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Monday, May 5, 2025

'Muslim support for Democrats plunges as group opens to Trump’s Gaza plan: poll'

Only a third of Muslim-Americans identify as Democrats as the party reels from political setbacks with a bloc of voters it hemorrhaged in the 2024 election cycle, according to a stunning survey exclusively shared with The Post.

When asked to identify their political party, 34% of Muslim respondents said Democrat, 34% said independent and 33% said Republican, according to a survey conducted by J.L. Partners last month in partnership with the Muslim American Leadership Alliance.

Meanwhile, a plurality (49%) opposed President Trump’s plan to transform the Gaza Strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” with 26% saying they supported the idea and 16% not giving an opinion one way or another.

Trump, 78, made waves Feb. 4 by suggesting that the US should “take over the Gaza Strip” and transform its coastal land into “the Riviera of the Middle East” after relocating its roughly 2 million Palestinian residents to neighboring countries.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly backed the plan, but Arab nations emphatically rejected it.

Many of Trump’s key policies drew support from Muslim-Americans, such as his push to deport illegal immigrants (43% support, 33% oppose), additional oil exploration (44% support, 25% oppose) and removing taxes on tipped income (62% support, 12% oppose).

Respondents also said Trump was more likely than his predecessor, Joe Biden, to broker peace in the Middle East by a margin of 52% to 48%.

During the 2024 campaign, then-Vice President Kamala struggled with liberal and progressive infighting over the Israel-Hamas war.

Despite her efforts to please both sides, Harris, 60, won just 20.3% of Muslim voters, down from the 69% Biden garnered in 2020, shocking exit poll data from the Council on American-Islamic Relations found.

By contrast, Trump notched 21.4% of Muslim support while Green Party nominee Jill Stein locked down 53%, CAIR’s data found.

About 11% of respondents in the J.L. Partners poll indicated that they have since come to regret their vote, while 72% said they’re still happy with theirs.

The survey also found that a shocking 29% support Hamas the most in the conflict, while just 14% favor Israel and 44% said neither side.

Democrats have been hoping that Trump’s staunch support of Israel could help the party recover lost ground with Muslim Americans. The J.L. Partners poll showed that Dems have managed to regain the edge over Republicans but are still generally below where they were five years ago.

A slim majority — 52% — view the Democratic Party very or somewhat favorably, while 36% see it unfavorably, the poll showed.

Meanwhile, 45% said they intend to back a generic House Democrat compared to 38% who plan to back a generic House Republican.

The J.L. Partners survey sampled 503 Muslims April 10-18 and had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.4 percentage points.

The sample was comprised of 278 males and 225 females.

https://nypost.com/2025/05/05/us-news/muslim-support-for-democrats-plunges-as-group-opens-to-trumps-gaza-plan-poll/

Harris, Emhoff take 25 Secret Service agents, bodyguards for jaunt to NYC hotspot Polo Bar

Kamala Harris took more than two dozen bodyguards, including taxpayer-funded Secret Service agents to dine out with husband Doug Emhoff enjoyed a date night at one of New York City’s most exclusive bars.

The failed Democrat presidential candidate was spotted leaving celeb hotspot The Polo Bar on East 55th Street on Sunday night ahead of her rumored appearance at Monday’s Met Gala.

Inside, the couple mingled with the elite guests, many of whom had booked their tables weeks in advance, and posed for pictures and chatted with patrons.

Pictures show at least 25 bodyguards including Secret Service agents and NYPD officers flanking the couple or waiting outside, where four bulletproof cars and three additional SUVs were stationed.

As a former vice president, Harris and her family are entitled to federally funded protection for about six months after leaving office.

The Polo Bar is known as one of the toughest reservations to get in New York.

Seats at the Ralph Lauren-owned bar are released roughly a month in advance, and the dress code is strict.

T-shirts, athleticwear, beachwear, hoodies, hats and ripped jeans are all forbidden.

A corned beef sandwich will set you back $36 while the most expensive bottle of wine, a Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, costs a staggering $14,500.

https://nypost.com/2025/05/05/us-news/kamala-harris-and-doug-emhoff-take-25-secret-service-agents-bodyguards-for-jaunt-to-nyc-hotspot-polo-bar/

FTC, DOJ order federal agencies to root out rules stifling competition

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Justice Antitrust Division on Monday directed federal agencies to list regulations that may stifle competition.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/4441244-ftc-doj-order-federal-agencies-to-root-out-rules-stifling-competition

What Recession: Goldman Now Expects Q2 GDP To Surge To 2.4%

One month ago, Goldman's Jan Hatzius became the butt of Wall Street nerd jokes when in the span of 73 minutes, the bank's chief economist revised his US outlook to make a recession his base case forecast... only to flipflop just over an hour later when Trump announced a delay to his tariffs, reverting to his previous "non-recession baseline", yet one where he still sees a 45% chance of recession.

