America Party
Plus: David Cornswet’s photoshoot for GQ is perfect
It’s one year to go until America turns 250 years old. President Donald Trump said he’s planning a UFC fight on the White House grounds to celebrate and Elon Musk is planning an America Party.
Welcome to this week’s issue of Whig. Read to the end to find out which pop star scored 12 songs in Apple Music’s most-streamed songs of the past 10 years list despite releasing only one album in that time. We stan. — Hunter Schwarz
Trump signs megabill into megalaw:
Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law on Independence Day after it was approved in the House on a 218-214 vote. At nearly 900 pages, Republicans took an everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink approach to the megabill. “It is, in fact, the single most sweeping piece of legislation in American history,” New York magazine said.
Taken as a whole, the megalaw is a reverse-Robinhood take-from-the-poor-to-give-to-the-rich transfer of wealth, according to an analysis from the Yale Budget Lab. Researchers found the law will reduce the incomes for the bottom 20% of earners by about $700 annually and make sharp cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, while increasing the incomes for the top 20% of earners by about $5,700 annually. The legislation is expected to add $3.3 trillion to the national deficit over 10 years.
Thanks to its length, the White House is focusing on all the popular provisions, like no tax on tips and overtime in a parody BumpIt ad, and not mentioning anything else. The bill will help fossil fuel companies, Silicon Valley investors, chipmakers, defense contractors, airlines, school choice, sports-teams owners, private equity, manufacturers, real-estate developers, and private-student lenders, according to The Wall Street Journal. It will hurt A.I. and tech companies, electric vehicles, solar and wind, shippers and online retailers, food companies, universities, and hospitals.
These are the Republicans who voted no:
Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania were the only two House Republicans to vote against the bill. They join Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, and Rand Paul of Kentucky who voted against the Senate version last month.
Massie said he voted no because “it will significantly increase U.S. budget deficits in the near term, negatively impacting all Americans through sustained inflation and high interest rates.” Fitzpatrick, who represents a swing district former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024, said he voted no over Medicaid cuts and other changes made to the Senate version of the bill.
America Party:
Pissed over the megabill’s passage, Musk wrote on his social network X Saturday that he was starting the new political party called the America Party. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” Musk wrote. Trump said Musk has gone “off the rails.”
Deadly flooding hits Texas after cuts to National Weather Service:
More than 100 people have been killed in floods in Texas. The tragedy has raised questions about the role Trump administration cuts to the National Weather Service, or NWS, could have played in forecasting. The White House denied cuts played a role. Staff at nearly half of the 122 NWS field offices are down by 20% because of Trump cuts, and at least six offices are now no longer staffed 24 hours a day, according to the Associated Press.
And you just know Ted Cruz was on vacation for all of it:
The day after the Texas floods, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was spotted on vacation again, this time at the Parthenon in Athens. Cruz was last in hot water over the bad optics of poor vacation timing when he took a trip to Cancun during a storm in 2021.
Trump said he’s going to host a UFC fight on the White House grounds:
Speaking at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Independence Day Eve about plans for the United States’s 250th birthday next year, Trump said there’s going to be commemorations at “every one of our national parks, battlefields and historic sites,” and also, the White House will host a fight.
“We’re going to have a UFC fight — think of this — on the grounds of the White House,” Trump said. “We’re going to do that as part of ‘250’ also.” He suggested as many as 20,000 to 25,000 people could be there because “we have a lot of land there.” Happy birthday, I guess?
Tiffany shares baby snaps:
First daughter Tiffany Trump shared the first photos last week of her and husband Michael Boulos’s first child, Alexander Trump Boulos, who was born in May. “The love of our lives, ATB,” Trump wrote.
Jurassic World Rebirth is the No. 1 movie in the country:
The seventh Jurassic Park movie, starring Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali, opened with $147 million over its first five days in North America. That’s impressive for a 32-year old franchise, but the film’s three-day holiday opening was less than half of that of 2015’s Jurassic World, Variety noted.
Bad Bunny made Trump apologize in his new music video:
In the music video for “NUEVAYoL,” Bad Bunny included a shot of the Puerto Rican flag on display at the Statue of Liberty followed by a scene showing a group of men listening to a voice on the radio who sounds like Trump.
“I made a mistake," the Trump impersonator says. "I want to apologize to the immigrants in America. I mean the United States. I know America is the whole continent. I want to say that this country is nothing without the immigrants. This country is nothing without Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Cubans…” before the men turn the radio off.
Kesha’s first album on her own label came out on Independence Day:
Kesha told Vogue that the second she got out of her record deal with Kemosabe Record last year, “I was writing three songs a day, like a madwoman. I’ve never written so many songs in my life.” The resulting album, Period, “is a mess, in a good way,” according to Rolling Stone.
“I just want to add my flavor,” Kesha said. “Music is not a competition. In the pop scene and culture that I was raised in, these major labels would try to pit us against each other, and that is complete bullsh*t. When we come together, that’s where the power is.”
She had high praise for Sabrina Carpenter (“I love that people are so mad about Sabrina being hot”) and Charli XCX (“fully embodying her truest self”) and she said she thought female artists were “doing pretty good.”
Addison Rae performed “Diet Pepsi” with Lana Del Rey:
Lana Del Rey invited tour opener Addison Rae on stage during her shows at London’s Wembley Stadium Thursday and Friday, and the pair performed “Diet Pepsi” and “57.5” together, just like they were always meant to be performed.
Madonna stuns in Britney Spears tee:
We love to see mothers supporting daughters. Madonna wore a Britney Spears tee from the recent Balenciaga collection during a trip to the Morgan Library Museum last week. “It’s Britney B****!” Madonna wrote.
Wicked director Jon Chu is directing a Hot Wheels movie:
Jon Chu has been tapped to direct a movie about Hot Wheels for Mattel and Warner Bros Pictures (hopefully his Britney biopic comes first??).
“Jon’s ability to craft rich, elaborate worlds with a distinct point of view makes him the ideal storyteller to bring Hot Wheels to life. His films are visual spectacles — true eye candy — but what sets them apart is how he weaves unforgettable narratives within those stunning frames,” Mattel Studios’ president and chief content officer Robbie Brenner told Deadline.
David Cornswet’s photoshoot for GQ is perfect:
For a new GQ story about his upcoming role in Superman, David Cornswet was photographed by Noua Unu Studio in a shirt by Bode and vintage tie from DC Comics with an Oakley backpack. The rest of the shoot is just as good.
These are the most streamed songs in Apple Music history:
Apple Music is marking its 10-year anniversary with a playlist of its 500 most-streamed songs since 2015. At No. 1 is Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” with The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” at No. 2, Drake’s “God’s Plan” at No. 3, Post Malone’s “Sunflower” with Swan Lee at No. 4, and Malone’s Rockstar” feat. 21 Savage at No. 5.
Drake had the most entries with 27, followed by Taylor Swift with 14 (“Cruel Summer” is her top hit, at No. 57). Shoutout to Rihanna who released a single album in the Apple Music era and still managed to to score 12 songs in the top 500, lead by “Work” with Drake at No. 44.
Thanks for reading! See you next week. ⭐