Government and politics – TheNewsHub

Trump calls for investigation of 'rumors' he plans to sell Trump Media stock

Aseem — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 16:55:02 +0000

This photo illustration shows an image of former President Donald Trump next to a phone screen that is displaying the Truth Social app, in Washington, DC, on February 21, 2022.

Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

Trump Media shares soared Friday after President-elect Donald Trump reaffirmed he has no plans to sell off his stake in the Truth Social operator, and called on authorities to investigate whoever suggested otherwise.

Trump’s announcement, posted on Truth Social, was his first personally written statement since his stunning victory against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s presidential election.

DJT shares shot up more than 10% immediately following Trump’s post, triggering a temporary trading halt due to volatility.

“There are fake, untrue, and probably illegal rumors and/or statements made by, perhaps, market manipulators or short sellers, that I am interested in selling shares of Truth,” the Republican said in the post Friday morning.

“THOSE RUMORS OR STATEMENTS ARE FALSE. I HAVE NO INTENTION OF SELLING!” Trump said. “I hereby request that the people who have set off these fake rumors or statements, and who may have done so in the past, be immediately investigated by the appropriate authorities.”

Trump is the majority owner of Trump Media. His stake as of Friday was worth more than $3 billion.

The company on Election Day posted a net loss of $19 million in the last quarter on revenue of just over $1 million. But its stock nevertheless closed higher Wednesday, as Trump’s political triumph buoyed his fans who have bought into the company as a way to support him.

Shares plunged more than 22% on Thursday, undoing some of the company’s gains from a surging rally in the lead-up to the election.

How Trump's victory could change abortion rights in America

Harsh — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 20:00:01 +0000

Anti-abortion demonstrators listen to President Donald Trump as he speaks at the 47th annual “March for Life” in Washington, D.C., Jan. 24, 2020.

Olivier Douliery | Afp | Getty Images

Voters in seven out of 10 states approved ballot measures this week to safeguard abortion rights, a hot-button issue that helped drive Americans to the polls.

But President-elect Donald Trump‘s victory early Wednesday could make access to the procedure more vulnerable and uncertain across the U.S., health policy experts warned, leaving the reproductive well-being of many women hanging in the balance.

Trump has waffled considerably on his position on abortion, most recently saying he would not support a federal ban and wants to leave the issue up to the states. But Trump and his appointees to federal agencies could further restrict abortion on the federal level through methods that won’t require Congress to pass new legislation.

“The more restrictions we see on abortion over the next four years, the worse health outcomes are going to be. People are suffering and dying unnecessarily,” said Katie O’Connor, senior director of federal abortion policy at the National Women’s Law Center.

Abortion access in the U.S. has already been in a state of flux in the two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the federal constitutional right to the procedure — a decision Trump takes credit for since he reshaped the court. As of last year, more than 25 million women ages 15 to 44 lived in states where there are more restrictions on abortion than before the court’s ruling in 2022, PBS reported.

Experts say a further crackdown on abortion by the Trump administration could put the health of many patients, especially those who are lower-income or people of color, at risk.

“As long as we have a government that is not fully committed to abortion access for everyone who seeks it, there is going to be chaos and confusion on the ground around what is legal and what is available,” O’Connor said. “It’s going to contribute to the ongoing health-care access crisis we’re seeing with abortion.”‘

It’s unclear what Trump’s actions around the issue could look like. There is little public support for Congress to pass nationwide bans on abortion, according to a poll conducted in June by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. At least 70% of Americans oppose a federal ban on abortion or a ban on the procedure at six weeks.

If Trump does decide to curb access, experts say, that could include limiting the use of medication abortion, particularly when it is administered through telehealth or delivered by mail.

Medication is the most common method used to end a pregnancy in the U.S., accounting for 63% of all abortions in the U.S. last year, according to a March study by the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion access.

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

he had no plans to enforce the Comstock Act.

But anti-abortion advocates and people in Trump’s close circle, including his running mate, Vice President-elect JD Vance, have urged the opposite. Some of Trump’s former advisors, writing in the conservative policy blueprint Project 2025, also endorse the use of the Comstock Act to restrict abortion pills. So does every major anti-abortion organization in the country.

There would likely be legal opposition to any effort to enforce it, O’Connor noted.

That issue could end up at the Supreme Court, whose justices have expressed openness to the idea that the Comstock Act could ban abortion. Earlier this year, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas repeatedly invoked the Comstock Act during oral arguments in a case regarding medication abortion.

dismissed the challenge to mifepristone and sided with the Biden administration, meaning the commonly used medication could remain widely available.

Mifepristone and Misoprostol pills are pictured Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, in Skokie, Illinois.

Erin Hooley | Chicago Tribune | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

But Trump’s FDA appointees could push to roll back certain changes made from 2016 to 2021 that expanded access to mifepristone. That could include reinstating requirements that would require mifepristone to be dispensed in person, which would effectively eliminate access to the pill via telehealth.

Telehealth has become an increasingly common way to access abortion bills, accounting for nearly 1 in 5 of them during the last months of 2023, according to a research project published in May by the Society of Family Planning.

