![\"array](\"https:\/\/kewus.net\/yesterday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/array-of-financial-analysis-graphs-on-multiple-computer-screens.webp\" "\\"array")
<\/a><\/p>\nBulwark: Trump Says We Have the \u201cHottest\u201d Economy. Markets Tell a Different Story.<\/a><\/h2>\nThe U.S. economy entered 2025 as the \u201cenvy of the world.\u201d It exited well behind its peers.<\/em><\/p>\nMANY OF US HAVE BEEN raising hue and cry about the irreversible damage Donald Trump has wreaked on the economy. Tariffs<\/a>! Corporate shakedowns<\/a>! Destruction of research institutions<\/a>! Deletion of data<\/a>! Politicization of the Federal Reserve<\/a>! Alienation of our allies<\/a>! Socialization of private companies<\/a>!<\/p>\nAnd of course, the collapse of the rule of law<\/a>.<\/p>\nAll of these things should be terrible for the U.S. economy, especially in the long term. And yet to date, the stock market has seemingly shrugged it all off<\/a>.<\/p>\nIn fact, markets look somewhat ebullient. In 2025, the S&P 500 grew a solid 16 percent\u2014far better than the average year, and better than many forecasts, particularly in the wake of Trump\u2019s Liberation Day tariffs.<\/p>\n
So what\u2019s going on? Why aren\u2019t investors pricing in all these risks?<\/p>\n
Some of it may be that they believe there\u2019s a huge, sustainable Trump boom just around the corner. It didn\u2019t come by the end of 2025, but perhaps it\u2019ll arrive this quarter . . . or next quarter . . . or the end of 2026<\/a>, per the latest goalpost-moving forecasts from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.<\/p>\nBut there are other ways to interpret what\u2019s going on. None of them are particularly assuring:<\/p>\n
\n- U.S. markets actually aren\u2019t doing that great, when compared to our global competitors.\n
- The lion\u2019s share of growth here in the United States\u2014in both financial markets and hard economic data\u2014is driven by a single sector: A.I . . .\n
- . . . which looks an awful lot like a bubble right now.\n<\/ol>\n
I find these explanations to be more persuasive than the hope that a new economic golden age is about to dawn. And to understand why, it\u2019s worth recapping why you should worry about the long-term damage from Trump\u2019s policies in the first place.
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\n(Bulwark more…)<\/a><\/p>\n
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Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – January 4, 2026<\/a><\/h2>\nSecretary of State Marco Rubio took the administration\u2019s message about its strikes on Venezuela to the Sunday talk shows this morning. It did not go well.
\n…<\/p>\n
When Stephanopoulos asked why the administration thought it didn\u2019t need congressional authorization for the strikes, Rubio said they didn\u2019t need congressional approval because the U.S. did not invade or occupy another country. The attack, he said, was simply a law enforcement operation to arrest Maduro. Rubio said something similar yesterday, but Trump immediately undercut that argument by saying the U.S. intended to take over Venezuela\u2019s oil fields and run the country.<\/p>\n
Indeed, if the strikes were a law enforcement operation, officials will need to explain how officers managed to kill so many civilians, as well as members of security forces. Mariana Martinez of the New York Times<\/em> reported today that the number of those killed in the operation has risen to 80.
\n…<\/p>\n… Himes told Brennan that he thought Trump\u2019s Venezuelan adventure would not go well: \u201cWe\u2019re in the euphoria period of\u2026acknowledging across the board that Maduro was a bad guy and that our military is absolutely incredible. This is exactly the euphoria we felt in 2002 when our military took down the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2003, when our military took out Saddam Hussein, and in 2011, when we helped remove Muammar Gaddafi from power in Libya. These were very, very bad people, by the way, much, much worse than Maduro and Venezuela, which was never a significant national security threat to the United States. But we\u2019re in that euphoria phase. And what we learned the day after the euphoria phase is that it\u2019s an awful lot easier to break a country than it is to actually do what the president promised to do, which is to run it\u2026. [L]et\u2019s let my Republican colleagues enjoy their day of euphoria, but they\u2019re going to wake up tomorrow morning knowing what? My God, there is no plan here any more than there was in Afghanistan, Iraq, or in Libya.\u201d
\n(Heather Cox Richardson more…)<\/a>
\n![\"Venezuelan](\"https:\/\/kewus.net\/yesterday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Venezuelan-Defense-Minister-Vladimir-Padrino.avif\" "\\"Venezuelan")
<\/a><\/p>\nWSJ: Venezuela\u2019s Defense Minister Says Members of Maduro\u2019s Security Team Killed in Raid<\/a><\/h2>\nVenezuela's Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said in televised remarks on Sunday that "a large part" of Nicolas Maduro's security team were killed in the raid that led to the strongman's detention by U.S. forces.<\/p>\n
The country\u2019s armed forces support Vice President Delcy Rodriguez's appointment as acting president and will work to maintain order in Venezuela, Padrino said in a statement.
