How Trump Got In The Way Of His Own Bill
Republicans had a filibuster-proof immigration bill that would allocate $70 billion to immigration enforcement and fully reopen the Department of Homeland Security. But then, Trump got involved. First, he wanted $1 billion for "security" for his beloved beautiful ballroom. Then, the Department of Justice announced that $1.776 billion slush fund for Trump's allies. After Acting Attorney General ...
22m May 22
22m
Trump's Revenge Tour Could Backfire
A swath of President Donald Trump’s handpicked candidates won their primary elections Tuesday night – and one of Trump's biggest opponents in Congress, Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie, lost. It was the continuation of Trump’s weeks-long revenge tour against Republicans he views as disloyal. So, for more about what we learned from Tuesday’s primaries, we spoke with Alex Wagner. ...
21m May 21
21m
Is The US Ready For A New Global Health Threat?
The World Health Organization met on Tuesday in Switzerland to discuss a deadly outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. According to the WHO, the outbreak, which has killed more than 130 people and infected more than 500, could last for months. Those numbers could be much, much higher than what they've been able to report. The Ebola outbreak comes in the midst of a...
19m May 20
19m
Has The West Forgotten About Ukraine?
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th, 2022. And despite President Donald Trump's promise to end the conflict on his first day back in office, the two countries are still at war. So far, over 300,000 Russian soldiers have died in the war, compared to roughly 150,000 Ukrainian soldiers. The fighting is brutal, and it seems to keep… going. So how can both sides end this conflict – and what will...
20m May 19
20m
Americans Should Be Happy, But They're Not
It's rather obvious Americans have not exactly been … cheerful for the last few years. And it's showing up in the data – the General Social Survey, the Consumer Sentiment Survey from the University of Michigan, the World Happiness Report, and even the Federal Reserve all report that Americans are less happy than they were a decade ago. Whether that's with their jobs, the economy, the state of t...
19m May 18
19m
Trump Made Inflation Great Again
Life is pretty expensive right now – and Americans are not happy about it. Trump came into office claiming he would lower prices, QUOTE, “on day 1.” But that didn’t happen – and his own policies are partially to blame. To talk more about the economy, inflation, and what we can do when our lives feel way too expensive, we spoke with Stacey Vanek Smith. She’s a reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek...
17m May 15
17m
Stacey Abrams On Why We Still Need The Voting Rights Act
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais last month dismantled a critical portion of the Voting Rights Act. And since then, a slew of states — largely in the South — have moved to redraw voting maps. In doing so, they’re eliminating majority-Black voting districts. There are not many people who have done more to fight for Black voting power and for the rights of Black voters in the So...
19m May 14
19m
What Does Trump Need Most From China?
President Donald Trump is arriving in Beijing today on a long-awaited trip – one that got delayed even further by Trump’s war in Iran. It’s Trump’s second trip to China and his first in nearly a decade. It’s also a trip where both sides see big opportunities (mostly to make money). But, the global balance of power has shifted – arguably, in China’s favor. Trump is in the midst of an unpopular w...
19m May 13
19m
Jeffrey Epstein Funded Harvard Women's Athletics
The impact of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes has been felt in so many places, from the halls of Congress to the royal families of Britain and Norway. Here in the U.S., it’s taken the work of student journalists to uncover the worrying details about Epstein’s hidden relationship with another important institution: Harvard University. Epstein didn’t go to Harvard (actually, he di...
24m May 12
24m
The Gentrification Of Intersectionality
Over the last year and a half, the Trump Administration has made a big effort to limit which words are used in federal documents. Across government memos and wide-ranging agency material, hundreds of terms and ideas have been explicitly or implicitly forbidden from use. These terms include words like “accessible” or “activism.” Another example? Intersectionality. It’s been nearly 40 years since...
23m May 11
23m
Trump Still Has A Grip On Indiana
There’s a lot going on in this year’s midterm elections. Tennessee Republicans approved a new map on Thursday, splitting the majority-Black voting district that encompasses the city of Memphis – and possibly eliminating the state’s only blue congressional seat. The president also got to flex his muscles this week in Indiana’s Republican primary. Candidates with his support beat at least five Re...
20m May 08
20m
Why You Shouldn't Buy Into The Crypto Trend
President Donald Trump made a lot of promises when he took office for the second time. One of those promises included becoming the most pro-cryptocurrency president ever! (Probably because the Trump family is trying to make as much money as possible from the enterprise.) But the wheels appear to be falling off both Trump’s crypto adventures and the industry itself. Though millions of Americans ...
23m May 07
23m
Can Democrats Sell Affordability?
President Trump was elected, in part, due to his many promises to lower the cost of living. Unsurprisingly, he gave up on that pretty much the second he walked into the Oval Office again. Some Democrats see this as an opportunity not just to beat Trump but to move forward as a party. Last week, members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus announced a series of bills they’re calling “The New ...
23m May 06
23m
Trump v. The Constitution
The Supreme Court surprised many on Monday allowing the commonly used abortion medication mifepristone to stay available via mail for at least one more week. But even with this decision, the current Supreme Court still feels like a mystery. For a body that intends to examine the law through a Constitutional lens, the court is kind of… freestyling a lot of the time. And in the era of Trump, a lo...
21m May 05
21m
A Committee Protecting U.S. Elections Is Under Threat
Last week's Supreme Court decision gutting the Voting Rights Act is big news. But there are tons of other ways that the Trump Administration and the GOP are trying to make it harder for you to vote. Take the Technical Guidelines Development Committee, or TGDC. It's supposed to be a nonpartisan federal committee that determines the standards for voting equipment used in elections across the coun...
18m May 04
18m
Trump’s Vibing Approach To Governing
From the alleged attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey (and everything in between), it’s been a long week in the United States. But one thing is for certain. Trump is one of the most powerful people on Earth. And yet, he spends so much of his time focused on trivial issues. Take that $400 ...
22m May 01
22m
SCOTUS Clears The Way for Gerrymandering
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court struck down a 2024 Louisiana district map that created a second majority-Black voting district for use in future elections. In a 6-3 decision, the Court found that the Voting Rights Act did not authorize states the ability to create majority-minority voting districts. The ruling didn't overturn Section Two of the Voting Rights Act, but in the dissent, Justice Ele...
22m Apr 30
22m
Hegseth Hits The Hill
Secretary of War/little boy Pete Hegseth will be testifying before Congress this week — starting with a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee today. And if you ask him, everything in Iran and everything else is going just fine! Great, even! But Colorado Democratic Rep. Jason Crow serves on the committee – and he has a lot of questions for Hegseth. We asked him to give me a preview a...
24m Apr 29
24m
Can Jared Kushner Negotiate Peace And Still Make Money?
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff were supposed to fly to Islamabad, Pakistan, this week to negotiate an end to the Iran war. Yet once again, the Trump administration couldn't follow through on its promises. But let's back up. Why is Ivanka Trump's husband involved in these talks in the first place? To find out, we spoke with Judd Legum. He's th...
25m Apr 28
25m
From Inside The Ballroom
On Saturday evening, there was a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, D.C. President Trump and members of his cabinet were rushed out of the room, and Trump later gave a surprisingly calm press conference. Authorities have a suspect in custody. Normally, security is extremely tight wherever the President goes, but several journalists reported that security at the ev...
24m Apr 27
24m
Should Dems Welcome The MAGA Defectors?
Earlier this week, What A Day talked about Tucker Carlson's "apology" for supporting President Donald Trump. Carlson's unexpected confession stemmed from a conversation on his podcast, The Tucker Carlson Show. But it sounds like the reason Carlson is disappointed in Trump is simply that Trump didn't do what he wanted. And there's a lot of Trump "regret" right now – from Alex Jones to former Geo...
22m Apr 24
22m
Kash Grabs Trump’s Defamation Playbook
FBI director Kash Patel has sued The Atlantic for $250 million. It comes after the magazine published an article alleging that Patel is frequently drunk on the job and that his security team has had difficulty waking him on multiple occasions. Still, The Atlantic isn’t backing down, writing in a statement, “We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend The Atlantic and ...
22m Apr 23
22m
Donald Trump Boosts Renewable Energy (By Accident)
Happy Earth Day! While we celebrate efforts to save the earth, the Trump administration appears to be doing everything in its power to destroy it. At the same time, the Iran war has driven gas prices through the roof, making sustainable energy sources more appealing than ever. Dharna Noor, climate reporter for The Guardian, joins the show to discuss how President Donald Trump’s war of choice co...
21m Apr 22
21m
Is Trump… Okay?
The media and Democrats have been sounding the alarm on Trump's mental health for a decade. But now, even some of his biggest supporters are wondering: is Trump… okay? Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin agrees that Trump's recent behavior is alarming, which is why he's introduced a bill that could start the process of removing Trump from office involuntarily using the 25th Amendment. We disc...
