President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traded public barbs on Wednesday, one day after top White House and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy said Trump is living in a 'web of disinformation,' while Trump falsely accused Zelenskyy of being a 'dictator without elections.' With the three-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of its neighbor coming up next week, the Trump administration's decision to sideline Ukraine and Europe in favor of direct talks with Russia underscores the ways the president is throwing traditional U.S. alliances out the window. Julia Ioffe, Washington correspondent at Puck News and a long-time observer of Russian politics, explains what the U.S. selling out Ukraine could mean for the world order.

And in headlines: A top DOJ officials defended the decision to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams in court, Trump signed an executive order to expand his control over independent regulatory agencies, and Civil Rights groups sues the Trump Administration over its anti-DEI and anti-trans actions.

Show Notes:

• Check out Julia's work – puck.news/author/julia-ioffe/
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President Donald Trump has a problem with journalists, particularly those who do or say things he doesn’t like. His latest fight is with the Associated Press, which refuses to go along with the president’s decision to unilaterally rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. But he’s also going after CBS’s “60 Minutes” for how it edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris and the Des Moines Register over a late-election poll it published showing Trump losing Iowa in November (he didn’t). Katherine Jacobsen, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ program coordinator in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean, talks about the risks to press freedom under the Trump administration.

Also in headlines: Trump officials continued to move closer to Russia during peace talks in Saudi Arabia over ending its invasion of Ukraine, the White House says billionaire Elon Musk is not running the Department of Government Efficiency, and another top federal prosecutor in D.C. resigned.

Show Notes:

• Learn more about The Committee to Protect Journalists – cpj.org
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
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• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

President Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he wants to end the Department of Education and return teaching “to the states.” And now that he’s in office, he’s making good on that promise. The administration recently sent billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency bros to Education Department headquarters to cut contracts, staff and grants. Trump has also said he hopes his pick to head the department, Linda McMahon, ultimately puts herself out of a job. Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Teachers Federation, talks about what destroying the Department of Education could mean for kids.

And in headlines: DOGE eyes the Internal Revenue Service as its next target, Mexico’s President says she could sue Google for using ‘Gulf of America’ on its maps, and European leaders meet to discuss their options around the war in Ukraine.

Show Notes:

• Learn more about American Federation of Teachers – www.aft.org
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
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• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

The Justice Department is in turmoil after more than half a dozen federal prosecutors resigned rather than sign their names to a motion to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. It's the latest indication that the Trump administration plans to use the DOJ, now led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, as an extension of the president's political agenda above all else. Ken White, a former federal prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney who writes the 'Popehat' newsletter, talks about what the crisis at the DOJ means for the agency charged with enforcing federal laws.

And in headlines: The U.S. seems ready to sideline Zelensky and Europe in favor of starting peace talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, thousands of federal workers at the CDC and NIH lose their jobs, and phase two of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is in doubt.

Show Notes:

• Check out Ken's newsletter – https://www.popehat.com/
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
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• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Democratic state attorneys general have been a major thorn in President Donald Trump's side since he returned to the White House last month. They've successfully gotten federal courts to block some of the president's most questionably constitutional actions, from trying to end birthright citizenship and freezing trillions in federal grant money to letting Elon Musk run roughshod over government agencies. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin stops by the 'What A Day' studio to talk about how Democratic AGs are working together to push back on the Trump administration's agenda.

And in headlines: A vaccine skeptic is now running the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump's pick to run the Department of Education talked about her plans to dismantle the Department of Education during her first Senate confirmation hearing, and there's new hope the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will continue to hold.

Show Notes:

• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
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• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Inflation rose more than expected in January according to federal data released Wednesday, as the cost of things like groceries, housing and energy ticked up. While we’re still only a few weeks into Donald Trump’s second term, he did campaign on lowering prices for consumers on ‘Day 1,’ a promise he and his team have been backing away from since his election victory. The new inflation data raises big questions about the state of the economy and the potential effects of Trump’s policy plans to cut taxes, impose tariffs and slash the federal workforce. Victoria Guida, economics correspondent for Politico, helps us make sense of what’s actually going on with the economy right now and what it all means for Trump.

Later in the show, Crooked Media’s climate correspondent Anya Zoledziowski talks about what’s happening at the Environmental Protection Agency.

And in headlines: Tulsi Gabbard is confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as the new director of national intelligence, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed ways to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over the phone (not on the call: Ukraine), and Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green presided over the first meeting of the House DOGE Subcommittee.

Show Notes:

• Check out Victoria's work – politico.com/staff/victoria-guida
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
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• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

More than two dozen Christian and Jewish organizations sued the Trump administration Tuesday over its decision to let immigration agents make arrests at places of worship. Also Tuesday, Pope Francis issued a stinging rebuke of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan in a letter to U.S. Catholic Bishops. And he had some seemingly pointed words for Vice President J.D. Vance, who in recent weeks has used his Catholic faith to justify the White House’s immigration crackdown. Terence Sweeney, an assistant teaching professor at Villanova University, breaks down the holes in the Trump administration’s interpretation of Christianity and Catholicism.

Later in the show, Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics and trade policy at the Cato Institute, explains why Trump’s threats to a trade loophole could blow up your online shopping habits.

And in headlines: Trump and Elon Musk defended the Department of Government Efficiency’s draconian cost-cutting actions during a joint press conference, DOGE said it cut $900 million in Department of Education contracts, and a federal judge blocked the administration’s order to cut billions in funding for medical research.

Show Notes:

• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
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• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has become the latest federal agency in the Trump administration's crosshairs. On Friday, unelected billionaire Elon Musk and his minions gained access to the CFPB's computer systems. That same day, the White House named Russell Vought, the newly confirmed head of the Office of Management and Budget and longtime opponent of the CFPB, as the agency's new acting director. The next day, Vought ordered CFPB staffers to halt all work and to close the office, effectively shuttering the independent agency created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Helaine Olen, managing editor at the American Economic Liberties Project and a contributing columnist at MSNBC, explains why shuttering the CFPB would be bad for average Americans.

And in headlines: Trump doubles down on his plan to kick Palestinians out of Gaza, a federal judge says the White House has defied his order to unfreeze billions in federal grants, and the president slaps a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum imports.

Show Notes:

• Check out Helaine Olen's piece – https://tinyurl.com/4h97vk99
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday