Donald Trump: American Carnage, Part II

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

Donald Trump: American Carnage, Part II

In his first inauguration speech, the Donald promised ‘American carnage’. His second inauguration outing was… well, you can decide for yourself. Here are the high/lowlights:

Trump was cheerful for a change: “I return to the presidency confident and optimistic”—but maybe for the wrong reasons: “I was saved by God to make America great again.”
The greatness of America will first and foremost be reflected in the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico—to ‘Gulf of America’.
But, but, but, here’s the silver lining: Trump also said “America should measure success ‘by the wars that we end’ and ‘the wars we never get into.’”
OTOH, Panama Canal: “We’re taking it back!” Always with the mixed messages!
As usual, Trump had no time for the fundamentals of macroeconomics: “[W]e will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens”—who will pay way more for cheap-as-chips Chinese… footwear, clothes, kitchenware, furniture etc.
But hey, he promised to make Martin Luther King’s dream come true.

The first big move: Trump has withdrawn the United States from the landmark Paris Treaty—signed by 195 nations to battle climate change. Keeping the United States excellent company: Iran, Libya and Yemen—the only other three countries not party to the agreement. This would be momentous except Trump did exactly this in the first term—only to have Joe Biden reverse the decision. But the newly elected prez intends to make the most of his last term in office—promising this:

America will be a manufacturing nation once again, and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have, the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we are going to use it. We will drill, baby, drill.

Al Jazeera and New York Times have more on what the planet should brace for over the next four years. Btw, Trump plans to sign 200 executive orders on Day One—so we should all brace for more of the same.

Who’s afraid of Donald Trump? According to the Economist, the most striking bit about this second stint is the lack of anxiety—be it among Americans or world leaders or corporate America:

Rather than the palpable sense of dread apparent in January 2017, the streets are filled with tourists and there are parties taking place throughout the city. Organisers of an anti-Trump protest in Washington had hoped some 50,000 people might show up; around 5,000 did. Snoop Dogg, once a Trump critic, performed at the Crypto Ball. The below-freezing temperatures should help to maintain this collective shrug from Mr Trump’s detractors.

OTOH, liberals may just have run out of juice—and are self-soothing with giant tubs of ice cream 🤷‍♀️. Point to note: The Economist also mentions that the only people who can put the brakes on raging Donald are traditional Republicans—who hold the decisive votes in both houses of Congress.

Inauguration things to see: As Axios notes, the people in this photo are worth a collective $910 billion (also: arre, hamara Sundar Pichai):

Melania’s hat did the most important job at the ceremony: Hiding the look in her eyes:

Usha Vance looked radiantly pretty in pink:

BBC News and Vogue have the rest of the inauguration red carpet.

Last not least: Elon Musk did his best to hog the spotlight at the Trump rally before the inaugural address—by giving back-to-back Nazi-looking salutes. Jewish organisations were not amused.

The RG Kar case: The sentencing

The context: On August 9, 2024, a 31-year-old post-graduate trainee doctor was found murdered in a seminar hall in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College. The body had extensive injuries—revealing that she had been raped and strangled. The prime accused was Sanjay Roy who was arrested the next day. The case sparked nationwide protests by activists and junior doctors—and a political battle between Trinamul and the BJP, which included allegations of a cover up.

What happened now: On Monday, Sanjay Roy was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was found guilty on three counts of murder, rape and causing death or a persistent vegetative state to a woman. Despite the CBI’s request for capital punishment, Roy was spared by the judge—because the case “does not meet the stringent criteria for being classified as ‘rarest of the rare.’” The judge added:

In cases of extreme brutality and cruelty, where the offence shocks the conscience of society, the argument for the ultimate punishment gains strength. However, this must be balanced against the principles of reformative justice and the sanctity of human life.

The judge also drew a bizarre analogy between the rape-murder and the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki… because both took place on August 9 (?!?!).

