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Daily Maverick
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Crossed Wires: Which billionaires have not bent the knee to Trump?
Much has been written about the surprising political pivot of erstwhile Democrat-supporting billionaires (many of them from tech) to the welcoming embrace of Maga after decades of support for liberalism. Bezos of Amazon, Musk of X/Tesla, Zuckerberg of Meta and Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz have all shed blue cloaks since Trump's ascendance and donned bright red ones. Some others have shifted more quietly and pragmatically, perhaps making some allowance for the new winds of politics and a vengeful president. These are not normal times, of course. The current president is slashing and burning any entity that does not toe his thick red line, whether they are Harvard, CBS, NPR, Voice of America or Associated Press. Not to mention Canada, for God's sake. It is unprecedented. A large pair of balls is required if you want to refuse to pay obeisance – there are real consequences, as we have seen. It is with this in mind, and catalysed by the stunning success of self-declared socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York Democratic mayoral candidate race last week, that I set out to find some tech bros who remain committed to good old liberal values and who continue to talk about climate change and renewables, as well as DEI and trans and immigrants' rights, as though Maga had never happened. It turns out that there are still quite a few – some more vocal and others keeping quiet. Perhaps these 'woke' holdouts will feel the wind at their backs again in 2028. Politics is fickle and forgetful, and public perception apt to balance on the wobbly fence of economic good times. No-man's-land Let's dispense with those who have been careful to stay in no-man's-land. Tim Cook of Apple has stayed partially out of the fray. He made the trek to Mar-a-Lago to dine with Trump early on, if only to say, 'We are as happy to work with you as with all other presidents.' Then he got into a small spat with Trump about where to manufacture iPhones, which argument seems to have dissipated, probably because Trump was informed that iPhones simply cannot be manufactured in the US at a competitive cost. How about Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Alphabet/Google? They are both longtime left-leaning centrists who have managed to stay out of the debate by saying little and keeping their personal opinions private. Jensen Huang of Nvidia, on the other hand, has found himself in a bit of a pickle. In 2016, he was quoted as saying, 'In general I prefer a more liberal government', but now, at the head of what is possibly the US's most politically sensitive technology, AI, he has to make nice with the administration that holds all the keys to sanctions and IP restrictions. Mind you, what with Nvidia's dominance in AI hardware, the Trump administration has to make nice with Huang too, so Trump and Huang exist in a politely necessary co-dependent relationship. They are not bros. Anti-Trump brigade This brings us to the others – the ones who clearly do not like Trump and will not bend the knee, the ones whose moral compass has not changed. (I am not passing judgment here on whether that moral compass's needle is pointed in the right direction, only that it seems not to have moved.) These include, most notably, Mark Cuban. Cuban made his fortune in streaming in the late '90s and has since diversified promiscuously. He is (like many self-made-billionaires-at-40) brash, opinionated and smart. He has accused Trump of being a 'snake oil salesman', of being scared of 'strong, intelligent women', of being 'a threat' to the US and of having 'fascist tendencies'. He has been critical of the Democrats, too, accusing them of 'not being able to sell shit' but he has also remained steadfastly outspoken on core left-wing planks like DEI. Then there is Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn. His outspoken criticism of Trump caused him to consider leaving the US when Trump was re-elected (out of fear of retribution), but he has not done so and continues to actively support Democratic causes and candidates. And Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, remains firmly 'progressive' except for his controversial support of private over public schooling, which has put him at odds with traditional Democrats. Finally, Satya Nadella of Microsoft. He is also seemingly untainted one way or the other, is unfailingly diplomatic and not given to political statements. But Microsoft's contributions tell a different story – they are 4:1 in favour of the Democratic Party. Billionaire influence The narrative in its entirety tells an interesting story. These people have enormous influence and deep pockets. Where they lean has direct influence on the direction of US governance, not only via their monetary contributions, but in terms of the messages they implicitly whisper to their large customer bases. So, why have some moved to the right, either publicly or privately? Mark Andreessen, in a recent podcast, described a meeting at the Biden White House with other tech executives and some of Biden's team. The subject was AI regulation. At the conclusion of the meeting, the executives went downstairs and huddled in the parking lot. One of them said, 'So I guess it's Trump for us?' They all agreed, at least in Andreessen's telling. For them, the issue was government regulation, nothing else. It was not the money, or at least not completely. It was what Andreessen and the others saw as clumsy and constraining government interference in the sort of innovation they believed to be a national imperative. It may be the case that some of these billionaires left their longtime political homes because Democratic policies pushed them away, but I suspect others moved to the right (and particularly toward Trump) because that's where the money is. Perhaps also because no one wants to deal with Trump's wrath. The only way we'll know for sure is if and when a new Democratic president is elected and the Zuckerbergs and Bezoses come crawling back or not. Only then will we know whether they are motivated by money or principle. DM Maverick451
