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How the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Museographic Approach and the UAE’s Soft Power Strategy Line Up
In recent years, institutions worldwide have begun to reexamine their permanent collections and curatorial displays, reconsidering how these frame and narrate art history and the evolution of civilization. No museum operates as a truly neutral entity—each institution shapes how we perceive art history and society’s larger cultural dynamics. Confronting longstanding questions of representation, inclusivity and power embedded in traditional narratives, museums are adopting new approaches to collecting, operations and promotion that are more fluid and critically engaged. Once presented through static and crystallized frameworks, art and artifacts on display may be rotated in or out of exhibitions, recontextualized via placard texts or even returned to their country of origin in the service of more pluralistic, multilayered and equitable presentations of global art and cultural histories.
The museographic strategy adopted by the Louvre Abu Dhabi, which opened in 2017 in the U.A.E., is particularly revealing in how it aligns with the country’s broader political agenda, both in terms of cultural diplomacy and domestic and international policy. Indeed, the museum is staging what may be an unprecedented museographic proposition: a synchronically intercultural narrative of civilization’s development, tracing how artistic, spiritual and scientific breakthroughs unfolded in parallel across disparate regions of the world.
French architect Jean Nouvel’s tour de force rises with deliberate spectacle along the waterfront of the emerging cultural district on Saadiyat Island, soon to host a lineup of equally spectacular buildings: the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the Zayed National Museum, the Natural History Museum—all currently under construction—and teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, the immersive digital museum by the Japanese collective teamLab, which opened just last week. It sits less than a ten-minute drive from some of the most beautiful and luxurious resorts recently built along the island’s white-sand beaches and clear-water shoreline, with many more still on the way.
Emerging from the turquoise waters like a mirage with luminous white volumes, Nouvel reimagined the museum not as a singular monument but as a porous city of knowledge—open, fluid and in dialogue with its surroundings. Inspired by traditional Arab medinas and low-lying desert settlements, the building appears to hover above the waterline, establishing a visual and conceptual continuity with Arabic heritage and aesthetic traditions. Its crowning architectural gesture—a 180-meter-wide dome composed of eight interlocking layers of steel and aluminum latticework—casts a mesmerizing “rain of light,” echoing the dappled sunlight of an oasis palm grove while invoking the transcendental role of geometric abstraction in Islamic art as a non-figurative pathway to the divine.
While the Louvre in Paris—like the British Museum or the Metropolitan Museum of Art—continues isolating and compartmentalizing cultures into distinct zones, one encounters a strikingly different logic here. Gold funerary masks from Peru (100 BCE-700 BCE), the Philippines (900-1200) and Lebanon (600-800 BCE) are in a shared vitrine; representations of motherhood from the Ivory Coast, Egypt and France sit side by side; and funerary objects from Oceania, China and France appear in direct dialogue.
Other vitrines trace the migration of decorative and symbolic motifs across continents, shaped by trade, imitation and adaptation into the visual vocabularies of receiving cultures. Patterns from Chinese blue-and-white porcelain were reimagined in Iznik (the epicenter of ceramic production in the Ottoman Empire), fused with floral motifs inspired by Istanbul’s gardens. In Venice, these same designs were reinterpreted through Italian Mannerism’s lens, absorbing the local tradition’s colors and ornamental language.
As visitors move through the exhibition—and along the arc of civilization—a resonant curatorial juxtaposition appears: a medieval statue of the Virgin Mary with child stands in alignment with turquoise tiles bearing Quranic verses and an ancient Buddha sculpture. Positioned on a single axis, these objects reveal how, nearly 2,000 years ago, the rise of universal religions unfolded almost simultaneously across Europe, Asia and Africa. “By addressing their message to all humanity without distinction, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam transcended local cultural characteristics and deeply transformed ancient societies,” reads the wall text, underscoring how the spread of belief systems, far from being solely defined by conflict, also created spaces of mutual influence and shared transformation.
The climax of these cross-cultural curatorial pairings arguably arrives near the end of the exhibition. In the contemporary section, a dialogue unfolds between a futuristic sculpture by Marcel Duchamp, a 19th-century ceremonial dance paddle from the Rapa Nui culture of Chile and a curvilinear headdress shaped like a snake from the Nalu or Baga culture in Guinea (dated between 1800 and 1940). Together, they reveal the extent to which Modernism owes its visual language to non-Western cultures, particularly in its synthetic treatment of the human form, reduced to pure line and formal essence, as seen in ritualistic and totemic artifacts.
