Well wishes for Biden
Plus: Charli XCX has a sleeper hit on her hands
Thoughts and prayers are pouring in for former President Joe Biden, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is facing criticism from his former vice president and the chance of no mediating role for the U.S. in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Welcome to this week’s issue of Whig. Read to the end for the final company the Shark Tank shark most likely to run for president invested in. — Hunter
Trump calls Putin:
Fresh off the first foreign trip of his second term to the Middle East where he got pledges of foreign investment but no peace deals, Trump had a two-hour call with Russia’s authoritarian President Vladimir Putin today. In a post on social media, Trump said the call “went very well” and that peace negotiations would go forward between Ukraine and Russia without the U.S. playing a mediating role.
“The Vatican, as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!” Trump wrote.
America’s first pope gives inaugural mass:
Speaking of the pope, world leaders assembled in Vatican City Sunday for Pope Leo’s inaugural mass. The U.S. delegation included Vice President J.D. Vance (the second Catholic vice president in U.S. history following Biden), his wife Second Lady Usha Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest,” Leo said. “Let us build a church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made restless by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.”
Well wishes for Biden:
Biden’s office said Sunday that the former POTUS has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. According to Biden’s office, he and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.
“Cancer touches us all,” Biden wrote on social media today. “Like so many of you, [former First Lady] Jill [Biden] and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
Trump wrote on social media that he was “saddened” to hear about Biden’s diagnosis and “we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.” Former Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement she and her family are “keeping him, Dr. Biden, and their entire family in our hearts and prayers during this time.” King Charles, who was diagnosed with cancer last year, wrote a personal note to Biden, according to People.
FLOTUS on hand for bill signing:
First Lady Melania Trump was at the White House today for her husband’s signing of the bipartisan Take It Down Act, which she publicly supported. POTUS played up his wife’s role in getting it passed.
“It's the first time I've seen such a level of bipartisanship, but it's a beautiful thing to do,” he said. “I'm not even sure you realize, honey, you know, a lot of the Democrats and Republicans don't get along so well. You've made them get along, and she didn't even know about that. She didn't know we had a problem.”
Tiffany had a baby and he’s a boy:
First daughter Tiffany Trump gave birth last Thursday to her and husband Michael Boulos’ first child, who they named Alexander Trump Boulos. “Welcome to the world our sweet baby boy,” Trump wrote on Instagram. “We love you beyond words! Thank you for coming into our lives!” He is POTUS’ 11th grandchild.
Corruption at the highest level of government is fine as long as it’s out in the open, Speaker says:
Defending Trump’s memecoin and trip to Middle Eastern countries last week where his family has business deals, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters it’s fine because he’s not trying to hide it.
“I’ll say that the reason they were many people refer to the Bidens as the ‘Biden Crime Family’ is because they were doing all this stuff behind curtains but in the back rooms they were trying to conceal it and they repeatedly lied about it in the set up shell companies and the family was all engaged in getting all on the dole,” Johnson said. “Whatever President Trump is doing is out in the open, and they’re not trying to conceal anything.” Ahh, got it.
Pence sounds off on Trump:
Former President Mike Pence has taken issue with how his former boss is doing in his old job now that he’s back in the White House. In an interview on NBC News’s Meet the Press Sunday, Pence said he’s pleased with Trump’s handling of the border, but added “I have seen some departure from the policies of our administration both at home and abroad.”
Pence criticized Trump for “wavering support” for Ukraine, his proposal for reciprocal tariffs, which would represent “the largest peacetime tax hike on the American people in the history of this country” if they went forward, and accepting the jet from the Qatari royal family, which Pence said would be “a bad idea.” Pence also expressed disappointment with Trump criticizing the U.S. when he was in Saudi Arabia, considering it bad form for a president abroad.
“I’ve never been a fan of American presidents criticizing America on foreign soil,” Pence said. “And to have the president in Saudi Arabia questioning America’s global war on terror, and describing it as nation-building and interventionist, I thought was a disservice to generations of Americans who wore the uniform and who took the fight to our enemy, you know, in Afghanistan and in Iraq.”
Bernie’s marching orders:
In an interview with Stephen Colbert last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) talked about the message he’s trying to send on his joint tour with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) that it’s not just about fighting Trump, but having a vision of the future. “We have got to fight Trump every day because he is the most dangerous president, perhaps, in American history, but we got to do more than that,” Sanders said. “We have to have a vision, Stephen, of where we want this country to go.”
“We have got to use all of the tools we can in Congress and out in the streets,” Sanders said. “Our job is to organize people in every way to stand up politically in workplaces, in universities, on the streets to demand we have a government that represents all of us and not just the few.” Regarding Elon Musk, who’s stepping back from his work in government, Sanders asked viewers to “think about the obscenity of the richest guy in the world cutting programs for hungry children” and he said DOGE cuts have slashed cancer research by 31%, which “makes zero sense to me and to the American people.”
Sanders also said “what is going on in Gaza right now is horrific, that we are seeing children right now, as we speak, starving to death,” and he acknowledged that he believes more Democrats aren’t speaking out about it because of money. “If you speak up on that issue you’ll have super PACs like AIPAC going after you the same way Elon Musk goes after Republicans,” he said.
