POLITICO Nightly: MAGA’s El Salvador field trip

BY IAN WARD Presented by Citi Supporters of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele pose for a snapshot with a man disguised as the president during his inauguration ceremony outside the National Palace in downtown San Salvador on Saturday. | Daniela Rodriguez/AFP via Getty Images FAN APPRECIATION — As El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele was sworn in for his second term on Saturday, Donald Trump Jr. took to social media to post a video of him palling around with one of South America’s most controversial populists. “[Congratulations] on your victory and amazing accomplishments,” Don Jr. said to Bukele, who stood by with a grin on his face. “And you do it all without having to jail your political opponents!” His trip to San Salvador — where he was joined by a handful of other big-name MAGA emissaries including Tucker Carlson, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, and Kimberly Guilfoyle — was the latest and clearest sign that the right has fully embraced El Salvador’s leader ahead of a potential second Trump term. And Don Jr.’s comment — a not-so-subtle reference to his father’s recent criminal conviction in New York — was true, strictly speaking. But it belied a much deeper irony. Since entering office in June 2019, Bukele has fashioned himself as the world’s self-proclaimed “coolest dictator,” embracing a style of authoritarian rule that has rankled his critics and concerned pro-democracy groups around the world. Although he has not jailed his direct political opponents (nor, for the record, has President Joe Biden), he has ridden roughshod over El Salvador’s democratic norms. In 2020, he ordered the country’s military to occupy its parliament and intimidate the legislature to pass new funding for the country’s security forces, which he has used in his heavy-handed — yet ultimately successful — efforts to combat El Salvador’s notorious gangs and bring down its crime rates. Since then, he has consolidated the power of his political party through a series of dramatic changes to the country’s political and electoral systems , and has successfully pressured the nation’s top court to allow him to serve a second term , even though the country’s constitution technically forbids it. None of this, however, has stopped the American right from enthusiastically embracing Bukele — who began his career as a leftist before refashioning himself as a more explicitly reactionary populist — as a model of strong conservative rule. The embrace did not begin this weekend. In 2023, Florida Republican Sen. (and possible Trump vice presidential pick) Marco Rubio visited Bukele in El Salvador and came away praising him for having “brought freedom ” to the country. Earlier this year Bukele was met with rapturous applause at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC), where he delivered a speech with clear Trumpian overtones. Yet the extent of the right’s affection for the “Bukele model ” was more apparent than ever this past weekend. “We got the whole crew here,” Don Jr. pronounced in a TikTok video taken with Guilfoyle over the weekend. “Just promoting those who support freedom around the world.” The MAGA field trip to San Salvador was, at least in part, just savvy diplomatic box-checking: If Trump wins in November, his government will have to work closely with Bukele on a handful of MAGA’s policy priorities, like stemming immigration and combating the illegal drug trade. But it also fits into a more significant trend on the right. Ahead of a possible second Trump administration, the MAGA movement is increasingly looking abroad, both for future political allies and for instructive models of hard-right governance. The right’s embrace of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, for instance, has been extensively documented , but Orbán isn’t the only leader conservatives are looking toward for instruction. In recent months, prominent conservatives have also made overtures to Argentina’s arch-libertarian president Javier Milei (who was also in El Salvador for Bukele’s inauguration) and leading British Brexiteer Nigel Farrage . Trump, meanwhile, has praised a long list of foreign autocrats , calling Chinese president Xi Jinping a “strong gentleman” and saying he “fell in love” with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un. Back in the U.S., though, Trump is not alone in cozying up to Bukele. After expressing “deep concerns ” about Bukele’s anti-democratic behavior and keeping his government at arm’s length earlier in its term, the Biden administration has abruptly shifted its attitude toward Bukele , reportedly out of a desire to counterbalance China’s growing influence in the country and based on the recognition that Bukele’s iron-fisted crackdown on gangs and crime has led to a dramatic drop in out-migration from the country. In recognition of this shift, the administration sent a high-profile delegation to Bukele’s inauguration over the weekend, led by Homeland Security Secretary Alejando Mayorkas. Biden’s motivations for embracing Bukele may differ from Trump’s, but ahead of the 2024 U.S. election, Bukele’s tenure holds a lesson for both men. Even with his record of openly anti-democratic behavior, Bukele remains tremendously popular in El Salvador, having won re-election in a landslide. In polls and surveys , voters’ approval of his crusade against the gangs seems to outweigh any concerns over his incipient authoritarianism. (Plus, Bukele has relentlessly harassed his critics.) At least in El Salvador, appeals to safety currently appear to play better with voters than paeans to democracy. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at iward@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @ianwardreports . A message from Citi: Over one-third of suppliers reported focusing on nearshoring in 2023. With global flows and geopolitics continuing to change, supply chain resilience has proven to be critical – and as a result, nearshoring is gaining further momentum. Many companies are executing nearshoring strategies to diversify their supply chains, reduce risks associated with distant manufacturing hubs, and move production closer to their end-consumers. Learn more in the Citi GPS Report, The Future of Global Supply Chain Financing.   WHAT'D I MISS? — Anthony Fauci defends his Covid response, distances himself from adviser accused of misconduct: Fauci defended his handling of the pandemic in House testimony today, while seeking to distance himself from a longtime aide accused of misconduct. Fauci sought to refute allegations from Republicans on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic that he tried to suppress the theory that a lab accident in Wuhan, China, caused the pandemic. He said that idea is not a conspiracy theory and that he had kept an open mind about how the pandemic started. He has, however, endorsed a theory that the disease came from an infected animal. — Sen. Bob Menendez files for independent run in NJ amid corruption trial: Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, who’s currently on trial on 16 federal corruption counts, filed today to run for reelection as an independent , threatening to become a spoiler in a New Jersey race that Democrats would not normally fret about. The senator announced in March that he would not seek reelection as a Democrat but said he was “hopeful that my exoneration will take place this summer and allow me to pursue my candidacy as an independent Democrat in the general election.” — Supreme Court won’t hear InfoWars host’s First Amendment challenge to Jan. 6 conviction: The Supreme Court has rejected a petition from Owen Shroyer — an InfoWars host who traversed Capitol grounds with broadcaster Alex Jones amid the riot on Jan. 6, 2021 — seeking to overturn his misdemeanor guilty plea on First Amendment grounds. Shroyer accompanied Jones throughout the day on Jan. 6, helping lead the march from President Donald Trump’s rally to the Capitol while stoking the fury of thousands of Trump supporters who had just attended his “stop the steal” rally.   THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists. Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY .     NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 WELL SAID! THANK YOU PRESIDENT BIDEN! SPEAKING UP — President Joe Biden issued a rare public statement today on the criminal trial of Hunter Biden , stressing that he would not get involved in the matter legally or politically but conveying his affection for his son. “I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today,” the statement read. “Hunter’s resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he has brought to his recovery are inspiring to us.” “As the President, I don’t and won’t comment on pending federal cases, but as a Dad, I have boundless love for my son, confidence in him, and respect for his strength,” Biden added. The statement from the president came as Hunter Biden’s trial on gun charges got underway in Delaware, and a second over tax-related charges is slated to begin in California later this year. BALLOT ACCESS NEWS — This fall’s presidential ballot in battleground North Carolina appears poised to lengthen after three political movements seeking to run candidates filed voter signature lists with state election officials by a deadline today, reports the Associated Press. Groups that want Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West on the ballot — the We The People Party and Justice for All Party respectively — as well as the Constitution Party had initiated petition drives to receive official party designations. That would allow the groups to field candidates for any position in the November election, not just for president. Based on state law, the proposed parties had to collect at least 13,865 valid signatures from registered and qualified voters and turn in enough signature sheets by noon today.   