(Apu Gomes/Getty Images)

X Factor

Elon Musk wins no matter which presidential candidate does

All the 2024 election chaos has been good for X. (We’ll see whether it translates into profit.)

7/22/24 11:03AM

No matter what happens with democracy and the upcoming presidential election, Elon Musk wins. That’s because despite all that the billionaire has done to drive users away, news still happens on his social media platform X, née Twitter.

Case in point: Joe Biden, the president of the United States who Musk has been actively campaigning against, both on the site and with $45 million a month in real-world money, announced yesterday that he was no longer running for president on X. As of Monday morning, his post had more than 360 million views, while most of his other recent posts are in the single digit millions.

Musk celebrated the exposure, tweeting “White House aides learned Biden was dropping out by reading 𝕏.”

White House aides learned Biden was dropping out by reading 𝕏 https://t.co/9SpfbwcN65
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 21, 2024

(Of course, all that traffic needs to eventually turn into revenue and then profit, which is a thing the company has struggled with lately.)

Donald Trump, who has more than twice the number followers of both the Biden and POTUS accounts, hasn’t posted on X in nearly a year. Even after Musk reinstated his account, Trump has said he would stick with his own social media platform, Truth Social, where he’s obligated to wait six hours before posting elsewhere.

During the Republican National Convention last week, X CEO Linda Yaccarino noted the high volume of traffic the event drew to X. US traffic to X was up 11% the week of the RNC compared to a week earlier, according to data from Similarweb. (The timeframe of that week also included the failed attempt on Donald Trump’s life.) Traffic for Truth Social, owned by Trump Media & Technology Group, was up nearly 200%. Of course, X is much bigger than Truth — X saw more than 100 times the traffic Truth did during the week of the RNC.

Next month’s Democratic National Convention will likely be a boon to X as well, with Democrats set to roll out several big-name speeches — likely Harris, her VP pick, and potentially Biden and Obama.

Of course, there are bigger questions out there like whether a social media platform owned by a highly partisan billionaire that’s filled with hateful rhetoric and armies of subsidized bots should be the de facto place for public discourse on the future of democracy.

As New York Times Chief White House Correspondent Peter Baker put it on The Daily podcast this morning, “When we first saw the online message the first reaction we had was, is this real or is this a fake. We didn't hit the done button till we confirmed with two White House officials that it was for real, because we didn’t expect that if he was going to do it, it would be just like that on an online posting.”

Jake Lahut4/29/26

US on par for $4.50 per gallon in the next week or 2: Gas Buddy

Gas prices shooting up across several Midwestern states is putting the national average on track to hit $4.50 per gallon within the next two weeks, according to Gas Buddy’s Patrick De Haan.

In Michigan, the price went from $3.78 a week ago and $4.18 Tuesday to over $4.25 on Wednesday.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Wisconsin, where gas remained below the national average of $4.22 as of Wednesday afternoon, saw a more modest but similar jump up to $3.96 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.

De Haan also mentioned Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois in his post on BlueSky as contributing to the surge. Of those states, gas is most expensive in the Land of Lincoln, at $4.52 per gallon.

Patrick De Haan (@gasbuddyguy.bsky.social)

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

De Haan also mentioned Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois in his post on BlueSky as contributing to the surge. Of those states, gas is most expensive in the Land of Lincoln, at $4.52 per gallon.

Max Knoblauch4/27/26

In a 1,100-word statement, United CEO says merger talks with American have ended

United’s pursuit of its rival American Airlines has ended, according to a lengthy statement from United CEO Scott Kirby on Monday.

Per Kirby, American “declined to engage” with his “big, bold vision” of a megamerger that would have controlled more than a third of the US market, instead “publicly closing the door.”

“American’s public comments make it clear that a merger like this is off the table for the foreseeable future,” said Kirby, who also believes regulators would have approved the deal.

Kirby’s effort — and sheer word count — in explaining the logic and benefits of the deal could be read as evidence that the executive is still in the market for a big combination. A common theory in the industry has been that the megamerger could have been a means to actually pitch a smaller (but still huge) merger between United and JetBlue.

President Trump last week told CNBC that he didn’t like the United-American idea and would instead “love somebody to buy Spirit.” In American’s earnings call last week, CEO Robert Isom swiftly rejected a United merger, saying the two carriers are “going to be roommates and we’re not getting married.”

Statement from United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby

“American’s public comments make it clear that a merger like this is off the table for the foreseeable future,” said Kirby, who also believes regulators would have approved the deal.

Millie Giles

CAPITOL LOSSES

4/24/26

Washington, DC, lost over 100,000 jobs last year, the most in the US

Sweeping federal job cuts and a shrinking hospitality sector have resulted in high unemployment in the nation’s capital.

United States Capitol and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC

Jon Keegan4/23/26

In December, the White House announced a new program to let wealthy foreigners get a shortcut to US citizenship — the “Trump Gold Card.” After paying a $15,000 application fee, passing a vetting process, and ultimately paying a $1 million “contribution,” the applicant gets a card in President Trump’s favorite color that grants the owner US citizenship “in record time.”

So, how many of these rich foreigners have received their shiny ticket to American residency? Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told a House committee today that only one of the cards has been issued, but “hundreds” of applications are being reviewed.

In December, Lutnick predicted that the cards could generate up to $1 trillion in revenue.

Jake Lahut4/21/26

Who’s next to leave the Trump admin following Chavez-DeRemer’s departure?

After a few abandoned nominations and the occasional lateral demotion during President Donald Trump’s first year in office, turnover has accelerated dramatically.

Just in the past month, top officials such as Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer have left their posts.

Following a report from The Atlantic alleging heavy drinking and absenteeism plaguing FBI Director Kash Patel, the odds of his departure from the Trump administration in 2026 shot up sharply, with traders now pricing in an 80% chance he won’t last the year.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, is another official who could be on the ropes. Her deputy, Joe Kent, has already resigned over the Iran war. Gabbard’s 2020 presidential campaign — and appeal in broadening Trump’s electorate in 2024 — heavily centered around ending perpetual “regime change wars.” The White House has indicated to Gabbard that they want her gone before the midterms, but the timing of her departure remains vague, according to two sources familiar with the discussions who spoke to Sherwood News in recent weeks.

As for who will replace the outgoing members, pay attention to who can be confirmed by the Senate. To replace Bondi, a Trump adviser told Sherwood the most likely replacements are acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney, as well as EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.