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"Floating Island of Garbage"
Plus, a can-do attitude.
Good morning and Happy Tuesday! Here are the Flag’s Top Five stories that should be on your radar to start the day:
US: Virginia asks US Supreme Court to reinstate removals of 1,600 voter registrations (AP)
World: Israeli campaign leaves Lebanese border towns in ruins, satellite images show (Reuters)
Business: Robinhood jumps into election trading, giving users chance to buy Harris or Trump contracts (CNBC)
Technology: Dwyane Wade’s new statue goes viral after Miami Heat unveiling and more from around the NBA on Sunday (CNN)
Sports: Apple Intelligence exits beta (TechCrunch)
And of course, some good news: A real-life Rosie the Riveter, Jennifer McMullen, turns 100
BECOME A FLAG BEARER
🎆 Independence Day wouldn’t be complete without one explosive tradition. But who had the wild idea of setting the night on fire? The answer will surprise you...Want to learn the full history? Click here and become a premium subscriber today!
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In just the last few years, Masterworks investors have realized net annualized returns like +17.6%, +17.8%, and +21.5% (from 3 illustrative sales held longer than one year).
TRENDING
Right: The Ordeal and Triumph of Mr. Netanyahu, Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness
Right: GOP Has Made Strides In PA, But Will It Be Enough? George Parry, American Spectator
Right: Will Democrats Accept the Election Outcome? Peter Parisi, Washington Times
Left: If You're Panicking, You're Helping Donald Trump, Michael Tomasky, The New Republic
Left: Trump Unveils Most Extreme Closing Argument in History, Stephen Collinson, CNN
Left: The Lesson of Israel's Unfathomably Cruel War, Nesrine Malik, The Guardian
TRUMP
"Floating Island of Garbage"
Today’s Top Story: On Sunday, Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's "floating island of garbage" remark about Puerto Rico at a Trump rally drew backlash from Democrats, prompting distancing from the Trump campaign and Republicans.
Reporting from the Right: Pro-Trump comedian who told Puerto Rico joke at Madison Square Garden draws criticism from AOC, others (Fox News)
Reporting from the Left: As Trump courts their vote, comedian at his rally makes racist jokes about Latinos and Puerto Rico (NBC News)
RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT
This Didn’t Help
The Top Argument From The Right: That Trump-Rally Comedian Didn’t Do the GOP Nominee Any Favors, Jim Geraghty, National Review: “In the face of accusations that Donald Trump was holding a rally at Madison Square Garden that echoed a Nazi rally at the same site in 1939, one comedian took it upon himself to tell jokes about Latinos, Puerto Ricans, African Americans, and Jews, making the job of the Harris campaign much easier. … Residents of Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens, and roughly 6 million Americans living in the U.S. have Puerto Rican heritage, including quite a few in Pennsylvania. If you want to be a president for all Americans, and if you want to win votes among Puerto-Rican Americans, you should not feature a speaker who ‘jokes,’ ‘I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah, I think it’s called Puerto Rico.’ The Trump campaign made the bare-minimum effort to distance itself from that particular joke. … I don’t think you should joke in any circumstance that Latinos ‘come inside, just like they did to our country’…or that Puerto Rico is an island of garbage or that blacks like watermelons or that Jews love money… …you really shouldn’t do this at a political rally for the candidate you want to elect.”
Honorable Mention #1: Trump tries to recapture magic of convention with Madison Square Garden rally, Naomi Lim, Washington Examiner.
Honorable Mention #2: The Madison Square Garden Smear, Rich Lowry, National Review.
LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT
Proving Democrats Right
The Top Argument From The Left: With racist Madison Square Garden rally, Trump and his allies prove Democrats’ point, Steve Benen, MSNBC: “In 1939, for example, Nazis held a rally at MSG, billed at the time as a ‘Mass Demonstration for True Americanism.’ After Donald Trump's campaign announced plans to hold a 2024 rally at the same venue, a variety of Democrats…drew parallels between his scheduled event and the 1939 gathering. … Trump…lied uncontrollably, called the United States an ‘occupied’ country, peddled familiar grievances and conspiracy theories, and presented a closing argument to the electorate that reflected his radicalism. But before the GOP nominee even reached the stage, the audience was presented with an avalanche of racist and misogynistic comments. … Right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson joked that the Democratic vice president, who is of Black and Indian descent, would be ‘the first Samoan Malaysian low IQ, former California prosecutor ever to be elected president.’ A man named Tony Hinchcliffe…told attendees that Latinos ‘love making babies’ because ‘there’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside, just like they did to our country.’ He also targeted Puerto Rico, describing it as ‘a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now.’ … A handful of congressional Republicans denounced the attempts at humor, though they remained focused on Hinchcliffe, not the other speakers.”
Honorable Mention #1: Trump’s Madison Square Garden Event Was a Full Nazi Rally, Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic.
Honorable Mention #2: Trump fills Madison Square Garden with anger, vitriol, and racist threats, Adam Gabbatt and Ed Pilkington, The Guardian.
FLAG THIS
Potential Impact
Hinchcliffe’s remarks could alienate millions of Puerto Ricans across the U.S., potentially impacting voter turnout and swaying undecided voters in swing states where only a few thousand votes can decide the outcome. In Pennsylvania alone, there are 472,213 Puerto Ricans, a group that could be pivotal since Biden won the state by just 80,555 votes in 2020.
Additionally, approximately 100,000 Puerto Ricans reside in Georgia and North Carolina, while Arizona and Wisconsin have around 60,000 each—states where their votes could influence the 2024 election results (Newsweek).
While the Trump campaign has attempted to distance itself from Hinchcliffe, do you believe his remarks reflect Trump's values? |
WATERCOOLER
Glenn’s Return, Thrift Finds, Sweating Like a Pig
On This Day in 1998, nearly four decades after he became the first American to orbit the Earth, Senator John Herschel Glenn Jr. is launched into space again as a payload specialist aboard the space shuttle Discovery. At 77 years of age, Glenn was the oldest human ever to travel in space. During the nine-day mission, he served as part of a NASA study on health problems associated with aging.
Today I learned pigs don’t sweat.
POWERED BY MASTERWORKS
When incredibly valuable assets come up for sale, it's typically the wealthiest people that end up taking home an amazing investment. But not always…
One platform is taking on the billionaires at their own game, buying up and securitizing some of the most prized blue-chip artworks for its investors.
It's called Masterworks. Their nearly $1 billion collection includes works by greats like Banksy, Picasso, and Basquiat. When Masterworks sells a painting – like the 23 it's already sold – investors reap their portion of the net proceeds.
In just the last few years, Masterworks investors have realized net annualized returns like +17.6%, +17.8%, and +21.5% (from 3 illustrative sales held longer than one year).
The content is not intended to provide legal, tax, or investment advice.
No money is being solicited or will be accepted until the offering statement for a particular offering has been qualified by the SEC. Offers may be revoked at any time. Contacting Masterworks involves no commitment or obligation.
Contemporary art data based on repeat-sales index of historical Post-War & Contemporary Art market prices from 1995 to 2023, developed by Masterworks. There are significant limitations to comparative asset class data. Indices are unmanaged and a Masterworks investor cannot invest directly in an index.
“Net Annualized Return” refers to the annualized internal rate of return, or IRR, net of all fees and costs, to holders of Class A shares from the primary offering, calculated from the final closing date of such offering to the date the sale is consummated. A more detailed breakdown of the Net Annualized Return calculation for each issuer can be found in the respective Form 1-U for each exit. The 3 median returns above represent the ones closest in percentage to the median of the 12 exits with holding periods over 1 year.
Net proceeds distributed back represents the total liquidation proceeds distributed back to investors, net of all fees, expenses and proceeds reinvested in Masterworks offerings, of all works Masterworks has exited to date.
See important Reg A disclosures at masterworks.com/cd.
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