A message from Citi:     AROUND THE WORLD President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum waves to supporters at the Zocalo, Mexico City's main square, early today. | Marco Ugarte/AP BREAKING BARRIERS — Claudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, became the first woman to be elected president of Mexico , winning Sunday’s vote in a landslide. Sheinbaum, 61, received nearly 58 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results from the Mexican electoral office. Sheinbaum is also the first Jewish person to lead one of the world’s largest predominantly Catholic countries. After thanking voters for their support, Sheinbaum emphasized the historical moment. “For the first time in 200 years of the Republic, I will become the first woman president of Mexico,” she told supporters. “We have achieved a plural, diverse and democratic Mexico,” Sheinbaum said. “Although many Mexicans do not fully agree with our project, we will have to walk in peace and harmony to continue building a fair and more prosperous Mexico.” Her party, Morena, is expected to have a majority in the legislature, according to projections by the electoral agency. Such a majority would allow her to approve constitutional changes that have eluded current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. FANNING FLAMES — The grisly killing of a police officer — captured on video by an onlooker and shared widely on social media — has sparked a highly emotional debate in Germany about migration and radical Islamism , just days ahead of the European Parliament election. The officer, identified as Rouven L., 29, died Sunday after being stabbed in the back of the head allegedly by a 25-year-old man from Afghanistan, who arrived in Germany in 2014. The political context for the attack could hardly be more sensitive. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party wants to turn this week’s EU election into a referendum on migration policy; the murder could provide just the ammunition it needs. The AfD has struggled lately with a string of recent scandals that appeared to have halted its political ascent and caused it to slip in polls. But wider concern over migration could provide the party with fertile ground. “Our thoughts are with all civil servants who have to put their lives in danger every day because of a misguided migration and security policy,” said the AfD’s national co-leaders, Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel. They called for “secure borders and a fortress Europe,” a stop to immigration and the “repatriation” of Afghan migrants already in the country.   JOIN US ON 6/12 FOR A TALK ON THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY : As air travel soars again, policymakers and airlines are grappling with a series of contemporary challenges to the industry's future. Join POLITICO on June 12 for a topical and timely conversation with government leaders and aviation stakeholders about the state of the airline industry. From what passengers want to what airlines need amid the high demand for air traffic, workers and technology solutions. What can Washington do to ensure passengers and providers are equipped to fly right? REGISTER HERE .     NIGHTLY NUMBER 12.6 percent The annual jump in percentage in compensation for CEOs who run companies in the S&P 500 , easily surpassing gains for workers, which stood at 4.1 percent. RADAR SWEEP BIRDS AREN’T REAL — It’s a fake internet conspiracy that’s now turned into a book: The U.S. government allegedly ran a “mass bird genocide” program in the 1950s, and birds have now been replaced entirely by drone-related lookalikes. One of the authors of this conspiracy theory called it an “experiment in misinformation.” And while it is in many ways a silly outgrowth of the internet, the theory also explains a lot about how we can understand how real conspiracy theories spread , writes Ian Beacock in The New Republic. Specifically, the “birds aren’t real” concept rests on the idea that the lack of evidence for their theory only proves that the government has taken on an extended campaign to cover it up — a common refrain in all sorts of real conspiracy theories as well. PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1968: A group of seated Poor People's Campaigners faced a line of police during a demonstration outside the Department of Justice in Washington. The demonstrators said they were demanding federal immunity for 13 Mexican-Americans indicted the previous week in an East Los Angeles, Calif., school protest. | Charles Tasnadi/AP Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here . A message from Citi: Over one-third of suppliers reported focusing on nearshoring in 2023. With global flows and geopolitics continuing to change, supply chain resilience has proven to be critical. As a result, many companies are finding it more relevant to execute a nearshoring strategy, shifting their manufacturing and production operations closer to their primary markets. Benefits associated with nearshoring include helping to diversify supply chains, bolster resilience, and reduce risks associated with distant manufacturing hubs. Explore this and other supply chain trends in the Citi GPS Report, The Future of Global Supply Chain Financing.     Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   FOLLOW US