In the final room, Cy Twombly’s pseudo-script and Willem de Kooning’s gestural abstraction channel the same primal need to leave a mark that pulses through time in the imaginative figures carved into rock faces by Arabian shepherds over 4,000 years ago—presented here in direct visual dialogue. As this across-time exchange between picture and script unfolds, a vessel painted by Keith Haring, covered in hieroglyphic-like humanoid figures, mirrors that same impulse: a drive to invent a visual language of pictograms and symbols that predate formal writing systems, springing instead from raw expression and emotional charge.
Although the curatorial parallels may at times stretch the viewer’s suspension of disbelief, the underlying message resonates clearly: human development follows a shared trajectory, with civilizations across geographies arriving at similar breakthroughs in tandem—each shaped, expanded and deepened by the ongoing flow of cross-cultural exchange.
As with MASP in São Paulo, the Louvre Abu Dhabi likewise embraces transparency in its display strategies, allowing for a layered interplay of artifacts, cultural narratives and aesthetic vocabularies that enables synchronic dialogues across time and geography. Here, objects are not isolated but visually and conceptually interwoven, forming revealing parallels and unexpected juxtapositions that complicate linear readings of art history.
Completing this dialogue across time and space is a permanent installation by Jenny Holzer, which engages enduring themes of civilization, historical memory and cross-cultural exchange through three texts carved into marble panels on the external walls of the museum’s galleries. Written in Sumerian-Akkadian, Arabic and French, these inscriptions present excerpts from a Mesopotamian Creation Myth tablet excavated from the ancient city of Assur in present-day Iraq, the 1588 annotated edition of Michel de Montaigne’s Essais and a passage from Ibn Khaldun’s 14th-century Muqaddimah, held in the Atif Efendi Library in Istanbul—a foundational text for modern disciplines such as economics, sociology, ethnography and the philosophy of history. Reflecting the museum’s multicultural origins and universalist approach to culture and creativity, Holzer’s intervention brings these texts—on the origins of thought, the act of writing and the transmission of knowledge—into a powerful spatial conversation with the building’s architecture. In doing so, she reactivates historical consciousness, inviting viewers to consider the universal rhythm of societal development shaped by the shared existential questions that have echoed across human civilizations for millennia.
This museographic and historical approach—one that considers the global history of humanity as an interconnected whole—lays bare the extent to which traditional institutions remain shaped not only by Western-centric narratives but also by ethnographic frameworks that feel increasingly outdated in today’s multicultural and globally entangled society. What stands out at the Louvre Abu Dhabi is that it does not merely sidestep a Western or Eurocentric perspective; it adopts a global, multicultural and all-encompassing vision that actively fosters intercultural dialogue. It emphasizes the trans-geographical connections forged through centuries of trade, exchange, migration and mutual influence—tracing these entanglements back to the earliest moments of human civilization.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi’s museography is deliberately conceived as post-national, transhistorical and profoundly humanist, serving as a symbolic statement of the U.A.E.’s ambition to position itself as a bridge between civilizations and a catalyst for cross-cultural understanding. The museum points out that the “Abu Dhabi Collection has evolved over many years, contributing to the universal dialogue in the art world. It underscores the Emirate’s commitment to building a unique collection that disseminates cross-cultural and universal narratives. Spanning prehistory to the present, the collection reinforces Abu Dhabi’s status as a world-leading cultural centre dedicated to creating and sharing new research and knowledge.”
When museography aligns with a political agenda
It is particularly relevant to consider this museographic and curatorial approach in light of the geopolitical role the U.A.E. (as well as other Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and, more recently, Qatar) seek to play within today’s shifting global dynamics. These nations have increasingly positioned themselves as neutral actors amid evolving international alliances, frequently serving as diplomatic hubs for high-stakes negotiations and conferences addressing urgent global challenges. At the same time, as relatively young states aiming to attract talent and capital, they have adopted comparatively open migration policies. The UAE, in particular, has become a refuge for individuals fleeing political unrest, war or authoritarian regimes in neighboring countries, as well as for nationals from countries like Russia, affected by international sanctions.
