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The Partnership for New York, a blue blood organization of companies that employ 1M New Yorkers, lashed out at Donald Trump’s power grab move to kill congestion pricing in Manhattan.
It demolished Trump’s claim that business is against congestion because it cuts the number of people driving to the city.
Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership, believes Trump made a terrible mistake. She said congestion pricing has “resulted in reduced traffic congestion, safer streets, cleaner air and is producing revenues for mass transit.”
In his Truth Social post, Trump wrote: CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” The guy is out of his mind.
New York governor Kathy Hochul doesn’t consider herself to be a subject of King Donald. “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king,” she posted on X. “We will see you in court.”
The peasants are staging a revolt.
Inspired by the Associated Press’ decision not to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, O’Dwyer’s has pounced into action.
Recasting that body of water doesn’t make sense, or as a fair-minded president Trump might say: “Mexico is being treated very unfairly.”
That country has jurisdiction over 49 percent of the Gulf. The US has 46 percent, and Cuba has five percent.
After careful consideration, O’Dwyer’s has decided to retaliate against the president’s renaming decision.
We have decided to stop using “Trump Tower” as the description of the black and bronze-colored residential, office and retail building on Manhattan’s Fifth Ave.
We will refer to that 58-floor monstrosity as 725 Fifth Ave. or the old Bonwit Teller department store. Unlike its successor, Bonwit was one classy place.
O’Dwyer’s is still hashing out what we will call the Trump International Hotel & Tower on Columbus Circle.
Shakedown on Musk Street… The Wall Street Journal ran a blockbuster piece about the alleged shakedown of advertisers to run ads on Elon Musk’s X platform.
It reported that a lawyer from Interpublic reportedly received a phone call in December from a counterpart at X. “Get your clients to spend more on Elon Musk’s social-media platform, or else,” was the message.
Interpublic saw it as a sign that Team Trump could move to block or slow its $13B deal to merge with Omnicom.
The firm has signed a new annual ad spending deal with X.
Interpublic downplayed the report: “We do not make spending commitments on behalf of clients to any partner or platform, and decision-making authority always rests with the client,” said a spokesperson.
WPP is reportedly cutting its own deal.
A huge PR opportunity looms for a firm that is willing to take some heat by promoting Immigration & Customs Enforcement... Disgraced New York mayor Eric Adams couldn't wait to make another pilgrimage to Israel to stick it to his successor Zohran Mamdani... Hats off to Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett for writing his always engaging and witty annual reports over the years.
The ADL plans a Mamdani Monitor to track down any whiff of antisemitism from the policies and appointments made by his administration. It should have given him a chance to live up to Election Night promise... Brendan Carr, Alden Global Capital, Alphabet, Meta and Elon Musk make Reporters Without Borders' roster of Press Freedom Predators.
Andrew Cuomo's political career is not dead yet... Steve Bannon says Republicans should learn from Zohran Mamdani and his Working Families Party and Democratic Socialists of America, instead of mocking them... Internet advertising model is on the way out, says Tim Berners-Lee... Gannet rebrands as USA Today Inc. What about its other 200 papers?
Thomas Jefferson warned about the dangers of an imperial president who would deny an election loss in a bid to cling to power. Sound familiar?... Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says reporters don't need his permisson to take a photo of the Pentagon's 9/11 memorial, as long as they are not on the job... Kirkland and Ellison lawyers need some negotiating tips. 
Shareholder activitism is poised to hit an all-time high for 2025... Kamala Harris’ “107 Days” reads like an autospsy of her failed presidential run. Democrats need to look forward, not backward... The Reagan Foundation dishonored The Gipper by providing PR cover to tariff-loving Trump.