\n(WSJ more…)<\/a><\/p>\nIndependent: Cuba confirms 32 officers were killed during US attack on Venezuela<\/a><\/h2>\nThirty-two Cuban officers were killed in Venezuela over the weekend during an American military operation, the Cuban government has confirmed, marking the first official acknowledgement of the fatalities.<\/p>\n
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MANY OF US HAVE BEEN raising hue and cry about the irreversible damage Donald Trump has wreaked on the economy. Tariffs<\/a>! Corporate shakedowns<\/a>! Destruction of research institutions<\/a>! Deletion of data<\/a>! Politicization of the Federal Reserve<\/a>! Alienation of our allies<\/a>! Socialization of private companies<\/a>!<\/p>\n And of course, the collapse of the rule of law<\/a>.<\/p>\n All of these things should be terrible for the U.S. economy, especially in the long term. And yet to date, the stock market has seemingly shrugged it all off<\/a>.<\/p>\n In fact, markets look somewhat ebullient. In 2025, the S&P 500 grew a solid 16 percent\u2014far better than the average year, and better than many forecasts, particularly in the wake of Trump\u2019s Liberation Day tariffs.<\/p>\n So what\u2019s going on? Why aren\u2019t investors pricing in all these risks?<\/p>\n Some of it may be that they believe there\u2019s a huge, sustainable Trump boom just around the corner. It didn\u2019t come by the end of 2025, but perhaps it\u2019ll arrive this quarter . . . or next quarter . . . or the end of 2026<\/a>, per the latest goalpost-moving forecasts from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.<\/p>\n But there are other ways to interpret what\u2019s going on. None of them are particularly assuring:<\/p>\n I find these explanations to be more persuasive than the hope that a new economic golden age is about to dawn. And to understand why, it\u2019s worth recapping why you should worry about the long-term damage from Trump\u2019s policies in the first place. Secretary of State Marco Rubio took the administration\u2019s message about its strikes on Venezuela to the Sunday talk shows this morning. It did not go well. When Stephanopoulos asked why the administration thought it didn\u2019t need congressional authorization for the strikes, Rubio said they didn\u2019t need congressional approval because the U.S. did not invade or occupy another country. The attack, he said, was simply a law enforcement operation to arrest Maduro. Rubio said something similar yesterday, but Trump immediately undercut that argument by saying the U.S. intended to take over Venezuela\u2019s oil fields and run the country.<\/p>\n Indeed, if the strikes were a law enforcement operation, officials will need to explain how officers managed to kill so many civilians, as well as members of security forces. Mariana Martinez of the New York Times<\/em> reported today that the number of those killed in the operation has risen to 80. … Himes told Brennan that he thought Trump\u2019s Venezuelan adventure would not go well: \u201cWe\u2019re in the euphoria period of\u2026acknowledging across the board that Maduro was a bad guy and that our military is absolutely incredible. This is exactly the euphoria we felt in 2002 when our military took down the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2003, when our military took out Saddam Hussein, and in 2011, when we helped remove Muammar Gaddafi from power in Libya. These were very, very bad people, by the way, much, much worse than Maduro and Venezuela, which was never a significant national security threat to the United States. But we\u2019re in that euphoria phase. And what we learned the day after the euphoria phase is that it\u2019s an awful lot easier to break a country than it is to actually do what the president promised to do, which is to run it\u2026. [L]et\u2019s let my Republican colleagues enjoy their day of euphoria, but they\u2019re going to wake up tomorrow morning knowing what? My God, there is no plan here any more than there was in Afghanistan, Iraq, or in Libya.\u201d Venezuela's Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said in televised remarks on Sunday that "a large part" of Nicolas Maduro's security team were killed in the raid that led to the strongman's detention by U.S. forces.<\/p>\n The country\u2019s armed forces support Vice President Delcy Rodriguez's appointment as acting president and will work to maintain order in Venezuela, Padrino said in a statement. Thirty-two Cuban officers were killed in Venezuela over the weekend during an American military operation, the Cuban government has confirmed, marking the first official acknowledgement of the fatalities.<\/p>\n\n
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\n(Bulwark more…)<\/a><\/p>\n
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Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – January 4, 2026<\/a><\/h2>\n
\n…<\/p>\n
\n…<\/p>\n
\n(Heather Cox Richardson more…)<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/p>\nWSJ: Venezuela\u2019s Defense Minister Says Members of Maduro\u2019s Security Team Killed in Raid<\/a><\/h2>\n
\n(WSJ more…)<\/a><\/p>\nIndependent: Cuba confirms 32 officers were killed during US attack on Venezuela<\/a><\/h2>\n
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