25m Apr 21
25m
Trump vs Reddit: Free Speech In The Balance
President Donald Trump and Co. have historically claimed to be all about free speech. But maybe Trump only cares about free speech when he likes what's being said. Earlier this month, The Intercept reported that the Department of Justice is taking Reddit to court to force the massive social media platform to unmask one of its users. Why? Because Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been desp...
20m Apr 20
20m
How Trump Bullied Israel Into A Ceasefire
On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire. The ceasefire could pause weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group backed by Iran. The agreement followed the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1993. Of course, there’s still a lot we don't know about the ceasefire or how it will affect Ameri...
23m Apr 17
23m
The Race To 2028 Has Begun
Presidential hopefuls have already started jockeying for position in the 2028 race — look at the number of Democrats who published memoirs over the last year. But a lot can happen in two years. And across the aisle on the Republican side, there's a big orange obstacle: Donald Trump, the unpopular president who somehow still has a stranglehold on GOP primary voters. To talk more about the race f...
27m Apr 16
27m
#MeToo Hits Congress, Again
Two members of Congress stepped down over allegations of sexual misconduct from former staffers on Tuesday —Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales and California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell. (Swalwell is also accused of sexual assault, and other women have come forward. He has denied the allegations.) Over and over, we see powerful people in politics — typically men — use their power to take adv...
26m Apr 15
26m
Should Democrats Be The Anti-War Party?
Trump’s war in Iran is now 45 days old with no end in sight — which is a problem for Republicans. Because while midterms are always tough for the party in power, an unpopular war with no exit strategy isn’t helping. So how should Democrats running for office this year – and in coming years – respond? And what should they be running for? Because recently “we aren’t Trump” hasn’t been good enough...
26m Apr 14
26m
Why Iran Spells Trouble For The GOP
A very tired-looking Vice President JD Vance emerged from 21 hours of high-stakes peace talks on Sunday to say no deal has been made to end the Iran war — a failure that comes with serious economic and political consequences. It’s an election year, and Congressional Republicans are getting jumpy with their majorities on the line. So, to help unpack what all of this means for the midterms, we sp...
21m Apr 13
21m
Prediction Markets: All Bets Are War
From the moment the U.S. and Israel launched strikes in Iran at the end of February, several people have been profiting from them because of extremely well-timed bets they made on the prediction market website Polymarket. In March, Polymarket barred trades based on, “stolen confidential information.” And yet people appear to still be making trades using insider information. Just this week, a gr...
21m Apr 10
21m
A Trumped Up Ceasefire
In the brief period since President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States, Iran has claimed that the United States and Israel have violated its terms. As a result, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz — again. According to Iranian state media, the 10-point framework Trump agreed to includes an end to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon, an end to all san...
23m Apr 09
23m
Trump & Iran: From Doomsday To Ceasefire
President Donald Trump posted a disturbing threat on Truth Social on Tuesday morning. If Iran did not meet his demands by 8 PM Eastern, "​​A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again." But then, an hour and a half before his deadline, Trump said he’d agree to a two-week ceasefire — if Iran agreed to the “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.” A...
23m Apr 08
23m
Lebanon, The Iran War’s Second Front
The Iran War has a second front in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting Hezbollah, a militia that launched missiles into northern Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader. Israel believes the group threatens its security and it is striking targets across Lebanon to stop it. Tarek Abou Jaoude, a research fellow specializing in Lebanese politics at Queen’s University Belf...
26m Apr 07
26m
For Hegseth, It’s One Military Under God
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is inserting Christian nationalism into the culture and policy of the armed forces, and that’s drawing concern both inside and outside the military. The Pentagon had spent years making non-Christians feel more welcome, but as Washington Post religion reporter Michelle Boorstein explains, Hegseth has rolled back that work in favor of a particular brand of evangelica...
22m Apr 06
22m
Pam, You're Fired
Attorney General Pam Bondi is out of a job. After multiple media reports stating she was headed to the green pastures of… somewhere else, President Trump officially announced her departure Thursday on Truth Social. So why is Bondi getting pushed out of her position? Was it the Epstein files debacle? Or her inability to successfully prosecute Trump’s enemies? To find out, we spoke with Ryan Barb...
24m Apr 03
24m
SCOTUS Takes On Birthright Citizenship
The Supreme Court tackled a question Wednesday that most Americans probably thought was settled: are the American-born children of immigrants American citizens? The Constitution seems pretty clear -- Section 1 of the 14th Amendment reads in part, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state whe...
