Trump's criminal charges, Musk's Twitter poll & other buzz from US

Here’s your weekly roundup of the most compelling US stories from the week gone by:Jan 6 committee’s decision on TrumpThe House panel’s referral of former US President Donald Trump for four criminal charges comes after an 18-month long investigation into the Jan 6 insurrection. According to Chidanand, there is thus a sense of exhaustion among the public surrounding the proceedings, which played out as a political process rather than a legislative or a legal process. Chidanand also mentions that the 9 member legislative committee has no enforcement power to initiate criminal proceedings against Trump themselves and their recommendation is barely passing the ball to the Justice Department. Also listen: Why Bilawal Targeted PM Modi At UN, & Other Buzz From PakistanIt remains to be seen whether the Justice Department prosecutes and convicts Trump. Chidanand feels that given the spectacularly political nature of this case, the Justice Department may not proceed with it. In the event that it does, Chidanand is of the opinion that it would be another long-drawn process. It is also important to note that Trump’s influence and support has diminished by a fair bit in his own party, especially after the midterms and he no longer wields the clout and popularity that he used to, having been held up in Mar-a-Lago. Hence, there is also the possibility that this case would boost Trump’s chances in 2024 by bringing him back into public consciousness and giving his supporters a cause to rally over. Elon Musk courting Jared Kushner?Elon Musk courted controversy yet again after he was spotted attending the FIFA World Cup final at Qatar with Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and political advisor of former US President Donald Trump. Chidanand feels that it might be futile to read too deeply into watching the match together. But having said that, he also mentions a litany of similarities that the two share, which might provide a foundation for a friendship. Most notably, both Kushner and Musk have financial ties with Saudi royals, and are members of the ‘billionaires’ club’. Chidanand also mentions how Elon Musk’s sympathies for the Republicans has become quite self-evident recently, with his determined pushback against the left liberal constituency on Twitter. Given how the US media has prominently leaned left, Chidanand feels that Musk and his recent acquisition of a platform like Twitter could give the Republicans an outlet for their cause.Musk resigning as Twitter CEO?In yet another surprising tweet, Elon Musk created a user poll asking the Twitterati for their opinion on whether he should step down as the CEO of Twitter. The winning answer? ‘Yes’. Chidanand feels there is a strong possibility that Musk might have been seeking an exit from the Twitter c-suite for a while now, and he created the poll knowing which way the results would go. That way Musk would also seem considerate to public demands, even those that oppose him. Chidanand also reminds us that while Twitter has been a time-consuming pursuit for Musk, he has many businesses on his plate, with his automobile company Tesla dropping to half its stock value this year. According to Chidanand, like Trump, Musk draws value as a public figure from the public discourse around him, and as such, he is aware of how stunts like these can keep him culturally relevant, even if it is not always in his favour. Audio production: Sahil Gupta