In parallel, both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have made significant investments in the cultural sector to shape domestic identity and diversify their oil-dependent economies and wield cultural production as a strategic instrument of diplomacy and soft power on the global stage.
In February, the United Arab Emirates and Italy significantly deepened their bilateral ties through a landmark agreement involving a $40 billion Emirati investment in Italy. The initiative spans more than forty agreements across sectors and establishes a comprehensive strategic partnership that prominently includes cultural collaboration—particularly in heritage preservation, tourism and artistic exchange.
In 2024, the UAE signed a similar memorandum of understanding with South Korea—a country widely recognized for its dynamic and effective cultural policies—once again emphasizing the strategic role of cultural diplomacy. Building on this framework, last September the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF) and the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE) signed an additional MOU, reinforcing their shared commitment to sustained cultural collaboration.
One of the first outcomes of this partnership is “Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits,” a new exhibition that opened last week at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi’s cultural district. Co-curated by Kyung-hwan Yeo and Maya El Khalil, the exhibition traces the evolution of Korea’s avant-garde art scene from the 1960s to the present through the work of 28 pioneering artists drawn from the Seoul Museum of Art’s collection. Crucially, and in contrast to many recent international showcases of Korean art, particularly in the U.S., this initiative moves beyond soft-power branding to establish a genuinely reciprocal platform for intercultural dialogue. Centered on the concept of “medium” and the entanglement of body, society and technology, the show opens a deeper conversation between the UAE and Korea, drawing meaningful parallels between their respective art scenes where artists have similarly responded to the pressures of accelerated urbanization and compressed modernity. A follow-up exhibition of U.A.E. artists from the 1990s to today will open at the Seoul Museum of Art, accompanied by a dual-publication featuring essays by writers and critics from both countries reflecting on one another’s artistic landscapes.
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Similar MOUs centered on shared cultural priorities have been signed by the UAE with several other nations in recent years, including Greece (2020), the U.K. (2021) and Japan (2024). Meanwhile, signaling its broader cultural investment strategy, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ acquired a minority stake in Sotheby’s, announcing a $1 billion investment last August.
At the same time, top international universities such as NYU and Berklee have expanded their presence in the U.A.E., strengthening institutional ties through the establishment of dedicated campuses. Also located in the Manarat Al Saadiyat district, Berklee College of Music opened in 2020 as a music and performing arts institution offering educational programs and live performances affiliated with the American university. NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), launched in 2010 in partnership with the Abu Dhabi government via the Executive Affairs Authority, has since evolved into a fully accredited, degree-granting global campus of New York University—academically and administratively integrated with NYU New York and NYU Shanghai.
Gulf states advance with cultural power while the U.S. focuses elsewhere
As previously reported, neighboring Saudi Arabia has been particularly active in leveraging cultural diplomacy as a central instrument of soft power and international collaboration. The latest development came just weeks ago, when the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) signed an expanded partnership agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for AlUla—formalizing what had been a quietly growing collaboration focused on cultural heritage preservation and research. The agreement establishes joint initiatives in archaeological research, exhibition loans and curatorial exchange, with the dual aim of promoting AlUla as a global cultural destination and advancing scholarly understanding of the region’s heritage. As part of Saudi Arabia’s broader Vision 2030 strategy for economic diversification, the partnership adds to a growing roster of international collaborations—including recent agreements with the Centre Pompidou (supported by a €50 million donation toward the institution’s €262 million renovation), the Desert X biennial and UNESCO.
Fallen service members remembered with U.S. flag display on the Common
As they do every year ahead of Memorial Day, volunteers placed tens of thousands of U.S. flags around Boston Common’s Soldiers and Sailors Memorial on Wednesday in tribute to the many fallen U.S. service members who called the Bay State home.
Beginning from the years ahead of our nation’s founding on to the present, more than 37,000 people from Massachusetts have sacrificed their lives during service and as a result of military conflict, and Home Base and Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund have marked their dedication with a display of American flags on the Common for the last 16 years running.
According to information provided by the groups, each of the planted flags serves to “represent every brave Massachusetts service member who gave his or her life defending our country since the Revolutionary War.”
“The completed garden is a breathtaking tribute to the true meaning of Memorial Day and a powerful message of community support to the families of these fallen heroes that their sacrifices will never be forgotten,” the group writes of their efforts.
A name reading ceremony was scheduled for Thursday morning at the memorial, but has been moved to “an indoor, private location with limited capacity” due to forecasted inclement weather.
The flags are scheduled to stay in place on the Common until the evening of May 27, and despite the nor’easter forecast Thursday, the groups behind the flag display say the public should feel free to stop by through the weekend to take in the scale of their installation and consider precisely what it is meant to represent.
“We highly encourage members of our community to visit the flag display on Boston Common throughout the weekend to show Massachusetts Families of the Fallen that their loved ones’ ultimate sacrifice is honored and will never be forgotten,” the group wrote.
Texas lawmakers advance bill to clarify medical exceptions under restrictive abortion law
Texas lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday to clarify medical exceptions under one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the U.S., putting the GOP-backed proposal on the brink of reaching Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
The changes would not expand abortion access in Texas or list specific medical exceptions under the state’s near-total ban, which took effect in 2022 and only allows for an abortion to save the life of the mother. It also would not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
But the proposal is still a pivot for Texas Republicans, who for years have defended the law as written in the face of legal challenges and pleas for clarity from medical providers. Democrats, meanwhile, have called the bill a positive step but also faced criticism from some abortion-rights allies who raised doubts about what, if any, impact it will have.
The bill would specify that doctors cannot face criminal charges for performing an abortion in a medical emergency that causes major bodily impairment. It also defines a “life-threatening” condition as one capable of causing death.
Senate Bill 31 passed 129-6 and needs only a final procedural vote before reaching Abbott, who has signaled support for the measure.
North Texas doctor has mixed feelings toward the bill
Three years ago, Dr. Austin Dennard traveled outside Texas for an abortion after her fetus was diagnosed with a fatal condition. She later testified in a lawsuit about how the state’s near-total ban on abortion put her health at risk.
Dennard’s feelings are mixed about the bill, which does not list specific medical conditions or include fatal fetal anomalies as exceptions.
“What is broadly now known among practicing physicians in Texas is that abortions are illegal,” said Dennard, an OB-GYN in Dallas. “Undoing that broad understanding is going to be difficult.”
Moves to clarify medical exemptions
Lawmakers in at least nine states with abortion bans have sought to change or clarify medical exceptions that allow doctors to perform an abortion if the mother’s life is at risk since Roe v. Wade was overturned nearly three years ago, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.
Supporters of these bills have said they have the potential to save lives. Critics, including some abortion rights groups, have questioned whether they make state abortion laws easier to understand.
In Kentucky, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear earlier this year vetoed a bill that GOP lawmakers touted as bringing clarity to that state’s near-total abortion ban, saying it would not protect pregnant women. Republican lawmakers later overrode his veto.
Last year, South Dakota released a video for physicians that outlined examples of acceptable medical emergencies, which received criticism from abortion rights supporters for not being specific enough.
“I think these bills are trying to get at the reality that exceptions are really hard to comply with,” said Kimya Forouzan, principal state policy adviser at the Guttmacher Institute.
Still, Texas Republican Sen. Bryan Hughes, an architect of the state’s abortion ban, said the new bill’s goal is to avoid confusion among doctors.
“One of the most important things we want to do is to make sure that doctors and hospitals and the hospital lawyers are trained on what the law is,” Hughes said.
Navigating exceptions under abortion bans
In 2024, the Texas Supreme Court ruled against Dennard and a group of women who said they were denied abortions after experiencing serious pregnancy complications that threatened their lives and fertility. The court ruled that the state’s laws were clear in allowing doctors to perform an abortion to save the life of the mother.
Texas’ efforts underscore the challenges abortion opponents have had to navigate regarding medical exceptions, said Mary Ziegler, a professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law and a historian of abortion politics in the U.S.
Judges have put enforcement of Utah’s abortion ban on hold in a case over exceptions, for example, and they struck down two Oklahoma bans over medical exceptions – though most abortions in that state remain illegal.
For abortion opponents, Ziegler said, it’s tricky to craft legislation that does two different things.
“Can you provide clear guidance as to when medical intervention is justified without providing physicians discretion to provide abortions they don’t think are emergencies?” Ziegler said.
