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🌊 Donald of Arabia
Plus: Inflation better than expected, China woos South America, & Cannes bans nudity
27 years ago today, America sat down to watch nothing.
1998 was a big year for American entertainment: Titanic became the highest-grossing movie of all time, Michael Jordan won his 6th ring and delivered the NBA’s most-watched game of all time, the House impeached Bill Clinton (well, its place on this list depends on what your meaning of the word “entertainment” is), and, on this day 27 years ago, Seinfeld aired its finale to an audience of 76.3M. No show — not even Young Sheldon — has come remotely close to drawing such an audience in the years since. The show was so popular that Jerry Seinfeld reportedly turned down over $100M to do another season. Jake Paul, we hope you’re reading this!
😮💨 Inflation better than expected
🐫 Trump tours Middle East
🚫 No more cans at Cannes
–Max and Max
KEY STORY
Trump Tours Middle East
President Trump began a four-day Middle East tour
He began in Saudi Arabia, where he addressed a crowd that included Saudi Royals, Elon Musk, and Nvidia’s CEO, among others. Hours earlier, he revealed that Saudi will spend $600B in the US, including $140B on defense and billions more on Nvidia chips
Trump also announced that he would lift sanctions on Syria and meet Syria’s new leader, who formerly led a branch of al-Qaeda. He did so earlier today and called him a “young, attractive guy, tough guy”
Trump is now in Qatar
Dig Deeper
While Trump’s focus appears to be business and investment, he warned Iran while in Saudi that it could face “massive maximum pressure” if it fails to curb its nuclear program. The two countries are in ongoing talks that seek to do so
The Trump Administration also urged Saudi Arabia to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel, although the Saudis have demanded that Israel first grant the Palestinians self-governance
Trump has also suggested that he may drop in on a potential summit between Presidents Zelensky and Putin in Turkey on Thursday
KEY STORY
China Woos South America
At a summit of Latin American nations, China offered billions of dollars in loans in yuan, an apparent effort to undermine the dollar
The US dollar has long been the default currency for international finance. Some countries, led by China and Russia, are seeking to establish a rival, though
China took one step toward doing so on Tuesday, when at a conference of Latin American and Caribbean nations, it offered $9.2B of Yuan loans to the region
The move comes as the Trump Administration tries to counter China’s growing influence in the Americas, for example, in Panama
Dig Deeper
In his opening address, President Xi sought to position China as a viable alternative trading partner to the United States – a message that left-wing Latin American leaders reciprocated
Colombia’s Gustav Petro said, “We have decided to take a profound step forward between China and Latin America,” while Brazil’s Lula called for “indestructible” ties with China
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Instead of getting married again, I'm going to find a woman I don't like and just give her a house
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KEY STORY
US Economy: Better Than Expected?
US inflation was lower than expected last month and the stock market continued its extended rally
Since the start of Trump’s second term, economists have been predicting that tariffs would trigger elevated levels of inflation. In both February and March, though, inflation was lower than expected
Data released on Tuesday showed that trend continued through April, with monthly inflation at 0.2%, below the 0.3% economists had predicted, and annual inflation at 2.3%, below the expected 2.4%
Meanwhile, stocks climbed higher on Tuesday, erasing their remaining losses from earlier this year
Dig Deeper
President Trump hailed the news as a win on Truth Social, posting, “No Inflation, and Prices of Gasoline, Energy, Groceries, and practically everything else, are DOWN!!!”
He cited the lower inflation rate as reason for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, something he has been pushing for since taking office. The Fed declined to cut rates earlier this May, citing the need to gain more clarity on the impact of tariffs
While the report provided investors with confidence, some warned that it may take longer to feel the supply chain impacts of the tariffs
“It does reduce the near-term peak for inflation, but it doesn’t change the direction of travel,” one Bank of America economist told the New York Times. He predicted that inflation will rise to as high 3.5% by the end of the year
KEY STORY
Trump Bails Out Temu, Shein
President Trump slashed a major tariff affecting the import of Chinese goods
US law lets companies avoid customs inspections and tariffs on import orders worth under $800. Online sellers and Chinese retailers like Temu and Shein have used this loophole to build discount retail businesses
In February, Trump suspended the loophole and applied a 120% tariff on those less-than-$800 imports from China. The move up-ended the entire Temu/Shein business model
On Monday, hours after Trump announced a surprise 90-day tariff reduction on Chinese goods, he cut the 120% tariff on small shipments to 54%
Dig Deeper
About 1.36B shipments entered the US in fiscal 2024 using the provision, of which 60% came from China. The rate of shipments had increased dramatically in recent years as companies including Temu and Shein exploded in popularity
Through last year, Chinese sales worth 1.3% of China’s GDP leveraged the exemption
When Trump scrapped the waiver in February – ostensibly to to curb fentanyl smuggling and unfair imports – it threw that industry and many importers into disarray
RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office
⚖ On day two of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial, his ex, R&B singer Cassie, described drug-fueled “freak-offs” and said they lasted up to three days, sometimes without sleep
👨🏼⚖️ A federal judge seized control of New York City’s Riker’s Island jail complex, citing the city’s failure to curb notoriously rampant violence in the prison. The federal government has seized fewer than a dozen jails in the last 50 years
⚾ The MLB removed Pete Rose from its Hall of Fame ineligibility list, meaning the sport’s all-time hit king may now be inducted
💰 House Republicans released a draft of President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” that includes a “MAGA Account” that would give kids $1,000 each to start investing
What does Roca Nation think?