Restricting telehealth as an option would have an “incredibly chilling effect” on abortion access,” said Alina Salganicoff, a senior vice president and the director of Women’s Health Policy at KFF, a health policy research organization.

“We will likely see more people in states where abortion is banned having to travel, more delays in getting care and the potential for more of them actually being denied that care due to difficulties related to getting the procedure in person,” she said.

New FDA leaders could also attempt to use a more extreme approach: rescinding mifepristone’s approval altogether. Either strategy would disregard significant scientific research demonstrating mifepristone’s safe and effective use in the U.S., experts said.

Trump vaguely suggested in August that he would not rule out directing the FDA to revoke access to mifepristone. Just days later, Vance attempted to walk back those remarks.

Trump’s comments appear to be a shift from his stance in June, when the former president said during a CNN debate that he “will not block” access to mifepristone.

Reviving old rules, gutting Biden’s

At the very least, Trump could reinstate some of the policies implemented during his first term that made abortions harder to obtain and gut some of the efforts that the Biden administration used to expand access.

Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., left, points out states with restricted reproductive rights as Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, and Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., hold the map during a news conference on reproductive rights in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, May 8, 2024.

Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

Trump could reinstate a so-called domestic gag rule, which he implemented in 2019 and that the Biden administration reversed in 2021.

The rule prohibited providers that are part of the federally funded Title X family program from referring patients for abortion care or providing counseling that includes abortion information. Title X is a decades-old program that provides family planning and preventive health services to patients, especially lower-income individuals.

Guttmacher’s Baden said the rule “decimated” Title X’s network of family planning clinics and constrained its ability to serve low-income patients. She said those clinics are “still recovering from that.”

“I see no reason to assume that he wouldn’t go back to reinstating that rule in the first 100 days,” Baden said.

A Trump administration could also quickly nullify some of Biden’s executive orders, memorandums and other efforts that aimed to protect and expand access to reproductive health services, according to Baden.

Wall Street expects Trump presidency will unlock deal-making

suimt — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 17:43:11 +0000

Attendees cheer as a broadcast of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trum speaking at his Florida election party is shown on a screen at the Nevada GOP election watch party in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 6, 2024.

Ronda Churchill | Afp | Getty Images

Wall Street dealmakers and corporate leaders expect the flood gates to open on merger and acquisition activity after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

And he’ll likely have congressional help. Trump defeated Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, and Republicans claimed a majority of the Senate in elections this week. That red wave is expected to spell loosening regulations on deal-making, with plenty of pent-up demand.

“We know kind of where the world is headed in a Trump environment because we’ve seen it before,” said Jeffrey Solomon, president of TD Cowen, on CNBC’s “Money Movers” Wednesday. “I think the regulatory environment will be much more conducive to economic growth. There will be lighter and targeted regulation.”

Solomon added that the scaled-back regulation will be focused on certain areas “of particular interest to the Trump administration,” rather than a broad based reassessment of the entire landscape.

In recent years, there has been greater scrutiny of pending deals by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, headed by Chair Lina Khan. Some have pointed to that dynamic as a chilling factor on deal flow. High interest rates and soaring company valuations have contributed, too.

Khan said in September that “when you see greater scrutiny of mergers, you can see greater deterrence of illegal mergers.” Her hard line has drawn harsh criticism, but now, there’s optimism around a forthcoming FTC with a lighter hand.

“Assuming interest rates drop and you see corporate tax rates go down, the ingredients are there for a really active M&A market,” said one top dealmaker, who talked to CNBC on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly.

On Wednesday, markets rallied on the Republican presidential win, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average soaring 1,500 points to a new record high.

divest diagnostic test maker Grail after heated battles with the FTC and European antitrust regulators.

Also last year, the FTC blocked Sanofi’s proposed acquisition of a drug in development for Pompe disease, a genetic condition, from Maze Therapeutics. Sanofi ultimately terminated that deal.

“Whether or not Lina Khan is bounced day one is a key consideration, but even if fewer changes at the FTC take place, there is no doubt this administration — at least on paper — will be far more amicable when it comes to business combinations,” Jared Holz, Mizuho health-care equity strategist, said in an email on Wednesday.

One top dealmaker expected an M&A uptick broadly, but agreed that pharmaceuticals and the financial sector were particularly poised for a resurgence. That deal-maker also noted that with the Senate flipping, more outspoken antitrust voices like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., could find it more difficult to push for DOJ or FTC investigations.

In the financial sector regional banks recognize the need for scale, making them likely candidates for consolidation, said one former industry executive, noting that smaller banks had been getting gobbled up for “some time.” That person expects the pace and size of those acquisitions to ramp up under a Trump presidency.

Other industries, such as tech, may still face an uphill battle in getting deals done.

One M&A advisor, who also spoke to CNBC anonymously, noted that Trump’s disdain for Big Tech companies — historically active deal-makers — might keep them on the sidelines. On Wednesday, tech leaders took to social media to congratulate Trump.

Apparent GOP opposition to the CHIPS Act means that semiconductor consolidation might be challenging, the advisor noted, while cautioning it is still too early to know what a Trump presidency would mean. CNBC previously reported that Qualcomm recently approached Intel about a potential takeover.

