Weekend Report: What's happening?

German chancellor slams Vance for supporting neo-Nazi party. Trump's cuts in federal spending set to harm rural America. Republicans in red states worry constituents will be devastated.

So much is happening so quickly that many stories don’t get the attention they deserve. Not that other stories don’t deserve the attention too. There’s just not enough bandwidth. The scandal over the quid-quo-pro between New York Mayor Eric Adams and Trump over dropping charges against Adams is huge. But also stunning is JD Vance—a Catholic—being chastised by the pope. And then, after JD Vance stunned the world by speaking to the Munich Security Conference and telling Germans to back the neo-Nazi AfD party, the German Chancellor struck back.

MAGA voters who supported Trump didn’t seem to realize that cuts in federal spending would harm them the most—where does most federal money go, after all, but to needy red states?—and are blown away. From national parks—which bring in tourist dollars—to electricity for rural America and farmers hurt by cuts to foreign aid, Trump voters seem to be reeling. And if they’re not, they soon will be as cuts go into effect.

Red State Republicans, meanwhile, are trying to pushback—pretty late to be doing that—and carve out exceptions for their constituents, and the outcry is growing louder. But Elon Musk—and Trump—couldn’t give a damn about them and their constituents. Something they should have thought about a long time ago.