Why Trump's handling of classified documents is different

Transcript

NIALA BOODHOO: Good morning! Welcome to Axios Today! It’s Monday, June 12th. I’m Niala Boodhoo. Today: an onslaught of tipping requests turns some consumers off. But first, how Trump’s handling of classified documents differs from other politicians. Understanding his indictment and reaction to it is today’s One Big Thing.

Trump reacts to indictment

NIALA: Donald Trump's federal indictment on Thursday has ratcheted up the former president's rhetoric and unleashed a new wave of anger from his supporters ahead of Trump's court date tomorrow. We have Axios’ Alex Thompson with some analysis. Hi Alex.

ALEX THOMPSON: Hey, how are you doing?

NIALA: Alex, let's start with the Republican reaction. What did we hear this weekend from the former president and his supporters?

ALEX: Well, even before the indictment was unsealed on Friday, you already saw many leaders of the Republican Party coming out and supporting him even before they knew the details. They were essentially calling this a case of selective prosecution. You had one of his rivals, Vivek Ramaswamy, pledged to pardon him on day one. You had several other rivals basically say they were gonna reform the Justice Department in a significant way. And you had some Republicans speaking out. You had Governor Asa Hutchinson, who's running for the 2024 nomination, criticized Trump and has called on him to potentially drop out. And you had Trump's own former Attorney General Bill Barr, who you may remember was the one that basically put an end to the Russia probe and declared Trump not guilty, and, you know, really criticize Trump on Fox News Sunday. But the key thing about those two people is Asa Hutchinson is no longer in office. And Bill Barr is no longer in office either. So the Republicans that are in office and have political ambitions, recognize that the voters, the Republican party, are still very much behind Donald Trump, and as a result, they are behind Donald Trump.

NIALA: Alex, there are some people who are raising some warning flags based on the tenor of some of the things the former president and some of his more ardent supporters, like Keri Lake, said over the weekend. Why is that?

ALEX: That's because Keri Lake essentially said that if you want to go through Trump, you have to come through me and millions of our other supporters. And by the way, we all have NRA memberships. And there's some people on the center right that say, hey, this is just rhetoric. But you know, as we learned on January 6th, some people take this stuff very seriously, and you know, I think there is serious concern about any sort of political violence on Tuesday when Trump is expected to appear in court for his arraignment in Miami around 3:00 PM Eastern.

NIALA: Some people are asking why Trump was charged over classified documents, but probes into Hillary Clinton, President Biden and former Vice President Pence did not lead to charges. Can you explain that for us?

ALEX: You know, this is part of Trump's playbook whenever, is to sort of use a little bit of what about-ism: What about that case? What about this case? And every case is very different. So, obviously Hillary Clinton was thoroughly investigated. They essentially found that, while her behavior was sloppy, it didn't rise to a criminal standard. The main difference between the “classified documents,” quote, unquote between Mike Pence and Joe Biden and Donald Trump is what happens after. The National Archives asked for the documents back, so in the cases of Joe Biden and Mike Pence, they had classified documents. That's bad. The difference is that once they were notified about it, they did return it. We have not seen all of this evidence, and Trump has the presumption of innocence. But if you look at the government's case, it becomes clear that they believe they ask for these documents back. Trump sort of, delayed, delayed, delayed, made excuses. Eventually they got to the point where they needed to send a subpoena to Trump. And then even after the subpoena, Trump still kept many of the documents and deceived them. So clearly, the fact that he kept defying the request to return the documents is really why he's in trouble now.

NIALA: Alex Thompson is Axios’ national political correspondent. Thanks Alex.

ALEX: Thank you so much.

The anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting

NIALA: While Miami prepares for former president Trump’s court appearance tomorrow…elsewhere in Florida, the Orlando community is marking 7 years since the Pulse nightclub shooting that killed 49 people. For some, the anniversary this year takes on a new significance in the face of a host of laws targeting LGBTQ+ people in the state.

Last month, Governor Ron Desantis signed several bills into law that are set to go into effect July 1. They include a ban on gender-affirming care that would criminally penalize doctors for providing it, and a ban on using preferred pronouns in public schools. We’ll have more on this later in the month.

After the break, our new era of tipping.

Tipping requests turn some consumers off

NIALA: Welcome back to Axios Today. I'm Niala Boodhoo.