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
From 'incompetent and treasonous' to 'dried out "prune,"' Bruce Springsteen and Donald Trump trade barbs in latest feud
President Trump and rock icon Bruce Springsteen are currently engaged in a public feud after Springsteen condemned Trump during the inaugural show of his European tour. While it's not the first time Springsteen, 75, has spoken out against the president, this latest fight stems from comments Springsteen made onstage in Manchester, England, on May 14. 'In my home, the America I love, the America I've written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,' Springsteen said. In response, Trump wrote on Truth Social, 'I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States.' The two have continued to trade insults, and on Monday, Trump even threatened to investigate Springsteen and other Democrat-supporting musicians. Here's how we got here. Springsteen, who's in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, kicked off his 2025 Land of Hope and Dreams European tour last Wednesday in Manchester, telling those in the crowd 'who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring.' Later on in the performance, before singing 'My City of Ruins,' Springsteen voiced more personal concerns about the political situation in the United States. 'There's some very weird, strange and dangerous shit going on out there,' he said. 'In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now. In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world's poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now.' Trump responded in a post on Truth Social two days later, calling Springsteen ''dumb as a rock.'' 'This dried out 'prune' of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that's just 'standard fare,'' Trump wrote. The following night, while performing again in Manchester, Springsteen continued to criticize Trump. 'A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government,' Springsteen said. A transcript of Springsteen's remarks was later posted to his website. Taylor Rogers, the White House assistant press secretary, also commented on Springsteen's speech, saying, 'The 77 million Americans that elected President Trump disagree with elitist and out-of-touch celebrities like Bruce Springsteen. Bruce is welcome to stay overseas while hard-working Americans enjoy a secure border and cooling inflation thanks to President Trump.' In the aftermath of Springsteen's comments, Trump posted early Monday morning that he plans to call for a 'major investigation' into appearances made by Springsteen and other artists on behalf of former Vice President Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential campaign, suggesting they may constitute an unlawful campaign contribution. 'HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT?' Trump wrote. 'This was a very expensive and desperate effort to artificially build up her sparse crowds. IT'S NOT LEGAL! For these unpatriotic 'entertainers,' this was just a CORRUPT & UNLAWFUL way to capitalize on a broken system.' Springsteen's remarks on May 14 were not the first he's made about Trump. Throughout his long-running music career, Springsteen has also spoken out about several other Republican political figures, including former President Ronald Reagan and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. In addition to campaigning for Trump's opponents in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 elections, Springsteen has openly criticized Trump himself in the past. In 2016, Springsteen publicly called Trump a 'flagrant toxic narcissist.' Four years later, during the 2020 election, Springsteen said that 'a good portion of our fine country, to my eye, has been thoroughly hypnotized, brainwashed by a con man from Queens.' The American Federation of Musicians issued a statement on May 16 in support of Springsteen as well as singer Taylor Swift, who Trump had insulted the same day in a post on Truth Social. 'The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada will not remain silent as two of our members — Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift — are singled out and personally attacked by the President of the United States,' the AFM statement reads. 'Musicians have the right to freedom of expression, and we stand in solidarity with all our members.' Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder offered support for Springsteen at a concert in Pittsburgh over the weekend, saying, 'Bruce has always been a true American with his values of freedom and liberty and his justice has always remained intact.' While Vedder did not name Trump specifically, he added, 'Part of free speech is open discussion. Part of democracy is healthy public discourse. The name-calling is so beneath us.' Pearl Jam also covered Springsteen's 'My City of Ruins' during the show.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
From 'incompetent and treasonous' to 'dried out "prune,"' Bruce Springsteen and Donald Trump trade barbs in latest feud