27m Apr 02
27m
USPS Needs Congress' Stamp Of Approval
Last month, Postmaster General David Steiner told Congress that the U.S. Postal Service is in danger of running out of money by the end of the year. One big reason for this: there’s just less mail being sent. Between 2008 and 2025, first-class mail volume declined by more than 50 percent. And the Postal Service reported losing roughly $9 billion dollars in each of the past two fiscal years. So ...
23m Apr 01
23m
Conservatism's Biggest Conference Was Missing Its Star
Over the past decade or so, the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, has become a massive gathering of right-wing power brokers — but this year, President Trump didn’t go. Neither did Vice President JD Vance nor Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The lackluster convention seemed to mirror a MAGA movement that’s looking increasingly unmoored. Ben Jacobs is a Washington-based political...
22m Mar 31
22m
The Next Abortion Battle
It’s been nearly four years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and sent the issue back to the states. Since then, more than a dozen states have essentially banned abortion, while others have severely limited access. Back in February, two Tennessee Republican legislators tried passing a law making it so that women who had abortions could be charged with homicide, which would make th...
23m Mar 30
23m
Gen Z Is Angsty: Here's Why
Young voters are one of many groups that pushed Trump back into the White House in 2024. Some researchers saw this as a potentially massive realignment with game-changing implications for our politics — but one year into Trump's second term, it doesn't seem like it. Trump is 34 points underwater according to the Cook Political Report's poll aggregator. And those polls were taken before Trump la...
20m Mar 27
20m
The Great Social Media Reckoning
On Wednesday, a California jury found Meta and YouTube each liable for harming the well-being of a young user who had sued the two companies. The plaintiff argued that the products had negatively impacted her mental health. This verdict follows a similar decision made by a jury in New Mexico earlier this week. Both decisions are part of a massive shift in how Americans are thinking about social...
25m Mar 26
25m
Democrats Add Tax Cuts To Affordability Agenda
Ahead of the midterms, several Democrats are trying to seize on the affordability messaging that has been connecting with voters across the country by talking about lowering taxes. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen have introduced separate measures aimed at easing the tax burden on middle- and lower-income people. And Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders...
22m Mar 25
22m
What Is ICE Really Doing In Airports?
It’s been more than a month since the Department of Homeland Security shut down, and American airports are definitely feeling it. Now, President Donald Trump has sent ICE agents to at least 14 airports across the country. A Truth Social post over the weekend from Trump, said in part that ICE in airports will, “do Security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all I...
24m Mar 24
24m
The Iran War Is Fueling Antisemitism
The MAGA Right is at war over the role that Israel has in American foreign policy and the war with Iran. If you listen to Tucker Carlson or former counterterrorism chief Joe Kent, you would think that President Donald Trump was bamboozled into this conflict, lured by the evil "Israel lobby." The way some on the American Right (and the American Left) are talking about Israel has edged into outri...
25m Mar 23
25m
The Uncertain Fate of America’s Dreamers
The Trump Administration’s crackdown on undocumented and documented immigrants hasn’t stopped — even for recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Since Trump returned to the White House last year, his administration has made life harder and harder for the estimated half a million DACA recipients living in the US. The Trump Administration has said it’s deported nearly 100 D...
26m Mar 20
26m
Can Trump's FCC Manufacture War Propaganda?
The Iran War is not very popular with Americans – and the Trump Administration seems to think it knows why: the media is being too mean about the President’s war of choice. On Saturday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr reposted a Trump Truth Social screed against The New York Times and Wall Street Journal on Twitter — adding, “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and the...
26m Mar 19
26m
MAGA Meltdown Over Trump’s War
Joe Kent – someone you’ve probably never heard of – made huge news on Tuesday. He was the director of the National Counterterrorism Center – until he posted a resignation letter on Twitter. In it, Kent wrote directly to President Trump: “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to press...
27m Mar 18
27m
Meet Trump's Pick To Lead DHS
This week, the Senate will hold a confirmation hearing for Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin, President Donald Trump's pick to replace Kristi Noem as Department of Homeland Security Secretary. In some ways, he’s not very different from his predecessor. Mullin also smeared Renee Good and Alex Pretti following their killings by federal immigration officials in Minnesota. He endorses th...
23m Mar 17
23m
Can Big Oil Grease The Courts?
The war in Iran has essentially closed the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil transfer point, sending oil prices over $100 a barrel with the potential to go even higher. And yet, the odds of the Trump administration suddenly pivoting to invest in renewable energy are pretty much zero. Last year, the Department of Justice submitted a brief urging the Supreme Court to take up a case...
21m Mar 16
21m