What A Day

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

The Atlantic published the entire Signal conversation centered on strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen between multiple administration officials and, mistakenly, Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. Paul Rosenzweig, the former deputy assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush, joins us to give us some context on the scale of the Signalgate scandal and what it would mean under any other president. And in headlines: Trump announced 25% tariffs on imported cars, the Supreme Court upheld requirements to regulate ghost-guns, and a Democrat defied all odds and flipped a seat in the Pennsylvania State Senate. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/3nn8zr3jhttps://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8votesaveamerica.com/reliefhttps://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe were on Capitol Hill Tuesday for what was supposed to be a routine annual hearing in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Except it ended up being anything but routine, coming one day after The Atlantic published a damning report about how top Trump officials shared imminent battle plans in a private group chat on Signal. President Donald Trump and other top White House officials spent the day insisting no classified information was shared in that group chat. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, explains why their claims are hard to believe. And later in the show, Wall Street Journal National Security reporter Alex Ward talks about why Signal-gate is such a big deal. And in headlines: Russia and Ukraine agree to a partial ceasefire, the Department of Homeland Security said it has stopped processing some Green Card applications, and some Florida lawmakers have a solution to fill jobs vacated by deported migrants: child labor! Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8votesaveamerica.com/reliefhttps://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has been busy since assuming office earlier this year. Zeldin's been pushing President Donald Trump's climate agenda by rolling back Biden-era climate protections, deregulating businesses, and cutting staff at the agency. Former EPA Administrator and White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy joins us to discuss how states and cities are stepping up to protect their communities and the planet. And in headlines: A reporter claimed that Trump administration officials disclosed war plans in a group chat on the messaging app Signal, the Supreme Court rejects challenge to a landmark freedom of the press case, and President Trump announced Susan Monarez as his nominee to lead the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8votesaveamerica.com/reliefhttps://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

In just about two months, President Donald Trump has managed to thoroughly shake U.S. democratic structures to the core. From firing thousands of federal workers and plunging the U.S. into a trade war, to testing the limits of our three supposedly coequal branches of government, it's been a lot to process. And the constant chaos makes it hard to grasp what's actually happening, big picture: Are we watching a wannabe strongman fumble through enacting a policy agenda that will likely prove to be deeply unpopular, or are we actually watching the end of American Democracy as we've known it for roughly the last century. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor at New York University and author of the book 'Strongmen,' explains what history can tell us about our current moment and what we can do about it. And in headlines: Venezuela said it would start accepting deportation flights from the U.S. again, Palestinian health officials said the death toll in Gaza has topped 50,000, and the White House said Second Lady Usha Vance is heading to Greenland… just for fun… scout's honor. Show Notes: https://ruthbenghiat.com/https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8votesaveamerica.com/reliefhttps://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to officially start shutting down the Department of Education. The thing is... he can't do that, at least not unilaterally. Shutting down the Education Department will require an act of Congress. But the Trump administration has already done a pretty thorough job of gutting the department from the inside, cutting the DOE's staff in half earlier this month. Arne Duncan, who served as education secretary under President Barack Obama, talks about the potential catastrophes on the horizon. And in headlines: Maryland Congressman Glenn Ivey became the first sitting Democrat to call on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to step down, a federal judge blocked the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing personal information on the Social Security Administration's data systems, and the United Kingdom and Germany issued travel warnings for the U.S. Show Notes: chicagocred.org/team/arne-duncan/https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8votesaveamerica.com/reliefhttps://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Are we in a constitutional crisis? That’s the big question on the minds of legal experts across the country right now, as President Donald Trump and his allies ramp up attacks on federal judges who rule against him. The president’s latest beef is with the federal judge who tried to block his administration from deporting more than 250 migrants, mostly from Venezuela. A swath of the American Right, including billionaire Elon Musk, has now decided that if federal judges won’t back Trump at every legal turn, they should be impeached and removed from the bench. Leah Litman, co-host of Crooked’s legal podcast ‘Strict Scrutiny,’ stops by to talk about this moment and its legal significance. Later in the show, Crooked Climate Correspondent Anya Zoledziowski breaks down the craziness happening at the Environmental Protection Agency. And in headlines: The Federal Reserve kept interest rates flat and warned Trump’s tariffs have thrown the economy's health into question, Trump said he had a ‘very good telephone call' with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about a ceasefire with Russia, and Attorney General Pam Bondi called a recent string of vandalism attacks on Tesla dealerships ‘nothing short of domestic terrorism.’ Show Notes: https://crooked.com/podcast-series/strict-scrutiny/https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8votesaveamerica.com/reliefhttps://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

