On Politics: The Biggest Stories Of The Week

“Two financiers are in the running to be the deputy secretary of defense, a competition that pits a publicity-averse private-equity investor against an outspoken venture capitalist,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Trae Stephens, a partner at Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund venture-capital firm, is under consideration by President-elect Donald Trump to become the deputy secretary of defense.

Bloomberg described Trump’s $100,000 watches as a side hustle but I think it’s more likely Trump’s presidency is a side hustle. Via Bloomberg: Donald Trump is returning to the White House after one of the most remarkable political comebacks in US history. His side hustle as the frontman for a fledgling high-end watch brand, however, is less of a success so far. The majority of the $100,000 wristwatches endorsed by and featuring the name of the US president-elect have yet to be sold.

I subscribe to a lot of newsletters and Substacks because, well, in my line of work, you gotta keep up. But many's the time I look at them and deeply resent the time and money lost for content that all too rarely enlightens or surprises. The one thing I never, ever resent spending my time or money is for the digital subscription to Esquire that delivers the Last Call newsletters from Charles P.

A couple of things stood out to me about Rounds speaking about the war in Ukraine. Unlike some in his party, Rounds is not criticizing the United States for doing too much for Ukraine, but too little and too slowly. "I just feel so frustrated that we have not been able to provide them all of the equipment that they need, and all of the weapons systems that they need, in order to respond to the absolute tyranny coming from Russia," he said.

Currently, thanks to the lack of leadership from Biden and European nations, Zelenskyy is holding our weapons and controlling the war. Trump must end that.

If you want to know why Democrats may well lose in 2026 and 2028, just listen to what the stars of the new Wicked movie are saying about the movie’s gay subtext.