Trump’s Friends in Low Places
Plus: Women are drinking more, the Menendez brothers’ long lost Chicken restaurant & adult potty training.
There’s a long tradition of presidential gifting. As with any gifting, the diplomatic kind has to be strategic. You need to give something that represents your culture. Something that says, “We’re on good terms and we’re definitely not spying on you!” Something tasteful. While presidents in the past received things like nice Hermés throw blankets, animals or tongue-in-cheek gifts like crocodile insurance policies, none of the gifts have ever been that extravagant.
Until now.
We knew this gift was the largest given to a president in history, but it’s not like it’s just a little more expensive than the last record holder, a $500,000 statue given to Barack Obama. In fact, no president has received more than $2 million in gifts during this century, but now there is this $400 MILLION Qatari jet. Let me put it this way: If this entire newsletter were all the gifts received by all presidents since 2001, 10.5 words would represent the amount of gifts received by the President prior to #47, and the Qatari plane would represent the entire rest of the newsletter.
Still need a visual? Axios made a great graphic here.
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:
👯♂️ Trump makes new friends in the Middle East.
🍗 Let the Menendez brothers cook!
🏒 The NHL distances itself from a Panthers minority owner.
🚽 Remedial toilet training for adults.
The Gist List
'I Like You Too Much': Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Bask in Their Friendship (CNBC)
Maybe Trump’s tour across the Middle East is just the friends he made along the way—and boy, has he made a lot of friends. At a summit for the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, Trump praised MBS’s achievements (that’s Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to you) and laughed at his jokes, with one summit attendee saying, “Trump and MBS? It’s a bromance for the ages.”
At MBS’s request, Trump also announced that he’ll be removing sanctions on Syria, which is great news for his other new friend, President Sharaa, whom he called a “young, attractive … tough guy.”
The Menendez Brothers Chicken Wing Empire That Never Was (NYT)
After over 30 years in prison for the 1989 murders of their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez were resentenced to 50 years to life, this time, giving them the possibility of parole. The judge believes they have been rehabilitated (although the jury is still out for the D.A. on that matter), so there is a real possibility that they might be released.
Interestingly, back when Lyle was flush with his parents' posthumous cash, he bought himself a little joint called Chuck's Spring Street Cafe in Princeton, NJ, with dreams of a buffalo wing empire. But, as with most dreams conceived shortly after patricide, this one got clipped when the cuffs came out and he had to surrender it. Still, the place stands there in Princeton, a reminder of what might have been.
Panthers Minority Owner Suspended for Offensive Social Media Posts (ESPN)
The NHL suspended Doug Cifu, Florida Panthers minority owner, over an "unacceptable and inappropriate" scuffle with a Toronto Maple Leafs fan by the name of Dr. Grizzo on Twitter. The scrap got ugly after it turned to the Israel-Gaza conflict and then crossed the line when he told Grizzo to “Eat shit 51st state anti-semite loser.”
While I can’t exactly relate to the indecorous social media meltdown, I did once take to Twitter to rouse public sentiment at the unfairness of being excluded from a Florida Panthers game over capricious bag standards:
Women Are Drinking More—and Doctors Are Worried (WSJ)
Finally, parity between men and women… but maybe not for the best reasons. Women don’t drink as heavily as men or experience as many alcohol-related deaths, but that gap has been closing around the globe. Naturally, this has doctors worried because:
There are more hospitalizations among women for liver disease and rising alcohol-related deaths, with women's death rates increasing faster than men's.
Women currently in their early forties were nearly 60% more likely to report binge drinking or alcohol use disorder symptoms.
Some researchers suspect higher alcohol use is contributing to the rise in breast cancer rates among women, especially those under age 50.
There are a number of reasons why women might be drinking more, including that they are attending college in larger numbers than before, they have more money, and they are not settling down as early and have more child-free social time.
'Adult Toilet Training' Campaign Launched in Metro Vancouver (CTV News)
As a reminder: No, you cannot flush so-called “flushable wipes” down the toilet. This has become Vancouver’s No. 2 problem (right behind becoming the 51st state), and has caused millions in sewer damage each year. To address this, the city has launched a remedial toilet training program for adults, reminding them to only flush waste and toilet paper.
Some cities have it even worse with sewers accumulating so much oil and debris, causing a FATBERG the size of a double-decker bus to appear under the city, causing residents to be unable to flush their toilets.
Yesterday on the show: Real Character Transcends Grit or Discipline with Stanley McChrystal
Retired General Gen. Stanley McChrystal joins to discuss his book On Character: Choices that Define a Life, and how real character transcends grit or discipline to include values that hold up under fire.
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.