President Trump and rock icon Bruce Springsteen are currently engaged in a public feud after Springsteen condemned Trump during the inaugural show of his European tour. While it's not the first time Springsteen, 75, has spoken out against the president, this latest fight stems from comments Springsteen made onstage in Manchester, England, on May 14. 'In my home, the America I love, the America I've written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,' Springsteen said. In response, Trump wrote on Truth Social, 'I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States.' The two have continued to trade insults, and on Monday, Trump even threatened to investigate Springsteen and other Democrat-supporting musicians. Here's how we got here. Springsteen, who's in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, kicked off his 2025 Land of Hope and Dreams European tour last Wednesday in Manchester, telling those in the crowd 'who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring.' Later on in the performance, before singing 'My City of Ruins,' Springsteen voiced more personal concerns about the political situation in the United States. 'There's some very weird, strange and dangerous shit going on out there,' he said. 'In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now. In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world's poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now.' Trump responded in a post on Truth Social two days later, calling Springsteen 'dumb as a rock.' 'This dried out 'prune' of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that's just 'standard fare,'' Trump wrote. The following night, while performing again in Manchester, Springsteen continued to criticize Trump. 'A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government,' Springsteen said. A transcript of Springsteen's remarks was later posted to his website. Taylor Rogers, the White House assistant press secretary, also commented on Springsteen's speech, saying, 'The 77 million Americans that elected President Trump disagree with elitist and out-of-touch celebrities like Bruce Springsteen. Bruce is welcome to stay overseas while hard-working Americans enjoy a secure border and cooling inflation thanks to President Trump.' In the aftermath of Springsteen's comments, Trump posted early Monday morning that he plans to call for a 'major investigation' into appearances made by Springsteen and other artists on behalf of former Vice President Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential campaign, suggesting they may constitute an unlawful campaign contribution. 'HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT?' Trump wrote. 'This was a very expensive and desperate effort to artificially build up her sparse crowds. IT'S NOT LEGAL! For these unpatriotic 'entertainers,' this was just a CORRUPT & UNLAWFUL way to capitalize on a broken system.' Springsteen's remarks on May 14 were not the first he's made about Trump. Throughout his long-running music career, Springsteen has also spoken out about several other Republican political figures, including former President Ronald Reagan and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. In addition to campaigning for Trump's opponents in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 elections, Springsteen has openly criticized Trump himself in the past. In 2016, Springsteen publicly called Trump a 'flagrant toxic narcissist.' Four years later, during the 2020 election, Springsteen said that 'a good portion of our fine country, to my eye, has been thoroughly hypnotized, brainwashed by a con man from Queens.' The American Federation of Musicians issued a statement on May 16 in support of Springsteen as well as singer Taylor Swift, who Trump had insulted the same day in a post on Truth Social. 'The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada will not remain silent as two of our members — Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift — are singled out and personally attacked by the President of the United States,' the AFM statement reads. 'Musicians have the right to freedom of expression, and we stand in solidarity with all our members.' Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder offered support for Springsteen at a concert in Pittsburgh over the weekend, saying, 'Bruce has always been a true American with his values of freedom and liberty and his justice has always remained intact.' While Vedder did not name Trump specifically, he added, 'Part of free speech is open discussion, part of democracy is healthy public discourse. The name-calling is so beneath us.' Pearl Jam also covered Springsteen's 'My City of Ruins' during the show.
The Independent
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Snow White overperforms in red states despite ‘Snow Woke' moniker
The new Disney live-action remake of Snow White has had a sluggish start at the box office, but analysis shows that despite being branded 'Snow Woke' the film has performed proportionally better in states that vote Republican as compared to Democrat-leaning states. The movie, which stars Rachel Zegler in the title role, is already being considered a box office bomb after making just $43 million over its opening weekend against an estimated production cost of $270 million. Deadline reports that, according to analytics company EntTelligence, the film actually overperformed in red states. Because the majority of cinemas are in Democrat-supporting cities, family movies generally expect 63% of sales in Democrat areas and 37% in Republican areas. Snow White, however, posted 40% of ticket sales in red states. The film's lengthy production process has been beset by controversies, leaving a film intended to be crowd-pleasing labeled as one of the most unexpectedly divisive of the year. The film initially drew the ire of right-wing commentators when it was announced that West Side Story star Zegler had been cast in the lead role. Critics claimed that Zegler, who is Latina, should not play a character who is referred to as having 'skin as white as snow.' Zegler further provoked traditionalists by arguing the plot needed to be updated as, in the original film, Prince Charming 'literally stalks her.' 'It's no longer 1937,' Zegler added. 