Congratulations! It’s a bill!
Plus: Project 2025’s plan for wild horses, South Africa walks into an Oval Office ambush & I have to hand it to Tyrese Haliburton.
Finally, the gestation period is over, and we have a BIG, BEAUTIFUL bill from President Donald Trump. All the late nights, lack of sleep and tears will be worth it… maybe. Probably not. Unfortunately, this big, beautiful bundle of joy came into this world with problems that are hard to overlook. Here’s what stood out to me:
The National Debt: Projections estimate the bill will add $3.3 trillion to US debt in 10 years, pushing the debt-to-GDP ratio to 125%—an all-time high.
Potential for Economic Growth: The Trump administration insists that we’ll see up to 5.2% real growth and the creation of 7.4 million jobs, which is great if true, but critics argue it won’t be enough to offset the debt.
Cuts to Medicaid: The bill boasts $900 billion in reduced spending, but most of that is coming from Medicaid, which is also coming with a bunch of new requirements, including if you have a home that is valued at more than $1 million.
U.S. Credit Rating: We already got downgraded from a AAA credit rating a few days ago, and a B+ might be on the horizon.
Also noteworthy, the markets aren’t sure what they want to get from this deal. The markets were on a winning streak just a few days ago, but yesterday the Dow was down 800 points. Was it because they thought the bill wouldn’t pass, or would it? It seems incoherent to me, and the market is barely moving today.
Welcome to the Gist List—a news roundup, interesting things you should know, and my thoughts leading up to today’s podcast episode.
Here’s what’s on my mind:
😡 Un fumes as war looms.
🐴 Save the wild horses!
🇮🇱 Two Israeli staffers were shot and killed while leaving a benefit for humanitarian aid.
🇿🇦 South Africa walks into a confusing Oval Office ambush.
🏀 Choke on this, Knicks.
The Gist List
Kim Jong Un Fumes as North Korea's New Warship Damaged Due to "Absolute Carelessness" in Launch Accident (CBS)
North Korea recently suffered a "serious accident" involving a new warship, and Kim Jong Un is blaming military officials, scientists, shipyard operators and anyone who looks at him sideways. The problem is that if he is going to be a world superpower, like all the members of CRINK want to be (China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea), he will have to get used to losing a few military vehicles once in a while. (This is a regular occurrence over here.)
Also, I can’t get over the name CRINK. Maybe we can use our powers of persuasion and realign some alliances to get RINKYDINK: Russia, Iran, North Korea, Yemen, Djibouti, India and Kazakhstan. Could we get Belarus, Lebanon, Iran and North Korea to do a complete 180, too?
Inside the ‘Save America’s Wild Horses’ Campaign (WSJ)
Horse lovers everywhere are braying “Nay!” over Project 2025’s suggestion to radically cull wild horse populations. By law, the BLM (land managing people, not the protesting people) can’t euthanize horses under most circumstances, but the government estimates around 73,000 wild horses roam public lands—almost triple the sustainable number—leading to costly roundups and maintenance in federal holding facilities.
So what are we to do? Project 2025 doesn’t exactly ensure that euthanasia is off the table, but we do know two things about horses:
They are animals, and like all animals, they have an impact on the environment.
They cost money to maintain (over $100 million annually).
Now, I won’t advocate for euthanizing them, but I do think it is interesting that animals like prolific herds of wild horses get songs written about them and have fundraising galas, while the weirder animals of the world, like aye-ayes and white-rumped vultures, are left to pick over the scraps.
2 Staff Members of Israeli Embassy Killed in Shooting Near Jewish Museum in D.C. (AP)
In more tragic news, two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot and killed on Wednesday evening while leaving an event at a Jewish museum in D.C. Normally, I would be slow to assign blame in the situation until we have more details, but the suspect in custody, Elias Rodriguez, chanted “Free Palestine … there’s only one solution, intifada revolution” after being arrested. Ironically, they were at the event for IsraAID, an Israel-based NGO focused on getting humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Rodriguez was briefly associated with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) in 2017, but the group was quick to distance itself from him. “We reject any attempt to associate the PSL with the DC shooting. Elias Rodriguez is not a member of the PSL,” the group posted on Twitter. Given the situation and his comparative lack of pulchritude, I wonder if he’ll turn into the jihadi-Luigi.
South Africa Wanted to Talk Trade. Then Trump Turned Down the Lights (NYT)
President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa met with President Trump at the White House, hoping to reset strained ties between the two countries. Ramaphosa took a diplomatic approach, offering compliments and gifts, while Trump went off on South Africa’s expropriation law and even had a video prepared.
Although Trump did not bring up the “white genocide” claims directly, a somewhat bewildered Ramaphosa addressed the issue, explaining that while some white South Africans have been murdered in “farm killings,” black citizens are being killed at much higher rates throughout the country. The most authoritative researcher I can find on farm killings is Nechama Brodie, who was mentioned in this article, but here’s what stands out:
Less than 1% of South Africa's 27,000 murders a year are "farm killings." Other reliable stats say it’s about 50 white South Africans murdered on their farms each year.
Of South Africa's 63 million residents, 2.7 million are Afrikaners and are murdered at 10x lower rates than other South Africans.
However, the denominator should not be Afrikaners in general, but white South African farm owners. These numbers aren't that hard to find, but are rarely included in discussions of the problem. According to the official South African government audit, there are 95,000 white land owners, so 50 murders out of 95,000 is slightly higher than the overall South African murder rate, which is already incredibly high, but it's not a genocide. It's also not NOT phenomenon. I also want to add that showing more sympathy for the 50 victims than for the other 26,950 is ethically questionable, to say the least.
Choke! Haliburton Brings Back Memory Of Pacers’ Postseason Past In Front Of Reggie Miller (AP)
Listen, I hate the guy. When I saw Tyrese Haliburton resurrecting Reggie Miller’s classic choke signal, I got worked up. But after I took a deep breath, I had to appreciate that he adheres to the history of the game.
What am I talking about? Haliburton capped the most impressive (horrific to my people) comeback in NBA playoff history and recreated Miller’s gesture from a Pacers v. Knicks game from 30 years ago. Haliburton’s shot was actually not a game-winning 2-pointer, but an agony-prolonging two-pointer, allowing the Pacers to beat the Knicks in Overtime 138-135.
Not Even Mad: Michael A. Cohen & Eli Lake on Biden's Health & Trump's Foreign Policy
Eli Lake and Michael A. Cohen take stock of the Biden health debate—diagnosis, exaggeration, and whether it has affected his presidency. Michael pushes back on what he calls the “decline industrial complex,” while Eli says it’s a denial to think Biden was up to the job. Then they turn to Donald Trump’s proudly post-moral foreign policy, where human rights don’t even make the brochure, and alliances are strictly optional.
Realpolitik or just real reckless? Either way, they’re not even mad.
There’s more where that came from. Listen to The Gist, and upgrade to Pesca Plus for the ad-free version.
Have a story you want us to talk about or an opinion you want to share? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com or share your thoughts in the comments. We might give you a shoutout in our next newsletter or on the air.
"Could we get Belarus, Lebanon, Iran and North Korea to do a complete 180, too?"
Perfection. *chef's kiss*