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POLITICO Nightly: The impeachment gambit that could flip the House

 

BY CHARLIE MAHTESIAN AND CALDER MCHUGH Presented by Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol today. | Francis Chung/POLITICO CROSSOVER CRISIS — Today, Speaker Kevin McCarthy made a decision that could save his gavel for now but cost him the House majority next fall. After months of speculation and pressure from much of the House Republican conference, McCarthy announced that he would direct three House committees to open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Aside from the constitutional implications of the inquiry , the decision is all but certain to rattle the House election landscape next year. Why? The GOP currently has a narrow five-seat majority and there are 18 House Republicans who represent districts won by Biden in 2020. By comparison, there are only five House Democrats who represent districts won by Trump in 2020. Protecting those 18 seats is essential to Republican hopes of maintaining control of the House. It was a tough task to begin with, since many of those “crossover districts” are suburban-based and all but one of them are located in blue states. Now it’s likely to be even harder, which is why moderates have been trying to slow the hardliners’ rush toward impeachment. “Impeachment needs to be about the dad, not the son… as of now, I don’t support [an impeachment inquiry,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said, referring to what he called corruption by Hunter Biden for using his father’s name to enrich himself. Bacon occupies an Omaha-oriented district where the president defeated Donald Trump, 52 percent to 46 percent. Republicans like Bacon have good cause for concern, based on the political fallout of the first Trump impeachment. Of the two Trump impeachments, that’s the one that offers the clearer view of the political implications. The second Trump impeachment took place just as Trump’s term in office expired in 2021; the electoral consequences are impossible to separate from the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection that preceded it. Back in 2019, when Democrats held the House and initiated impeachment proceedings, 31 Democrats represented districts that Trump had won in the previous election. Eight of them lost their reelection bids, including Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), who voted against both articles of impeachment against Trump. When the dust settled after the 2020 election, 10 of the 31 crossover districts were gone: the eight where Democratic incumbents lost, a New Jersey district where Rep. Jeff Van Drew switched parties in large part because of impeachment-related political pressures and an Iowa district where the incumbent retired and the GOP won the open seat race to succeed him. The Democratic defeats in 2020 can’t be pinned on impeachment alone — there were other forces at play in nearly all of those contests. But the noise surrounding Trump’s impeachment unquestionably colored the debate that fall and the outcome. Republican challengers used impeachment to paint Democratic incumbents as being part of “the circus in Washington” or as lockstep supporters of Nancy Pelosi. In New York, where GOP Rep. Claudia Tenney knocked off then-Democratic Rep. Anthony Brindisi, she argued that in voting to impeach Trump, Brindisi had sided with the forces of socialism rather than preserving “American greatness.” Another political lesson from the first impeachment: Republicans in crossover districts are going to be on full blast from here on out. With the 2019 impeachment, the overheated rhetoric surrounding the political consequences began almost immediately. During the inquiry stage in fall 2019, the National Republican Congressional Committee pronounced the pursuit of impeachment “a political death sentence” for then-Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-N.Y.). (It wasn’t; he’s now the state’s lieutenant governor.) After Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) voted to impeach, his opponent described him as “toast.” (He wasn’t). McCarthy has insisted that beginning the impeachment inquiry won’t require a vote — a move assuredly intended to protect his crossover caucus. But hardline Republicans already calling for McCarthy’s head won’t be satisfied with an inquiry that goes nowhere; they’ll want to bring charges. There’s a good chance it spells doom for some of their colleagues in 2024. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s authors at cmahtesian@politico.com and cmchugh@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @PoliticoCharlie and @calder_mchugh .   A message from Citi: Generative AI is at an inflection point. With the recent announcements of AI-driven natural language processing (NLP) tools being integrated into search engines and the broader web, generative AI could be transformational in changing the business model of search and how we access content on the web. Access in-depth analysis on the potential implications in the Citi GPS Report, Generative AI.   