🧠 Yesterday’s Question: What’s been the worst thing that Trump has done so far? We want to hear from both those who like and dislike him.
I voted for Trump, but I knew when I cast my vote that we would disagree on the environment and Public Lands. I disagree with the slashing of budgets for National Parks, conservation programs, and other public lands programs. I feel there's pressure to return to the "robber baron" era where large corporations can lay claim to government lands for cheap, and then strip it of resources at top dollar. I strongly oppose the sale of public lands and the development of mines near the Boundary Waters Wilderness in Minnesota. The DOI and the Federal Housing think that selling public lands in Utah will somehow magically fix the "housing crisis", but in reality is an attempt for politicians and their donors to acquire cheap land for development. I'd love for someone to propose turning Arlington National Cemetery into condos to "fix the DC housing crisis"...
The worst thing Trump has done (so far) is implementing his unconstitutional immigration policies and directly defying a Supreme Court Order to return an unlawfully removed person from an El Salvadorian death prison. Specifically, not allowing people to have due process before deporting them is unconstitutional, regardless of nationality or guilt, as you cannot determine guilt or citizenship status without due process. This disregard for our country's founding principles is extremely alarming.
Bonus points for the stupidest thing he's done? Mistake a very obvious photoshop meant to show assumed meaning for an actual tattoo.... then double down and refuse to let it go.
I voted for Trump for both terms. We need a businessman, not a life long politician to run our country. However, I don’t believe President Trump needs to be a name caller. His past record along with his first one hundred days in office sets him apart as someone who gets the job done. Calling others names (even though often times it fits) is not necessary.
While certainly tempting I’m sure, it tends to cheapen the successes he presides over.
🧐 Today’s Question: Is it okay for kids to call adults by their first names?
POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour
🌊 A Reel Comeback: Five fishermen – three Peruvians and two Colombians – were rescued after being stranded at sea since March 12
🪙 Fee'd Me Once…: A Biden-era ban on “junk fees” – charges tossed onto online purchases at the last minute – took effect, prohibiting retailers from adding unexpected service fees
🐒 From Rolls to Rescue: The baby spider monkey found wearing a pink polka-dot onesie in a Rolls Royce during a California drug bust has found a new home in the Oakland Zoo
🎪 Hanging by a hair: A professional circus performer broke a world record after hanging by her hair for 25 minutes and 11 seconds
👗 Cannes-cel That Scene: Ahead of its 2025 start, France’s Cannes Film Festival issued an updated red carpet dress code that prohibits nudity and “voluminous outfits”
ROCA WRAP
Jailed Mayor
The Philippines
This country’s former president won a mayoral election while detained in The Hague.
The Philippines, a Southeast Asian archipelago of over 7,000 islands, has experienced significant political turbulence since gaining independence from the United States in 1946. The country's politics have often been dominated by powerful families and charismatic figures who maintain strong regional bases of support.
One such figure is Rodrigo Duterte, whose controversial six-year presidency (2016-2022) was marked by a brutal anti-drug campaign that gained both fierce criticism from human rights activists and significant popularity at home.
Duterte, 80, is currently detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, on charges of murder as a crime against humanity related to his war on drugs
Despite his absence from the campaign trail, unofficial tallies show that Duterte won the mayoral race in Davao City, The Philippines’ third-largest city, by a landslide, securing eight times more votes than the runner-up.
Duterte's two sons also appear headed for victory in the nationwide midterm elections, with one being reelected as congressman and the other winning as Davao's vice mayor. His daughter, already vice president, indicated plans would be made for her father to be sworn in as mayor, saying that Duterte’s lawyer is discussing with the ICC how he can take his oath.
Duterte faces charges that include orchestrating killings during his presidency's anti-drug campaign and in Davao while he was previously mayor. His legal team maintains his arrest was unlawful, while the ICC asserts it has jurisdiction to prosecute alleged crimes committed before Duterte withdrew the Philippines from its founding treaty in 2019.
For a nation where politics and personality often overshadow policy, the image of a mayor governing from a detention cell in Europe adds yet another unprecedented chapter to the Philippines' colorful political history.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts
If you read Roca, there’s a good chance you’re tired of the mindless tribalism that’s overtaken our political discourse today. That’s why we appreciate all the anti-Trumpers who offered praise for his admin yesterday and all the Trumpers who criticized his admin today. Our goal is to provide you with facts so you can call balls and strikes about the current admin and the news in general. It’s unlikely that an admin could bat .000 or 1.000 no matter how severe your feelings are for the leader at the helm. Thank you for coming to our TED Talk. Have a great day.
–Max and Max