If you've been out to a restaurant, coffee shop, or even the doctor's office lately, you've probably come across a tip screen asking you to choose a percentage of gratuity to add when you swipe your card. Last week I had a tip screen that asked me to tip 30%.

One third of Americans say they're annoyed by pre-entered tip screens, and 66% have a negative view of tipping. That's according to a new Bankrate survey. Axios’ Kelly Tyko is here with more on this trend and the social pressure of tipping. Kelly. Why are we seeing more of this now? Tipping used to be expected in very specific kinds of service, like for wait staff who you know are relying on it. Why is this category broadened so much, especially in the past year?

KELLY: Technology is to blame. It's no longer about just the traditional old tip jar. Technology has made it easier for businesses to add that screen. Sometimes it's with the provider that they're using. But I really feel that technology is the main reason that we're seeing so much more of this even in untraditional venues. I heard about the doctor's office and I thought that was a little much. I have not seen that one personally myself.

NIALA: I have to say, most of these places where tip screens pop up, the employee is standing right in front of you. It seems a bit awkward.

KELLY: Yes. I think it's also very awkward when you think about the people behind you on line. You know, you might be wondering what are they tipping or are they gonna be able to see what I'm tipping? So, and the fact that that tip screen won't go away until you pick something, it makes you have to either pick a tip or pick no tip. And that's what's awkward.

One of the experts I talked to, Vanderbilt University professor Kelly Goldsmith, said that no one wants to be that jerk that hits no tip, and that's called guilt tipping, where you're like, one reason that you leave the tip is you're guilty if you don't. That's also that social pressure that we're, we're thinking about.

NIALA: But Americans are also struggling with the economic stress of inflation. How have people's tipping tendencies changed, especially as we've seen inflation go up, Kelly?

KELLY: Right, and inflation is a big reason why people are tipping less right now, and that's according to Bankrate. The pandemic is really what accelerated the trend towards tipping, especially when restaurants weren't open for dine in service, but that trend is starting to go down. In 2021, 75% always tipped for sit down service, and that changed to 73% last year, and 65% this year say they're always leaving a tip. For food delivery service in 2021, 59% of us were always leaving a tip, and now it’s just 50%. And one thing that surprised me was a change in how people are tipping hair stylists and barbers. Last year, 66% always left a tip, and this year it was just 53%.

NIALA: Wow. So that is a big change. It feels like these tip screens are everywhere, but also the suggested percentages are starting off higher and higher, like the 30% I saw the other day. Is this something that's here to stay too?

KELLY: Well, tip screens are here to stay until a time when how restaurants and businesses pay their employees maybe changes. And that's something that Bankrate asked people when they were asking about attitudes toward tipping. 41% said they felt that businesses should be paying their employees more, and then the employees wouldn't have to rely on tips. Tipped workers receive a federal minimum wage of $2.13 cents, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

NIALA: Ultimately, is the increase of all of these tipping requests actually causing people to give more? It sounds like no?

KELLY: Well, 18% of people on this Bankrate survey said they're tipping less or not at all, and only 9% said they are tipping more with those tip screens.

NIALA: Is there any kind of proper etiquette for tipping? I think what a lot of people wanna know is, if someone asks you for a tip, does that mean you have to give it to 'em?

KELLY: Bankrate suggests when there's a personalized service, then you tip every worker. For instance, if you're at a hair salon and you're working with two or three employees, you give them a tip. If you hired employees to move, then maybe you should give them a tip. If you receive individual personalized services, that's when you should give a tip.

NIALA: Kelly Tyko is a senior reporter for Axios. Thanks, Kelly.

KELLY: You're welcome.

Four children rescued after surviving in Colombian jungle for 40 days

NIALA: Finally, today: in case you missed it, four siblings – ranging from a baby of almost 1, to 13 years old – survived alone in the jungle in Colombia for more than 40 days after their plane crashed on May 1. They were found Friday.

The children are members of the indigenous Huitoto people – which probably saved their lives, officials said, because of their knowledge of local fruits and seeds that they ate, along with cassava flour they found in the wreckage of the plane. Medical reports say the children are all doing well.

That’s all we’ve got for you today! I’m Niala Boodhoo, thanks for listening, stay safe and we’ll see you back here tomorrow morning.