“I think the simplest way to put it is more deals, less regulation with the administration having its thumb on the scale, perhaps with a willingness to pick winners and losers,” said Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Integrated Media, which specializes in digital media investments.

Kroger’s bid to take over grocery chain Albertsons could have a better chance of getting approved under Trump, as could Tapestry’s proposed acquisition of Capri.

The merger between Kroger and Albertsons is currently under review by a federal judge, while Tapestry is working to appeal a federal order that granted the FTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the tie-up.

“The hostile approach of the FTC to mergers and acquisitions will almost certainly be reset and replaced with a worldview that is more favorable to corporate dealmaking,” said GlobalData managing director Neil Saunders. “This does not necessarily mean that big deals like Kroger-Albertsons will be waved through, but it does mean others like Tapestry-Capri will receive a far warmer reception than they have under the Biden administration.”

Meanwhile, ongoing turmoil in the media industry has led many to consider consolidation as the next step for the sector.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav on Thursday highlighted opportunities that could come up if regulations were to loosen, doubling down on comments he made earlier this year at Allen & Co.’s annual Sun Valley conference.

“We have an upcoming new administration. … It’s too early to tell, but it may offer a pace of change and opportunity for consolidation that may be quite different, that would provide a real positive and accelerated impact on this industry that’s needed,” Zaslav said on an earnings call.

Broadcast station group owner Sinclair on Wednesday echoed a similar sentiment.

“We’re very excited about the upcoming regulatory environment,” CEO Chris Ripley said during an earnings call. “It does feel like a cloud over the industry is lifting here.”

Still, the track record between the previous Trump administration and the Biden administration for media industry deals is split.

Trump’s DOJ allowed Disney to buy Fox’s assets, but then sued to block AT&T’s deal for Time Warner.

Under the Biden administration, Amazon’s $8.5 billion deal for MGM and the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery Communications were both waved through, but a federal judge blocked the $2.2 billion sale of Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House.

Skydance Media and Paramount Global agreed to merge earlier this year and expect to receive regulatory approval in 2025.

What Trump's election to the White House could mean for EVs

suimt — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 21:19:02 +0000

Production is now set to begin at the former Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, less than two years after GM announced the massive $2.2 billion investment to fully renovate the facility to build a variety of all-electric trucks and SUVs.

Photo by Jeffrey Sauger for General Motors

DETROIT – President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to send the U.S. electric vehicle industry into a period of uncertainty.

Republicans, led by the former president, have largely condemned EVs, claiming they are being forced upon consumers. Trump has vowed to roll back or eliminate many vehicle emissions standards under the Environmental Protection Agency as well as incentives to promote production and adoption of the vehicles such as the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

Auto industry insiders and other officials have said it would be difficult for Trump to completely gut the IRA, but he could defund or limit EV subsidies through executive orders or other policy actions.

Several people said they would expect Trump to target federal consumer credits that currently offer up to $7,500 for the purchase of an EV rather than target industrial production credits for companies.

“The IRA will probably have some adjustments … I don’t think the IRA will go away,” David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of The Carlyle Group investment firm, told CNBC on Wednesday. “It has some really good things in it that I think Republicans and Democrats will like.”

Many of the investments into EV production under the IRA having been taking place in Republican states such as Ohio, South Carolina and Georgia.

Automotive executives are also quick to say they don’t base investment decisions on who holds the White House, but there are natural adjustments with new administrations.

“Anytime there’s an administration change, it’s an interesting time for the industry because we have to go through new policies and regulations and have to bring new people up to speed on who we are and what we do,” David Christ, group vice president and general manager of the Toyota Division in North America, said Wednesday during an Automotive Press Association event near Detroit. “Administrations sometimes change every four years, so we don’t really do a lot of modifying the strategy.”

General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis — would be the biggest winners of a second Trump term and Republican control of Congress.

“We see F and GM as the main beneficiaries from the Trump administration,” BofA Securities analyst John Murphy said in a Wednesday investor note. “The current environmental regime would pressure the core business of legacy [automakers, trucks,] to decarbonize by the end of the decade while shifting quickly to an EV portfolio.”

GM’s aspirations for an “all-electric future” and profitable EV business in the near term are highly reliant on federal tax credits.

Analysts had indicated EV startups such as Rivian Automotive and Lucid Group would benefit more with a Democratic win.

Toyota could also be a winner if EV regulations are reduced or eliminated, as the Japanese automaker has been slow to invest in all-electric models compared to hybrid vehicles.

Shares of GM and Ford closed Wednesday up 2.5% and 5.6%, respectively. Stock prices for Toyota and Stellantis, which is experiencing significant problems in the U.S., were essentially level. Lucid and Rivian were each down, 5.3% and 8.3%, respectively.

Shares of automakers after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.

An outlier is U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla. CEO Elon Musk heavily campaigned in swing states for Trump, who has discussed making the billionaire a government efficiency czar.

Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday by 15% and earlier notched a new 52-week high.

