'Historic debacle': Trump sets new standard for poor presidential performance; Americans displeased

Summary

Summary of "The Rachel Maddow Show" Episode: 'Historic Debacle': Trump Sets New Standard for Poor Presidential Performance; Americans Displeased

Release Date: May 1, 2025
Host: Rachel Maddow, MSNBC

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of "The Rachel Maddow Show," host Rachel Maddow delves deep into the tumultuous first hundred days of President Donald Trump's administration. Titled "'Historic Debacle': Trump Sets New Standard for Poor Presidential Performance; Americans Displeased," the episode offers a critical analysis of Trump's policies, public perception, and the broader implications for American democracy. Through a series of interviews, expert insights, and on-the-ground reports, Maddow paints a detailed picture of a presidency marked by controversy, public unrest, and significant policy missteps.

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Trump's Tumultuous First 100 Days

Chris Hayes opens the episode with a stark overview of Trump's initial hundred days in office, dubbing it a "historic debacle." He highlights the widespread dissatisfaction among Americans, pointing to plummeting approval ratings and economic instability as key indicators of Trump's poor performance.

• Approval Ratings: Hayes cites a Financial Times headline stating, "Trump's approval at 100 days lower than any president in at least seven decades." He underscores that "more Americans gave him an F than any other grade for his first 100 days" ([00:59]).

• Economic Impact: The U.S. economy has seen a contraction of 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025 due to Trump's trade wars and erratic policymaking. Hayes notes, "Trump's first hundred days mark worst for US Stock market since Gerald Ford" ([02:15]).

• Public Perception: According to a Public Religion Research Institute poll, "52% of the country agrees that Trump is a dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy" ([05:30]).

Notable Quote:
“Trump appears to be less popular at the 100 day mark than any other president since the inception of approval polling.”
— Chris Hayes ([00:59])

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Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Civil Rights Violations

A significant portion of the episode critiques the actions of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a division within the Department of Homeland Security. Hayes discusses a disturbing incident in Oklahoma City where HSI agents conducted a raid on a U.S. citizen's home without proper authorization.

• Oklahoma City Raid: Federal agents forced a mother and her daughters outside in the rain, stripped them of their belongings, and confiscated their phones and cash. The agents falsely identified themselves as FBI and U.S. Marshals, but these agencies have denied involvement ([01:20]).

• HSI Accountability: Hayes raises concerns about the lack of transparency and accountability within HSI, questioning the agency's oversight and the recourse available to victims of such raids ([02:45]).

• Mohsen Madawi Case: Hayes details the case of Mohsen Madawi, a legal permanent resident arrested by masked HSI agents during his citizenship interview. Thanks to swift legal action and community support, Madawi was released pending a Supreme Court decision ([04:10]).

Notable Quote:
"Now, what's interesting here is that at the top of this form, there's a space to write in which agency these federal agents were from. And what they wrote in there is HSI.”
— Chris Hayes ([01:50])

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Nationwide Protests and Public Outcry

The administration's policies have sparked widespread protests across the nation, reflecting a populace increasingly disillusioned with Trump's leadership.

• Local Protests: From small towns like Sackets Harbor, New York, where over a thousand residents marched to demand the release of a mother and her children taken by ICE, to large cities like Washington, D.C., protests have been a common sight ([10:00]).

• Public Sentiment: Hayes emphasizes that these demonstrations are not isolated but part of a broader national awakening against perceived authoritarian measures. Signs such as "100 days of incompetence" and "Protect our courts, protect our rights" have become commonplace ([15:30]).

Notable Quote:
"This is not a secret. ... the country is very clearly wide awake to it. Right. This is not a secret.”
— Chris Hayes ([12:00])

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Data Privacy and Surveillance: The Doge Dilemma

In an illuminating segment, investigative journalist Julia Anguin discusses the Trump administration's data aggregation efforts through a project dubbed "Doge." This initiative poses significant threats to personal privacy and civil liberties.

• Doge Project: Anguin explains that Doge is compiling a master database by aggregating sensitive information from various federal agencies, including Social Security, the IRS, and the Department of Health and Human Services ([30:22]).

• Authoritarian Risks: Drawing parallels with authoritarian regimes like China, Anguin warns that such comprehensive data collection can lead to unprecedented surveillance and control over U.S. citizens ([32:16]).