The fallout: The verdict has sparked anger among the victim’s family, a fresh round of protests by junior doctors. Mamata Banerjee took the opportunity to diss the CBI—claiming she would have ensured a death penalty if the case had remained with the Bengal police. Reminder: In September, the West Bengal assembly had passed the Aparajita Bill that mandates capital punishment for convicts in rape cases—which lead to the victim’s death. FYI: the investigation into the alleged cover-up and tampering of evidence is ongoing.

Reading list: The Telegraph and Reuters have more on the verdict. The Hindu has the fallout.

Oxfam report: Yes, the rich are getting richer

On the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos every year, Oxfam releases its ‘shame on you’ report—dropping the latest stats on wealth inequality around the world. Here are the highlights:

The number of people in poverty—living on less than $6.85 per day—has “barely changed” since 1990.
In 2024, the wealth of billionaires grew by $2 trillion, or $5.7 billion per day in 2024—3x faster than the growth rate in 2023.
The number of billionaires increased by 204—up from 2,565 to 2,769—with four new billionaires “minted” every week.
The world’s ten richest men saw their wealth rise nearly $100 million per day.
60% of billionaire wealth comes from inheritance, monopolies or ‘crony connections’. Not much to do with merit or hard work.

Meanwhile, over at Davos: This year’s agenda will focus on dealmaking, deregulation and AI. The elephant in the room: Nobody who matters is there. Donald Trump will address the forum via video link on Thursday, but Modi, Xi, Macron, Meloni and Starmer are skipping proceedings entirely. CNBC has more, while Associated Press has the story on the Oxfam report—which you can read in full here.

A depression detector for CEOs

Researchers have developed an AI tool that can tell you whether CEOs are depressed by analysing—wait for it—their voice on the company earnings calls. This method is apparently more granular and sensitive:

Rather than look at more rudimentary speech components previously used to assess health conditions—such as pauses and uses of filler words, which are associated with depression—researchers are now turning to AI to pick up on patterns too small for the human ear to notice.

Their analysis of 14,500 earning calls of 500 companies revealed that more than 9,500 out of 14,500 CEOs were depressed to some degree.

The really depressing bit: Although the study is wrapped in compassionate rhetoric about mental health, the tool’s main selling point is all about the company—not the human being:

[A] CEO’s mental health struggles were associated with a company facing greater risks, such as litigation or volatile stock returns… “Of course, it is important for the personal health of these executives, but also has far-reaching implications for the organization, the employees, the investors, and the broader economy,” [said lead co-author Nargess Golshan].

Earning calls are already stressful for CEOs. Do they really need someone monitoring their voice—for reasons to sack them? FYI: “Eight in 10 CEOs and 67% of employees believe someone with a mental illness is weak or burdensome.” (Fortune via Yahoo News)

A series of unhappy animal stories (sorry!)

One: Morocco has launched a campaign to slaughter up to three million stray dogs—in the lead up to the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Many are being poisoned with strychnine—a highly toxic pesticide used to kill rodents—leading to prolonged, agonizing deaths. It gets worse:

Gunmen cruise around the clock armed with rifles and pistols. The animals are often wounded and left to bleed out while thrashing and screaming in pain. Dogs are also hunted down and trapped with clamping devices and thrown into the backs of trucks to join other animals, before being taken to facilities to be inhumanely killed.

The International Animal Coalition (IAC)—and legendary conservationist Jane Goodall—are calling on FIFA to intervene. After all, the dogs are being killed to make FIFA venues more pleasing to tourists. Sadly, the global football body has not responded. Reminder: Qatar was accused of human rights abuses during its 2022 FIFA World Cup preparations. Over 6,750 South Asian migrant workers reportedly died labouring in extreme heat. (Mint)

Two: Elephants are being transported from Arunachal Pradesh to Vantara—the infamous private zoo in Gujarat owned by Anant Ambani. He claims to rescue captive animals from private owners—like Pablo Escobar’s cocaine hippos—and rehome them in Vantara. But activists say these elephants are instead being trafficked:

They alleged that many of these elephants were likely captured from the wild and subjected to harsh training before being sold. In April 2023, the Centre for Research on Animal Rights (CRAR) expressed concerns about the potential for disguising wild-caught calves as captive-born to facilitate trade. Arunachal Pradesh and upper Assam have a history of capturing young elephants for captive purposes.