Texas may advance other anti-abortion laws
Texas’ ban prohibits nearly all abortions, except to save the life of the mother, and doctors can be fined up to $100,000 and face up to 99 years in prison if convicted of performing an abortion illegally.
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has filed criminal charges against a midwife for allegedly providing illegal abortions and is also suing a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas woman.
Texas Republicans are also advancing efforts to make it a civil offense to mail, deliver or manufacture abortion pills, expanding on a 2021 law that allows private individuals to sue others whom they suspect are helping a woman obtain an abortion.
Elon Musk’s pullback from politics comes after his last big investment was a flop
By SCOTT BAUER
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin could go down as billionaire Elon Musk’s last big spend on a political campaign.
And it was a flop.
Musk, the richest person in the world, said Tuesday that he would be spending less on political campaigns. The announcement came as Musk is stepping back from his role in the Trump administration, saying he will spend more time focused on his businesses, and just seven weeks after the candidate he backed in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race lost by 10 percentage points.
Democrats in the swing state said Musk’s comments show that a party-led effort in this spring’s election, dubbed “People vs. Musk,” succeeded in making Musk and his money “toxic.”
“The people have won,” said Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler. “The biggest funder in Republican politics is taking his toys and going home.”
Brandon Scholz, a retired longtime Republican strategist in the state, said that at least in Wisconsin, “after that court race he deserves to be labeled as toxic.”
But that doesn’t mean Musk couldn’t spend money on races in the state and nationally again, especially if the stakes are high and his money could make a difference, Scholz said.
“Does he bring with him a lot of baggage? Possibly,” Scholz said. “But over time, maybe not as much.”
Musk’s spending in this year’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race helped make it the most expensive court race in U.S. history. And it came just five months after Musk spent at least $250 million to help President Donald Trump win, reversing losses in Wisconsin and other battleground states four years earlier.
Musk was all-in on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, even making a personal appearance in Green Bay the weekend before the election wearing a cheesehead hat — popular with fans of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers — and personally handing out checks for $1 million to supporters. It was an extension of Musk’s high-profile role in the presidential race, where he campaigned alongside Trump and headlined some of his own rallies.
“It’s a super big deal,” he told the roughly 2,000-person crowd in the event center, where hundreds of protesters were rallying against his appearance outside. “I’m not phoning it in. I’m here in person.”
But his appearance — and money — didn’t work.
The candidate Musk backed lost Brown County, the home of Green Bay, by 3 percentage points, going on to lose statewide by more than three times that margin.
After the defeat, Musk has said little publicly about the race and his involvement in it. His popularity has also plummeted.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs poll taken two weeks after the Wisconsin court election found that just 33% of adults had a favorable view of the Tesla CEO, down from 41% in December.
Musk’s involvement in the race came at the same time he was the chain-saw-wielding face of the Trump administration’s effort to downsize the federal government.
His Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, has enacted deep cuts to the workforce and spending, in some cases seeking to shutter entire agencies, but it has fallen far short of its goals for reducing federal spending.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, of Wisconsin, is one of the most liberal members of Congress and a loud critic of both Trump and Musk.
Pocan is skeptical that Musk truly will back away.
“I don’t believe any of it, first of all,” Pocan said. “This just means they realize how toxic Elon Musk is and the work he did through DOGE.”
Kelda Roys, a Democratic state senator, was also tempered in her excitement over Musk saying he plans to do a “lot less” political spending in the future.
“There’s a ton of other billionaire bros, I’m sure, willing and happy to step up in his place,” Roys said.
Musk could also get involved with future races, but in a much more low-profile way, said Scholz, the Republican.
“In Wisconsin, he had such a huge, huge, huge profile,” Scholz said. “He became the campaign. He became the story.”
Musk spent at least $3 million on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race himself. Musk-backed groups America PAC and a Rebuilding America’s Future spent another $19 million in support of the Republican-backed candidate Brad Schimel. That was part of more than $100 million spent on both sides.
America PAC spent at least $6 million on vendors who sent door-to-door canvassers across the state, according to the nonpartisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. It was a reprise of what the group did last fall across the seven most competitive presidential battleground states, including Wisconsin, which were carried by Trump.