• Legal Challenges: Despite existing privacy laws being insufficient, Anguin underscores the dire need for political and legislative action to prevent the misuse of aggregated data ([34:14]).

Notable Quote:
"What we were always scared of. The infrastructure for turnkey totalitarianism is there for an administration willing to break the law.”
— Julia Anguin ([30:52])

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ACLU's Fight Against Unlawful Deportations

Attorney Lee Gelernt, Deputy Director of the ACLU's Immigrant Rights Project, provides insights into the ongoing legal battles against the Trump administration's deportation policies.

• Bluebonnet Immigration Prison Case: Gelernt discusses the plight of prisoners like Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who have been wrongfully detained and deported without due process. Recent footage shows detainees signaling distress via drone ([40:51]).

• Legal Strategies: The ACLU is actively filing cases across multiple courts to halt unlawful deportations and ensuring that detained individuals receive necessary legal representation and due process ([41:20]).

• Supreme Court Involvement: While awaiting a Supreme Court ruling, Gelernt expresses hope that higher judiciary intervention will prevent further abuses and secure the release of wrongly detained individuals ([42:31]).

Notable Quote:
"There is no question that if we ask for the men back, we get them back.”
— Lee Gelernt ([43:02])

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Court Rulings and Institutional Checks

The episode sheds light on recent court decisions that have begun to check Trump's overreaches:

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): Courts have ordered Trump to reinstate over 1,400 employees he attempted to fire from the CFPB, reinforcing the principle that presidential powers are not absolute ([25:00]).

• Funding for Free Media: Trump was mandated to pay Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty $12 million in grant funding, emphasizing that executive actions cannot contravene congressional appropriations ([27:00]).

Notable Quote:
"This framework that mandates that Trump can't block this funding... is a framework that has propelled the United States to heights of greatness, liberty and prosperity.”
— Judge Royce Lamberth ([26:10])

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Conclusion and Forward Look

As the episode draws to a close, Rachel Maddow reflects on the ongoing resistance against Trump's policies and the resilience of American democratic institutions. She underscores the importance of judicial oversight and community activism in holding the administration accountable.

• Looking Ahead: Maddow hints at upcoming segments, including a live town hall featuring Senator Cory Booker and federal workers affected by Trump's policies, promising continued in-depth coverage and original reporting ([44:00]).

• Public Vigilance: The episode concludes with a call to action, encouraging viewers to stay informed and involved in the fight to preserve democratic values and protect individual rights ([45:49]).

Notable Quote:
"The wheel of history has come around again. But as before, these times of excess will pass.”
— Judge Royce Lamberth ([05:00])

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Final Thoughts

This episode of "The Rachel Maddow Show" provides a thorough and incisive examination of the challenges and controversies surrounding President Trump's early tenure. Through detailed reporting, expert interviews, and robust analysis, Maddow offers viewers a critical lens on the state of American politics, civil liberties, and the rule of law. The show's commitment to uncovering truths and holding power to account underscores its role as a vital platform for informed discourse and democratic accountability.

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Notable Quotes Summary:

• “Trump appears to be less popular at the 100 day mark than any other president since the inception of approval polling.”
  — Chris Hayes ([00:59])

• “Now, what's interesting here is that at the top of this form, there's a space to write in which agency these federal agents were from. And what they wrote in there is HSI.”
  — Chris Hayes ([01:50])

• “This is not a secret. ... the country is very clearly wide awake to it. Right. This is not a secret.”
  — Chris Hayes ([12:00])

• "What we were always scared of. The infrastructure for turnkey totalitarianism is there for an administration willing to break the law.”
  — Julia Anguin ([30:52])

• "There is no question that if we ask for the men back, we get them back.”
  — Lee Gelernt ([43:02])

• “The wheel of history has come around again. But as before, these times of excess will pass.”
  — Judge Royce Lamberth ([05:00])

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This summary captures the essential discussions, insights, and conclusions from the May 1, 2025 episode of "The Rachel Maddow Show," providing a comprehensive overview for those who have not listened to the episode.

Transcript

[Rachel Maddow]

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[Chris Hayes]

Tell you as I ran into the studio tonight, this is my last night of being here every night for the first hundred days. As I ran into the studio tonight, I face planted into the back of one of the major lights that illuminates me in the studio. So if at some point in this final broadcast of My Hundred Days, it suddenly gets really, really bright in here, it's not that I'm about to be struck by a meteor, it's that the COVID that we just stuck back on the light has fallen off because I broke it with my face. So there you go. Just running through the tape here. All right, we got a lot to get to tonight. Let's jump right in. First of all, I got an update for you on the story that we led with last night from Oklahoma City. If you saw the show last night, you know what I'm talking about. It was a very memorable story from the NBC affiliate KFOR in Oklahoma City. And we had just a huge reaction to our coverage of that story. It's the story of an Oklahoma City mom and her daughters who were forced outside in the rain in their underwear at gunpoint by US Federal agents who broke down the door, tore their home apart, took all their phones and electronics and thousands of dollars in cash from this family. These are U.S. citizens. They were not the target of any law enforcement investigation. Agents reportedly told the family they were from the FBI, the US Marshal Service and ice. But the Marshal Service and the FBI, after this raid now say that they didn't have any of their agents there. It wasn't them, as I said. We got this story from the excellent NBC affiliate in Oklahoma City, K4. We have now also obtained from them these pieces of paper that the agents left at the house after they broke in. They left the warrant which identified this address that they were going to, even though they were seeking people at this house who no longer lived there. They also left these two pieces of paper. Right? So they, they broke in, terrorized this mom and her daughters, forced them outside in the rain in their underwear, tore apart their home, took their phones and their money, but they left them this. It's a two page inventory of what the agents say they took from their home. You can see there where it says US Currency. They don't say how much or anything, but that's the money that they took from this family. Now, what's interesting here is that at the top of this form, there's a space to write in which agency these federal agents were from. And what they wrote in there is hsi. So again, the FBI and the Marshal Service say that whatever those agents told that family when they broke in, the Marshal Service and the FBI were not represented there. Well, what's hsi, the agency that filled out this inventory of all the stuff that was taken from this family? HSI is Homeland Security Investigations, which is a very low profile but very large group of armed agents within the Department of Homeland Security. It is a large agency. They have thousands of agents. They are basically a huge federal armed force with no, no public profile. The Trump administration appears to be using them for all kinds of things. They don't seem to have a very clear remit. And like I said, the public mostly has never heard of them. Have you ever heard of this agency before hsi? Do you, for example, know who's in charge of hsi? Who's the head of it? Do you know who you'd call if agents from HSI broke into your house even though they concede they were looking for somebody else and not you, and you're not the target of any investigation? Well, we found out who, technically at least, is in charge of hsi. This Acting Executive Associate Director of Homeland Security Investigations. We have been trying assiduously to get in touch with him to try to get a comment on this story and on the reported behavior of these HSI agents in Oklahoma City. Specifically, we're trying to find out what exactly this Oklahoma City mom is supposed to do to get her money back and all of her family's stuff back, let alone to get her house repaired after these federal agents broke through the doors and tore apart everything inside and terrorized this family, even though, again, they were not the targets of any investigation. They are US Citizens. HSI did not return any of our calls. Homeland Security, more broadly, is not addressing those questions from us either. We will keep trying. Also, you might remember this case of Mohsen Madawi, which we've covered a few times on the show in the last few weeks. He's a university student who is a legal permanent resident. He has a green card. He turned up for his citizenship interview in Vermont, and masked agents, masked federal agents, swooped in on his citizenship interview and arrested him and took him away. We now know that the agents who arrested him at that citizenship interview were also hsi, were also this same armed division within Homeland Security. That detail that it was HSI agents was confirmed in a court document today, in a court ruling today in which Mohsin Madawi was set free. This young man lives in Vermont even though he is a legal resident of the United States and has not been charged with any crime. He was worried that Trump was going to try to arrest him because of his participation in protests over the war in Gaza. His friends and his community in Vermont made a plan in advance to prepare for just such an emergency in case it came to pass. They'd set up a group text in advance so they could respond rapidly if Trump's agents came to arrest Mr. Madawi when it in fact happened. At his citizen interview, his friends, his supporters in Vermont, they made sure he was not alone. They filmed his arrest. They notified the media, they notified his lawyers, who were able to act very, very quickly. And only because they were able to act so quickly were they able to get a judge to block the Trump administration from flying Mohsen Madawi across the country to one of these black site immigration prisons in Louisiana. That judge's quick order kept Mr. Madawi in Vermont. Since then, