What A Day

The Paris Summer Olympics holds opening ceremonies today, officially kicking off 16 days of elite athletic competition. USA gymnastics legend Simone Biles will return to the mat, while fans will return to the stadiums after COVID restrictions kept them away at the last Summer and Winter Games. There's a political context at this year's contests, too, and demonstrations have already begun in Paris to rally support for several causes. We spoke with Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation, about the protests happening ahead of the games.And in headlines: Vice President Kamala Harris presses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a ceasefire deal in Gaza, California Governor Gavin Newsom instructs cities to remove homeless encampments, and the Ohio Supreme Court delivers a controversial boneless chicken wing ruling.Show Notes:Read and Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://crooked.com/newsletters/?category=what-a-day-newsletterWhat 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

On Wednesday, President Biden addressed the nation in an Oval Office speech — three days after he announced his decision to end his re-election bid and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. Since the president announced he was stepping aside, the Harris campaign has reported a major influx of donations. As of Wednesday, it had received more than 126 million dollars. But with the election quickly approaching, one of the biggest challenges Vice President Harris will face is winning support from voters outside the committed Democratic base. Craig Snyder, the director of the political action committee Haley Voters for Harris, explains how his PAC is trying to convince people who voted for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the Republican primaries to now vote for Vice President Harris instead of Donald Trump. And Abbas Alawieh, director of the Uncommitted National Movement, discusses whether voters who oppose President Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza could still be convinced to support the Vice President.And in headlines: dozens of Democrats boycotted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress, the planet's two hottest days in recorded history happened this week, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a ban on "LGBTQ+ panic" as a legal defense. Show Notes:Read and Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://crooked.com/newsletters/?category=what-a-day-newsletterWhat 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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington, D.C., today to address a joint session of Congress. On Tuesday, hundreds of demonstrators opposed to the war in Gaza staged a sit-in at a congressional office building. Thousands more are expected to demonstrate today during Netanyahu’s speech. Inside the Capitol, nearly two dozen Democratic lawmakers say they will not attend the joint session. At the same time, both Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Patty Murray of Washington declined to preside over Netanyahu’s address. The Israeli prime minister is expected to meet with Harris and President Biden separately on Thursday. As Harris begins her presidential campaign in earnest, Politico national security reporter Eric Bazail-Eimil explains what a Harris foreign policy might look like.And in headlines: The head of the U.S. Secret Service resigned, convicted New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez announced he’d resign next month, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer endorsed Harris’s campaign for president. Show Notes:Read and Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/bdzcrj7aWhat 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

With Vice President Kamala Harris in position to receive the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, Republicans like House Speaker Mike Johnson are raising the possibility of legal challenges to keep a new nominee off the ballot. Experts say these challenges will go nowhere. Republicans have also suggested they will try to block Harris from accessing the 96 million dollars Biden’s campaign raised before he dropped out. But it’s unlikely they’ll succeed there, either. We discuss the details with political reporter Abigail Tracy.And in headlines: lawmakers call for the head of the Secret Service to resign her post, an Israeli airstrike in Gaza kills at least 70 Palestinians, and Delta is still getting back on track after last week’s CrowdStrike outage. Show Notes:Read and Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/bdzcrj7aWhat 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

President Joe Biden announced Sunday he is ending his re-election bid and is throwing his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Party’s nominee in November. It’s the latest bombshell shakeup to this year’s presidential race. Biden said in a statement, “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.” In her own statement, Harris said she intends to “earn and win the nomination.” Within hours, a number of big-name Democrats endorsed Harris, though party leadership remained notably quiet on her candidacy as of late Sunday. California Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee talks about why she thinks it’s time for the party to unite around Harris, while Axios National Political Correspondent Alex Thompson explains what’s next for Harris to successfully campaign.Show Notes:What 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

Since the moment someone shot Donald Trump last weekend, we’ve been hearing the same thing: this election’s over, and it’s going to Trump. But the course of this race—and American politics more broadly—will probably change less than you think. Tre’vell and Max take a look at past assassination attempts in the U.S. and abroad to explain why surviving violent attacks does not guarantee an election victory. Has any politician successfully leveraged these assaults for political gain? Which US president survived two assassination attempts in one month? How would this have played out if Trump were in office? Listen to this week’s How We Got Here to find out.

