This week I teased the outline of the story I’m working on regarding the Trump family crypto holdings. It’s one of those rabbit hole stories that you can’t believe is happening in real-time. And it’s even harder to believe that virtually no one is talking about the implications. It’s a story so huge and scandalous that it would have taken down entire administrations in the past. This makes Teapot Dome and Watergate look like an erroneous footnote on a midterm exam. I’m not kidding.
And yet I know what’s going to happen. Because it’s already happening. No one will care.
This is the kind of scandal that is both complicated and far fetched. And I want to be clear, I’m not breaking any news here. This story is out there and it has policy people, academics and foreigners very concerned. All I’m trying to do is make it clear and digestible. That’s a tall enough order.
One relatable part of my deep dive that ties into this week’s episode on the Democratic Party and insistence among certain liberals that Republicans are still viable targets to bring back into the fold is the reporting on the three big crypto bills in front of Congress.
For a day or two, certain congressional Republicans did that thing where they pretended they might not have the votes to pass one of Trump’s key measures. Then suddenly Mike Johnson or John Thune pull it out of their asses at the last minute (phew) after addressing concerns behind closed doors. Or even better when Trump stands up from his golden toilet and descends upon the Hill to cajole the holdouts with a charm offensive.
The crypto legislation is going to clear every hurdle and we are about to enter the wildest period of monetary policy and global currency shocks the world has seen since Nixon took us off the Gold Standard in 1971.
And the Republicans are going to pretend it’s to keep America competitive.
And the Democrats are going to go along with it because enough of them are bought and paid for by the crypto lobby.
And the news channels are going to praise the administration for such a bold move to stave off Chinese currency manipulation.
And the whole thing is going to come crashing down and leave a handful of individual families and sovereign wealth funds around the world with the greatest concentration of wealth the world has ever seen.
And we’ll have the comfort in knowing we were right. As we burn paper dollars to heat our homes.
Other things I’m obsessing over…
I did a quit hit for MeidasTouch on the firing of Colbert and the coming end of the Late Show. On the heels of criticizing Paramount over its $16 million settlement with Trump, Colbert was unceremoniously notified of his impending exit. With everything else going on in the world, there’s no time to shed a tear for a celebrity firing. But it’s indicative of both the absolute power and influence of the Trump White House and the total capitulation of corporate America. Sad!
In Show Notes (upcoming) 99 and I were talking about the lifetime appointment of Emil Bove to the federal court. This guy looks, talks and acts like a cartoon villain and it seems clear that he’s being given this job as a stepping stone to take over Clarence Thomas’ spot on the SCOTUS after he gets a new Winnebago and a billion dollars to retire. But that’s not my point. My point is that he’s 8 years younger than me. I swear he looks like he’s 8 years older. Is that what evil does to the inside of a person? Is that why Paul Rudd still looks 28? I’m losing it, Unf*ckers.
-Max
Killer Left Take of the Week
KLTW goes to Cody Johnston of Some More News who asks and answers the pressing question, “Should the government be run like a business?” If you’re not familiar with Johnston’s channel then you’re not one of the 900k+ followers who are addicted to his unbelievable presentation. The prep for this show is mind-boggling given its frequency. The content is top notch. And his delivery is superb. So get hooked.
Donald Trump is implementing the Project 2025 playbook faster than anyone anticipated, and old guard Democrats have no idea how to combat him. But there’s another endgame coming into focus that will shock even astute political observers. This “Max Unfiltered” episode plants the seeds for upcoming episodes that examine how Trump and his allies are planning to loot the Treasury and control the world’s money supply. It turns out they aren’t just intent on destroying the system to remain in power—they’re setting themselves up to BE the power. Full disclosure: it’s a bit of a rant, but it’s the foundation for more to come.
Here’s a snippet from the pod:
Max: This is a war. You don’t win a war by trying to recruit the other side to fight on your side. You win by rallying the troops to fight for your cause. And here’s the wild part of the whole thing: We’re the better side.
We actually want people to eat. To not go bankrupt when they go for cancer treatments. We want the people we interact with every single day in restaurants, and stores, and car washes, auto mechanics, HVAC repair companies, farmstands and grocery stores to become citizens. We want our seniors to be cared for in clean, reputable facilities or in their own homes without having to spend out their entire life savings. We want people to have a roof over their heads. Kids to have top notch education. Families to not have to do a GoFundMe for a loved one’s funeral. To spend something less than 40% of income on rent. To breathe clean air.
Well, I’ll be damned! I recorded a screed this week about Trump’s approval among Republicans being consistently above 90%. Turns out the base is pretty, pretty, pretty upset about the Epstein files because it dipped below 90% for the first time and is now at a shockingly low 88%!
The message remains the same. They’re not coming back. They’re never coming back. Even this will blow over (like Jan 6 and every other flagrant unconstitutional action and disgusting lie this guy has ever spewed) and it’ll be back above 90% in no time. In fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Republicans start to believe that Hunter Biden destroyed the list. (I wish I was kidding.)
Headlines
Number Go Up
As usual, Matt Stoller encapsulates the condition of American capitalism in ways I can only hope to emulate. In this article, Stoller speaks to…oh, just read it. He’s so good. Dammit.
From the article:
“Increasing the capitalization of the stock market at all costs has a number of implications about how our society works. Anything hindering short-term increases in profits, whether that’s higher wages, more factory investment, ending tax loopholes, rules to block being able to unsubscribe from Planet Fitness, transitioning to different energy sources, addressing an opioid crisis, or breaking Chinese control over the necessities of life, gets pushed out of the way. American life spans have plateaued or stagnated since 2015, which you’d think would be of concern. But it’s just not. There’s also something that distinguishes standard financial capitalism from ‘number go up.’ Financial capitalism implies risk. But in our era, the government guarantees financial returns with subsidies, regulations and bailouts. It’s a form of statecraft.”
Alex Skopic details the experiences of progressives along a spectrum that disrupted their parties only to be 1) beaten, 2) beaten down and 3) beaten into conservatism. Worth the read to fill in the blanks and get a preview of what’s in store for Mamdani for the rest of the campaign and if he’s ultimately successful in winning the office.
From the article:
“If he wants to deliver real change for New Yorkers, overcoming all the political and economic forces arrayed against him, Mamdani and his supporters can’t afford to get complacent for a second. He has to run like he’s ten points behind at all times, and he’ll need to learn from recent history. Specifically, he should study the examples of three brilliant young Democratic politicians who went before him, who failed in three distinct ways. Like the three ghosts of Christmas who haunted Scrooge, they have vital warnings to offer.”
Up is down, down is up. Welcome to Trump’s America.
Alberto Toscano digs into the phenomenon of reverse racism and how white America was able to flip the script to appear as the downtrodden and oppressed.
From the article:
“The notion that white populations are threatened with demographic ‘replacement’ (or outright massacre) is a classic case of psychoanalytic projection. An unconscious or unspoken desire to destroy the ‘other’ is ascribed to those others instead, which works as a justification of hatred and violence in the form of preemptive self-defense. The settler justifies their violence in terms of the savagery of the ‘native’; the perpetrator of genocide imagines themself the victim of a genocide to come. All racist violence can be cast as counterviolence.”
Good to listen in on how other nations think about similar problems and how the actions of the U.S. are being interpreted. Especially when that nation is Ireland and the podcast is the David McWilliams Podcast!
“This week on the podcast, we take on the two biggest issues shaping our future: immigration and housing. We begin with the looming threat of U.S. tariffs, which could hit by August 1st. A 30% levy would be catastrophic for Ireland, the most open economy in the world, with nearly €600 billion in imports and exports annually. While China retaliates in unison, Europe squabbles over wine, cars, and Big Tech. Meanwhile, Ireland, so dependent on U.S. multinationals, stands massively exposed. We then dive into the far knottier issue: immigration. Between April 2022 and 2023, 141,000 immigrants arrived in Ireland. Only 30,000 houses were built in the same period. You don’t need a PhD to see the problem, demand has tripled, while supply has collapsed.”
While we’re talking about David McWilliams, here’s a great pre-order for the holidays. (Pretty confident for a book that hasn’t come out, yeah?)
“In The History of Money, McWilliams takes us across the world, from the birthplace of money in ancient Babylon to the beginning of trade along the Silk Road, from Marrakech markets to Wall Street. Along the way, we meet a host of innovators, emperors, frauds, and speculators, who have disrupted society and transformed the way we live. Filled with memorable anecdotes, and with a foreword by Michael Lewis, The History of Money is an essential, extremely readable history of humanity’s most consequential invention.”
“Man, I only wish you put out more content. I LOVE what you do; your perspective and your delivery are spot-on and compelling. Great stuff, here.”
Humbled by this. Also, no. I’m pretty broken as it is. The thought of producing more content breaks me even more. But I’m gonna keep on keeping on! -Max
UNFTR YouTube Highlight
The One Big Beautiful Bill settles the great SALT deduction cap debate that has been raging in D.C. since the Trump tax bill of 2017 placed a $10,000 cap on deductions. This maneuver was seen by some as a punishment for blue states specifically, while others saw it as a way to level the playing field between wealthy and non-wealthy homeowners. It caused a great divide in and among both major parties, even giving rise to a specially-formed “SALT Caucus.” The new bill clarifies the issue for the next few years but when you strip it down, it’s nothing more than yet another giveaway to the rich.
“Animal Equality is an international organization working with society, governments, and companies to end cruelty to farmed animals. As an animal protection organization, we are guided by compassion, determination, and effectiveness. We are committed to saving as many animals as possible and to reducing the enormous suffering animals endure on factory farms.”
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