WHAT'D I MISS? — Harris announces House bid after election fraud controversy: Republican Mark Harris announced today that he will run for Congress in North Carolina , five years after his campaign was the subject of fraud allegations. Harris is running for the state’s 8th District, which is expected to be an open seat with incumbent GOP Rep. Dan Bishop running for state attorney general next year. When Harris ran for the House in 2018, he initially led Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes after the votes were tallied. But the election board declined to certify the results and ordered a do-over election the following year amid accusations that McCrae Dowless, an operative hired by Harris’ campaign consultants, organized an illegal scheme to collect and mark absentee ballots. — Alex Jones colleague gets 60 days for Jan. 6 misdemeanor: A judge today sentenced InfoWars broadcaster Owen Shroyer — who shadowed his boss and ally Alex Jones onto Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021 — to 60 days in prison for breaching the restricted area. U.S. District Judge Tim Kelly handed down the sentence after contending that Shroyer, who never entered the Capitol building, played a role in “amping up” the mob at a sensitive moment during the riot. Shroyer’s foray onto Capitol grounds came even though Shroyer had been ordered to stay away from the area under a court-sanctioned agreement for disrupting a House impeachment hearing in 2019. — Trump privately discussed Biden impeachment with House GOPers: Donald Trump has been weighing in behind the scenes in support of the House GOP push to impeach President Joe Biden , including talking with a member of leadership in the lead up to today’s announcement authorizing a formal impeachment inquiry. The former president has been speaking weekly with House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, who was the first member of Republican leadership to come out in support of impeachment. The two spoke today, the same day House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced Republicans would be pursuing the inquiry, according to two people familiar with the conversation.   GO INSIDE THE WORLD’S BIGGEST DIPLOMATIC PLATFORM WITH UNGA PLAYBOOK: The 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly will jam some of the world's most influential leaders into four city blocks in Manhattan. POLITICO's special edition UNGA Playbook will take you inside this important gathering starting Sept. 17 — revealing newsy nuggets throughout the week and insights into the most pressing issues facing global decision-makers today. Sign up for UNGA Playbook .     NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 TOUGH TALK ON MEXICO — Former president Donald Trump proposed a naval blockade of Mexico. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged to send drones and Special Forces over the southern border starting “on day one.” And investor Vivek Ramaswamy imagined launching a “shock-and-awe” military campaign against drug cartels, reports the Washington Post. Republican candidates are engaged in a rhetorical arms race , vying to one up each other with tough talk on the U.S. border with Mexico, taking the 2016 rallying cry of Trump to “build the wall” to the next level. The bellicose proposals reflect widespread Republican outrage over immigration, as well as the ongoing crisis of opioid deaths. “It’s now time for America to wage war on the cartels,” Trump said in a campaign video. But Mexican officials and independent security analysts have cautioned that military force by the United States would fail to quickly stop drug trafficking while torching relations with its southern neighbor and risking significant casualties. AGED OUT — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that the ages of President Biden and former President Donald Trump are "absolutely a legitimate concern" for voters in the 2024 presidential race and believes Americans will be ready for the next generation of leadership if he is the GOP's pick to face-off against Mr. Biden in the general election. "The presidency is not a job for someone that's 80 years old," DeSantis, a GOP candidate for president, told "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell. "And there's nothing, you know, wrong with being 80. Obviously I'm the governor of Florida. I know a lot of people who are elderly. They're great people. But you're talking about a job where you need to give it 100%. We need an energetic president." THE 2024 CASH DASH — Political ad spending is projected to reach new heights by the end of the 2024 election cycle, eclipsing $10 billion in what would amount to the most expensive two years in political history, reports NBC News. AdImpact, a firm that tracks political ad spending, projects that campaigns and outside groups will spend $2.7 billion on ads in the presidential election alone, followed by $2.1 billion on the Senate, $1.7 billion on the House, $361 million on gubernatorial elections and $3.3 billion on other elections. It's no surprise that the presidential race is expected to drive the spending, as it does every election cycle. But the $10.2 billion projection for 2024 would be a 13% increase over the $9 billion spent in 2020, when two self-funding Democratic billionaires unsuccessfully ran for president. And it represents a massive increase from the $2.6 billion spent during the 2016 election cycle.   