Joseph Zeballos-Roig

A web page for the White House with the subbed “Media Offenders: Eric Garcia.”

Thanks for reading, Mr. President

“Mafalda” was recently translated to English for the 1st time. Surprised it took this long, but I wrote the column to recommend the strip as an enjoyable holiday read.

The malfunctioning world in the 1960s and 70s that Argentina’s Mafalda ragged on is still the same in many ways. She’s timeless

Argentina's Mafalda and lessons for capitalism in the Trump era Sometimes children are better at telling it like it is than the adults in the room — even a fictional girl from Argentina

“Perhaps Americans are a little more ready now to hear a young girl take apart politicians of all stripes at a moment when President Donald Trump is strong-arming private and public institutions into submission.. with little resistance.”

Me on the “Mafalda” comic strip:
qz.com/mafalda-arge...

Opinion | RFK Jr.'s latest anti-vaccine move will cause untold harm to autistic Americans The Trump administration is working toward treating autism as something to be prevented, rather than building a health care system that helps people.

For the past decade, conversations around autism shifted from focusing around curing #ActuallyAutistic people to accommodating and accepting autistic people. We now live in the RFK Jr. backlash, which shifts discussions around autism toward prevention
www.ms.now/opinion/rfk-...

from the former BLS commissioner whom Trump fired this summer:

Family Affair: Commerce Secretary’s Sons Cash In on A.I. Frenzy

NEW: As Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick drives billions of dollars in foreign payments to help build AI data centers in the US, his sons help run a company earning tens of millions in fees helping finance AI data centers. A NYT investigation. (Free link)

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/u...

New: Reuters has tallied job losses, suspensions and investigations stemming from the reaction to Charlie Kirk's Sept. 10 assassination. Its findings: More than 600 Americans have been punished, and the figure is likely to be an under-count.

www.reuters.com/investigatio...

I can think of at least one other authoritarian leader who also threatened broadcast licenses of TV networks he deemed hostile. A troubling threshold to cross www.ms.now/opinion/msnb...

bsky.app/profile/atru...

It was a long dinner, with plenty of intense back-and-forth about everything from the bailout, to deregulation, to the foreclosure crisis. I also talked to Larry about an idea I’d been working on for a new consumer financial agency and he seemed interested. We didn’t agree on everything, but I give Larry full credit: I’ll take honest conversation and debate any day of the week over the duck-and-cover stuff I so often saw in Washington that spring. Late in the evening, Larry leaned back in his chair and offered me some advice. By now, I’d lost count of Larry’s Diet Cokes, and our table was strewn with bits of food and spilled sauces. Larry’s tone was in the friendly-advice category. He teed it up this way: I had a choice. I could be an insider or I could be an outsider. Outsiders can say whatever they want. But people on the inside don’t listen to them. Insiders, however, get lots of access and a chance to push their ideas. People — powerful people — listen to what they have to say. But insiders also understand one unbreakable rule: They don’t criticize other insiders. I had been warned.

FWIW, Elizabeth Warren and Larry Summers go back years. They had this interaction in 2009 after the 2008 financial crisis and the ensuing Great Recession.
billmoyers.com/2014/09/05/i...

Joint Statement on Framework for a United States-Argentina Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and Investment President Donald J. Trump and President Javier Milei reaffirm the strategic alliance between the United States of America (United States, or U.S.) and the

White House unveils preliminary trade deal w/Argentina:

- Eases Arg beef imports to US
- Eliminates non-tariff barriers for US exports
- Tag-team for “stabilizing” global soybean trade (no soybean sales listed)
- Promise of future critical mineral trade/investment www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-st...

Trump on Truth Social this AM:

“A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone” from tariff funds

No idea how he pulls this off w/o going to Congress first. Trump once demanded $2k checks during pandemic. Rs swiftly rejected it

U.S. Senators comment on Elon Musk $1 trillion pay package Among many Democrats, Musk's payday stirred anger about a divide that risks cementing wealth and power at the top of American life

New: Checked in w/senators on Musk’s trillion dollar pay package, first of its kind

Dem Sen. Warren: “Time to start talking about Marie Antoinette”
Dem Sen. Kaine: “It’s gross”
Dem Sen. Warner: “Feels like a new Gilded Age”

GOP Sen. Lankford joked you can “go buy a country” qz.com/elon-musk-pa...

Edward Cody, globe-trotting correspondent at The Post, dies at 82 He reported on conflicts and disaster zones from Mexico to Lebanon. “Rarely in a career do you enjoy a task that is so solitary and intense,” he wrote.

