What A Day

The Trump administration is putting pressure on Ukraine to accept a U.S.-backed peace plan with Russia that closely aligns with Moscow's goals in the three-year war. The deal calls for freezing the battle lines that exist today — essentially forcing Ukraine to cede a vast swath of its eastern territory to Russian control. The U.S. also wants Ukraine to recognize the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, as Russian territory, and give up its goal of joining NATO. Vice President J.D. Vance said Wednesday that the U.S. would 'walk away' from negotiations if the two countries refused to accept the administration's terms. Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy and a former adviser to Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, breaks down why the Trump administration wants to strong-arm Ukraine over Russia and what it says about President Trump's views on power. And in headlines: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to ease fears over the administration's trade war with China, Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin announced plans to retire at the end of his term, and more Democratic members of Congress traveled to El Salvador to highlight Trump's threats to due process. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

MAGA is in full-on panic mode about the declining birth rate in the U.S., and so the doors of the West Wing are wide open to figuring out how to get more people to have more babies. That's right, Trump administration officials want you to get pregnant and stay pregnant. Nothing creepy about that! Carter Sherman, a reproductive health and justice reporter for The Guardian, explains the right-wing panic around predictions of a coming baby apocalypse. And in headlines: President Donald Trump now says he has 'no intention' to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the DOJ asked a federal judge to force Google to sell off Chrome, and more migrant children are left to represent themselves in immigration court. Show Notes: www.theguardian.com/profile/carter-shermanhttps://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

It's a busy week at the U.S. Supreme Court. On Monday, the justices heard oral arguments in yet another legal attack on Obamacare, this time over requirements that insurers cover some preventative care services at no cost to patients. Today, they'll weigh a parental rights case over LGBTQ-themed children's books in public schools. And tomorrow, they'll hear a challenge to California's ability to set stricter emission standards for new cars. All the while, the court is facing serious questions over whether it's prepared to stand up to the Trump administration's assault on rule of the law. Leah Litman, co-host of Crooked's legal podcast 'Strict Scrutiny,' tells us what we need to know about this week's big cases and the big-picture debate over the court's ability to protect our rights. And in headlines: The Catholic Church began the search for a new leader after Pope Francis' death early Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly shared military plans on a second private Signal chat, and U.S. stocks slumped again amid Trump's repeated attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Show Notes: crooked.com/podcast-series/strict-scrutiny/https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

President Donald Trump still hasn’t hit the 100-day mark of his second term, but it feels like the country is already hitting some kind of inflection point. On Saturday, we saw a second day of mass protests against the Trump administration’s agenda. Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healy compared this moment to the start of the Revolutionary War, saying, ‘Our freedoms are once again under attack.’ Even New York Times conservative columnist David Brooks wrote about how it’s ‘time for a comprehensive national civic uprising.’ Amid all these proverbial alarm bells, it might seem a little perverse for some Democrats to advocate for a return to a kind of New Deal-era of politics, where more centralized power allowed the government to do big things. But that’s exactly the argument made in the new book 'Abundance.' Co-author Derek Thompson joins us to talk about how America can go back to building and inventing new things, and how Democrats can get people to trust the government again. And in headlines: The Supreme Court issued an emergency decision blocking more flights of alleged Venezuelan gang members to an El Salvador super prison, Vice President JD Vance got an audience with the Pope, and the Israeli military admitted to several “professional failures” when it killed 14 Gaza rescue workers and a U.N. staffer last month. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

