Mike’s Blog Round-up

“Eric Trump has big plans for his family’s real estate firm as his father prepares to enter the White House for a second term: New projects in Europe, Vietnam and India; perhaps a Trump-branded golf course in Saudi Arabia; ‘certainly’ buildings in Israel at some point down the line,” Bloomberg reports. “Still, he wants to make one thing clear: Anyone doing business with the Trump Organization to curry favor with the incoming president will be ‘coming to the wrong guy.’”

“The lawyer helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pick federal health officials for the incoming Trump administration has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine, which for decades has protected millions of people from a virus that can cause paralysis or death,” the New York Times reports.

“President-elect Donald Trump didn’t get to fly on a new Air Force One during his first term. He likely won’t get to fly on a new presidential plane in his second term, either,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The long-delayed project has fallen so far behind schedule that Boeing has told the Air Force that it expects to deliver the new jets after Trump leaves the White House, according to people familiar with the matter.

Politico: “As they reckon with the ramifications of Trump’s resounding win, his mixed messaging on key issues is fueling uncertainty among Democratic leaders about how to adjust their approach to the president-elect as they prepare for him to return to power under markedly different political circumstances than in 2017 — when the energy and mandate, for Democrats, appeared clearer.” “Instead, in 2024, Trump’s unpredictability and the depth of their own losses is clouding their conversations about how to revamp their party’s broader messaging.”

“President-elect Donald Trump is weighing options for stopping Iran from being able to build a nuclear weapon, including the possibility of preventive airstrikes, a move that would break with the longstanding policy of containing Tehran with diplomacy and sanctions,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The military-strike option against nuclear facilities is now under more serious review by some members of his transition team, who are weighing the fall of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad—Tehran’s ally—in Syria, the future of U.

“Trump’s economic advisers are considering doubling the state and local tax deduction, a popular — but expensive — tax break that could deliver big savings to many residents of New York, New Jersey, and California,” Bloomberg reports.