Harrison Butker grew up in the wrong era

He’s the one feeding us “diabolical lies.” [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, the diabolical lies of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - [Stay-at-home moms]( aren’t all rich. - [Toyota’s success]( is not some glitch. - [Kendrick-Drake](is no longer a niche. - [Walmart]( needs a middle-class pitch. And You Thought Katie Britt Was Bad Is something in the air? Between Valentina Gomez’s [campaign]( for Missouri secretary of state and Kansas City Chief kicker Harrison Butker’s [commencement address]( at Benedictine College, the vibes in America are getting awfully dystopian and chauvinistic. “In America, you can do anything you want, so don’t be weak and gay,” Gomez pants mid-run in [her video](. In Butker’s [speech](, he urged the audience to “fight against the cultural emasculation of men” and “do hard things.” Butker went on to say that men “set the tone of the culture.” Women, on the other hand, are being fed “diabolical lies.” Addressing “the ladies,” he continued: “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers. ... But I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.” When Sarah Green Carmichael saw clips of the speech, [she was]( “just about ready to throw up.” Butker’s stance mirrors those of homeschooling and jam-making “[tradwives](” who are infiltrating our TikTok feeds and perpetuating harmful and misinformed stereotypes. In reality, nonemployed moms “aren’t staying home because they want to, but because they have the hardest time finding steady employment,” she [writes](. Bank accounts, not maternal vocations, are driving women’s decisions: For those who are stuck at home, the financial situation is bleak: “A third of at-home mothers [live in poverty](, compared to just 12% of working mothers,” she writes. “The lower a mother’s level of education, [the likelier she is]( to be at home with her children.” You can understand the irony of telling a room full of college graduates that women belong in the kitchen [à la Katie Britt](. Never mind that Butker’s [own mother]( is a medical physicist. The social costs of such attitudes are grave. The global economy could gain trillions, Sarah notes, if the gender gap in labor force participation closed. At the same time, as Tyler Cowen [writes](, there is growing [anxiety]( over the [global fertility crisis](. “Many citizens presumably do not want their countries to lose their geopolitical influence due to population decline,” he says. (Andreas Kluth would argue America is doing a fine job of [losing influence]( without that added factor, but I digress.) Tyler highlights a radical proposal currently [being considered]( in South Korea, which has the [lowest]( total fertility rate in the world: baby bonuses of 100 million won each, or about $70,000 — twice the country’s annual per-capita income. Try proposing that in the States — we can’t even get [paid maternity leave](! The chances of the government throwing moms $70,000 for each newborn are slim to none. Which should also be the odds of Harrison Butker ever getting invited to a deliver another commencement address. Bonus Cultural Retrograde Reading: - Restoring the [Confederate names]( to two Virginia schools is part of a broader backlash. — Nia-Malika Henderson - Immigrants may have long histories in America, but [Dreamers have no place]( in MAGA’s vision of the future. — Francis Wilkinson The Electric Jellybean Flop The Mercedes-Benz EQS is the Madame Web of electric vehicles. There, I said it! What was once [hailed]( as “a declaration of maximum electric luxury” is now “one of the biggest flops in Mercedes’ storied history,” Chris Bryant [writes](. When the German carmaker announced its $100,000 electric sedan in 2021, nobody could have imagined just how bad it’d bomb. The curved silhouette of the vehicle — which is more [jellybean]( than [bullet train]( — was doomed from the start by poor design choices. “Mercedes’s pampered clientele aren’t as bothered about driving range and aerodynamics as they are about opulence and having sufficient room to relax in the back seats, which critics say the coupe-like rear fails to provide,” Chris writes. Now the company is [ditching its goalÂ](of selling only electric vehicles by 2030. “The German automaker’s stumble shows the dangers premium carmakers face as they try to take on Tesla and persuade their conservative clientele to get a plug,” Chris argues. Toyota, meanwhile, might have a smarter strategy. “Despite all the hype about EVs, especially in China, most consumers globally aren’t ready to make the shift. Range anxiety is among the primary reasons,” Tim Culpan [explains](. “Rather than preach to unwilling customers, Toyota is letting car buyers dip their toe in greener waters via hybrid cars.” Although 37% of the vehicles the Japanese car company sold last fiscal year were electrified, only 1.1% of its retail car sales were battery electric — a disconnect that Tim says stems from Toyota’s decision to label even gasoline-powered EVs as “electric-powered.” This wait-and-see approach will enable the automaker weed out all the failed EV startups and jellybean project flops. [Do the Math]( It’s a presidential election year, which means there will be endless arguments about which candidate is better for the economy. This time the arguments may be more heated than usual — because for the first time, both candidates have been president and have an economic record to run on. Before you get sucked into that debate, however, you might ask [how much influence]( presidents have over the economy to begin with. The answer is probably not much, and that the economy comes down to luck more than anything else. So flip a coin. — Nir Kaissar Telltale Charts The Kendrick-Drake feud is everywhere at this point. It’s made its way onto [Spotify billboards](, [hot dogs]( — even [Joe Biden’s]( TikTok feed. “During the height of the feud between Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls in the 1990s, do you think Bill Clinton or Bob Dole would’ve ever considered featuring one of their diss tracks in a presidential campaign ad?” [asks]( William E. Ketchum III (free read). While this is far from the first rap battle in hip-hop history, “its ability to infiltrate conversations outside of the usual entertainment circles is a testament to how the genre has become a commercial success and has been welcomed as part of the zeitgeist of the 21st century,” William writes. While everyone was freaking out about inflation during Covid, Walmart executives were low-key having a blast. When prices skyrocketed, Andrea Felsted [says](, the big-box retailer attracted a fresh wave of shoppers with deep pockets: middle and higher-earning families who [weren’t immune from soaring costs](. But what happens to that new cohort of customers when pricing pressures cool? “Consistently good fresh produce, as well as clean stores, with strong product availability and attentive staff, would encourage those trading down from more upmarket supermarkets to keep coming back,” she writes. Further Reading Inflation — though still too high — is slowly coming [under control](. — Bloomberg’s editorial board Get ready, bosses: [Today’s protesters]( are tomorrow’s workers. — Beth Kowitt The shooting of Robert Fico highlights NATO’s [political difficulties]( ahead. — Marc Champion The Supreme Court just handed [another loss]( to Congress. — Stephen L. Carter After-dinner [tipping math]( takes the gratitude out of gratuities. — Howard Chua-Eoan Winston Churchill would blanch at Rishi Sunak’s [steel deficit](. — Matthew Brooker The long, slow decline in [fund manager fees]( may be ending. — Aaron Brown ICYMI Neuralink’s [first patient]( speaks out. Cardi B says she’s [not voting]( this year. Hot Ones is [a spicy addition]( to the Emmys. Kickers It’s [doom times]( for [Red Lobster](. A [benevolent thief]( helps start the RV he stole. Basketball’s [undisputed MVP]( — of wasting time. An Indiana judge says [tacos are sandwiches](. The [Los Angeles Chargers]( win [social media](. McDonald’s is dropping a “[Grandma McFlurry](.” Notes: Please send lobster tanks and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? 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