The Trump administration is running through our constitutional rights like a bull unleashed on the streets of Pamplona. For days now, the high-stakes back-and-forth between the administration, the courts and the Constitution over the wrongful deportation of a Maryland man has dominated headlines. But in the background, the administration is working overtime to dismantle regulations, particularly around the environment. Just since Monday, the administration got the ball rolling on gutting a key part of the Endangered Species Act, stopped construction on a major offshore wind farm, axed a $3 billion program to help farmers adopt climate-friendly practices, and kickstarted a bid to end a Biden-era rule to put conservation on par with things like drilling as a valid public land use. Crooked Climate correspondent Anya Zoledziowski looks at the fallout from an earlier anti-environmental decision from the Trump administration, to drop a Biden-era suit against a petrochemical plant in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.” And in headlines: President Donald Trump met with Italy’s prime minister to talk trade, the Supreme Court said it would hear arguments over Trump’s bid to limit birthright citizenship, and a federal judge said Google has an illegal monopoly over online advertising technology. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador Wednesday to push for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who the U.S. government wrongfully deported to a Salvadoran super prison last month. While the administration continues to dig in on its allegations the Salvadoran national was a gang member, courts are also showing their willingness to challenge the White House’s claims. On Wednesday, a federal judge found probable cause to find Trump Administration officials in criminal contempt of court over sending Venezuelans to the same maximum security prison in El Salvador where Abrego Garcia is currently being held. New York Congressman Ritchie Torres talks about why it’s important for Democrats to speak up about these cases. And in headlines: California sued the Trump administration over the president’s heavy tariffs, the Department of Justice sued Maine for allowing trans girls to compete in school sports that align with their gender identity, and Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene laughed off some financial scrutiny. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is taking his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda on the road this week, stopping in Indiana Tuesday. While Kennedy has only had the job for two months, he’s already made major changes to the American public health system, from firing thousands of agency staff to digging in on debunked theories tying childhood vaccinations to an increase in autism diagnoses. Alice Miranda Ollstein, health care reporter for Politico, breaks down the worrying ripple effects of Kennedy’s healthcare overhaul. And in headlines: A federal judge told the Trump administration she wants to see some receipts detailing the ways it’s working to bring back a wrongly deported Maryland man, President Donald Trump doubled down on his desire to deport U.S. citizens to foreign gulags, and Trump also signed a presidential memorandum aimed at stopping undocumented immigrants from receiving benefits they already can’t get. Show Notes: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/13/abortions-cancer-in-firefighters-and-super-gonorrhea-rfk-jr-s-cuts-halt-data-collection-00284828https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

President Donald Trump met with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador in the Oval Office Monday. Their conversation centered on immigration, and specifically the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man whose removal the White House chalked up to an “administrative error.” Last week, the Supreme Court ordered the administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. But Bukele told reporters Monday he won’t send him back, and Trump said no one can make him do it. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, talks about Trump’s expanding immigration crackdown. And in headlines: Harvard University rebuffed the White House’s list of policy demands to protect billions in federal funding, Trump again threatened CBS’ ’60 Minutes,’ and a man accused of setting fire to the Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion was charged with attempted homicide and terrorism. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Congress is out of session this week. Democrats are keeping busy with planned town hall events in red and blue districts nationwide. But a certain progressive duo is taking a different approach. Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders will continue his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour with New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over the next few days to speak out against the Trump administration. The two were just in Los Angeles over the weekend. We stopped by to talk to folks in the crowd about what they want to see from Democrats over the next four years. And in headlines: The Trump administration walked back its statement declaring electronic imports exempt from the president’s tariffs, a judge ruled that the Trump administration can deport Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, and Pennsylvania authorities arrested a man for suspected arson after a fire blew through Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence. Show Notes: berniesanders.com/oligarchy/https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

If you’re not feeling better after President Donald Trump paused the largest of his previously planned tariffs on 75 countries on Wednesday, you’re not alone. The stock market is just as confused as you are. Wednesday’s historic gains were essentially wiped out by huge losses on Thursday. And nobody knows what Trump is going to do next on tariffs, if they’ll go into effect, when they’ll go into effect, or how high they’ll be. And with millions of Americans scared about rising prices and losing their jobs, the House GOP adopted a budget that could result in massive cuts to the social safety net, including Medicaid. California Democratic Representative Ro Khanna joins the show to discuss the tariff debate and the House GOP’s budget. And in headlines: The State Department continues to revoke student visas over students’ political beliefs, egg prices reach (another) record high, the Social Security Administration rolls back plans to restrict phone services, and the CEO of UFC…gets credit for a prisoner exchange with Russia? Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

