How Trump Wants To Wield The Shutdown

Because of the government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release its monthly unemployment and jobs survey today. But that’s probably not a big deal to President Donald Trump, who has apparently decided that the best statistics are the ones that either say what he wants to hear, or are simply never heard at all.  The most expensive extreme weather events, which facilities are creating the most pollution, quarterly reports, incidents of domestic terrorism, the number of people who need food assistance…these are all statistics Americans need to know. And these are all forms of data under attack by the Trump administration. And this started long before the shutdown. America has been a world leader at collecting data on everything from the number of bison living in Plains states to the divorce rate – but our data supremacy might be coming to an end. And that’s really, really bad, for reasons we might not even know yet. So to find out more about the stats we’re losing, and what else we’re losing in the process, we spoke to Denice Ross. She’s a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists and former U.S. Chief Data Scientist for the Biden administration.And in headlines, President Donald Trump determines the US is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, the Trump administration punishes a slew of blue states by cancelling nearly $8-billion in grants for their clean energy projects, and the lastest update in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case.Show Notes:Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

3 Okt 26min

It's Day 2 of the government shutdown. And we'd like to note that despite the government closing shop, House Republicans have been on vacation since last week, while House Democrats have been showing up to work. Vice President JD Vance told members of the press Wednesday that the real bad guys in the shutdown fight are Democrats, specifically Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Because, according to Vance, it's Schumer standing in the way of low-income Americans getting much-needed health care assistance, assistance that Republicans cut in President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill." Both Democrats and Republicans have dug in their heels on this shutdown. Democrats want Affordable Care Act subsidies extended and Medicaid cuts reversed. And Republicans are fine with the government being closed – and want to fire thousands of federal employees. So to talk more about the shutdown, its impact on everyday Americans, and what comes next, we spoke to New Jersey Democratic Sen. Andy Kim.And in headlines, federal officials say they plan to reopen an Obama-era immigration program, Israel tries to intercept yet another flotilla attempting to carry humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the Supreme Court ruled that Trump can't just fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook… because he doesn't like her.Show Notes:Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2 Okt 22min

Is the government about to shut down? Congressional leaders and the White House appear to be at an impasse, even after President Donald Trump gave in and scheduled a meeting for Monday to try and get a deal done (though that meeting did not go well). The core of the issue is subsidies connected with the Affordable Care Act, financial assistance that is due to expire at the end of the year. Without it, millions of Americans could see their healthcare premiums skyrocket, with costs rising by hundreds of dollars a month. But the GOP hasn’t been very interested in talking about these funds, despite the fact that millions of Republican voters benefit from them. To understand what the healthcare fight is really about and what happens next, we spoke to Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KFF and host of the healthcare podcast, “What the Health.”And in headlines, Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer tries to turn down the temperature on rhetoric after a deadly attack at a Latter-Day Saints church, Jared Kushner is a gamer (or at least he’s going to buy a video game company along with Saudi Arabia), and MAGA world reacts to the news that Bad Bunny will play the Super Bowl halftime show.Show Notes:Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

30 Sep 22min

Following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a wave of everyday people have been punished, getting doxxed and even losing their jobs because of statements they made online regarding Kirk and his death. Even the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, encouraged Americans to call the employers of anyone they feel is “celebrating Charlie’s murder.” Free speech matters now, more than ever. But what can we say without fear of retribution? To find out what the rules around speech in America really are, and why this is no time to self-censor, we spoke to Ari Cohn. He’s lead counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, with a focus on tech policy.And in the news: Oregon sues the Trump administration to stop the deployment of the state’s National Guard to protect federal buildings, current New York City Mayor Eric Adams pulls out of the upcoming mayoral race, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu changes his story on what happened with those bunker busters in Iran.Show Notes:Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

29 Sep 26min

We’ve been on quite the journey with our First Amendment-guaranteed right to free speech, haven’t we? This week, we had the reinstatement of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after Kimmel was suspended – thanks to the FCC threatening to take action against networks that chose to carry his show. And President Trump is still threatening to sue ABC in response to Kimmel’s return. You know, the President of the United States sure does have a lot of time on his hands to threaten talk-show hosts, get his political opponents indicted by the state, and rant about… escalators, for some reason. Which is odd, given that we’re staring down the barrel of a government shutdown if Congress can’t find a path to get the government funded in the next four days. So to talk more about the shutdown, our crisis of free speech, lawfare, and whether he’s worried he could become Trump’s next target, we spoke to Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin.And in headlines, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly summons top military officers to Virginia for a surprise meeting next week. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in front of the United Nations that Palestinians will not leave their homeland, and President Donald Trump reminisces on when he was in …exile?Show Notes:Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

26 Sep 22min

The machinery of mass deportations has been operating both in plain sight and out of view since President Donald Trump took office back in January. As millions of people are being deported, thousands more are stuck in detention facilities across the country. In fact, the exact number of people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention right now is 58,766, according to ICE data. The vast majority have no criminal record, but the Trump administration is denying them bond at an astounding rate, forcing them to stay in dirty and decrepit detention facilities for months on end with no hope of getting their day in court. But aside from that, there’s a lot we don’t know about the immigration system, as it’s operating right now. To discuss immigration policy in more detail, we spoke with Katie Blankenship, an attorney who represents clients navigating the immigration system.And in headlines, more than 100 countries at the United Nations General Assembly agree to mitigate climate change, sans the United States, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz clarified that Tylenol, is not in fact bad for you, and the federal government is asking scores of employees who lost their jobs (thanks to Elon Musk) to pretty please come back.Show Notes:Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

25 Sep 21min

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the brutal war has cost millions of lives. But President Donald Trump has consistently said that he could easily end the war. We think by that he probably meant charm Russian President Vladimir Putin into making a deal. Weirdly enough, efforts to cozy up to Russia have not actually stopped Putin from doing anything. Not only has Russia continued to bomb Ukraine, but it is now sending drones into Poland. But maybe, just maybe, Vladimir Putin has reached the end of Trump's patience. To find out what the hell is going on, we spoke to Tommy Vietor, co-host of Crooked Media's "Pod Save the World."And in headlines, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer gets testy with Trump after the president cancels a meeting with him in a Truth Social post, former Vice President Kamala Harris makes the rounds to promote her shockingly blunt new book, and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says anyone who intentionally stopped the escalator Trump was on at the UN, needs to be "fired and investigated immediately."Show Notes:Check out Pod Save The World – https://tinyurl.com/m2t4crnkCall Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

24 Sep 22min