Also a problem: They are being transported in animal ambulances that have not been certified for safety. To date, 33 elephants have been sent to the zoo. Northest Now has this under-covered story. We did a Big Story on the Ambani Zoo if you’re curious.

Three: Penguins are famous for mating for life— often upheld as role models for monogamy. Sadly, new research shows that these avian couples aren’t quite as perfect:

In good times, they largely stick with their partners, although there’s often a bit of hanky-panky happening on the side. However, after a poor reproductive season they may try to find a new partner for the next season to increase their breeding success.

The primary grounds for divorce: Lack of babies. But researchers say switching partners is risky—and often doesn’t pay off. Ah, relationships, they’re complicated. (Popular Science)

what caught our eye

business & tech

Melania Trump’s $Melania meme coin dents $Trump's gains, overshadowing her husband’s cryptocurrency rally.

sports & entertainment

Iranian pop star Tataloo, sentenced to death for blasphemy after a retrial, faces execution for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
After all that hype, Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Emergency’ made a pitiful Rs 10.89 crore (Rs 108 million) in the four days since its release.

health & environment

Xenon gas shows promise as a potential Alzheimer’s treatment, reducing brain shrinkage and inflammation in mice, with human trials underway.

as for the rest

Gaza received a major influx of aid as 915 trucks crossed into the territory on the second day of the ceasefire, surpassing the 600-truck target.
The total number of individuals arrested in connection with the harrowing sexual abuse of the Dalit minor girl from Kerala has now risen to 57.
China executes two men for shockingly violent attacks in November—one who killed 35 in a car attack, and the other who killed eight in a stabbing spree.
In other capital punishment news, a resident of Kerala was sentenced to death for poisoning her boyfriend after he refused to accept their breakup.
Yes to a foreign podcast but no to domestic media—Lex Fridman is due to host PM Modi on his platform.

Five things to see

One: The Aam Aadmi Party’s campaign against BJP reached peak comedy ahead of the Delhi elections slated for February 5. The party launched a book titled ‘Achievements of BJP in Delhi’—with entirely blank pages inside. Watch the dramatic unveiling at a presser here. (The Telegraph)

Two: Director of IIT Madras V Kamakoti sparked great outrage for promoting cow urine as “anti-bacterial and anti-fungal” and said that it had “digestive properties” that could cure Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and high fever. Who knew the IITs are doling out medical expertise, as well. Note: This video is in Tamil, you can see the translation here. (The Independent)

Three: Guess, cupid threw a javelin. Just days after shrugging off the shaadi rumours, Neeraj Chopra shared photos of his wedding—which took place last week. FYI: Himani Mor is a tennis player currently studying in the US. Maybe now all the uncles and aunties trying to marry him off to Manu Bhaker will hush up. (Indian Express)

Four: This is Jerry Seinfeld’s $25 million Porsche 917K—originally owned by Steve McQueen and featured in the iconic Le Mans. The 1969 car—restored to its former glory in 2024—was hyped as the “most expensive Porsche in history.” But, but, but: it couldn’t find a single buyer when it went up for auction in Florida. Haw. (Houston Chronicle, paywalled, Quartz)

Five: Check out the trailer for ‘Queen of the Ring’—the long awaited film on the origins of women’s professional wrestling in the US. Based on Jeff Leen’s book of the same name, it follows the true-story of pro wrestler Mildred Burke—played by Emily Bett Rickards. The film is slated to release on March 7. (People)