When most of us woke up Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump was still very excited about the tariffs he imposed on dozens of countries that had gone into effect just after midnight eastern time. At the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner the night before, he even claimed the scheme would be ‘legendary in a positive way’ and bragged, ‘These countries are calling us up. Kissing my ass.’ But by Wednesday afternoon, Trump had blinked, announcing a 90-day pause on nearly all of the ‘reciprocal’ tariffs he unveiled last week (China was the exception; he boosted tariffs to 125 percent after Beijing retaliated with it’s own reciprocal tariffs). Alex Jacquez, chief of policy and advocacy at the progressive think tank Groundwork Collaborative and a member of former President Biden’s White House National Economic Council, explains why all this volatility leaves America worse off economically. And in headlines: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made an uncomfortable guest appearance in the Oval Office, The White House said it’s freezing hundreds of millions in federal funding for Cornell and Northwestern universities, and two federal judges put limits on the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged foreign gang members. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration three successive wins this week, albeit temporary ones. On Tuesday, the justices halted a lower court’s order to rehire thousands of temporary federal workers. And on Monday, the justices paved the way for the White House to resume deportations of alleged foreign gang members using a wartime statute. That decision came just hours after Chief Justice John Roberts paused a deadline to return a Salvadoran man who was wrongly deported. Leah Litman, co-host of Crooked’s legal podcast ‘Strict Scrutiny,’ tells us everything we need to know about the court’s decisions. And in headlines: Elon Musk and White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro escalated their public fight over tariffs, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said he’ll direct the CDC to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water, and a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore the Associated Press’ access to the White House. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/fz4yshmjhttps://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

The stock market continued to have a not very good time Monday as a result of President Donald Trump's tariffs on everyone, even penguins. And counter to the desperate hopes of Wall Street executives, economists, and, really, most Americans, Trump reiterated that he is not, in fact, looking to pause them any time soon. To put it mildly, the whole thing is really freaking people out, and the word 'recession' is getting thrown around a lot. Jessica Roy, personal finance and utility columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle, shares some advice on how all of us should be thinking about our money right now. And in headlines: The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration two temporary wins on its hard-ball immigration policies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House for a second time since Trump returned to office, and the Social Security Administration's website is reportedly having technical issues. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Hundreds of thousands people across the country spent part of their Saturday at ‘Hands Off’ rallies to protest President Donald Trump and his administration. Organizers say there were more than 1,300 rallies scheduled, from Portland, Maine, to San Diego, California. But while progressives and liberals pretty much agree on what we’re against, we've been struggling to figure out what, exactly, are we for? And if Democrats are the party that believes governance is good, why aren’t the outcomes better? Marc Dunkleman, the author of the new book ‘Why Nothing Works,’ joins us to answer some of those questions. And in headlines: A judge ordered the Trump administration to return a man wrongfully deported to El Salvador, a second unvaccinated child in Texas has died of measles, and TikTok lives to see another day in the U.S. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/4mdprz4ahttps://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

