Trump's cash in question

Plus Fox News in the crosshairs, and the perils of 'workism' [View this email in your browser]( [The Week Evening Review]( Trump's cash in question, Fox News in the crosshairs, and the perils of 'workism'   Good evening, Monday means back to work, which may be a positive if you're one of the growing number of people "worshipping at the altar of work," as described in our explainer on "workism." Trump, on the other hand, may have his work cut out for him in finding a way to pay his massive (and ballooning) legal fines. At least he and Nikki Haley have found a way to unite — against Fox News. Summer Meza The Week Digital     TODAY'S BIG QUESTION [Will Trump's cash flow dry up after his legal verdicts?]( Former President Donald Trump's nebulous net worth could soon change drastically. The presidential candidate was ordered last week to pay $83.3 million for defaming E. Jean Carroll after he was found liable for sexual abuse against her. It's likely he isn't done with the payouts either. In New York's civil case against Trump for financial fraud, prosecutors are asking the judge to impose a $370 million penalty. If the judge agrees with this figure, or an even higher one, then the two verdicts would cost Trump over $450 million. Forbes has reported Trump has a net worth of $2.6 billion. However, he has just "$426 million in cash and liquid assets that would presumably be used for his court payments." Could Trump end up declaring bankruptcy like his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani? What did the commentators say? If the verdicts end up draining Trump's cash, it would be a "potential blow" to his "persona" of "financial success and wealth," Bloomberg reported. And crucially, he cannot use his campaign funds to pay these fines. The dual cases "could be a one-two punch that triggers a bankruptcy," Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a law professor at Stetson University, told Newsweek. However, it’s highly unlikely that Trump "would want to file for bankruptcy during an election year." But unlike Giuliani, attorney Bradley Moss argued to Newsweek, Trump has tangible wealth to his name. "I do not expect this to bankrupt him," Moss said. "He isn't Rudy. He does have actual assets." One former confidante of Trump has his doubts. Attorney Michael Cohen, a former lawyer of the president, noted the damages could exceed his funds. "He does not have that liquid cash," he told CNN. What next? The judge in Trump's fraud case, Arthur Engoron, is expected to make his ruling in the coming days. Throughout the trial, Engoron "showed little patience for Trump’s courtroom antics," The New Republic reported. At one point, he begged for Trump's lawyers to "control your client." But the real "psychological waterboarding" for Trump would come if Engoron strips him of his ability to practice business in New York state, The New Republic noted — something that many legal analysts expect him to do.     QUOTE OF THE DAY "It's like getting your heart ripped out. It's hard." Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell after their disappointing loss to the San Francisco 49ers squashed their Super Bowl dreams.     TALKING POINTs [Fox News is firmly in GOP candidates' crosshairs]( As the country's most significant, influential conservative media operation, Fox News commands legions of dedicated and predominantly Republican viewers. Recently, however, GOP candidates in the upcoming presidential election have begun criticizing the network. While former President Donald Trump has long felt comfortable taking a swing at Fox, he has been joined over the past few weeks by rival Nikki Haley and, before he abandoned his campaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. 'Really bad TV' Trump, Haley and DeSantis have been "united in a curious way" by their willingness to attack the "right-wing media megaphone," Media Matters for America's Matt Gertz reported. Haley pushed back on network host Brian Kilmeade's insinuations last week that she should drop out, telling him she doesn't "care how much you all want to coronate Donald Trump" at her expense. And before ending his campaign, DeSantis blamed "Fox News people," calling them the GOP front-runner's "praetorian guard" as his staff labeled the outlet the "opposing campaign," "full-blown Trump TV" and the "Fox News PAC." Despite Fox's Trump bias, the network is in a "difficult position" given Trump's "willingness and ability to get Fox viewers to switch to its competitors," concluded Gertz. And Trump has recently accused Fox of "pushing for a Haley GOP nomination," according to Forbes. On his Truth Social platform, Trump blasted Fox as "one-sided" against him, which is why the "Republican base no longer cares about [the network]." He similarly attacked Fox for interviewing New Hampshire's Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, a Haley supporter, claiming that having "this loser on so much is really bad TV." 