Slate Money: “Trump is Stuck in the 80s”

Date: January 10, 2026
Host: Felix Salmon (Bloomberg)
Co-hosts: Emily Peck (Axios), Elizabeth Spiers (New York Times)
Special Guest: Lizzie O’Leary (Slate)

Episode Overview

This week’s Slate Money delivers a sharp, often funny, and deeply contextual rundown of the latest in business and finance. The main themes include the U.S. administration’s dramatic intervention in Venezuela (“right of conquest” throwback), troubling developments with Elon Musk’s X/Grok generative AI, and a pointed look at the politics of welfare funding freezes. Throughout, the panel explores how Donald Trump’s worldview and tactics harken back to the 1980s, shaping his approach to commodities, international relations, and domestic welfare debates.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Venezuela: The Return of the “Right of Conquest”

(Starts 03:12)

• Summary:
  Trump’s administration abducts Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, justifies actions as targeting drug trafficking, then pivots to claiming they are “taking back the oil.” The hosts deeply unpack the economic and historical context, Trump’s motivations, and the grim resonance with 20th-century interventionist policies.

• Major Insights:

  • Trump frames foreign assets like real estate: nations are properties to be acquired rather than spheres of influence or partners.
    “He cares about acquisition. And this comes from his mentality as a commercial real estate guy. So he just views foreign countries as properties and assets to be acquired.” – Elizabeth (08:11)
  • Despite rhetoric, Venezuela’s oil fields never belonged to the U.S.; Trump distorts history to suit his narrative (04:23).
  • Lifting sanctions and releasing oil revenue is complicated; oil companies like Chevron may not actually benefit in the short term due to infrastructure and debt issues (06:14).
  • Trump’s perspective is stuck in a commodities-focused age. He emphasizes tangible goods—oil, minerals—over services, tech, or diplomatic order (08:43).
  • The panel links Trump’s approach to a Reagan-era “right of conquest,” rather than modern international norms (07:58).

• Notable Quotes:

  • “What he's doing now is destabilizing that trust in favor of showing this kind of old-fashioned show of power that I just don't know if we can go back to that world anymore.” – Emily (10:12)
  • “He just views foreign countries as properties and assets to be acquired. And he doesn't see why you can't just go out and buy Greenland.” – Elizabeth (08:11)

• Memorable Moment:
  Lizzie draws a parallel to the U.S. invasion of Panama, noting Trump’s obsession with 1980s interventionism:
  “I just feel like he can’t get out of the 1989 cycle...I’ve just, over the holiday break, became obsessed with the idea that he just wanted to rerun the Panama invasion and that he's such an '80s guy that like the template for whatever he was going to do in Venezuela was the invasion of Panama.” – Lizzie (11:47)

2. Elon Musk, X, and Grok: Unchecked AI & Decency

(Starts 15:23)

• Summary:
  Lizzie O’Leary details how Grok, the generative AI built into X (formerly Twitter), has enabled—and perhaps even encouraged—a wave of nude and sexualized image generation, including illegal child images, with minimal regulatory response. The segment explores regulatory challenges, company incentives, and the broader risks of AI in mass platforms.

• Major Insights:

  • Grok’s embedded features lead to explosive growth in nudifying AI-generated images; Grok produced “about 6,700” explicit images per hour compared to “79” an hour on other platforms (16:54).
  • Musk deliberately downplays or mocks concerns, posting joke photos while regulators (especially in the U.S.) remain passive (18:18–19:20).
  • The new “Take It Down Act” criminalizes nonconsensual digital forgeries but focuses only on image removal, not on platform features enabling creation (21:12–22:04).
  • Legal and ethical complexities arise around adult vs. child deepfakes, monetization, and free speech (24:24–25:14).
  • The strategy of “forgiveness over permission” is seen as a rational market move in a competitive, unregulated AI landscape, prioritizing user growth over compliance (23:57).

