Trump pleads not guilty and Republicans lose it

Plus: The remote work war, Africa's climate crisis and more. Bloomberg This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, some random bathroom full of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Trump is not above [the laws](. - CEOs are grasping [at straws](. - Africa is due for a [climate shakeup](. - Big Bread does [the opposite of a breakup](. There’s a Coin for That This afternoon, former President Donald Trump appeared in a federal courthouse in [Miami]( and pleaded [not guilty]( to all 37 criminal charges brought against him by the Justice Department. The White House Gift Shop is apparently selling [a $100 commemorative coin]( to … commemorate the historic event, I guess: An outraged Senator Bill Cassidy posted [a video]( to Twitter, urging the shop to “have a sense of decency.” But CNN reporter Daniel Dale clarified that the White House Gift Shop, despite its official-sounding name, “is nonpartisanly capitalist and sells weirdo coins for every occasion,” including [this one]( that celebrates Trump beating Covid: Regardless of where you stand on today’s significance or insignificance, you have to ask yourself: Who is [collecting]( these coins? Why are they so ludicrously expensive? What exactly are we celebrating? That last question is answered by Michael R. Bloomberg. In a column today, the Bloomberg LP founder and former New York City mayor wrote that Trump’s arraignment “is [a sad but necessary moment of truth]( and accountability. Even for his staunchest opponents, it should be nothing to celebrate.” The level of carelessness found within the government’s [49-page indictment]( is “deeply disturbing,” he writes, referring to the way in which “scores of boxes” were hidden around Trump’s golf club, landing in a ballroom, a bathroom and a shower, of all places. “In a lot of ways, this case is no more complicated than a nickel-and-dime drug bust on a street corner … It's legal Hemingway, and it has the density and power of matter packed in the black hole … Beyond a reasonable doubt, there's evidence [on every page that suffices to put this guy in jail](,” conservative activist George Conway told Tim O’Brien during the latest episode of [Crash Course](. Republicans have been trying to [justify]( Trump’s actions with a number of excuses: The go-to is [talking about]( Hillary Clinton’s email server. Others point to [her husband's sock drawer](. [Florida Representative Byron Donalds]( defended the ex-president earlier today on TV, saying that “there are 33 bathrooms at Mar-a-Lago. So don't act like it's just in some random bathroom that the guests can go into,” while House Speaker Kevin McCarthy added that at least “a bathroom door locks.” It seems pretty clear that conservatives have [lost control]( of the narrative. “Without concerted action by Republican elites, it’s hard to see how the party pulls out of its [anti-democratic spiral](,” Francis Wilkinson argues. Millions of MAGA-obsessed people are still willing to praise a man who is routinely labeled as a grifter, liar and a buffoon, and a federal trial will only [fuel their fire](. “Democracy barely survived Trump’s first term, which ended with his instigating a violent assault to halt the transfer of power to a newly elected government. It’s unlikely it could survive a second round,” Francis writes. At that point, the White House Gift Shop’s inevitable commemorative coin depicting “The END of American Democracy” will be the least of our concerns. Nobody Wants to Be Near Rat Blood New York City offices [hit the big 5-0 last week](! If anything is worthy of a commemoration, it’s this: Getting people’s butts back in their ergonomic office chairs has been a years-long slog for businesses and cities alike. “Remote work’s enduring popularity has pummeled New York’s economy, costing the city more than $12 billion a year,” according to a [Bloomberg analysis](, so it’s welcome news that the city’s workplaces have at least breached the halfway point of pre-pandemic occupancy. Still, there’s a long way to go, and some CEOs are getting antsy, resorting to questionable tactics like tying in-person attendance directly to bigger paychecks. “Leaders who want to experiment with this approach should proceed carefully. [A compensation disparity hits differently]( when framed as a [penalty for remote workers]( than as a bonus for commuters,” Sarah Green Carmichael writes. Think about it this way: Everyone knows that commuting sucks. After work yesterday, I walked around a bloody, limping rat before going down the subway stairs. You can imagine my horror when I realized the maimed beast had launched itself over the stair ledge behind me, and I could hear it plop, plop, plopping its way down all three flights, flying right past my shoe and onto the ground. Should fellow New Yorkers be penalized for not wanting to get [terrorized by rodents]( on a routine basis? Or rewarded for taking the risk? It’s “basic loss aversion, the psychological principle that bad is stronger than good,” Sarah explains. “If you find $20, you’ll be mildly pleased. But if you lose $20, you’ll be seriously annoyed.” The CEOs who are tying pay to office presence should be framing remote work as an amenity, not a [performance problem](. And they need to treat office work as an explicit bonus: “Come in X many times, get Y amount of extra money.” It’s what the rat warriors deserve. Telltale Charts “In the climate change discourse, Africa is typically cast as a victim,” Lara Williams writes. But this fails to recognize that [Africa has a leg up in the battle against climate change](: “Compared to developed nations, there’s less need for retrofitting simply because things haven’t been built or bought yet,” Lara explains. This means that “nations can start with low-carbon facilities” from the get-go. In time, the continent’s 54 nations — which, as of 2021, contributed only 2.8% of the world’s CO2 emissions — could be at the heart of a green Industrial Revolution like no other. Big Bread “just witnessed [its biggest shakeup in a generation](,” Javier Blas writes, referring to Bunge’s [$8.2 billion purchase]( of rival grain trader Viterra. When combined, the two cereal giants will become the The Incredible Hulk of the harvest world, taking the title of the world's second-largest agricultural trading company by revenue. That level of consolidation should concern antitrust regulators and carb lovers alike. Further Reading Headline inflation may be cooling, but the [core components]( are staying stubborn. — Jonathan Levin Google can live without Hong Kong. [The reverse]( is less true. — Tim Culpan Ukraine isn’t the clear-cut [symbol of democracy]( that the West thinks it is. — Pankaj Mishra The LGBTQ+ [“state of emergency”]( isn’t a PR stunt — it’s real life. — Michael Arceneaux Iran isn’t about to force the US into [a terrible deal]( on its nuclear program. — Bobby Ghosh Why Ukraine and Russia are [better at defending]( rather than attacking. — Leonid Bershidsky ICYMI [Egg prices]( fell the most since 1951. Americans say [$2.2 million]( is the barometer for being rich. The youth [mental health system]( is in dire need of repair. Kickers The [“beige flag”]( is all over TikTok. Not all [calories]( are created equal. Everything you need to know about [Bagelgate](. What does one do with [a million pennies](? The origins of the [olive and cream cheese sandwich](. Source: Bluesky Notes: Please send your beige flags and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. 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