THE SHOW NOTES: Debt Redux and More Candidates, The Left Turns On Toyota, & Millennials Move Right

Welcome! The Daily Beast published a horrible attack against Casey DeSantis.

OUTRAGE: Men can record women in New York locker rooms if he identifies as trans. - Hot Air

QUESTION: Should taxpayers fund new sports stadiums?

WHAT I’M WATCHING: Go watch this clip of Nikki Haley on CNN last night.

WATCH: BlackRock's CEO Larry Fink said, "you have to force behaviors" in companies regarding "diversity and inclusion." - Twitter

NEW: CNN lost trust over COVID coverage, internal report found - SEMAFOR

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Market Crash?

Bearish bets from short sellers against the S&P 500 have spiked to levels not seen since 2007. The renewed sentiment against stocks ahead of a heavily predicted recession stands in stark contrast with a market that is up 12% in the first five months of 2023.

But: While the S&P 500 is up this year, the index would be negative without the contribution of its seven largest tech companies. If a few of these seven companies hit a rough patch, the entire index could turn negative quickly.

Reminder: Prediction, after prediction, after prediction, after prediction claims a recession is on the horizon in 2023.

Oil Going Up?

Saudi Arabia has announced it will be cutting its oil production in a likely sign that higher gas prices are ahead.

Again: This is the third consecutive significant cut by a member nation of OPEC+ since October of last year when Joe Biden's middle eastern trip was unable to prevent Saudi’s Mohammed bin Salman from cutting production before the midterm election.

Progressives Target Toyota

Progressives are attempting to oust Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda for the company’s decision to question the traditional notion of tackling carbon and the effectiveness of battery-powered electric vehicles.

How: When shareholders meet on June 14th, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and New York City’s public-worker pension funds are voting to remove Mr. Toyoda while a proxy advisory firm is pressuring other shareholders to do the same.

Why: Mr. Toyoda has been increasingly vocal about the issues surrounding the transition to electric vehicles. In a memo back in April, Toyoda said in regard to his competitors focused exclusively on battery-powered electric vehicles, “To meet the federal [zero-emissions] sales targets, 1.2M public chargers are needed by 2030. That amounts to approximately 400 new chargers per day.” Later he added, “more than 300 new lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite mines are needed to meet the expected battery demand by 2035” another stat that will be impossible to accomplish.

Toyota’s approach: The world’s largest carmaker is focused on hybrid and plug-in hybrid models that rely on the occasional use of a small engine and are significantly cheaper than their battery-powered counterparts. Toyoda claims, “The amount of raw materials in one long-range battery electric vehicle could instead be used to make 6 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles or 90 hybrid electric vehicles… The overall carbon reduction of those 90 hybrids over their lifetimes is 37 times as much as a single battery electric vehicle.”

The Wall Street Journal (paywall) said it best: “Mr. Toyoda deserves support for speaking the truth about EVs, and it’s a shame he’s the only auto leader with the courage to do it.”

Trump Praises Kim Jong Un

Donald Trump was roundly criticized for praising Kim Jong Un upon the news of North Korea’s election to the World Health Organization’s executive board.

HALEY: Kim Jong Un is a thug and a tyrant, and he has tested ballistic missiles against our allies. He’s threatened us. There’s nothing to congratulate him about. I mean, he’s been terrible to his people. He’s been terrible to America, and we need to stop being nice to countries that hate America.

KEMP: Taking our country back from Joe Biden does not start with congratulating North Korea’s murderous dictator.

PENCE: Whether it's my former running mate or anyone else, nobody should be praising the dictator in North Korea or praising the leader in Russia, who has launched an unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine. This is a time when we ought to make it clear to the world that we stand for freedom and we stand with those who stand for freedom.

Related: A toddler was sentenced to life in prison in North Korea after the authorities found a Bible in his parent’s possession.

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