It was also around this time when we predicted that, amid the panic and chaos on Wall Street which saw virtually every economist make a recession their base case scenario, it would be about a month when we would see a wholesale - and very quiet - walk back, as "all the banks who made a recession their base case this week, make an unrecession their base case."

Will be so slightly awkward when all the banks who made a recession their base case this week, make an unrecession their base case in 1 month.
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 8, 2025

We didn't have long to wait, and with most banks now quietly revising their economic estimates higher - certainly far more quietly than they were to declare that a recession is imminent - overnight Goldman became the flagbearer (bearing the white flag that is), when Hatzius published a report in which he now anticipates Q2 surging to 2.4% from -0.3%, which would make it higher than the average GDP print reported since the start of 2022.

Not only that, but when discussing the -0.3% GDP print for Q1, Goldman said that "inventory investment was significantly understated, which means that GDP was significantly understated too." In short, Q1 GDP will be revised positive, and Q2 could push to 3% or higher!

Here is how Hatzius justified his forecast which effectively punts a recession (which is defined as two consecutive quarters of declining GDP) at best into early 2026, and most likely indefinitely.

Q1 GDP printed at -0.3% annualized, but frontloading of imports probably significantly understates this number. In theory, frontloading should be neutral because it boosts imports (which enter the calculation of expenditure-side GDP negatively) but raises consumer spending, business fixed investment, and inventory investment (which all enter positively) by an equal amount. In practice, we believe inventory investment was significantly understated, which means that GDP was significantly understated too.

We expect this distortion to reverse in Q2. Our current forecast of +2.4% assumes that measured imports decline sharply but measured inventory investment remains solid as the distortion unwinds. However, this is highly uncertain, in part because the distortion could also unwind via upward revisions to Q1 GDP.
Domestic final sales excludes both inventories and net exports and is therefore a somewhat better gauge of underlying growth. But it is far from perfect and was probably distorted upward by frontloading of goods spending. We expect domestic final sales growth to slow to 0.3% in Q2 from 2.3% in Q1, reflecting a more modest pace of consumption growth (+1.2% vs. +1.8%) and a sharp decline in equipment investment (-10.2% vs. +22.5%) reflecting a decline in imported computer and communications equipment after a frontloading-led surge in Q1.

There is more in the full Goldman note (available to pro subs) but you get the message. And now that Goldman has effectively taken a recession off the table for the near future, expect every other bank to do the same, just as we said they would one month ago when conventional wisdom was apocalyptic... and dead wrong.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/what-recession-goldman-now-expects-q2-gdp-surge-24

Short-seller Wolfpack Research long Intuitive Surgical

On Monday, Wolfpack Research, a firm known for its short-biased research, has expressed a favorable stance on Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG), a developer of robotic-assisted technologies. The research firm’s bullish view is based on Intuitive Surgical’s recent announcement of a significant increase in its stock repurchase program.

Intuitive Surgical has declared that it will buy back up to $4 billion of its own stock, effectively tripling the size of its existing buyback program. This move by Intuitive Surgical is aimed at enhancing shareholder value.

Wolfpack Research’s positive outlook on Intuitive Surgical is also influenced by the company’s decision to insource the production of surgical drapes. This move has implications for UFP Technologies, a company that has relied heavily on Intuitive Surgical as its biggest customer.

The research firm pointed out that UFP Technologies’ dependence on Intuitive Surgical for growth was never a sustainable strategy. Given Intuitive Surgical’s scale and desire to improve margins, the decision to produce surgical drapes in-house is a logical one. This change in strategy significantly reduces any leverage UFP Technologies had with Intuitive Surgical to drive its own growth.

While Intuitive Surgical’s management team is investing in the company’s future and enhancing value for shareholders, UFP Technologies’ insiders, including the CEO and CFO, have sold $48 million worth of their own stock.

This shift in Intuitive Surgical’s strategy, coupled with the increased stock repurchase program, has led Wolfpack Research to take a long position on the company. The research firm’s stance is based on the belief that Intuitive Surgical’s actions demonstrate a strong commitment to improving its financial performance and shareholder value.

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/shortseller-wolfpack-research-long-intuitive-surgical-93CH-4022641

Newark Airport Radar Loss Last Week Left Controllers Blind for 90 Seconds

Air traffic controllers guiding planes bound for Newark Liberty International Airport lost radar and radio communication for more than a minute early last week before flights at the key hub were snarled for days, according to people familiar with the matter.

The outage of those key systems occurred on April 28 and lasted nearly 90 seconds, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the matter because it isn’t public. Following the incident, multiple employees were placed on trauma leave, the people said.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-05/newark-radar-loss-left-controllers-guiding-blind-for-90-seconds

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