The Week Evening Review
Macron's gamble, Trump's anti-shark crusade, and the A-iPhone

 
Talking Points

Macron's high-stakes election gamble in France

It's a moment of reckoning in France. President Emmanuel Macron dissolved his country's parliament and called for snap elections after French far-right groups made significant gains in the EU elections. "I have heard your message," the president told French voters. Macron's "dramatic and surprise decision" could open the way for Marine Le Pen's anti-migrant National Rally party to take power.

The elections are a "huge gamble," said The New York Times. Macron is asking his country's voters what they meant by their pro-right EU votes. "Were the French letting off steam, or did they really mean it?" Politico asked. "They might mean it. At no point in history has the National Rally appeared closer to power." 

'We are the stakes'
The effort to make the National Rally more acceptable to French voters is led by Jordan Bardella, CNN said. He was handpicked by Le Pen to lead the party and has worked to rid it of its "antisemitic and racist overtones" while retaining its populist rhetoric. "We will act by expelling delinquents, criminals and foreign Islamists who pose a threat to national security," Bardella said. His efforts are proof that "what was once unpalatable and reserved to the fringes of French politics is now normalized and entrenched in the mainstream." 

Journalists keep using gambling terms to describe Macron's gambit and deservedly so, Jérome Fenoglio said at Le Monde. "The problem is that we are the stakes." Macron has long tried to reduce the allure of the far right, but he did so without implementing policies that get at the roots of concerns about migration, the climate transition and other issues that have powered the National Rally's rise. Now, an inflection point is at hand. 

Alliances made and unmade
An early sign of trouble for Macron is that France's other parties have rejected his bid to ally against the National Rally, said the Financial Times. Instead, center-right Republican party leader Eric Ciotti has called for an alliance with the National Rally, Reuters said. "This is what the vast majority of our voters want," Ciotti said. That means a "decades-old consensus" to keep the far right out of power has effectively ended. A new poll shows the National Rally leading with 34%, Bloomberg said. That's nearly twice the 19% of Macron's ruling Renaissance party. The two rounds of votes take place on June 30 and July 7.

 
 
QUOTE OF THE DAY

'The birth of this calf is both a blessing and warning. We must do more.'

Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Oyate in South Dakota and 19th keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe and Bundle, responding to news of the birth of a rare white buffalo in Yellowstone National Park. The birth fulfills a Lakota prophecy of better times to come but is also a sign that more work needs to be done to protect the earth and animals, tribe members said to The Associated Press.

 
 
The Explainer

Why does Trump talk about sharks so much?

Donald Trump is not what most people would call an "environmentalist." For years, he has referenced various animals, asking his top advisers how badgers "work" and expressing frustration at wind turbines, which he believes have "killed so many eagles." But one animal has been his focus above all others: sharks. Sharks are "last on my list," Trump said in 2013. Trump's thoughts about sharks surfaced again this past weekend during a rally when he pivoted to an anecdote about whether he would rather die by electrocution in a sinking electric boat or face a hungry shark waiting for him in nearby waters.

What does it mean?
Trump's shark-related comments highlight a "beef with the animals" that's "irrational, though not entirely unsurprising," The Daily Beast said. The former president "apparently doesn't enjoy swimming" and is allegedly "so disturbed by the sight of blood." While Trump's shark focus is a "baffling combination of pathetic, relatable and hilarious," it's a "distillation of what Trump hates the most: power in the hands of anyone but him."

Trump's latest shark comment came during a part of his speech where he "rails against electric cars and claims, falsely, that Joe Biden is dead set on making all military tanks fully electric and nonfunctional," Margaret Hartmann said at Intelligencer. His mindset may have political ramifications. "If voters return Trump to the White House, he would likely deploy a group of officials to work on the boat/battery/shark issue and expect them to report back on their progress," Steve Benen said at MSNBC. In Trump's mind, the issues are intractably, and actionably, related.

How has he impacted sharks?
Trump's distaste for sharks aside, he likely doesn't have much direct exposure to them. However, he may have had an indirect impact on them. As president, Trump's frequent trips to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida regularly disrupted Florida Atlantic University biologist Stephen Kajiura's research into blacktip sharks, since the "sprawling Palm Beach estate is 'right along the survey path,'" said The Washington Post. 

Conversely, Trump's anti-shark comments have prompted a significant "uptick in donations" for various shark conservation groups, the BBC said in 2018. One had the message "Because Trump."

 
 

Statistic of the day

2.6%: The percentage by which global GDP will grow this year, according to the World Bank, a boost from the organization's prior 2.4% global estimate. The increased growth is due to strong American expansion, as the U.S.'s GDP outlook was upgraded from 1.6% to 2.5%. However, many developing countries saw their estimates decrease. 
Bloomberg

 
 
In the Spotlight

The dawn of the A-iPhone

It's the "hottest and most widely telegraphed partnership in Silicon Valley," said the Financial Times, after Apple CEO Tim Cook announced on Monday a venture with artificial intelligence pioneer OpenAI. The tie-up, announced at Apple's annual developer conference, integrates AI into iPhones by embedding a suite of models into the operating system, under the "catch-all term" of Apple Intelligence. 

Pledge to improve 'human existence' 
The new features "showed off" by Apple can read your calendar, check traffic on routes, reschedule a meeting, draft a message to contacts, summarize articles, rewrite emails or sort texts according to priority, said Katelyn Chedraoui on CNet. "Groundbreaking" this is not. 

But think of Apple's plans as a "top-to-bottom makeover" of the iPhone, said David Ingram, a tech reporter at NBC News. The idea is that using AI on the devices will seem "so normal that sometimes you might not even notice it's there." 

