Axios

Editor's note: The statue has now been removed. Read the latest report here.

A statue of President Trump holding Jeffrey Epstein's hand and titled "Best Friends Forever" appeared in the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday morning.

The big picture: The spray-painted 12-foot statue of Epstein and Trump, who has said he had a falling out with the convicted sex offender years before the late financier's sex trafficking charges, is the latest of several protest installations against the president to emerge in the nation's capital.

"It's a hell of a target-rich environment right now," for leaders who are unafraid to speak up on political and environmental issues, Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert said Tuesday at an Axios House event during NYC Climate Week.

Why it matters: A lot of U.S. business leaders are afraid of triggering the Trump administration's wrath, but the Patagonia CEO is continuing in the company's tradition of speaking up on environmental and social issues.

Senate Republican foreign policy hawks praised President Trump on Tuesday for posting that he believes Ukraine can "win" the war against Russia and take back all of its lost territory.

Why it maters: It's a notable shift from Trump on the conflict, but many traditional Republicans on the Hill have been pushing for it even as MAGA isolationist influences have grown.

President Trump on Tuesday said he was cancelling a meeting with top congressional Democrats scheduled for later this week to negotiate on government funding.

Why it matters: The two sides are locked in a staring contest, and without concessions from Trump, Democrats have insisted they will withhold their votes, an impasse that would spark the first government shutdown since 2019.

President Trump told pregnant women to "tough it out" and "don't use Tylenol" during pregnancy on Monday, suggesting a link to autism despite inconclusive evidence.

Why it matters: Implying pregnant women are to blame for their child's neurodevelopmental condition — and that their pain should be tolerated — could be mentally damaging to the mom and physically harmful to the baby.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing to transfer land in downtown Miami for the construction of the future Donald J. Trump Presidential Library.

Why it matters: DeSantis' announcement on Tuesday ended months of speculation over which South Florida property would be selected for the state's first presidential library.

President Trump said Tuesday that he believes Ukraine can "win" the war against Russia and take back all of the territory lost over the course of Moscow's invasion.

Why it matters: Trump's remarks after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York represent an extraordinary 180-degree shift in his position on the war.

President Trump isn't an existential threat to the energy transition and climate change, investor and climate activist Tom Steyer said Tuesday at an Axios House event during Climate Week NYC.

Why it matters: Steyer's free-market views offer an upbeat contrast to the Trump administration's focus on fossil fuels and nuclear over other clean-energy technologies.

The man accused of planning to assassinate President Trump at his Florida golf club last year was found guilty on Tuesday.

The big picture: Ryan Routh was convicted on the five charges he faced, including the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

In President Trump's first address to the United Nations General Assembly since returning to the White House, he said Russian President Vladimir Putin's name once. Windmills, however, he mentioned at least three times.

The big picture: As wars rage in Europe and the Middle East, Trump used his lengthy address to scold the international body, paint climate change as a hoax and warn of immigration "destroying" countries' "heritage."

A North Carolina tribe, whose legitimacy has been questioned by other tribal nations, is seeking to obtain federal recognition through the latest annual defense authorization bill.

Why it matters: The Lumbee Tribe seeks federal recognition to unlock millions of dollars in funding for Native American programs, while other tribes argue that shortcutting the process by using Congress with the Lumbee's past would set a bad precedent.

Tylenol's maker rebutted President Trump's warning to pregnant women, saying there is "no credible evidence linking acetaminophen to autism."

Why it matters: Decades of evidence show Tylenol is safe in pregnancy when used as directed, but Trump's claims fueled fears among expectant mothers, pressuring the drugmaker to defend its brand.

• The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists continues to back acetaminophen as a safe option during pregnancy, a stance also supported by outside experts.
• The Food and Drug Administration moved to add a pregnancy warning to acetaminophen, even as the agency admitted studies have shown only correlation and not yet causation for any neurological conditions.

Driving the news: Kenvue, Tylenol's maker, responded that untreated fevers and pain — especially in the first trimester — pose risks of their own, framing Tylenol as the safer choice under medical supervision.

Zoom out: Tylenol's ad reflects a shift in how pharmaceutical companies counter political claims and misinformation.