“We see RIVN and LCID challenged, which is largely reflected in the stocks,” Murphy said. “We don’t expect meaningful issues for TSLA since it has already reached profitability and will introduce more entry level products that could be attractive for the larger public.”

Several automakers did not immediately return request for comment after NBC News and several other media outlets called the election for Trump.

Others such as the Detroit automakers and Hyundai Motor congratulated Trump and the newly elected officials across all levels of government.

“We look forward to working with the new Administration and Congress on policies that strengthen the U.S. automotive industry, which supports 9.7 million American jobs and drives more than $1 trillion into the economy each year,” Ford said.

“We congratulate and look forward to working with the President-elect, Congress, and all elected officials to ensure that the U.S. continues to lead the world in technology and innovation, to the benefit of American workers and consumers alike,” GM said.

“Advanced Clean Cars II” regulations of 2022 call for 35% of 2026 model year vehicles, which will begin to be introduced next year, to be zero-emission vehicles. Battery-electric, fuel cell and, to an extent, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles qualify as zero emission.

Before the election, automotive officials said regardless of who won the White House, many automakers will push for the mandates to be postponed.

The California Air Resources Board reports 12 states and Washington, D.C., have adopted the rules; however, roughly half of them did so starting with the 2027 model year. They are part of CARB’s Advanced Clean Cars regulations that require 100% of new vehicle sales in the state of California to be zero-emission models by 2035.

EVs made up 10% or more of local market shares in just 11 states and the District of Columbia to begin this year, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade association and lobby group that represents most major automakers operating in the U.S.

Auto executives and industry experts also expect Trump could roll back or freeze the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards for model years 2027-2031.

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Trump says RFK Jr. plan to remove fluoride from public water 'sounds okay to me'

Harsh — Sun, 03 Nov 2024 18:58:44 +0000

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump attend a campaign event sponsored by conservative group Turning Point USA, in Duluth, Georgia, U.S., October 23, 2024.

Carlos Barria | Reuters

Former president Donald Trump said Sunday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s proposal to remove fluoride from the U.S. water system “sounds okay” to him, a position that runs counter to the advice of public health agencies.

“Well, I haven’t talked to him about it yet, but it sounds okay to me. You know it’s possible,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News’ Dasha Burns, when asked about Kennedy’s proposition.

Kennedy posted on X Saturday, “On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.”

Trump also said Kennedy would have a big role crafting public health policy in any Trump administration.

Fluoride is naturally occurring in almost all water sources, and some is added to public water to help prevent cavities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The safety and benefits of fluoride are well documented and have been reviewed comprehensively by several scientific and public health organizations,” reads a post on the CDC website.

The American Dental Association says that 70 years of research backs up the safety and efficacy of adding fluoride to water, a process known as community water fluoridation.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the fluoride remark.

Kennedy is also a well known vaccine skeptic, who has helped spread false conspiracy theories about public health. Asked by NBC News whether “banning certain vaccines might be on the table” if Trump were president and Kennedy was in his administration, Trump left the door open.

“Well I’m going to talk to him and talk to other people, and I’ll make a decision, but he’s a very talented guy and has strong views,” said Trump.

The science on fluoride and water fluoridation is clear. But Trump’s doubts and the questions they could raise for voters about what public health might look like in a Trump White House underscore a serious challenge for the Trump campaign in its final days: Staying on message.

Last weekend, insult comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” which the Trump campaign distanced itself from.

Those comments dominated the news cycle for several days, until President Joe Biden appeared to call Trump supporters “garbage,” before later saying that was not what he meant.

Republicans argue that voters are not paying attention to every controversial statement from Trump and his allies this week, and instead focused on the bigger issues in the race.

“Voters in Michigan and Ohio and Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and Georgia and North Carolina are all talking about crime and unemployment,'” said Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.

“They’re talking about the border. They’re talking about 70,000 Americans losing their lives to fentanyl. They’re not talking about fluoride.”

Harris defends CHIPS Act after House Speaker Johnson suggests GOP would try to repeal law

Aseem — Sat, 02 Nov 2024 18:14:04 +0000

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Vice President Kamala Harris stand in the House of Representatives ahead of US President Joe Biden’s third State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, 07 March 2024. SHAWN THEW/Pool via REUTERS

Shawn Thew | Via Reuters

Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson for suggesting that Republicans may try to repeal the CHIPS and Science Act if they win Congress, a remark he has since tried to walk back.

“I also want to speak to the comments that have been recently made by the speaker of the House,” Harris said in Milwaukee to a group of reporters. “It is just further evidence of everything that I’ve actually been talking about for months now, about [former President Donald] Trump’s intention to implement Project 2025.”

“We’ve talked repeatedly about their intention to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. Now to get rid of the CHIPS Act,” she added.

Speaker Johnson, R-La., made the comment at a Friday campaign event in New York for House Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., a vulnerable GOP candidate in one of the most closely watched House races of this election cycle.

“I expect that we probably will, but we haven’t developed that part of the agenda yet,” Johnson said in response to a reporter asking whether the GOP would try to repeal the law.

