Listen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.
President Donald Trump’s $5 million visa “gold cards” are poised to “recreate the Russian oligarch situation here in America” by putting a price tag on U.S. citizenship only the wealthy can afford, warned The New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy, with co-host Danielle Moodie.
Announcing the expedited pathway to residency in a Tuesday presser, Trump said “it’s possible” Russian oligarchs would be eligible—as well as anyone else who can afford them. “I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people,” added Trump, whose administration disbanded a Biden-era effort to defund Russia’s war in Ukraine by seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs.
In a Fox News interview, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick assured that “gold card” applicants would be “deeply vetted” and “bring entrepreneurial spirit, capacity and growth to America.” And he claimed 250,000 people are already waiting in line for a chance.
Yet all Moodie sees is another grift in Trump’s America where “everything is for sale.” She added, “The insatiable greed of these people is just f---ing astonishing.”
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Plus! Mike Masnick, founder and editor of Techdirt, breaks down how Elon Musk’s latest DOGE move mirrors his Twitter takeover.
“I spent the last, let’s say three years, watching as he destroyed Twitter, right? And doing a whole bunch of really dumb things... and watching him never seem to actually learn each of those mistakes. And it seems like he’s doing the exact same thing except to the U.S. government this time. And that seems really bad.”
Then incoming Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden discusses how Democrats can turn the tables on Trump’s agenda.
Listen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.