In addition to his political contributions, Musk paid three individual voters $1 million each for signing a petition in an effort to goose turnout. Musk also offered to pay $20 to anyone who signed up on his group’s site to knock on doors for Schimel and posted a photo of themselves as proof. His organization promised $100 to every voter who signed the petition against “activist judges” and another $100 for every signer they referred.
Musk himself hosted Schimel on his podcast and cast what was at stake in stark terms.
“A seemingly small election could determine the fate of Western civilization,” Musk said in a social media post on the April 1 election day. “I think it matters for the future of the world.”
Democrats made the race a referendum on both Musk and Trump’s agenda, successfully electing a judge whose victory ensures the Wisconsin Supreme Court will remain under liberal control until at least 2028.
Coincidentally, Musk’s announcement about spending less on political races came just hours after a liberal judge announced her candidacy for the 2026 Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor is challenging a conservative incumbent justice who sided with Trump in his unsuccessful lawsuit that attempted to overturn his 2020 loss in Wisconsin. The race will be decided in April, months before the midterms in which Democrats hope unease with Trump and Musk will help the party make gains.
Taylor appeared to be taking a similar approach to her campaign that the winning Democratic-backed candidate did this year.
“My campaign is going to be a campaign about the people of this state,” she told The Associated Press, “not about billionaires, not about the most powerful.”
Associated Press writer Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.
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Putin visits Kursk region for first time since Ukrainian troops expelled
Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the Kursk region for the first time since Russia said it expelled Ukrainian forces from the area in April.
The Kremlin said Wednesday that Putin visited Kursk on the border with Ukraine the day before.
Ukrainian forces made a surprise incursion into Kursk in August 2024 in the largest cross-border raid by Kyiv’s forces in the nearly 2 ½-year war, before being pushed out by Russian troops nine months later. Ukraine has not confirmed its expulsion from the area.
Putin visited Kursk Nuclear Power Plant-2, which is still under construction, and spoke at a closed meeting with selected volunteers. He also told acting Gov. Alexander Khinshtein that the Kremlin supported the idea of continuing monthly payments to displaced families that still could not return to their homes.
Disgruntled residents had previously shown their disapproval over a lack of compensation in rare organized protests.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said its air defenses shot down 159 Ukrainian drones across the country overnight, including 53 over the Oryol region and 51 over the Bryansk region.
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- Secretary of State Marco Rubio
- Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland
- Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates
- Bridget Brink, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine
- Ret. Gen. Stanley McChrystal
- United CEO Scott Kirby
- Rep. Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas
- New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat
- Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago
- Peter Mandelson, U.K. ambassador to the U.S.
- Rep. Mike Turner, Republican of Ohio
- Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois
- Oksana Markarova, Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S.
- Ret. Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster
- NPR CEO Katherine Maher and PBS CEO Paula Kerger
- CBS News director of elections and surveys Anthony Salvanto
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
- Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire
- Tom Homan, Trump administration border czar
- CBS News immigration reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez
- Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland
- Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, Republican of Pennsylvania
- EPA administrator Lee Zeldin
- Austan Goolsbee, Chicago Federal Reserve president
- U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer
- Neel Kashkari, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
- Anthony Salvanto, CBS News director of elections and surveys
- Rep. Ro Khanna, Democrat of California
- Dr. Peter Marks, former head of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick
- Sen. John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming
- Sen. Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington
- Rep. Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska
- NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
- CBS News director of electios and surveys Anthony Salvanto
- Shawn Fain, president of United Auto Workers
- Sen. Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia
- Rep. Jodey Arrington, Republican of Texas
- Sue Gordon, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence in first Trump administration, and Ret. Gen. Frank McKenzie
- National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
- Rep. Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky
- Rep. Jim Himes, Democrat of Connecticut
- Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissoner
- CBS News correspondents Camilo Montoya-Galvez and Scott MacFarlane
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio
- Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s envoy to the Middle East
- Sen. Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina
- Rep. Debbie Dingell, Democrat of Michigan
- Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem
- Kirsten Hillman, Canadian ambassador to the U.S.
- Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Republican of Pennsylvania, and Tom Suozzi, Democrat of New York
- Fiona Hill, former White House Russia expert
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
- Rep. Mike Turner, Republican of Ohio
- Sen. Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona
- Rep. John James, Republican of Michigan
- European Union diplomat Kaja Kallas
- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul
- Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East special envoy
- Sen. John Curtis, Republican of Utah
- Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland
- Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio
- Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council
- Rep. Dan Crenshaw, Republican of Texas
- Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire
- Rep. Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland
- CBS News director of elections and surveys Anthony Salvanto
- Rep. Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas
- Rep. Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota
- Sen. Bill Hagerty, Republican of Tennessee
- Scott MacFarlane, Jan Crawford, Sam Vinograd and Christopher Krebs
- Sen. Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia
- Rep. Brian Mast, Republican of Florida
- Sen. Bernie Sanders, Independent of Vermont
- Frank Figliuzzi, former FBI assistant director for counterintelligence, and CBS News justice correspondent Scott MacFarlane
- Hanna Siegel, niece of freed hostage Keith Siegel
- Vice President JD Vance
- Rep. Mike Turner, Republican of Ohio
- Rep. Jason Crow, Democrat of Colorado
- CBS News reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez
- Rep. Mike Waltz, incoming Trump administration national security adviser
- Brett McGurk, the White House National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa
- Sen. Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina
- Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia
- Save the Children president and CEO Janti Soeripto
- FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell
- Rep. Judy Chu, Democrat of California
- Sen. John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming
- Sen. Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona
- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
- Reps. Mike Turner, Republican of Ohio, and Jim Himes, Democrat of Connecticut
- House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Republican of South Dakota
- Tom Homan, President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar
Elon Musk says he will cut back on political spending after heavily backing Trump in 2024
By CHRIS MEGERIAN and THOMAS BEAUMONT, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk, the richest person in the world and a key financial supporter of President Donald Trump, said Tuesday that he’ll be spending less on political campaigns.
His decision, which he disclosed via videoconference during a Bloomberg forum in Doha, Qatar, could be a setback for Republicans before next year’s midterm elections. It also speaks to his possible disenchantment with politics after his tumultuous experience with the Department of Government Efficiency, which has fallen far short of its goals for reducing federal spending.
“I’m going to do a lot less in the future,” Musk said. Asked why, he responded that “I think I’ve done enough.”
Musk spent at least $250 million supporting Trump in the presidential campaign, as the main contributor to America PAC, a super PAC that was active in advertising and contracting with door-to-door canvassing groups across the seven most-competitive states in the November presidential election. Musk even headlined some of his own campaign rallies.
And while he took credit for helping Trump return to the White House, Musk, through America PAC, became deeply involved in a Wisconsin Supreme Court campaign in March. Musk contributed more than $21 million to America PAC and a related group, Rebuilding America’s Future, in support of the Republican-backed candidate, who lost the seat on the state’s high court.
Originally Published:
Elon Musk says he intends to remain Tesla CEO for years to come
Billionaire Elon Musk said Tuesday he’s committed to being CEO of Tesla in five years’ time as the automaker faced intense consumer and stockprice pressure over his work with President Donald Trump’s government.
The question came as Musk made a video appearance at the Qatar Economic Forum hosted by Bloomberg after Musk recently traveled to Doha as part of Mr. Trump’s Mideast trip last week.
A moderator asked: “Do you see yourself and are you committed to still being the chief executive of Tesla in five years’ time?”
Musk responded: “Yes.”
The moderator pushed further: “No doubt about that at all?”
Musk added, chuckling: “I can’t be still here if I’m dead.”
Tesla has faced intense pressure as Musk worked with Mr. Trump as part of its self-described Department of Government Efficiency effort, or DOGE, particularly amid its campaign of staff cuts across the U.S. federal government.
The interview with Musk comes three weeks after a report in the Wall Street Journal on May 1 said that Tesla board members had reached out to several hiring firms about finding a new Tesla CEO.
Calling the report “absolutely false,” Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm on May 1 said the electric vehicle maker’s board has not contacted recruitment firms to start a search for a new CEO to replace Elon Musk.
Trump alleges ‘genocide’ in South Africa. At an agricultural fair, even Afrikaner farmers scoff
By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME, Associated Press
BOTHAVILLE, South Africa (AP) — Days before South Africa’s president meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House this week, Afrikaner farmers at the center of an extraordinary new U.S. refugee policy roamed a memorial to farm attacks in their country’s agricultural heartland, some touching the names of the dead — both Black and white.