The CHIPS Act passed Congress with bipartisan support in 2022. The law has unlocked nearly $53 billion of funding to build up domestic manufacturing of semiconductors, which are crucial for the growth of strategic industries such as artificial intelligence. The federal government has announced more than $30 billion of investments under the law as of August.

Harris has turned manufacturing investment into one of the central planks of her economic platform.

“It is my plan and intention to continue to invest in American manufacturing, the work being done by American workers upholding and lifting up good union jobs,” Harris said in Milwaukee. “That is the way we are going to win the competition with China for the 21st century.”

Micron semiconductor manufacturing plant, sponsored by the CHIPS Act.

“The CHIPS Act is hugely impactful here,” Williams said after Johnson’s comment, in a subtle clean-up effort. The New York lawmaker also issued a statement on Friday saying that Johnson “apologized profusely” for the blunder and said “he misheard the question.”

Democrats need to net just four additional House seats to seize the gavel from Republicans in the next Congress. Polling so far shows the House race at essentially coin-flip status.

Johnson has made attempts at further damage control since his Friday comment, stating after the campaign event that the CHIPS Act is not on the GOP agenda to repeal.

Still, days away from the Nov. 5 election, Democrats are pouncing on the gaffe.

“The Republican Speaker of the House just told the tens of thousands of construction workers building New York and America’s future they want to send them pink slips ASAP,” Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in a Friday post on the X platform.

Europe prepares for 'America First' push no matter who wins the U.S. election

Aseem — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 05:43:36 +0000

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are shown on screen during a debate watch party at the Cameo Art House Theatre in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Sept. 10, 2024.

Allison Joyce | Bloomberg | Getty Images

European politicians and policymakers are busy preparing for more American protectionism regardless of who emerges as the next leader of the White House after elections next week.

The presidential race has remained a dead heat going into its final few days, with polling consistently rating the candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, as being tied within key battleground states and across the country.

“Whoever wins will be ‘America first’,” a senior European diplomat, who did not want to be named due to the sensitive nature of the transatlantic relationship, told CNBC last week.

“The main concern for the Americans is the economy, and the answer will have to be more economic nationalism — I don’t agree with it, but I don’t see any way around that,” said the senior diplomat, who takes part in confidential talks among the EU leaders.

The comments come after a warning from German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who on Friday told CNBC there could be retaliation if the U.S. kicked off a trade war with the European Union.

“In that case, we need diplomatic efforts to convince whoever enters the White House that it’s not in the best interest of the U.S. to have a trade conflict with [the] European Union,” he said at the IMF annual meetings in Washington, D.C.

Trade with the United States is extremely important for European nations. The EU and the U.S. have the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship in the world, which reached an all-time high of 1.2 trillion euros ($1.29 trillion) in 2021, according to data from the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU.

Harris is seen, to some extent, as likely to continue current President Joe Biden’s policies, which in economic terms will be remembered in Europe by the Inflation Reduction Act — a sweeping U.S. legislation totaling $369 billion which targets climate and energy policies. The IRA upset many European leaders due to its perceived protectionist nature.

The “America first” policy is likely to have more repercussions for European economies under a Republican presidency. Trump has threatened to impose additional across-the-board tariffs of 10% on European products, which could put a strain on the bloc’s exporters and, according to data from Goldman Sachs, weaken the euro by as much as 10%.

Trump’s first tenure at the White House was a challenging time for some European leaders, who expressed their dislike for the former president’s style and confrontational tone. The two sides often had differing views on trade, defense and technology — among others.

“Trump cannot surprise us anymore, we know how to handle it, we have had to deal with him before,” the anonymous senior diplomat also told CNBC.

A second EU official, who also requested not to be named due to the sensitive nature of the U.S. relationship, told CNBC: “There’s no panic. We are being very pragmatic, but of course we have to prepare for both scenarios.”

The same official added that the European Commission is working on “bold” initiatives regardless of who becomes the next president.

CNBC reported in May 2023 how European officials were already quietly preparing for the possibility of a return of Trump. This meant a focus on cutting dependencies with the U.S. and with China — something that EU leaders continue to target.

In an October statement, the 27 heads of state of the EU called for “more efforts to enhance the Union’s competitiveness, strengthen its economic resilience, secure its industrial renewal and achieve the full potential of the Single Market.”

“It highlights the urgency of taking effective action,” the statement added.

Viktor Orban reportedly told journalists in Brussels this month that he would open “several bottles of Champagne” if Trump returns to the White House. Just two days after U.S. voters head to the polls, EU leaders are expected to meet in the Hungarian capital of Budapest and will likely discuss the outcome of the election over dinner.

A third EU official, who did not want to be named and who will be attending the meetings in Budapest, told CNBC: “I am definitely not going to celebrate if Trump wins.” The same official added that the U.S. election is “very worrying” as it “comes down to 200 votes in [swing state] Pennsylvania.”

The official added that, whatever the result, “it won’t come as a shock as it did last time, and Europe has since improved its strategic autonomy and defense spending.”

Harris vs. Trump: Auto insiders weigh in on both candidates, top issues

suimt — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 17:00:01 +0000

New Ford F-150 trucks go through the assembly line at the Ford Dearborn Plant on April 11, 2024 in Dearborn, Michigan.