This filmmaker accused Malia Obama of copying her aesthetic for a Nike ad:
In an editorial for Business Insider, filmmaker Natalie Jasmine Harris accused former first daughter Malia Obama over similarities between an ad Obama directed for Las Vegas Aces player A’ja Wilson’s Nike A’One sneakers and a scene in her short film Grace about a Black Southern girl preparing to get baptized in the 1950s. Both Obama’s Nike ad and an early scene in Grace (at the 1:15 mark) show a game of pat-a-cake, and since both women competed at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Harris found the similarities intentional and asked for some acknowledgement.
“Since posting about the issue online, there have been a lot of people who don't understand my disappointment,” Harris wrote. “They're like, "You didn't invent pat-a-cake." And that's very true. But it's not about the game, it's about the cinematic tools used to depict it.”
Teddy Swims is a week away from breaking the record for longest-charting song:
Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” is at No. 7 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 in its 91st week on the chart. That ties the record for longest-charting song set in 2022 by Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves,” and the song could break the record next week. “Lose Control” previously hit No. 1 in 2024.
Charli XCX has a sleeper hit on her hands:
Five years after the release of her lockdown album How I’m Feeling Now, Charli XCX is releasing a new single. The singer released a music video for the fan favorite track “Party 4 U” on Thursday, and this week, the song climbs to No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“I really can’t believe that 5 years later one of the Angel favorites is having its own special moment,” Charli wrote in a handwritten note posted to social media.
Trump can’t stop picking fights with pop stars:
Doesn’t this guy have a day job? Trump has taken aim at a pair of musicians over the past week. He wrote on his social network of Taylor Swift, “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,' she’s no longer ‘HOT?’,” and after Bruce Springsteen criticized him during a concert in Manchester, England, Trump wrote that The Boss was a “dried out prune of a rocker.”
“In my home, the America I love — the America I've written about that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years — is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,” Springsteen said at his show before playing “Land of Hope and Dreams,” inspiring POTUS’s angry post.
Now Tino Gagliardi, president of the American Federation of Musicians, said his organization won’t be silent over Trump’s attacks on Swift and Springsteen. “Whether it’s Born in the USA or the Eras Tour, their music is timeless, impactful, and has deep cultural meaning. Musicians have the right to freedom of expression, and we stand in solidarity with all our members,” Gagliardi said in a statement.
I don’t care that it’s for a Smurfs movie, at least we have new Rihanna:
I’m jamming out to the new Rihanna song for the Smurfs movie because beggars can’t be choosers. “Friend of Mine” is the singer’s first new single since 2022’s “Lift Me Up” from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. Rihanna voices Smurfette in the film, and the song’s co-writer and co-producer Jon Bellion, who previously worked with Rihanna on her No. 1 hit “The Monster” with Eminem, told Billboard it’s not like anything the singer has recorded before.
“She’s not looking for ‘We Found Love 2.0,’ or ‘Work 2.0,’” he said. “The arrangement and the feel feels all very new — very cutting-edge, in front of what the next wave will be, because she usually tries to do that every time she puts something out.”
Katy Perry reportedly isn’t being invited back to Vegas:
Katy Perry was well paid for “Play,” her residency at Resorts World Las Vegas from 2021 to 2023. That’s thanks to a bidding war between Resorts World and Caesar’s for the rights to host the singer, but now a source tells New Nation that Resorts World lost money paying Perry between $750,000 and $900,000 a show for a residency that lost money.
“The residency was a disaster for Resorts World, a complete failure,” the source said. “No one wants to lose money like that in Vegas.”
High-profile testimony in the Diddy case:
Singer Cassie testified last week in the case against Sean “Diddy” Combs and she shared graphic, upsetting details about their relationship and said she was “basically a sex worker” while she was with him. You can read more here. Today, former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard testified.
Kim K testifies in Paris:
Kim Kardashian testified last Tuesday in the trial of 10 people accused of robbing her in 2016 in her hotel room during Paris Fashion Week. Kardashian said she was afraid she was going to be raped and killed.
“I am obviously emotional about it. This experience changed my life, my family's life,” she said. “Back home in the States I work in the justice system and I want so badly to be a lawyer and I fight for people to seek justice.”
Kardashian told one defendant “I forgive you,” and added, “but it doesn't change the emotion, the feelings and the trauma and the way my life has changed.”
Mark Cuban is out at Shark Tank:
Mark Cuban appeared in his final episode of Shark Tank Friday after 14 years as a judge. His final investment on the show was a joint deal with fellow judge Barbara Corcoran for $250,000 for a 20% stake in Deviled Egg Co. Cuban has invested in at least 85 companies on the show, according to the Wrap.
“I remember literally thinking, ‘This show is not gonna last. Just go on there, just tear it up, raise Hell, cause trouble,’” he said. “I really didn’t expect there to be a third season, and then, boom. It just blew up.”
Thanks for reading! See you next week. ⭐