• Kenvue inherited both Tylenol's reputation as a trusted brand and Johnson & Johnson's history of product-safety litigation, including lawsuits claiming its talc-based baby powder caused cancer.
• The backlash against Trump's comments also hit markets: The Johnson & Johnson spinoff saw shares rise 6% Tuesday morning, rebounding from a record low after investors dismissed Trump's claims as unsubstantiated.

What they're saying: In a statement, Kenvue said: "Over a decade of rigorous research, endorsed by leading medical professionals and global health regulators, confirms there is no credible evidence linking acetaminophen to autism. We stand with the many public health and medical professionals who have reviewed this science and agree."

What we're watching: Will parents sue Tylenol and generic manufacturers based on Trump's claims? And will regulators offer stronger guidance to reassure the public about medication use and side effects?

President Trump derided the United Nations for raising awareness of climate change, calling it the "greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world" in remarks at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

Why it matters: While many of the U.S.'s allies have pledged to combat the trend of global warming, Trump mocked their investments in green energy and commitment to sustainability in a tirade minimizing its risks.

Democrats must shift from former President Biden's "tepid tone" on climate change to a more aggressive stance to persuade voters, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said Tuesday at an Axios House event at Climate Week NYC.

Why it matters: Whitehouse — the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee — is among those in his party who think climate can be a winning pocketbook issue as insurance premiums rise and other financial impacts surface.

President Trump had a harsh message for fellow world leaders at the UN General Assembly today: "Your countries are going to hell!"

Why it matters: In Trump's depiction, the U.S. is in a "golden age" — but every other country, particularly Western European allies, are collapsing due to immigration, unreliable green energy sources and weak leadership."

Climate change is causing "a major paradigm shift" in real estate markets due to the impact on insurance, investment guru David Burt said Tuesday at an Axios House event at NYC Climate Week.

Why it matters: Burt drew considerable attention for predicting the 2008 financial collapse.

• Burt, founder and CEO of DeltaTerra Capital, was immortalized in the 2015 movie "The Big Short" when Brad Pitt played a character based on a composite of him and others.

Driving the news: Burt has been warning recently that not enough money is being collected to cover the costs related to climate change as risks keep increasing.

• "Insurers are starting to hike premiums, and some lenders are starting to think about increasing insurance requirements," Burt said.
• If the Federal Reserve was paying more attention to climate's effects, it would support a case for lowering interest rates, he said.
• The Fed "should be focusing on the economies where home prices are falling," he said. "You're already starting to see delinquencies rise."

Burt also said Chairman Jerome Powell and others "need to sort of look away from the aggregate and start looking at the regions that are being most impacted."

• He cited "most of Florida," particular its west coast, along with the Mountain West, Southern California and the Gulf states of Texas and Louisiana

Zoom in: In a separate Axios House appearance, Potential Energy Coalition CEO John Marshall said polls show 80% of Americans living in high-risk zones have become highly concerned about insurance costs.

• Marshall, whose group unites marketers who seek to change the narrative on climate, said the insurance impact could make it easier to convey the dangers of climate change to the public.
• "It's a decently simple message, because insurance starts to resonate across America — 'Your town could be next,''' Marshall said.
• "And that gets people's attention; it moves it away from something that you have to make a value-space choice for ... It's a way to think about materiality."

Venture capitalists are buzzing over the Trump administration's plan to charge $100,000 for H1-B visas, and it hasn't quieted down after White House clarification that these will be one-time fees on new applications.

The big picture: Most VC reaction seems to be negative. Both because of the financial burden it could place on startups, making it that much harder to compete with richer incumbents, and also because of the longer-term risks it presents to American innovation.

Sinclair and Nexstar plan to continue pre-empting "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," despite the fact that ABC said it plans to bring back the program on Tuesday.

Why it matters: Sinclair is exploring a possible divestiture of its local broadcast stations, while Nexstar is acquiring Tegna. Both transactions require regulatory approval.

Violent crime is falling in some majority-Black U.S. communities even as mayors warn that President Trump's cuts to prevention programs and threats of National Guard deployments could reverse the trend.

Why it matters: Drops in violence mark progress in cities long hit hardest by crime, but the Trump administration is using crime rates as a pretext to send troops to expand federal control over blue cities.