Bill Pugliano | Getty Images

DETROIT — The automotive industry has become a crucial topic during the 2024 presidential election as Michigan — home of the Motor City and 1.1 million automotive jobs — remains a critical swing state.

Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump, and their running mates and supporters have made Michigan a second home in recent weeks as the campaigns attempt to win over undecided voters in the Great Lakes State.

Since 2008, whichever candidate has won the state has moved into the White House, including Trump in 2016 and President Joe Biden in 2020.

“Michigan’s 16 electoral votes have helped thrust Autos into the debate. Between Trump’s hyperactive and contradictory statements and Harris’ quieter views lay deep differences but also convergence,” Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois wrote in an investor note Monday.

While major automakers and suppliers have shied away from publicly endorsing either presidential candidate, executives and lobbyists from several companies spoke to CNBC on the condition of anonymity to discuss how they’re preparing for each candidate, as well as a likely divided Congress.

Electric vehicles, trade, tariffs, China, emissions regulations and labor are among the top issues automakers are monitoring, according to industry executives and policy experts.

union President Shawn Fain who has been a combative foe to automakers, is concerning to some.

US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris greets union workers as she tours an International Union of Painters and Allied Trades training facility in Macomb, Michigan, on October 28, 2024.

Drew Angerer | AFP | Getty Images

If Trump wins reelection, automotive industry officials largely expect that he’ll return to policies and actions from his first presidential term, but those stances could be potentially more aggressive than they were before.

If he’s in office, insiders expect he would roll back or eliminate tightening federal emissions and fuel economy like he did during his first term; renew a battle between California and other states that set their own standards; and potentially enact funding changes to the Biden administration’s key Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 legislation.

Officials said it would be difficult for Trump to completely gut the IRA, but he could defund or limit EV subsidies through executive orders or other policy actions.

Automakers, suppliers and other auto-related companies are preparing for both outcomes as well as a split in Congress, insiders said.

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he visits a campaign office in Hamtramck, Michigan, U.S. October 18, 2024.

Brian Snyder | Reuters

“There’s no perfect scenario. Both candidates offer some opportunities and challenges,” said a leading lobbyist and public policy expert for a major automaker. “Everyone in our business has to look at the gamut of scenarios.”

Some Wall Street analysts speculate legacy automakers — specifically the “Detroit” companies General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis — would benefit most with Trump and Republican control of Congress.

EV startups such as Rivian Automotive and Lucid Group would benefit more with a Democratic win, largely due to expected plans involving EVs and fuel economy requirements. That’s despite Tesla CEO Elon Musk‘s continued support for Trump.

“Advanced Clean Cars II” regulations of 2022 call for 35% of 2026 model year vehicles, which will begin to be introduced next year, to be zero-emission vehicles. Battery-electric, fuel cell and, to an extent, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles qualify as zero emission.

The California Air Resources Board reports 12 states and Washington, D.C., have adopted the rules; however, roughly half have them starting for the 2027 model year. They are part of CARB’s Advanced Clean Cars regulations that include mandating 100% of new vehicle sales be zero-emission models by 2035.

Only 11 states and the District of Columbia had an EV market share above 10% to begin this year, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade association and lobby group that represents most major automakers operating in the U.S.

Officials said regardless of who wins the White House, many automakers will push for the CARB mandates to be postponed. They also would expect Trump to roll back or freeze the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards for model years 2027-2031.

Several automotive insiders said they expect Harris would work on a middle ground for such standard with the automakers, much like Biden, to an extent, has done.

talking point for Democrats four years ago to a rallying call for Republicans.

Republicans, led by Trump, have largely condemned EVs, saying that they are being forced upon consumers and that they will ruin the U.S. automotive industry. Trump has vowed to roll back or eliminate many vehicle emissions standards under the Environmental Protection Agency and incentives to promote production and adoption of the vehicles.

In contrast, Democrats, including Harris, have historically supported EVs and related incentives.

Harris hasn’t been as vocal about backing EVs lately amid slower-than-expected consumer adoption of the vehicles and consumer pushback. She has said she does not support an EV mandate such as the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act of 2019, which she co-sponsored during her time as a senator, that would have required automakers to sell only electrified vehicles by 2040.

Lucid Group CEO Peter Rawlinson told CNBC on Monday that regardless of which presidential candidate wins the election, he believes America’s EV industry is still in its infancy and needs to continue to be “nurtured.”

Rawlinson, whose company has the most efficient EVs on sale, also argues the IRA should favor not just the size of a battery, like it currently does, but the efficiency of the vehicles.

“That’s effectively incentivizing electron-guzzling EVs,” he said. “It actually incentivized to put more batteries in and be less efficient.”

negotiated under Trump’s first term in office and took effect in 2020. However, the former president and Democrats have said it needs to be improved to better support American automotive production.

While Trump touted the deal when it was renegotiated, Harris was one of 10 U.S. senators who voted against USMCA at the time.

GM CEO Mary Barra last week said the automaker is “paying careful attention” to the election, including how potential changes in trade and tariffs could impact the company.