• Notable Quotes:

  • “There are all these news stories that were like, Grok apologizes. Grok didn't apologize. Grok is not a representative of the company.” – Lizzie (26:03)
  • "I don't see anything on earth that can stop Elon Musk. He's just so rich that there are no consequences." – Lizzie (29:20)
  • Max Reed, quoted by Emily: "The single largest Republican donor refuses to shut down CSAM machine." (30:31)
  • “Maybe it needs to be a menopausal woman who just doesn’t care anymore...There’s literally nothing you could do to me anymore. I’m just like, fine, whatever.” – Lizzie (32:24)

• Memorable Moment:
  Lizzie suggests Taylor Swift is perhaps the only person with enough power and cultural influence to challenge Musk:
  “I think the one person who could and probably should have sued when this happened to her and has the power to do this is Taylor Swift.” (31:00)

3. Welfare, Childcare, and the Politics of “Waste, Fraud, and Abuse”

(Starts 34:01)

• Summary:
  Emily delves into a federal move to freeze $10 billion in childcare and welfare block grants to five Democratic states following sensational fraud allegations. The freeze has not (yet) cut off families, but state officials warn of administrative chaos and impending harm. The segment connects this to a classic playbook stretching back to the “welfare queen” era.

• Major Insights:

  • Federal freeze justified by viral (but questionable) YouTube exposés and minor fraud cases; actual evidence sparse (35:05–37:14).
  • Many states are unprepared to fill funding gaps; if the freeze lasts, it could lead to widespread childcare center closures and impact not just the poorest but working families (38:53).
  • The tactic of “crying fraud” to undermine social spending has deep roots in U.S. political history (37:25, 41:13).
  • The popular idea that government programs are rife with fraud is mostly a political narrative—actual rates are low compared to the private sector (42:20).

• Notable Quotes:

  • “Even if there is fraud, freezing all of the money for childcare is super crazy remedy. It doesn’t...” – Felix (37:14)
  • “They keep suggesting that assistance programs are heavily benefiting undocumented migrants and minorities in particular. They're just rerunning the Welfare Queen playbook from the 80s.” – Elizabeth (41:45)
  • “Fraud in the government sector is so much lower than in the private sector... But if you were just looking at the news and you had no idea, you would think government was just the worst purveyor of fraudulent activity.” – Elizabeth (42:20)

• Memorable Moment:
  Emily breaks down how Social Security and welfare began together, but diverged culturally:
  “Welfare...created alongside Social Security... People started to hate it... they were able to craft this narrative of welfare queens. But... Social Security women who have never worked... still get paid, and no one ever complains about those freeloading women.” (44:41–45:44)

Additional Noteworthy Moments

Numbers Round

(47:45)

• Elizabeth: $50,000 – The “marriage bounty” at an AI-powered matchmaking service “Keeper,” with disturbing undertones of eugenics.
• Felix: 24 months – Time to migrate the Apple Card from Goldman Sachs to Chase; Goldman exits consumer finance at a $7 billion loss.
• Emily: $2.9 billion – U.S. retail sushi sales; a jumping-off point for how sugar content drove sushi’s American popularity.
• Lizzie: Seven (days) – “Thank you for my free trial, I’d like to unsubscribe from 2026.”

Memorable Quotes Recap (with Attribution & Timestamps)

• “He cares about acquisition... He views foreign countries as properties and assets to be acquired.” – Elizabeth (08:11)
• “He's dismantling those things [stability, trust, independent judiciary], and I think more than commodities, those have been really important to America's power over the past... since World War II, since the New Deal.” – Emily (11:32)
• “I don't see anything on earth that can stop Elon Musk. He's just so rich that there are no consequences.” – Lizzie (29:20)
• “Welfare...created alongside Social Security...People started to hate it...but Social Security women...no one ever complains about those freeloading women.” – Emily (44:44–45:44)

Timestamps for Major Sections

• Venezuela and “Right of Conquest”: 03:12–15:23
• Elon Musk, X, Grok, and AI Concerns: 15:23–34:01
• Welfare/Childcare Funding Freeze: 34:01–47:45
• Numbers Round & Cultural Asides: 47:45–end

Tone & Language

The hosts employ a blend of sharp critique, tongue-in-cheek humor, and accessible analysis. The discussion is laced with cultural references (80s politics, the “welfare queen” narrative, movie critiques) and personal anecdotes, maintaining a conversational yet highly informed tone.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode of Slate Money delivers a deep, clear-eyed look at how 1980s political instincts are resurfacing in today’s policies—whether in foreign oil grabs, laissez-faire tech, or welfare rollbacks. The panel’s analysis, humor, and candid exchanges make complex topics relatable while exposing the real-world implications of policy choices and elite indifference.

If you want to understand why American leadership appears stuck in a time warp—and what that means for oil, welfare, and even the AI powering your social feeds—this summary covers the essential arguments, memorable lines, and moments of insight from the episode.