'She's not going to be saved by the prince, and she's not going to be dreaming about true love. She's dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be.' In a 2023 discussion with Halle Bailey, who herself received similar backlash over the color of her skin when she was cast in 2023's The Little Mermaid, Zegler said she was 'thankful' for the resistance to her casting because those moments 'make me feel like solid Teflon.' Speaking to Variety in 2024, Zegler explained that the new film has a different origin story for the character's name than the 1937 cartoon. 'It fell back to another version of Snow White that was told in history, where she survived a snowstorm that occurred when she was a baby,' said Zegler. 'And so the king and queen decided to name her Snow White to remind her of her resilience.' However, a perceived double standard was called out by Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage, who, in 2022, called the idea of remaking Snow White 'f***ing backwards.' Disney responded to Dinklage's comments, saying: 'To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.' As the Snow White release date approached, further controversy erupted over the contrasting political allegiances of the film's lead actors. Israeli actor Gal Gadot, who plays the evil queen in the new movie, has been an outspoken supporter of Israel during its war in Gaza. Zegler, meanwhile, is a passionate defender of Palestinian causes. She was also criticized by Donald Trump supporters for her reaction to the US president's re-election when she posted on Instagram about 'four years of hatred' he would bring about in America. She later apologized for 'contributing to negative discourse' It was widely reported that behind-the-scenes political tensions as well as the film's other controversies were behind Disney's decision to scale back the Hollywood premiere. According to Variety, the March 15 premiere, which would typically have included a large-scale red-carpet event with multiple media outlets invited to interview the stars, was reportedly reduced to only photographers and in-house crew. Nevertheless, Zegler and Gadot appeared all smiles as they were photographed side-by-side at the premiere along with the remake's director Marc Platt. Critics failed to be impressed, however, with
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Karoline Leavitt: The Trump loyalist named as the youngest-ever White House press secretary
Karoline Leavitt, the White House's youngest-ever press secretary, is set to formerly address the press for the first time since being appointed by Donald Trump. While the 27-year-old has recently taken questions from reporters aboard Air Force One, Tuesday will be the first time she uses the White House briefing room. Here we take a look at who Ms Leavitt is and how came to appoint the regular Fox News contributor as his press secretary for his second stint as president. 'Smart and tough' Following his win against Democratic rival and former vice president in November, Mr Trump announced the appointment of Ms Leavitt saying: "Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator. "I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American people as we, Make America Great Again." A fierce Trump loyalist, Ms Leavitt, from the typically Democrat-supporting state of New Hampshire, had previously held the position of campaign press secretary before being included in the president's White House team. Before that, she worked as a spokesperson for the MAGA Inc political action committee - known in the US as a super PAC - supporting Mr Trump, while in 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire but lost. Ms Leavitt, who grew up in the small town of Atkinson, and whose family ran an ice cream shop, reacted to her appointment as White House press secretary by thanking the president "for believing in me". "I am humbled and honoured," Ms Leavitt said in a , adding: "Let's MAGA!". 'We have a little boy, but he's not so little now!' Many of Ms Leavitt's posts on Instagram over the past few months have highlighted her double life as a key member of Team Trump and a first-time mum who returned to work just four days after giving birth. Speaking of her decision to cut her maternity leave short, Ms Leavitt described to how she was holding her son when she saw the of her boss being streamed live on TV in July. "I looked at my husband and said: 'Looks like I'm going back to work'," she said. Ms Leavitt, who previously posted a video of her unloading a machine gun with the caption 'Hey Joe Biden... come and take it!", told the outlet in October: "I felt compelled to be present in this historic moment. "The president literally put his life on the line to win this election. The least I could do is get back to work quickly." Read more from Sky News: Ms Leavitt also described receiving a lot of support at work with her pregnancy and the birth of her child, to the point where Mr Trump himself called her to ask how she was getting on. During the call, the president, who with his wife Melania has 18-year-old Barron, cracked a joke saying: "We have a little boy, but he's not so little now!" What is her relationship with the media? Ms Leavitt, much like Mr Trump, has accused certain sections of the media of "fake news". In November last year, she hit back at the reaction to comments Mr Trump made about Liz Cheney - one of his most vocal Republican critics - who he said would not be a "radical war hawk" if she was in a war herself and had guns "trained on her face". Before being appointed to the role of press secretary, Ms Leavitt previously made regular appearances on the conservative news channel, Fox News. Ms Leavitt follows in the footsteps of Mr Trump's four press secretaries during his first administration. They were Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is now the governor of Arkansas, Stephanie Grisham, conservative commentator, Kayleigh McEnany, who is now a contributor for Fox News.