“We have and we’ll continue to engage constructively with the policymaking process regardless of the election outcome. When you look at the number of jobs created in the U.S., even with some vehicles that are manufactured outside, a lot of them are in our partners from an ally perspective,” she said. “It’s a very complex situation.”

Tariffs are central to Trump’s plan for the auto industry. He has said he would be willing to increase tariffs dramatically to prevent Chinese automakers from importing cars into the U.S. from factories in Mexico.

Chinese automakers are not currently doing that, but are expected to attempt to use that method of importing in the years ahead, as they expand sales and build localized production plants in the country.

Harris has reportedly called Trump’s tariff proposals “a sales tax on the American people.” The vice president hasn’t outlined any specific changes she’d make to the current tariff structure if elected, including on Biden’s announcement of raising the tariff rate on EVs imported from China from 25% to 100%.

Non-U.S.-based automakers, which together account for 48% of U.S. production and 52% of USMCA production, look more positively leveraged to Harris winning, according to Jefferies.

speech at the Democratic National Convention.

The UAW arguably has more political clout than any time in a generation, led by Fain and his top advisors who he brought in from outside the union’s ranks. But there has been a divide in the UAW and other unions regarding the historically Democratic-backed organizations and their members.

While the Teamsters declined to endorse a candidate due to a divide in the union, UAW leaders not only endorsed Harris but have been a driving force for her election campaign in Michigan and other states.

The UAW last week said internal polling showed increasingly “strong support for Kamala Harris over Donald Trump, with Harris’ lead over Trump surging in the last month.”

Meanwhile, Trump and Fain have consistently criticized one another over the past year, as the union attempts to organize as many auto plants as possible following major contract gains won during negotiations last year with the traditional Detroit automakers.

Blue-collar workers such as UAW members were viewed as crucial supporters for Trump’s first presidential election over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016.

— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

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Biden says Elon Musk was an 'illegal worker' when he began U.S. career

Aseem — Sun, 27 Oct 2024 02:32:29 +0000

President Joe Biden called out Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, now a Republican megadonor and Trump campaign surrogate, for hypocrisy on immigration on Saturday, saying Musk launched his long career in the U.S. as an “illegal worker” before becoming the world’s wealthiest man.

The president made these remarks at a campaign event to support Democrats that took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

Labeling Musk as former President Donald Trump’s wealthy new “ally,” Biden said, “That wealthiest man in the world turned out to be an illegal worker here when he was here,” referring to Musk.

“He was supposed to be in school when he came on a student visa. He wasn’t in school. He was violating the law. He’s talking about all these ‘illegals’ coming our way,” Biden added.

He then criticized Trump and Republicans for failing to sign legislation that would fix “the problem with the border.” He added, “We have fewer people crossing the border illegally now — or crossing the border period — than at any time since his third year as President of the United States.”

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Biden’s remarks.

Musk recently completed a series of “town hall” events in the same swing state of Pennsylvania, where he sought to convince voters to back Trump and Trump’s policies. Musk also stirred up his fan base there by doling out $1 million lottery-style prizes to registered voters in swing states who signed a petition distributed by his pro-Trump group, America PAC.

According to an analysis by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Trump’s new immigration policy proposals include plans for the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, ending birthright citizenship, and revoking the visas of and deporting foreign students who are pro-Palestinian protestors, among others.

Biden’s comments about Musk, his Trump alliance and hypocrisy on immigration followed a Washington Post report that cites correspondence, legal records and multiple people who helped Musk attain a work visa in 1996 after he had already been working here without one.

Musk had arrived in the U.S. with the stated intention of attending grad school at Stanford in the mid-90s. He did not enroll in the program to which he said he was accepted and instead began to build a venture-backed startup called Zip2 with his brother.

The Washington Post wrote that investors in Musk’s first company worried about their “‘founder being deported’ and gave him a deadline for obtaining a work visa.”

Zip2 sold for about $300 million in 1999, a windfall that enabled Elon Musk to later become an early investor in and chairman of Tesla, and to start his capital-intensive aerospace venture SpaceX, which is now a major U.S. defense contractor.

Those businesses have propelled Musk to become the world’s wealthiest person on paper. According to Forbes, the Tesla CEO’s net worth stands at around $274 billion today.

In late 2022, Musk used that considerable wealth to acquire the social network Twitter in a $44 billion buyout.

On the platform, since rebranded X, Musk has repeatedly claimed in posts seen by his massive online fan base that “open borders” and undocumented immigrants are somehow harming the United States.

He also has shared the false claim that noncitizens are systematically voting in U.S. elections, a conspiracy theory floated by conservative groups to lay the legal groundwork to contest the election results if the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, wins the presidency.

In the U.S., it’s already a federal crime and a crime under every state’s laws for noncitizens to register or vote in federal elections.

According to studies compiled by the Brennan Center for Justice, “extensive research reveals that fraud is very rare, voter impersonation is virtually nonexistent, and many instances of alleged fraud are, in fact, mistakes by voters or administrators. The same is true for mail ballots, which are secure and essential to holding a safe election amid the coronavirus pandemic.”