Here in Bothaville, where thousands of farmers gathered for a lively agricultural fair with everything from grains to guns on display, even some conservative white Afrikaner groups debunked the Trump administration’s “genocide” and land seizure claims that led it to cut all financial aid to South Africa.
The bustling scene was business as usual, with milkshakes and burgers and tow-headed children pulled in wagons.
The late President Nelson Mandela — South Africa’s first Black leader — stood in Bothaville over a quarter-century ago and acknowledged the increasing violent attacks on farmers in the first years following the decades-long racial system of apartheid. “But the complex problem of crime on our farms, as elsewhere, demand long-term solutions,” he said.
Some at the agricultural fair said fleeing the country isn’t one of them.
“I really hope that during the upcoming visit to Washington, (President Cyril Ramaphosa) is going to be able to put the facts before his counterpart and to demonstrate that there is no mass expropriation of land taking place in South Africa, and there is no genocide taking place,” John Steenhuisen, minister of agriculture, told The Associated Press. He will be part of the delegation for Wednesday’s meeting.
The minority white Afrikaner community is in the spotlight after the U.S. granted refugee status to at least 49 of them claiming to flee racial and violent persecution and widespread seizures of white-owned land — despite evidence that such claims are untrue.
While many at the agricultural fair raised serious concerns about the safety of farmers and farm workers, others were quick to point out that crime targeted both Black and white farmers and farm workers, as shown by South Africa’s crime statistics.
Thobani Ntonga, a Black farmer from Eastern Cape province, told the AP he had been attacked on his farm by criminals and almost kidnapped but a Black neighbor intervened.
“Crime affects both Black and white. … It’s an issue of vulnerability,” he said. “Farmers are separated from your general public. We’re not near towns, we are in the rural areas. And I think it’s exactly that. So, perpetrators, they thrive on that, on the fact that farms are isolated.”
Other farmers echoed his thoughts and called for more resources and policing.
“Crime especially hits small-scale farmers worse because they don’t have resources for private security,” said Afrikaner farmer Willem de Chavonnes Vrugt. He and other farmers wondered why they would leave the land where they have been rooted for decades.
Ramaphosa, himself a cattle farmer, also visited the agricultural fair for the first time in about 20 years — to buy equipment but also do outreach as many in South Africa puzzle over the Trump administration’s focus on their country.
“We must not run away from our problems,” the president said during his visit. “When you run away, you’re a coward.”
Applying to be a refugee
The fast-tracking of the Afrikaners’ refugee applications has raised questions about a system where many seeking asylum in the U.S. can languish for years, waiting.
The State Department has not made details of the process public, but one person who has applied to be resettled told the AP the online application process was “rigorous.”
Katia Beeden, a member of an advocacy group established to assist white South Africans seeking resettlement, said applicants have to go through at least three online interviews and answer questions about their health and criminal background.
They are also required to submit information or proof of being persecuted in South Africa, she said. She said she has been robbed in her house, with robbers locking her in her bedroom.
“They’ve already warned that you can’t lie or hide anything from them. So it’s quite a thorough process and not everyone is guaranteed,” she said.
By the numbers
Violent crime is rife in South Africa, but experts say the vast majority of victims are Black and poor. Police statistics show that up to 75 people are killed daily across the country.
Afrikaner agriculture union TLU SA says it believes farmers are more susceptible to such attacks because of their isolation.
Twelve murders occurred on farms in 2024, police statistics show. One of those killed was a farmer. The rest were farm workers, people staying on farms and a security guard. The data don’t reflect the victims’ race.
Overall across South Africa last year, 6,953 people were killed.
Government data also show that white farmers own the vast majority of South Africa’s farmland — 80% of it, according to the 2017 census of commercial agriculture, which recorded over 40,000 white farmers.
That data, however, only reflects farmers who have revenue of $55,396 a year, which excludes many small-scale farmers, the majority of them Black.
Overall, the white minority — just 7% of the population is white — still owns the vast majority of the land in South Africa, which the World Bank has called “the most unequal country in the world.”
According to the 2017 government land audit, white South Africans hold about 72% of individually owned land — while Black South Africans own 15%.
Associated Press writer Michelle Gumede in Johannesburg contributed to this report.
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