A message from Citi:     AROUND THE WORLD President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi attends a meeting during the 2023 BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 24. | Kim Ludbrook/AFP via Getty Images THAWING, NOT UNFROZEN — The Biden administration is pushing back after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said his government would choose how it will use the $6 billion in frozen funds set to be released by Washington in a prisoner exchange deal, writes Matt Berg . The deal, which would see South Korea releasing frozen Iranian funds to Qatar, marks a diplomatic breakthrough for the U.S. and Iran, as they have sparred over issues from the Iran nuclear deal to Tehran’s continued ties with Moscow. That money can be used only for humanitarian goods like food and medicine, the Biden administration has said. However, Raisi told NBC News that the money “belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money.” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller denied Raisi’s assertion, telling reporters on this afternoon that the funds would arrive in banks in Qatar and would be “under strict oversight” by the Treasury Department. “The money can only be used for humanitarian purposes,” Miller told reporters. “We will remain vigilant in watching the spending of those funds and have the ability to freeze them again if we need to.”   JOIN 9/19 FOR A TALK ON BUILDING THE NEW AMERICAN ECONOMY : The United States is undergoing a generational economic transformation, with a renewed bipartisan emphasis on manufacturing. Join POLITICO on Sept. 19th for high-level conversations that examine the progress and chart the next steps in preserving America’s economic preeminence, driving innovation and protecting jobs. REGISTER HERE .     NIGHTLY NUMBER 8.8 billion The number of dosage units — between pills, patches and lollipops — of 12 common opioids that were shipped in the United States in 2019, according to new data from the DEA’s Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System. That’s down sharply from the nearly 16 billion dosage units shipped in 2010, and yet coincides with a rise in opioid-related deaths, as illicit opioids — particularly heroin and illegally produced versions of fentanyl — increased. The distribution data is being released by lawyers after a judge ordered the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to share it with plaintiffs suing drugmakers, distribution companies and pharmacies. RADAR SWEEP EARLY WARNING SIGNS — In the last decade, it’s become clear that NFL players in particular have developed CTE — damage to the brain from repeated contact to the head. It’s shortened their lives and affected them in numerous ways, from increasing depression and suicide to other degenerative brain injuries. But now, as research develops, it’s become clear that these conditions can start well before the NFL comes calling . Children who play rough contact sports like football are also suffering from the effects of CTE — and some are dying from it, via suicide or unintentional drug overdose. For WIRED, Celia Ford looks into new research making this point and what it could mean for the future of youth contact sports. PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1968: A UNICEF helicopter is pictured practicing a food lift at Lagos Airport, Nigeria. A group of Americans, some with experience in the Vietnam War, piloted helicopters for UNICEF, dropping food supplies to aid starving Biafrans in Nigeria in the midst of a civil war that saw the Nigerian government fight with the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state. Televised images of malnourished Biafran children saturated Western media and increased humanitarian aid from NGOs to the region. | Dennis Lee Royle/AP Photo Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   A message from Citi: Generative AI is at an inflection point. With the recent announcements of AI-driven natural language processing (NLP) tools being integrated into search engines and the broader web, generative AI could transform the way we search for things on the internet, use information, and communicate with each other. By providing a conversational style response to an inquiry instead of links to suggested sites, generative AI could make the overall search and browsing experience more natural and intuitive, potentially reshaping the way we search for travel, buy goods, and research products. Access in-depth analysis in the Citi GPS Report, Generative AI.     Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   FOLLOW US

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