If Wednesday was ‘Liberation Day’ in America, then Thursday was its day of reckoning, as the reality of President Donald Trump’s decision to levy steep tariffs on dozens of countries set in. Financial markets around the world cratered. In the U.S., stocks lost more than $3 trillion in market value, registering their largest one-day drop since the start of the pandemic. But none of it seemed to bother Trump, who said of the fallout from his tariff announcement, ‘I think it’s going very well.’ Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics and trade policy at the Cato Institute, tells us everything we need to know about Trump’s tariffs. And in headlines: The Pentagon’s acting inspector general said he’ll review Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the Signal app to discuss military plans, the White House threatened to withhold funding from public schools over DEI programs, and lawyers for a Tufts University student detained by immigration officials asked a judge to keep her case in New England. Show Notes: www.cato.org/people/scott-lincicomehttps://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Wednesday was ‘Liberation Day’ in Trump’s America. For everyone else, it was a day of sheer economic panic, as President Donald Trump unveiled heavy 'reciprocal' tariffs on dozens of countries, on top of a 10 percent blanket tariff on all imports. Trump billed it all as a fool-proof strategy to bring back American jobs that have moved overseas, and said specifically the levies would be a boon for unionized workers at domestic car companies. But Trump is no friend to unionized labor. He's spent the days since his inauguration slashing thousands of unionized government jobs. Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, talks about how unions are fighting back. And in headlines: Wisconsinites gave Elon Musk the middle finger by sending a liberal judge to their state Supreme Court, a federal judge dismissed corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and Amazon makes an eleventh-hour bid to buy TikTok. Show Notes: www.afge.org/https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments today in a big case about healthcare access and Planned Parenthood. The years-long court fight centers on South Carolina’s bid to push the reproductive care provider off the state’s Medicaid program. The actual question in front of the justices is a technical one, but a decision in South Carolina’s favor could prompt a wave of states to strip Medicaid funding away from Planned Parenthood. Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood’s president, explains what’s at stake in the case. And in headlines: Attorney General Pam Bondi said she would seek the death penalty for the man charged with murdering UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, the Trump administration admitted it made an ‘administrative error’ in deporting a Maryland father with protected legal status to El Salvador, and mass layoffs began at the Department of Health and Human Services. Show Notes: www.plannedparenthood.org/https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Economists, Wall Street traders — really, anyone who has a stake in the health of the U.S. economy — are all holding their breaths right now ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned ‘Liberation Day’ Wednesday. That’s when he’s promised to put in place a slew of new tariffs on imported goods from all over the world. But the scope of Trump’s plans is still unclear, and that’s injecting a ton of uncertainty into an already uncertain economy, all while polls show voters are losing confidence in the president’s ability to bring down prices. Neil Irwin, chief economic correspondent for Axios, explains what Trump’s murky tariff plans could mean for average Americans. And in headlines: Republicans sweat over a pair of special Congressional elections in Florida today, the Trump administration said it deported more alleged gang members to El Salvador, and Attorney General Pam Bondi told the Justice Department to drop a Biden-era lawsuit against a Georgia voting law. Show Notes: www.axios.com/authors/nirwinhttps://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Wisconsin voters will head to the polls Tuesday (if they haven’t already) to choose a new member of the State Supreme Court. The race between two state circuit court judges — liberal Susan Crawford and conservative Brad Schimel — is now the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, in no small part because the winner will decide control of the key swing state's highest court. But also because Elon Musk and his allies have been pouring millions into the race. Ben Wikler, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, explains what's at stake in Tuesday's race. And in headlines: President Donald Trump called up NBC to say some crazy shit, Iran rejected direct negotiations with the U.S. over its nuclear program, and the death toll from a massive earthquake in Myanmar climbed to around 1,700. Show notes: https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8votesaveamerica.com/reliefhttps://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

The Trump administration spends a lot of time trumpeting all the ways it’s cracking down on immigrants in the United States. From the very public raids in sanctuary cities that defined the first few weeks of Trump’s second term, to sending Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem down to El Salvador this week to pose in front of alleged gang members at a massive prison, the White House wants people to believe it’s nabbing all the bad guys. But arrest data shows that we may be seeing a shift in who the administration is targeting for deportation. Ted Hesson, immigration reporter for Reuters, explains what’s happening on the ground. And in headlines: The Health and Human Services Department said it wants to lay off 10,000 full-time employees, Attorney General Pam Bondi suggests the Justice Department won’t pursue criminal investigations over Signal-gate, and President Trump withdrew his nomination of Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik to be the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Show Notes: https://www.reuters.com/authors/ted-hesson//https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2024/03/4ftk27sm6jkjhttps://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8votesaveamerica.com/reliefhttps://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday