Good morning! Welcome to MSNBC's Sunday Spotlight, where you can find a selection of the week's most interesting and important stories. Donald Trump's proposed tax cuts are quite spendy. Meanwhile, the president has an idea for a "Star Wars" sequel, Democrats are trying to get their man back, and the first lady sounds robotic for a good reason. Plus, the one thing reality TV fans all know. Don't forget to check out more top columns and videos from the week below. |
$3.8 trillion: That's the official estimate from the Congressional Budget Office of the tax cuts included in the Big Beautiful Bill passed by the House. That's more than the cost to the government of Trump's 2017 tax cuts, the pandemic-response CARES Act and President Joe Biden's American rescue plan — combined. And that's on the low end of the estimate. If you ignore accounting gimmicks and add in last-minute pot sweeteners, the true cost over 10 years approaches $6.5 trillion. For all that, the bill would clutter the tax code with red ink without increasing wages, writes Manhattan Institute senior fellow Jessica Riedl. |
Golden D'oh! Trump's latest initiative is a staggering $175 billion version of Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system. But as Ronald Reagan's similar "Star Wars" effort showed, this won't work at the scale needed to protect the U.S. from intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads. It might even make America less safe by reducing the perceived risk of starting a nuclear war, writes Center for International Policy editor Kelsey D. Atherton. |
Vote by Male: Democrats announced a new effort to spend $20 million to figure out how to win back male voters, but new voter data suggests an uncomfortable reason: men who won't vote for a woman for president. In three successive elections, a small but crucial percentage of men swung away from Democrats when they nominated a woman but came back when they nominated a man. This suggests a simple, albeit reactionary, solution: nominate a man in 2028, writes Michael A. Cohen. |
Melan-AI: At first glance, first lady Melania Trump's decision to have an AI trained on her voice create the audiobook of her memoir is awkward. After all, the book, "Melania," discusses intimate details of her personal life — including her childhood in Slovenia and the night she met her husband — which seem strange to outsource to a robot. But it's entirely in keeping with her desire to keep the public at a distance while benefiting from its attention, writes Zeeshan Aleem. |
Harsh reality: Trump's pardon of Todd and Julie Chrisley, the stars of a shockingly popular reality show, put the spotlight on something fans of the genre have long known: These people are weird. Reality TV attracts extreme personalities because they pop on camera; but extreme people do extreme things, including breaking the law. In this case, the Chrisleys were convicted of bilking banks out of $36 million, but they were actually late to the trend of reality TV stars getting into legal trouble, writes cultural critic Brian Moylan. |
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The House megabill that includes most of Trump's domestic agenda would make it illegal for a post-op trans person to get gender-affirming hormones from their doctor unless the hormones aligned with their birth sex. Because their bodies no longer produce hormones, that would force a stark choice: detransition or, potentially, die. "Trans people like me, of course, understood that this was always the end game," writes journalist Katelyn Burns in a gutting appraisal of the bill's risks. She blames conservatives and "gullible centrist pundits" who spread misinformation about trans youths and trans athletes and calls for people to keep the government out of trans people's medical care. "Our lives depend on it," she writes. Read the column here. — Ryan Teague Beckwith, newsletter editor |
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Tonight, MSNBC Films presents the final episode of "David Frost Vs." The six-part documentary series explores the legacy of legendary host David Frost through his iconic interviews with guests from President Richard Nixon to Elton John, examining political and cultural moments of the 20th century that still resonate today. The series concludes with the historical conflict in the Middle East, featuring conversations with key leaders. Watch the final episode of "David Frost Vs" tonight at 9pm Eastern on MSNBC. |
Nicolle Wallace is sitting down with some of the smartest, funniest, and wisest people she knows in her new podcast, "The Best People with Nicolle Wallace." Each week, she'll speak with someone who inspires her including Jason Bateman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rachel Maddow, and more. They'll share their take on what's happening in the world and how they bring out the best in others. Listen to the trailer now. You can also subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts for early access, ad-free listening and bonus content. |
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