— CNBC’s Rebecca Picciotto contributed to this report.

Jeff Bezos killed Washington Post endorsement of Kamala Harris, paper reports

Aseem — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 01:52:44 +0000

The Washington Post Building at One Franklin Square Building in Washington, D.C., June 5, 2024.

Andrew Harnik | Getty Images

The Washington Post said Friday that it will not endorse a candidate in the presidential election this year — or ever again — breaking decades of tradition and sparking immediate criticism of the decision.

But the newspaper also published an article by two staff reporters revealing that editorial page staffers had drafted an endorsement of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris over GOP nominee Donald Trump in the election.

“The decision not to publish was made by The Post’s owner — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos,” the article said, citing two sources briefed on the events.

Trump, while president, had been critical of the billionaire Bezos and the Post, which he purchased in 2013.

The newspaper in 2016 and again in 2020 endorsed Trump’s election opponents, Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden, in editorials that condemned the Republican in blunt terms.

In a 2019 lawsuit, Amazon claimed it had lost a $10 billion cloud computing contract with the Pentagon to Microsoft because Trump had used “improper pressure … to harm his perceived political enemy” Bezos.

The Post since 1976 had regularly endorsed candidates for president, except for the 1988 race. All those endorsements had been for Democrats.

In a statement to CNBC, when asked about Bezos’ purported role in killing the endorsement, Post chief communications officer Kathy Baird said, “This was a Washington Post decision to not endorse, and I would refer you to the publisher’s statement in full.”

The Post on Friday evening published a third article, signed by opinion columnists for the newspaper, who said, “The Washington Post’s decision not to make an endorsement in the presidential campaign is a terrible mistake.”

“It represents an abandonment of the fundamental editorial convictions of the newspaper that we love, and for which we have worked a combined 218 years,” the column said. “This is a moment for the institution to be making clear its commitment to democratic values, the rule of law and international alliances, and the threat that Donald Trump poses to them — the precise points The Post made in endorsing Trump’s opponents in 2016 and 2020.”

CNBC has requested comment from Amazon, where Bezos remains the largest shareholder.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos arrives for his meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the UK diplomatic residence in New York City, Sept. 20, 2021.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Post publisher and chief executive Will Lewis, in an article published online explaining the decision, wrote, “The Washington Post will not be making an endorsement of a presidential candidate in this election. Nor in any future presidential election.”

“We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates,” Lewis wrote.

“We recognize that this will be read in a range of ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or as a condemnation of another, or as an abdication of responsibility,” he wrote.

“That is inevitable. We don’t see it that way. We see it as consistent with the values The Post has always stood for and what we hope for in a leader: character and courage in service to the American ethic, veneration for the rule of law, and respect for human freedom in all its aspects.”

Seven of the 13 paragraphs of Lewis’ article either quoted at length or referred to Post Editorial Board statements in 1960 and 1972 explaining the paper’s rationale for not endorsing presidential candidates in those years, which included its identity as “an independent newspaper.”

Lewis noted that the paper had endorsed Jimmy Carter in 1976 “for understandable reasons at the times” — which he did not identify.

“But we had it right before that, and this is what we are going back to,” Lewis wrote.

“Our job as the newspaper of the capital city of the most important country in the world is to be independent,” he wrote. “And that is what we are and will be.”

Post editor-at-large Robert Kagan, a member of the paper’s opinions section, resigned following the decision, multiple news outlets reported.

More than 10,000 reader comments were posted on Lewis’ article, many of them blasting the Post for its decision and saying they were canceling their subscriptions.

“The most consequential election in our country, a choice between Fascism and Democracy, and you sit out? Cowards. Unethical, fearful cowards,” wrote one comment. “Oh, and by the way, I’m canceling my subscription, because you are putting business ahead of ethics and morals.”

The announcement came days after Mariel Garza, the head of The Los Angeles Times‘ editorial board, resigned in protest after that paper’s owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, decided against running a presidential endorsement.

“I am resigning because I want to make it clear that I am not okay with us being silent,” Garza told the Columbia Journalism Review. “In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I’m standing up.”

Soon-Shiong, like Bezos, is a billionaire.

Marty Baron, the former editor of The Washington Post, called that paper’s decision “cowardice, with democracy as its casualty.”

″@realdonaldtrump will see this as an invitation to further intimidate owner @jeffbezos (and others),” Baron wrote. “Disturbing spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.”

The Washington Post Guild, the union that represents the newspaper’s staff, in a statement posted on the social media site X said it was “deeply concerned that The Washington Post — an American news institution in the nation’s capital — would make a decision to no longer endorse presidential candidates, especially a mere 11 days ahead of an immensely consequential election.”

“The message from our chief executive, Will Lewis — not from the Editorial Board itself — makes us concerned that management interfered with the work of our members in Editorial,” the Guild said in the statement, which noted the paper’s reporting about Bezos’ role in the decision.

“We are already seeing cancellations from once loyal readers,” the Guild said. “This decision undercuts the work of our members at a time when we should be building our readers’ trust, not losing it.”