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Rick Newman: Artificial economy
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President Donald Trump’s social media feeds are a pig trough of artificial intelligence slop, packed with low-effort images churned out by content farmers wielding generative AI.
On any given day, he posts or reposts AI-generated versions of himself endowed with the sculpted biceps of the Rock, the steely gaze of an assassin or the swagger of a madman with his finger on the nuclear button (and everyone remembers the time he played Jesus). It’s as if AI arrived just in time to serve as ringmaster for the political circus Americans voted for in 2024.
But Trump isn’t just the first president to embrace AI as a communications tool. He’s also benefiting from it in a far more consequential way — whether he realizes it or not. AI companies are helping prop up much of the economy during his second term.
The scramble to cash in on Silicon Valley’s latest gold rush is keeping economic growth alive and masking the damage from Trump’s own policies, including his relentless tariffs on imports and the energy shock triggered by his confrontation with Iran. Trump’s approval ratings are underwater. Without the AI boom, they might be in the Mariana Trench.
Gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 1.6% in the first quarter of this year, but nearly all of that growth came from investment in AI, data centers and related technologies. Consumer spending, the traditional engine of the U.S. economy, remained well below its historical average. Business investment outside the AI sector actually contracted, falling about 0.3% during the quarter.
Read Rick Newman’s analysis here.
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Do you use AI chatbots such as ChatGPT or Gemini?
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A Pew Research Center survey found that half of U.S. adults now report using AI chatbots, including 1 in 4 who use them on a daily basis. But respondents also said they were skeptical of AI overall.
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Here are some more highlights of the president’s actions over the past seven days:
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- Said, when asked if he had learned the limits of presidential powers during the Iran war, “there are no limits”
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The news can feel overwhelming. But each week, we pause to highlight a person, organization or movement sticking up for their principles. This week’s challenger is Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
Political commentators predicted that Trump would come to regret engineering Cassidy’s primary defeat last month. If he hadn’t already, he certainly had reason to during a closed-door meeting with Senate Republicans. Cassidy confronted the president over the Iran war memorandum of understanding, according to a source familiar with the conversation, before beginning to yell at him. Cassidy later told reporters the exchange began when Trump asked the room why anyone would support an Iran war powers resolution. According to two sources, Trump eventually told Cassidy to sit down, but Cassidy refused and raised his voice even further. Trump responded by calling Cassidy a “lunatic.” Cassidy then referred to Trump as “brother,” prompting Trump to snap back that he wasn’t his “brother.” “I make no apologies for standing up to the president,” Cassidy told reporters afterward. Read more.
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On Tuesdays, you can expect to receive a special edition of the Project 47 newsletter dedicated to covering the biggest issues shaping key races in the midterm elections. If you would prefer to opt out of the special midterms edition of the newsletter, click here and you will automatically be removed.
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According to a Congressional Research Service report published last year, nearly 1.3 million people from 17 countries held Temporary Protected Status as of March 2025. KFF reports that “as of March 2026, the Trump administration has ended or is attempting to end TPS designations for 13” of those countries, including Haiti and Syria. On Thursday, the Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration in ruling that immigrants from Haiti and Syria aren’t entitled to orders postponing the termination of their protections during litigation. Haitians alone account for roughly one-fourth of all TPS holders. Losing TPS means losing authorization to work legally in the United States and becoming vulnerable to deportation. KFF estimates that about 740,000 TPS holders were in the workforce in 2024, including roughly 53,000 employed in healthcare. TPS holders also have a higher labor force participation rate (79%) than U.S.-born adults (65%). They are disproportionately employed in construction, building cleaning and maintenance, and transportation. TPS holders are concentrated in a handful of states. About 60% live in five states: Florida (31%), Texas (11%), New York (8%), California (6%) and Georgia (4%).
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This week on “The Best People,” Nicolle Wallace is joined by award-winning journalist and podcast host Pablo Torre to discuss the potent power of sports politically, economically, and emotionally. Listen now, and subscribe to MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts for early access, ad-free listening, and bonus content.
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