'Trying to win back Trump voters' Fox has made a deliberate effort to head off a repeat of the 2020 election coverage that prompted MAGA viewers to flee "in droves, heading to Newsmax & other conservative-leaning networks," former Fox anchor and onetime Trump administration official Heather Nauert claimed on X. In particular, by "already calling the night for DJT" so early in the New Hampshire primaries, the network was "trying to win back Trump voters w/ glowing, over the top coverage." One former Republican presidential nominee thinks the problem at Fox is "more deeply rooted" in the "institution" itself — one responsible for some of the "ugly rhetoric injected into the public discourse," according to CNN's Oliver Darcy, reviewing McKay Coppins' biography of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). In it, Romney is described as calling Fox a "serious problem" and an "enabler" for former host Lou Dobbs' anti-immigrant screeds.     Statistic of the day $300B: The total amount of money owed by China Evergrande Group, the most indebted property developer in the world. A court in Hong Kong recently ordered the company to liquidate, adding to the stress of an already-flailing Chinese economy. It's unclear if China will recognize the decision by Hong Kong's court. The Washington Post     THE EXPLAINER [Workism: workplaces as the new houses of worship]( In a time when America's attitudes toward religion are shifting, it was perhaps inevitable that Americans are now worshipping at the altar of work instead. Derek Thompson coined the phrase "workism" in a 2019 essay for The Atlantic, a term he used to describe a phenomenon among elite, wealthy, college-educated men with whom work morphed "into a kind of religion, promising identity, transcendence and community." Workism is a belief system that elevates work beyond a means of economic production to "the centerpiece of one's identity and life's purpose," Thompson explained. The leading group pushing this overzealous love for labor includes America's wealthiest men, A behavior that "defies economic logic — and economic history," as the rich have traditionally had more leisure time. And while workism found its roots among the elite, "the ethos is spreading — across gender and age," he added. The risks of worshipping work There are perils to treating work like a religion. "One is that it's just not a burden our jobs are designed to bear," Simone Stolzoff, author of "The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work," said in an interview with Wired. Another risk is that in overinvesting in one aspect of our lives, other parts of us are neglected. Americans have been taught to look at their jobs as a calling, but taking a more "transactional approach to work can liberate both employers and employees." It would free employers to "focus on setting clear expectations about what good work looks like" and employees to "treat work as a living and not the entirety of their lives." The future of how Americans see work Derek Thompson thinks "we're at the cusp of a fourth revolution in work," per a more recent essay for The Atlantic. "By snipping the tether between work and home," telecommuting has changed "the way that millions of people work, the kinds of companies they start and where they live," Thompson noted. "The other prong is AI," he continued. The release of OpenAi's ChatGPT and its large language model, GPT-4, has "transformed the way millions of people think about the future of work."     Poll watch Around two-thirds of people think their taxes are too high, according to a new UChicago Harris/AP poll. The poll surveyed 1,024 respondents and found that 69% said local property taxes were too high, 67% said federal income taxes were too high and 62% said state sales taxes were too high.     INSTANT OPINION Today's best commentary 'Behind the ObamaCare boom'The Wall Street Journal editorial boardPresident Joe Biden "took a victory lap" last week when his administration announced that "a record 21.3 million Americans had signed up for coverage on the ObamaCare exchanges," says The Wall Street Journal editorial board. But hold your applause. Pandemic-era legislation "sweetened" premium tax credits, and Biden's administration "rewrote ObamaCare rules to enable more families to qualify" for free, or nearly free, insurance on the government marketplace. Those extra enrollments will cost taxpayers a fortune. 