Tuesday was a big day in foreign policy news. Israel launched a barrage of airstrikes on Gaza Monday night, its first attack since a ceasefire with Hamas took hold in January. Officials in Gaza say more than 400 people were killed. And President Donald Trump held a 90-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine. Putin ostensibly agreed to a 30-day limited ceasefire on energy and infrastructure targets — far short of the unconditional ceasefire proposal Ukraine and the U.S. negotiated earlier this month. Oh, and Trump threatened ‘dire consequences’ for Iran over attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen. Crooked’s own Tommy Vietor, co-host of ‘Pod Save the World,’ breaks down all the big international headlines and what they say about Trump’s approach to foreign policy. And in headlines: Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rebuked Trump over his calls to impeach federal judges, the Pentagon continued its purge of website pages honoring minority groups, and two stranded U.S. astronauts returned to Earth. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8votesaveamerica.com/reliefhttps://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

In both court and in interviews Monday, the Trump administration doubled down on its decision over the weekend to deport more than 250 migrants, mostly Venezuelans. About half of them were removed under the Alien Enemies Act, a centuries-old war-time law President Donald Trump has invoked to deport suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua with little to no due process. It's just one of a handful of really scary anti-immigration efforts the White House has undertaken recently, including the push to deport Columbia University grad student Mahmoud Kahlil over his involvement in campus protests against the war in Gaza. Nico Perrino, executive vice president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, talks about how Kahlil's case sits at the intersection of the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration and free speech. And in headlines: Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the agency that runs Voice of America, the White House said it has expelled South Africa's ambassador to the U.S., and Harvard University announced plans to make attending the school more financially realistic for middle- and low-income families. Correction: During our interview with journalist Josh Barro on Monday's show, we said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is 80 years old. He's 74. We regret the error. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/4ppmdsdnhttps://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8votesaveamerica.com/reliefhttps://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

While Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer may have kept the U.S. government from shutting down last week, his decision to help Republicans pass a spending plan has kicked off a civil war within the Democratic Party. Many on the left are desperate for a fight with President Donald Trump and seething mad at their own party, which they view as, at best, too complacent in the face of Trump's attacks. And Schumer is now the face of that white-hot rage, with questions swirling about his future as the party’s Senate leader. But Josh Barro, who writes the Substack newsletter ‘Very Serious,’ says Schumer did the right thing. And in headlines: The White House said it deported hundreds of migrants under the Alien Enemies Act despite a judge’s order, the U.S. launched a wave of airstrikes on Yemen targeting Houthi rebels, and those American astronauts who’ve been stranded up in space for months could return to earth this week. Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/42x363hrhttps://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8votesaveamerica.com/reliefhttps://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday

It’s shutdown day in America, with lawmakers facing a midnight deadline to pass a government funding bill that keeps the proverbial lights on. After days of back and forth, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday he would vote to advance the House Republicans' spending plan to a final floor vote, signaling Democrats may fold on their earlier threats of a funding standoff. But Senate Republicans likely need at least seven more Democrats to help them break a filibuster and avert a shutdown, and it’s not yet clear they have those votes. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York talks about why his caucus remains opposed to the Republican plan, and what’s next if it passes. And in headlines: A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of fired probationary employees, Russian President Vladimir Putin added more conditions to a U-S backed ceasefire plan with Ukraine, and dozens of people were arrested while protesting the detention of a Columbia University student activist. Show Notes: democraticleader.house.gov/shareyourstoryhttps://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8votesaveamerica.com/reliefhttps://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/crooked.com/whataday