Pod Save America

Trump and Pod Save America Agree: JD Is Lame

Donald Trump thinks JD Vance is a bit of a loser and he's worried he may not be presidential enough to be the 2028 Republican nominee, according to The New York Times. After a series of court losses, the White House signals that it's about to ditch its $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund." Trump is reportedly "getting very bored" with the Iran negotiations. Democratic voters head to the polls to decide a series of contentious primaries in California and Iowa. Then, Senator Andy Kim talks to Jon about the atrocious conditions at Newark's Delaney Hall Detention Center. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/2WkIHp8Fmjg]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

What Does it Mean to Be an American?

Jon sits down with our own Ben Rhodes to talk about how American leaders tell the story of who we are — and who they think we should be — through the speeches they give. The two go through the seminal speeches Ben selected for his new book "All We Say," discussing their power for good (Frederic Douglass on human rights) and evil (Alexander Stephenson on the "moral truth" of white supremacy), and their own memories of writing presidential addresses for Barack Obama when the stakes were highest. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/IbO21T_-Duo]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

Is It Gay to Flip Texas?

After Ken Paxton's victory in the Texas Senate Republican primary runoff, the MAGA faithful set their sights on James Talarico, attempting to disqualify him for being too much of a beta male for Texas. Will it stick? The White House is on the verge of getting Iran to the table to negotiate, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismisses concerns that the U.S. economy is heading toward stagflation, and Trump accelerates his quest to stamp his image on Washington, covering statues in gold and attempting to create a $250 bill with his own face on it. On the presidential family front: ProPublica reports that the administration funneled millions to a company owned in part by Donald Trump Jr., while Dr. Jill Biden finally speaks candidly about her reaction to her husband's infamous 2024 debate performance. Then, Scott Colom, the Democratic nominee for Mississippi's U.S. Senate seat, stops by the studio to talk to Jon about why he believes the deep-red state is in play. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/rVydkslzee0]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

50 Shades of Legal Gray

Norm Eisen, President Obama's "ethics czar" and founder of Democracy Defenders, talks to Alex Wagner about Trump's latest avalanche of corruption: the $1.8 billion slush fund to pay off Jan. 6 rioters, the IRS immunity announcement, the ballroom, the reflecting pool renovation, the 3,000-plus stock trades placed while in office, and, unfortunately, much more. Together, they unpack how Democrats in Congress — or lawyers outside of it — could stop Trump's slush fund, and what impact this onslaught of self-enrichment, cronyism, and taxpayer abuse may have on the midterm elections. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/eFASuvc7_VU]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

Trump's Revenge Leads to Republican Revolt

So much for Trump's iron grip on the party. Just days after Thomas Massie's defeat, Republicans in the Senate and House begin to buck Trump on his top priorities: ballroom funding, the taxpayer-funded slush fund for his allies, and the war in Iran. Could it be that his surprise endorsement of Ken Paxton over John Cornyn in the Texas Senate primary didn't help matters? Faced with mounting leaks, the DNC finally releases its 2024 autopsy — an incoherent, error-riddled mess that Chairman Ken Martin admits was a failure from the start. The New York Times releases new polling data on what Democrats think the party needs to do to win in 2028. Then, California gubernatorial candidate Matt Mahan talks to Tommy about the race and his record as mayor of San Jose. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/u4d9T4-MflM]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.