Meta launched a new super PAC on Tuesday to help fight off what it sees as onerous AI and tech policy bills across the country, per an announcement shared exclusively with Axios.

Why it matters: As the federal government fully embraces AI and looks unlikely to pass significant tech policy regulation any time soon, busy state houses are tech companies' biggest problem.

Al Gore says AI's surging electricity demand merits giving nuclear power a fresh look — even with what he thinks is a persistent hefty price tag.

Why it matters: The former vice president and famous environmentalist has had an evolving perspective on nuclear. It encapsulates the tricky position the power source occupies in our broader energy and climate debate.

Not since America's founding 250 years ago has a U.S. president expanded power — and punished critics — in more unprecedented ways than Donald J. Trump.

Why it matters: Yes, most presidents stretch the power of the White House and, on rare occasions, blatantly target U.S. critics on U.S. soil. But Trump has veered, often suddenly, proudly and loudly, into unprecedented territory in at least 15 different areas.

• No president in peacetime has done this much in one year of one term.

Chad Mizelle will leave as chief of staff at the Department of Justice in the next few weeks to return to his family in Tampa, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Mizelle, a key ally of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, told us he'll continue to support the Trump administration's work, and plans to continue "exposing the left-wing groups responsible for violence across America."

• His wife, Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, is a U.S. District judge in Tampa.

President Trump's linking Tylenol to autism could stoke a new round of litigation against the manufacturer of the painkiller and its generic versions.

The big picture: Trump's claim relies on evidence from scientists whose expert testimony was dismissed by a federal court as not sufficiently proving a link.

MAGA's response to Charlie Kirk's assassination has laid bare how the movement is willing ditch its past stated beliefs when it looks to exert power or inflict payback.

Why it matters: President Trump and MAGA rode back into power on a clear nationalist-populist policy platform. But in practice, a desire for vengeance and speed occasionally has eclipsed the movement's ideological priorities.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday night she's backing progressive Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race during her first live interview since leaving office.

The big picture: Harris' lukewarm endorsement of Mamdani was part of a wide-ranging interview on MSNBC's "Maddow" that saw her label President Trump a "tyrant," express regret for not doing more to challenge former President Biden about running in 2024 and hail the return of Jimmy Kimmel's show.

President Trump signed an executive order designating the antifascist movement antifa a "domestic terrorist organization" on Monday after vowing to crack down on left-wing groups following Charlie Kirk's killing.

The big picture: White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Axios late Monday that at Trump's direction, "the entire federal government will work together to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle all illegal operations conducted by" antifa.

Democrats accused Republicans of carpetbagging in Senate races across the country in 2024. Now they're turning the attack on each other in next year's Senate primary contest in Michigan.

Why it matters: Just last year, Democrats poured nearly $4 million into TV ads attacking Michigan GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers for having a home in Florida. They also accused Republicans of carpetbagging in Montana, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is facing three counts of crimes against humanity in connection with his years-long deadly war on drugs, International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors announced Monday.

The big picture: Duterte, who said he launched the crackdown to stop drugs from destroying his country, is accused of committing the crimes during his time as mayor of Davao City and later as president.

Axios CEO Jim VandeHei writes:

Confession: Most liberal readers who wrote in after my "Advice for Liberals" column didn't like it. They found it naive and disconnected from their reality.

• My advice, in keeping with our coverage, was clinical — like a doctor. But these are emotional times — traumatic for some readers. So they were understandably in no mood for survival strategies.
• We promised a companion regimen for the other side. So here it goes!

Why it matters: Some days, America feels ready to snap and break into conflict or payback we can't reverse. So it's worth reflecting on the uncomfortable truth at the heart of it: Many of the loudest voices, and lots of quiet ones, too, believe our differences are truly irreconcilable.

The Walt Disney Company said it will bring back "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Tuesday after taking the show off-air nearly a week ago following criticism over his comments in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing.

Why it matters: Pressure was beginning to mount on Disney and ABC from celebrities, policymakers and fans.

Just weeks after President Trump said "pure and simple," vaccines work, he floated a slew of unproven theories linking vaccines to autism, before praising shots in a wide-ranging press conference on Monday.

Why it matters: Trump's back and forth on vaccines amid consistent science finding them effective risks confusing the public and undermining trust in U.S. medical professionals.