Former President Donald Trump wrapped up this week’s Republican National Convention on Thursday night with the longest speech in convention history. He started with a first-person account of the attempted assassination against him last weekend. But his promised message of unity fell apart quickly as he embraced autocrats, doubled down on false claims the 2020 election was stolen, and promised the biggest deportation in history. Washington Post reporter Dylan Wells joins us from the convention while Republican political strategist Mike Madrid talks about what’s next for the Never Trump movement.And in headlines: The calls for President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race continued to snowball, a federal appeals court fully blocked the Biden Administration’s student loan repayment program, and Costco is selling an emergency food kit with 150 freeze-dried and hydrated food servings with a promised shelf life of 25 years. Show Notes:Read Dylan Wells, Washington Post Campaign Reporter – https://tinyurl.com/2jdwteuwWhat 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

Wednesday was jam-packed with new developments on and around the Democratic campaign trail. The White House announced that President Biden tested positive for COVID. Biden also appeared to give himself room to exit the presidential race, saying in an interview with BET News he’d reconsider running if “some medical condition” emerged. However, Biden remained defiant and said he had no plans to drop out. California Congressman Adam Schiff became the most high-profile Democrat to publicly call on Biden to exit the race, telling The Los Angeles Times he has “serious concerns” over whether Biden can beat former President Trump in November. And the Democratic National Committee announced it plans to move forward with a virtual roll call vote to officially nominate Biden ahead of the convention, despite calls to drop it amid the ongoing debate within the party over the president’s candidacy. Politics reporter Todd Zwillich breaks down what it all means.And in headlines: Special Counsel Jack Smith appealed the dismissal of Trump’s classified documents case, investigators looking into the assassination attempt against Trump at a rally this weekend reportedly told lawmakers that Secret Service spotted the gunman on a nearby roof roughly 20 minutes before shots were fired, and ‘Shogun’ and ‘The Bear’ lead this year’s Emmy nominations. Show Notes:What 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

On the outskirts of this week's Republican National Convention, the ultra-conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation held a "Policy Fest" to discuss its plans for the next Republican administration. One of the big talking points during the event was Project 2025, a nearly 1,000-page policy blueprint for the next Republican administration to dramatically remake the federal government at almost every level. While former president Donald Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, members of his administration were directly involved in crafting it. McKay Coppins, a senior staff writer at The Atlantic who covered the Trump administration, tells us more about the goals of Project 2025.And in headlines: A jury convicted New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez on all 16 counts he faced in his federal corruption trial, President Biden is reportedly weighing sweeping changes to the Supreme Court, and a new Senate report found almost half of all worker injuries in Amazon warehouses happen during Prime Day.Show Notes:Read Project 2025 – https://www.project2025.org/Check out McKay Coppins work – https://www.theatlantic.com/author/mckay-coppins/What 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

Former President Donald Trump chose Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate on Monday, just as Republicans kicked off their national convention in Milwaukee. Vance, who rose to fame in 2016 with his memoir ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ has undergone a radical political transformation in the years since. Once an outspoken critic of Trump, Vance is now one of the former president’s biggest supporters in Congress. Zack Beauchamp, a senior correspondent for Vox and author of the new book “The Reactionary Spirit,” explains why Vance was a logical pick for Trump.And in headlines: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the assassination attempt against former president  Trump at the weekend rally was a security “failure,” Special Counsel Jack Smith says he’ll appeal a federal judge’s decision to dismiss Trump’s classified documents case, and President Biden reiterated his plans to stay in the presidential race during an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt. Show Notes:Read Zack Beauchamp's article, "What J.D. Vance really believes" https://tinyurl.com/3me4cftxWhat 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

