National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on Thursday became the first major ouster of President Donald Trump’s second term… kind of. Rumors of Waltz’s imminent firing swirled in the morning, only for Trump to later announce he plans to nominate Waltz to be the next ambassador to the United Nations. Waltz had reportedly been on thin ice with the White House for weeks now, after he included the editor in chief of The Atlantic in a Signal group chat where imminent military plans were discussed among some of the most senior members of the administration. Jake Traylor, White House reporter for Politico, joins us to explain Waltz’s ouster as NSA and the possibility of other “transitions” within Trump’s Cabinet.And in headlines: Former Vice-President Kamala Harris gave her first major public address since leaving office, the Department of Justice sued Hawaii and Michigan over their plans to sue fossil fuel companies for harms caused by climate change, and a federal judge barred the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans in South Texas.Show Notes:Check out Jake's work – https://www.politico.com/staff/jake-traylorSubscribe 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
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22:04
In Trump vs Universities, Students Are Stuck In The Middle
In his first 100 days in office, President Donald Trump has fundamentally reshaped the federal government’s relationship with many of the nation’s most revered universities. Schools are finding themselves in an unwinnable fight: either capitulate to Trump’s authoritarian-esq demands or lose millions – even billions – in federal funding. Some schools, like Columbia, have already caved. Others, like Harvard, have been more defiant. Either way, the impact is not theoretical, and current students are feeling it acutely. Nathan Elias, editor and chief of the University of Southern California’s student newspaper paper the Daily Trojan, tells us what he’s hearing from his fellow students.And in headlines: The U.S. economy shrunk in the first few months of the year, Trump admitted he ‘could’ bring back a man wrongfully deported to El Salvador, and the Supreme Court appears ready to green light religious public charter schools.Show Notes:Check out the Daily Trojan – https://dailytrojan.com/Subscribe 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
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23:24
Trump is Tariff-ied
President Trump cruised to victory in the 2024 election largely because voters said they trusted him more on the economy. But 100 days into his second term, that trust has evaporated. Consumer confidence in April plummeted to levels not seen since around the start of the pandemic. And amid rumors that Amazon would add the cost of tariffs to each item on its website, the White House went into full-court press mode to knock them down. Gee.. we wonder why? Stephanie Ruhle, host of MSNBC's ‘The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle’ and a senior business analyst for NBC News, helps us make sense of Trump’s economic lurching.And in headlines: Canada’s Liberal Party rides national hatred of Trump to an election victory, the president celebrates his first 100 days in office by celebrating himself in Michigan, and the Justice Department sees a mass exodus of civil rights attorneys.Show Notes:Subscribe 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
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25:28
100 Days In Trump’s America 2.0
We made it, ya’ll. One hundred days of President Donald Trump’s second term down. Only 1,362 to go…. not that we’re counting (we're definitely counting). While the White House is pushing the narrative that Trump’s early days have been an unmitigated success, the American public clearly feels otherwise. A bunch of new polls show the president's approval rating hovering around 40 percent. He's also underwater on every issue respondents were asked about, from the economy to immigration. Jon Favreau, co-host of Pod Save America and founder of Crooked Media, stops by to help make sense of the 100-day wreckage and where we go from here.And in headlines: Spain and Portugal entered a second Dark Age amid a massive power outage, Virginia Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly announced his retirement, and Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a unilateral temporary ceasefire in May in honor of the Russian holiday Victory Day.Show Notes:Subscribe 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
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24:23
Why Some Migrants Say They'll Self-Deport
The Trump administration's relentless assault on immigrants keeps marching on. Over the weekend, federal officials said they arrested nearly 800 people in Florida during a four-day immigration enforcement operation. ICE also deported three children who are U.S. citizens on Friday, including one who’d been diagnosed with cancer. As the White House widens its brutal crackdown on migrants, some say they’ll do what Trump wants them to do: leave the country and the lives they built here behind. Rebecca Plevin, who covers equity for The Los Angeles Times, tells us why.And in headlines: Pope Francis was laid to rest in Rome, President Trump admits Russian President Vladimir Putin may not want to stop attacking Ukraine, and the White House restored visa registrations for thousands of international students.Show Notes:Read Rebecca Plevin's story - https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-04-18/immigrants-self-deport-rather-than-risk-being-marched-out-like-criminalsSubscribe 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
If you’re looking for hype, fake outrage, and groupthink, kindly keep moving. Our mission at What a Day is simple: to be your guide to what truly matters each morning (and the fun stuff you might have missed) in just 20 minutes. Host Jane Coaston brings you in-depth reporting and substantive analysis on the big stories shaping today and the creeping trends shaping tomorrow—and when she doesn’t know the answers, she asks someone even smarter to fill us all in. Radical, right? New episodes at 5:00 a.m. EST, Monday–Friday in your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. Being informed was never this easy.
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