RIP Ed Cody, a quintessential old-school foreign correspondent who could parachute into anyplace in the world, find the story and file within hours. He was never happier than when he was in the field running toward the sound of the guns. www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2...

IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax-prep giants The tax agency has quietly built its own prototype system for filing tax returns digitally and free of charge, according to current and former officials.

👀 Scoop: IRS Direct File, the free government-backed program that let you file your taxes for free, is dead.

IRS wrote to state tax agencies saying it would not be operational this coming tax season, per records I've obtained.

IRS Direct File: 2023-2025.

(Story from when the pilot launched.)

"As lungs need air, so the U.S. economy needs Latin American minerals."

—Eduardo Galeano, Open Veins of Latin America

👻Here’s a Halloween horror story: My newest column on what’s next for Argentina and its turbulent economy now that Trump has taken a stake in it bsky.app/profile/msnb...

Being an Anglo-Saxon country not great for borrowing costs right now.

Larry Summers on inflation, recession risks, and Trump vs. the Fed The former treasury secretary sees an economy staying sturdy despite Trump’s tariffs, his attacks on the Fed, and his interventions into businesses

Back in 2021, Larry Summers angered many liberals when he was ahead of the curve on inflation. His prediction turned out correct (though many liberals dispute the role of stimulus). Now, he warns @josephzeballos.bsky.social that inflation's still a big problem.
qz.com/larry-summer...

Larry Summers on inflation, recession risks, and Trump vs. the Fed The former treasury secretary sees an economy staying sturdy despite Trump’s tariffs, his attacks on the Fed, and his interventions into businesses

New: Checked in with Larry Summers on all the disruptions in US economy.

Summers more worried about inflation than recession + thinks US system starting to resemble a Latin American country.

He attributes record value of gold to fears about Trump intruding in private sector qz.com/larry-summer...

Inside Trump's big bailout bet on Argentina Trump’s bailout of Argentina is a fresh demonstration of his willingness to pick winners and losers — not just in corporate America, but among countries

🇺🇸🇦🇷New from me on Trump's big bet in Argentina.

One hedge fund manager has caught Sen. Elizabeth Warren's attention for possibly benefiting from the bailout. Rob Citrone of Discovery Capital Management, who once worked closely with Bessent and has a lot of $ in Argentine bonds qz.com/trump-argent...

In related news, let me know if you or someone you know has any interesting work opportunities!

Thanks Eric! Means a lot😄

Inside Trump's big bailout bet on Argentina Trump’s bailout of Argentina is a fresh demonstration of his willingness to pick winners and losers — not just in corporate America, but among countries

"For Javier Milei, it’s a good thing he married rich." Banger lede for @josephzeballos.bsky.social's piece on Trump's bailout of Argentina.
qz.com/trump-argent...

Inside Trump's big bailout bet on Argentina Trump’s bailout of Argentina is a fresh demonstration of his willingness to pick winners and losers — not just in corporate America, but among countries

🇺🇸🇦🇷New from me on Trump's big bet in Argentina.

One hedge fund manager has caught Sen. Elizabeth Warren's attention for possibly benefiting from the bailout. Rob Citrone of Discovery Capital Management, who once worked closely with Bessent and has a lot of $ in Argentine bonds qz.com/trump-argent...

We're Not Broken “This book is a message from autistic people to their parents, friends, teachers, coworkers and doctors showing what life is like on the spectrum. It’s also...

For no particular reason whatsoever, I wrote a whole book about why society should stop trying to cure #ActuallyAutistic people and instead focus more on creating a better world and society for them. You can buy it here.
www.harpercollins.com/products/wer...

Comey indictment, new blitz of tariffs on trucks, furniture, imported Rx drugs… Trump not easing up in attempting to overwhelm and blur the horizon with nearly simultaneous moves

Thank you!

Fantastic piece by @josephzeballos.bsky.social

CHOTINER: So You created us right
GOD: Yes
CHOTINER: In Your image
GOD: Yes
CHOTINER: And sometimes we do bad things
GOD: Oh Yes
CHOTINER: And then you send plagues and floods
GOD: OK I think I see where you are going with this

Opinion | Trump's attempt to cancel Jimmy Kimmel echoes Hugo Chávez The Venezuelan strongman threatened broadcast licenses to get more favorable coverage.

New for @msnbc.com: Trump threatened to yank broadcasting licenses for major TV networks he believed are “against” him.

It was Trump's Hugo Chávez moment, an offhand comment that could have just as easily come from the late Venezuelan leader as he amassed power www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...