On Saturday, a gunman attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at one of his campaign rallies in Pennsylvania. While Trump was not seriously injured, he said on social media that one of the bullets did graze his ear. President Biden addressed the nation on Sunday evening, acknowledging one of the more shocking instances of political violence in recent history. This all happened just two days before the Republican National Convention kicks off in Milwaukee. We dive into what we know about the shooting so far, and what it means for the week ahead.And in headlines: Israel killed dozens of Palestinians in a strike on southern Gaza, half a million people are still without power from Hurricane Beryl, and honor celebrities we lost over the weekend. Show Notes:What 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 

Why isn’t there a way for party leaders to get together—in a back room, ideally somewhere dark and smokey—and just give Biden the boot? As it turns out, that’s the way things used to get done. Max and Tre’vell explain how back room dealings originated, and why they fell out of favor. Why did the Vietnam War force Democrats to change the process? Did the switch make political parties more extreme? Were there benefits to having a cabal? Listen to this week’s How We Got Here to find out.

President Joe Biden on Thursday wrapped up this week’s NATO summit in Washington by giving his first solo press conference since November. Despite more defections from House Democrats earlier in the day, Biden gave no indication that he would drop out of the presidential race. Some also praised Biden for his command of foreign policy issues during the one-hour Q&A session with reporters, though he did stumble a few times. Political reporter Abigail Tracy breaks down the reaction to Biden’s performance. Also, Illinois Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley, one of the first House lawmakers to call on Biden to leave the race, explains why he still thinks it’s time for the party to move forward with a new nominee.And in headlines: China denied NATO members’ claims that it’s a “decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Donald Trump welcomed Hungary's right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Mar-a-Lago, and inflation is coming down.Show Notes:What 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

Lawmakers continue to weigh in on the fate of President Biden’s re-election campaign. Vermont’s Peter Welch on Wednesday became the first Democratic senator to call on Biden to step aside. However, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on MSNBC that her fellow Democratic lawmakers should “hold off” on publicly debating the issue until after this week. Meanwhile, actor George Clooney penned a New York Times op-ed to describe a recent fundraiser he co-hosted for Biden and said the president was, “the same man we all witnessed at the debate.” Amid all the will-he-or-won’t-he chatter, what do voters think about Biden? Friend of the pod Dan Pfeiffer breaks down some of the recent polls in excerpts from the latest episode of, “Pollercoaster.”And in headlines: Two Senate Democrats asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for possible tax and ethics violations, testimony began in the involuntary manslaughter trial of actor Alec Baldwin, and Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin became the latest governor to call for restrictions on cell phone use in K-12 schools.Show Notes:“Pollercoaster” – https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pollercoaster/What 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

Republicans appeared to soften their stance on abortion ahead of next week’s party convention and adopted a policy platform this week that didn’t include a call for a federal ban. They did so at the direct request of former President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly tried to downplay the issue during the campaign while also taking credit for ending Roe v. Wade. But the 16-page policy document opens the door to establishing fetal personhood, which would threaten access to abortion and IVF. Shefali Luthra, who covers reproductive health for The 19th News and is author of “Undue Burden,” explains what’s actually in the Republican platform.And in headlines: President Biden commemorated NATO’s 75th anniversary in opening remarks at the alliance’s summit in Washington, Congressional Democrats appear to be falling in line behind Biden as the party’s presidential nominee, and an Israeli airstrike killed more than two dozen people in southern Gaza on Tuesday.Show Notes:The 19th, co-written by Shefali Luthra: “RNC approves platform that would give rights to fetuses, endangering abortion, IVF” – https://tinyurl.com/25gsbl6dPod Save America, “Biden Digs In” – https://crooked.com/podcast/biden-digs-in/What 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

President Biden continued to aggressively push back on the idea that he would drop out of the presidential race. He started Monday morning by sending a letter to all Congressional Democrats that said he is “firmly committed to staying in this race,” and that it was time for speculation about it to end. He followed that up by calling into MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” where he blamed the party’s “elites” for trying to push him out of the race. Tara Palmeri, senior political correspondent for Puck News and the host of the election podcast “Somebody’s Gotta Win,” breaks down the mood on Capitol Hill as lawmakers returned from the long holiday weekend.The Paris Olympics are just a couple of weeks away. One of the people competing for Team U.S.A. is runner Nikki Hiltz, who is trans and nonbinary. Hiltz will be one of a few openly trans people at the games during a socio-political moment where trans people — trans women especially — are banned from participating on sports teams that align with their identities. CeCé Telfer, the first openly transgender person to win an NCAA track and field title, has also been trying to get to the Olympics but is barred from doing so. She shares her story.And in headlines: Republicans proposed a party platform with a softer abortion stance ahead of next week's Republican National Convention, Hurricane Beryl led to at least three deaths in Texas, and Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the federal government.Show Notes:What 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

President Joe Biden spent the long July Fourth weekend trying to save his re-election bid after his disastrous debate performance more than a week ago. On the campaign trail and in his first post-debate interview with ABC, the president was adamant that he would not leave the race. But Biden’s publicity blitz did little to assure panicked Democrats in Washington, with some top lawmakers in both the House and Senate privately voicing hopes that the president will drop out. Alex Thompson, national political reporter for Axios, gets us up to speed on what happened over the long holiday break.And in headlines: French voters successfully rallied to stop the formation of the country’s first far-right government since World War II, Tropical Storm Beryl is expected to make landfall in southern Texas today, and four crew members inside NASA’s first Mars simulation have emerged from their year-long isolation.Show Notes:What 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

We may be starting to see a seismic shift in how the Democratic Party publicly talks about whether President Joe Biden should remain the party’s presumptive nominee for president. On Tuesday, Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett became the first sitting Democratic lawmaker to call for Biden to leave the race after his devastating debate performance last week. Longtime Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley and Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Peter Welch of Vermont were also among those voicing harsh criticism of the president and his campaign. Most notably, South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn said he would support Vice President Kamala Harris if Biden dropped out of the race. Liz Bruenig, staff writer at The Atlantic, explains how the stakes of the race have changed in recent days.And in headlines: New York Justice Juan Merchan has delayed former President Donald Trump’s sentencing until September in the wake of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani lost his license to practice law in the state, and President Biden proposed a new rule on Tuesday to protect around 35 million people from excessive heat in their workplaces.Show Notes:What 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 

The Supreme Court's conservative majority handed former President Donald Trump a major win on Monday, granting him broad — though not full — immunity from charges he tried to overturn the 2020 election. The decision effectively kicks Trump's federal election interference case back down to a lower court judge to parse out which of his actions that day, and leading up to it, could be considered "unofficial acts," for which he could still be prosecuted. It makes the likelihood of a trial before November almost nonexistent and raises the stakes of the presidential election. Kate Shaw, co-host of Crooked's legal podcast 'Strict Scrutiny,' explains what the court's decision means for Trump's Jan. 6 case and all future presidents of the United States.And in headlines: The Supreme Court put on hold a pair of social media laws from Texas and Florida, trans nonbinary runner Nikki Hiltz is headed to the Olympics after winning the women's 1500-meter race at trials, and Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is filing for bankruptcy.Show Notes:What 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

The Biden campaign spent the weekend trying to contain the damage from the president’s devastating performance in Thursday night’s presidential debate. Biden acknowledged his lackluster showing during a campaign event in North Carolina on Friday. Still, it didn’t do much to end the sheer panic that has overtaken the Democratic Party and quiet the calls for him to leave the race ahead of the Democratic National Convention. Colby Itkowitz, national reporter for The Washington Post, explains what would happen if Biden were to step aside before the DNC in August.Meanwhile, the Supreme Court kicked Democrats while they were down Friday morning. The justices issued a flurry of opinions limiting the ways government agencies can set regulations, allowing city officials to remove homeless encampments, and undermining a key charge used by prosecutors in hundreds of cases against January 6 rioters. The court is expected to wrap up its term today, meaning we expect a decision in the most significant case of the year — whether former President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution for his role in the insurrection.And in headlines: France’s far-right political party won big in the country’s parliamentary elections Sunday, the U.S. dismantled the floating pier that the military built for aid delivery in Gaza, and Steve Bannon must turn himself into prison today after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal to delay his sentence.Show Notes:Read Colby Itkowitz's work- https://tinyurl.com/p4y2rywcWhat 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