'Sure, Trump and Biden are old. The similarities end there.' E.J. Dionne Jr. in The Washington PostThe "political habit of the moment" is to complain that President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both are "unpopular and old," and Americans want new blood, writes E.J. Dionne Jr. in The Washington Post. It's time to drop the "false equivalences" and acknowledge that voters face a stark choice: "Between constitutional democracy" and Trump's "authoritarianism. Between a normal human being and a self-involved, spiteful madman." Trump and Biden don't "live in the same moral universe." 'Trust in the media is at stake in 2024. Listening to citizens will help.'William McKenzie in The Dallas Morning News"Americans' faith in the mainstream media is in decline," writes William McKenzie in The Dallas Morning News. In this election year, journalism leaders have two choices. They can "forgo open-minded and independent reporting" — a common complaint these days — and focus on reaching the liberal or conservative audiences their reporters and editors relate to. Or they can "strive to reach broad audiences" with accurate and fair reporting. "The latter path is healthiest for our democracy."     Picture of the day [Bullfighting]( A man wearing a sombrero de charro watches a bullfight in Mexico City Cal De Souza / Getty Images     Good day 🌖 … for for Japan's 'Moon Sniper.' The robotic explorer is back to work on the moon after the spacecraft was forced to shut down upon landing 10 days ago due to a power issue, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) reported on Monday. The explorer's landing on Jan. 19 made Japan the fifth country to land a spacecraft safely on the lunar surface.     Bad day 🍅 … for the Mona Lisa. Activists from food-security group Riposte Alimentaire (Food Response) splattered the glass-encased painting with tomato soup at the Paris Louvre Museum on Sunday. After dousing the artwork, the two women stood on either side of it and called for the "integration of food into the general social security system."     Puzzles [Daily crossword]( Test your general knowledge with The Week's daily crossword, part of our puzzles section, which also includes [sudoku]( and [codewords](. [Play here](     The Week recommends [3 hotels for 3 different needs this winter]( In the coming weeks, you might want to take out the skis for a mountain getaway, head to a resort in a warmer climate or have a quiet Valentine's Day retreat. These three hotels to the winter rescue. For the slope fiend: Hotel Bellerive in Zermatt, Switzerland Come to Zermatt for the skiing, stay for the stunning views of the Matterhorn. The Sky Rooms at Hotel Bellerive face the famed mountain and have balconies. After a long day hitting the slopes, head over to the hotel's spa, where you can relax in the jacuzzi, sauna and hammam or book a massage. For the opulent idler: The Shore Club in Turks & Caicos The Shore Club is on pristine Long Bay Beach, where the turquoise water is perfect for snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding and swimming. Those who prefer to stay dry can play tennis day or night on the lighted court, sign up for pilates and yoga classes and book a luxurious service in the spa. This destination is a splurge, but, oh, the bang for your buck. For the history lovers: The Jefferson D.C. in Washington, D.C. The Beaux Arts-style Jefferson D.C. is a classic, with plush rooms and suites and a communal Book Room. For Valentine's Day, the hotel is offering the "Historic Kind of Love" package, which includes 15% off a Deluxe Suite, a welcome bottle of champagne and dinner for two at The Greenhouse. Historic Kind of Love runs Feb. 1-29, 2024.     WORD OF THE DAY Essentialist The judge in a Penn State DEI discrimination suit warned employers that talking about any race "with a constant drumbeat of essentialist, deterministic and negative language" is risky.     In the morning Tomorrow, you can read about how Japan's new solar panel technology might forever alter the renewables market, peruse the day's top newspaper headlines, and more. Thanks for reading, Summer     Evening Review was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Harold Maass, Scott Hocker, Justin Klawans, Kelsee Majette, Joel Mathis, Summer Meza, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz, Anahi Valenzuela and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek. Image credits, from top: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images; Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images, Shutterstock; The Shore Club    © Future US, Inc • [theweek.com]( [Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Privacy Policy]( The Week is published by Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036.