"I get excited about helping people do things faster, better, higher quality," Cook said to The Washington Post. "Anything that improves the human existence. And I think AI can do that again, subject to keeping the rails on it appropriately." 

Privacy problems 
Tesla and X boss Elon Musk criticized the new features as an "unacceptable security violation." The billionaire accused Apple, without evidence, of "turning over user data" to OpenAI and warned that if the plan goes ahead, Apple devices "will be banned at my companies." 

Apple said the new system would be "rooted in privacy," with many features confined to the iPhone, without users' data ever leaving it. But the row "reflects the diverging views surrounding AI and how quickly the technology is being developed and implemented," said Sky News. 

Winning the 'consumer AI game' 
For Apple, AI is "not a separate service to sell but a way to make its core product, the iPhone, more attractive," said NBC News. By naming the system Apple Intelligence, the company is seemingly "trying to redefine 'AI' from an initialism for artificial intelligence" to one that refers to Apple itself. 

And that puts Apple in a powerful position, because those popular devices have "invaluable data," said Dan Ives, the managing director of Wedbush Securities. Apple "will win the consumer AI game."

 
 

Good day ?️

… for digital nomads. Thailand recently extended its digital nomad visa, allowing remote workers to stay in the country for up to five years. Previously, digital nomads could only stay for up to 60 days. Thailand is among dozens of countries that offer digital nomad visas, including Turkey, which recently debuted its own.

 
 

Bad day ?

… for Danish ramen fans. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration recalled three spicy flavors of Samyang's instant ramen line, saying it found the levels of the chile pepper extract capsaicin per packet "so high that they pose a risk of the consumer developing acute poisoning." The recall was a first for the South Korean company and wasn't due to quality but rather because it was "too spicy," the Danish agency said to the BBC.

 
 
Picture of the day

Market day

Camel herders gather at a market in Lahore, Pakistan, ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival, which begins on Saturday. The Muslim celebration is traditionally marked with livestock sacrifices.
Arif Ali / AFP / Getty Images

 
 
Puzzles

Test your general knowledge with The Week's daily crossword, part of our puzzles section, which also includes sudoku and codewords

 
 
The Week recommends

This summer's theater crowd-pleasers include musicalized adaptations of the iconic movies "Back to the Future" and "Mrs. Doubtfire," plus Kristin Chenoweth's return to the musical stage. 

'Back to the Future'
Yup, the DeLorean does indeed travel back in time (onstage) in this musicalized take on the '80s classic. A lot of visual and sound effects are required to pull off the coup d'theater. The production kowtows to our basest nostalgic impulses. Still, the show is an absolute romp. 

'Mrs. Doubtfire'
It has been more than 30 years since the Robin Williams star vehicle debuted in movie theaters. Now, the musical adaptation of the film takes its show on the road. Rob McClure reprises his celebrated turn as the protagonist, Daniel Hillard, who turns into a character nanny, Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire, to keep his kids close during a messy breakup. Bonus: McClure's real-life wife, Maggie Lakis, plays his character's onstage wife, Miranda.

'The Queen of Versailles'
Composer Stephen Schwartz and performer Kristin Chenoweth have not united since they debuted "Wicked" more than two decades ago. That's about to change as the pair, along with director Michael Arden, debut this new musical in Boston for its pre-Broadway run. It's an adaptation of the eponymous 2012 documentary, in which billionaire Jackie Siegel and her husband, David, set out to build a lavish mansion while the U.S. economy begins to collapse.

 
 

Poll watch

More than 3 in 10 Americans, a record high, say they will only vote for a political candidate who shares their views on abortion, according to a new Gallup poll. The poll surveyed 1,024 adults and found that 32% will only vote for a candidate who shares their abortion views, an 8-point increase since 2020. 

 
 
INSTANT OPINION

Today's best commentary

'Covid taught us a lot for future pandemics. Attacking Fauci doesn't make us safer.'
Dr. Ashish K. Jha at USA Today 
While "baseless attacks on Dr. [Anthony] Fauci may be comforting to some, it doesn't get to the heart of the issues — and certainly doesn't make our country better prepared for future pandemics and other health challenges," says Dr. Ashish K. Jha. The "idea of social distancing wasn't new," and Congress "unfairly attacked Dr. Fauci for the failures of the CDC and the Trump administration during the Covid-19 pandemic," even though Fauci was "internally pushing for better data."

'What exactly did Justice Alito say that was wrong?'
Marc O. DeGirolami at The New York Times
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has been "widely criticized this week for remarks he made," but "none of his remarks was improper for a judge to make," says Marc O. DeGirolami. Alito agreed that it's "important to win the 'moral argument' and 'return our country to a place of godliness,'" but he "did not mention any pending case or litigation," and his views are "not so extreme as to merit denunciation" from the public.

'It's time to finally pass the DREAM Act'
Janine Joseph at Newsweek
The DREAM Act has been introduced in Congress a "dizzying 10-plus times" since DACA passed, says Janine Joseph, and "something must give." Americans "must demand that our representatives support legislation that paves a more expansive and humane path toward citizenship for the estimated 11 million Americans living without legal status." It's "more than about time to pass the DREAM Act," especially since "at this point, the eldest DACA recipients are in their early 40s."

 
 
WORD OF THE DAY

sadfishing

The act of posting content on social media that exaggerates one's mental state to gain sympathy and attention. While the term was coined by a journalist to critique celebrities being disingenuous to push products, it has evolved into a catchall to describe attention-seeking behavior online. 

 
 

Evening Review was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass, Harriet Marsden, Joel Mathis, Summer Meza, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz, Anahi Valenzuela and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images; Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images; Jeff Spicer / Getty Images