent money managers purchased and sold in the latest quarter. Even though 13Fs are far from perfect -- since they're filed up to 45 calendar days following the end to a quarter, they may present a stale snapshot for an active hedge fund -- they offer key insights as to which stocks and trends have piqued the interest of Wall Street's most-successful asset managers. While Warren Buffett is the stock market's most famous billionaire investor, he's not the only fund manager known for their phenomenal returns or key insights. Third Point's billionaire chief Dan Loeb is another asset manager with a keen eye for value that investors usually keep close tabs on. During the March-ended quarter, Loeb was a decisive seller of four "Magnificent Seven" stocks, perhaps none of which stands out more than Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). Meanwhile, the value-focused Loeb piled into a brand-name, high-yield dividend stock that's managed to double in value in less than two years. To preface this discussion, Dan Loeb operates a relatively active fund that ended the March quarter with more than $6.5 billion in AUM spread across 45 positions. Loeb's average hold time among these 45 positions is just 4.5 quarters, or roughly 13.5 months. In short, he's demonstrated a willingness to lock in gains when presented with a decisive move higher in a security. Between the third quarter of 2024, which is when Third Point first acquired shares of electric-vehicle (EV) maker Tesla, and the first quarter of 2025, which is when all 500,000 shares of Tesla were sold, this position, at one point, more than doubled in value. Loeb had ample incentive to lock in his fund's short-term gains. Based on the timing of Loeb's initial investment and selling activity, it's possible his fund's stake in Tesla was based on the expectation of the company benefiting from a Donald Trump victory in November. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was touted as having a role in the Trump administration -- he went on to be a special employee for the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE -- which was expected to be a positive for his company's long-term growth ambitions. But with this story having been played out, a number of red flags associated with Tesla's operations may have encouraged billionaire Dan Loeb to head for the hills. One of the more glaring issues with Tesla has been the company's declining vehicle margin. Though higher energy and storage revenue has helped to somewhat offset EV demand weakness, more than a half-dozen sweeping price cuts on Tesla's fleet of EVs from growing competition has sapped its vehicle margin. To add fuel to the fire, Tesla's Cybertruck looks to be a flop. Despite Musk previously claiming that his company had over 1 million reservations for Cybertruck, a recall announced in March of Cybertrucks manufactured from Nov. 13, 2023 to Feb. 27, 2025 showed this recall covered just shy of 46,100 vehicles. That's a far cry from "demand being off the charts," as Musk once touted. This speaks to the broader issue of Musk's innovations (usually) failing to materialize. While Musk has overseen the launch of a handful of new EVs and diversified Tesla into an energy generation and storage provider, his Level 5 autonomy claims by "next year" have fallen flat for 11 consecutive years. Furthermore, the initial robotaxi launch in Austin, TX, is limited to just 10 vehicles and geofenced to a small coverage area. If Musk's unfulfilled promises were backed out of Tesla's valuation, its share price, and astronomical forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of almost 120, would plummet. However, Third Point's billionaire chief was also a buyer of select stocks during the March-ended quarter. Though nearly a dozen new positions were opened, arguably none stands out more than the 3,775,000 shares purchased of high-octane dividend stock AT&T (NYSE: T). Two years ago, investors seemingly wanted nothing to do with AT&T and large telecom companies. In July 2023, a report from The Wall Street Journal alleged that AT&T and other U.S. telecom companies had a network of legacy cables wrapped in toxic lead. The WSJ intimated that cleanup costs and health liabilities could be sizable for legacy telecom companies. Ultimately, AT&T and its peers refuted the findings of the report. Even if there is some form of future liability for America's legacy telecom providers, it's something that would almost certainly be determined in the U.S. court system, which is notoriously slow. What was viewed as a serious threat to AT&T in July 2023 quickly passed as short-term white noise. AT&T's shares have since doubled in value from their July 2023 lows. Although AT&T's best growth days are long gone, there are still catalysts working in the company's favor. For example, AT&T upgrading and steadily expanding the reach of its 5G network has resulted in ongoing postpaid phone additions and mobility sales growth that typically ranges in the low-to-mid single digits. Since access to a smartphone and the internet has effectively evolved into a basic necessity, AT&T is enjoying historically low postpaid phone churn rates that are below 1%. Additionally, there's been a resurgence in broadband signups since the rollout of 5G. AT&T has added at least 200,000 net customers to its broadband service for 21 consecutive quarters (more than five straight years) and is nearing 30 million cumulative consumer and business AT&T Fiber subscribers. Even with broadband no longer being the growth story it was when the century began, it's still a phenomenal source of operating cash flow and can be used as a tool to encourage high-margin service bundling. Perhaps best of all, AT&T has dramatically improved its financial flexibility since spinning out its content division, WarnerMedia, in 2022. This spinoff, which saw WarnerMedia merge with Discovery to create Warner Bros. Discovery, led to the assumption of certain debt lots by this new media entity. Whereas net debt for AT&T stood at $169 billion on March 31, 2022, it's fallen to $119.1 billion precisely three years later. Lastly, AT&T is dishing out a nearly 4% annual yield and sports a reasonable forward P/E ratio of 12.7 amid a historically pricey stock market. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $400,193!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $38,264!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $687,731!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join , and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Sean Williams has positions in AT&T and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Billionaire Dan Loeb Sold Third Point's Entire Stake in Tesla in Favor of a High-Yield Dividend Stock That's Doubled in Under 2 Years was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Why a G.O.P. Medicaid Requirement Could Set States Up for Failure
The strict Medicaid work requirement at the center of the Republicans' major policy bill wouldn't just require millions of poor Americans to prove they are employed to sign up for health insurance. It would also require dozens of states to quickly build expensive and complex software systems to measure and track who is eligible. This new responsibility for states, whose existing Medicaid computer systems are often outdated, would be accompanied by reduced federal funding through other changes in the bill. The result, according to state officials, software developers and policy experts, could be major failures in state systems for enrolling people in Medicaid. 'That's how happens,' said Julie Brinn Siegel, a former top Biden administration budget official, referring to the Obama administration's botched launch of the online Affordable Care Act enrollment portal in 2013. Ms. Siegel and others familiar with Medicaid systems envision problems like websites that don't load or incorrectly tell applicants they are not eligible. And Medicaid workers may be overwhelmed as they try to run call centers and process applications. The fallout could mean eligible Americans will have their coverage dropped. Republicans contend that the work requirement achieves twin goals: It ensures that the government directs resources to Americans who are contributing to society, while saving money to help finance an extension of President Trump's tax cuts. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
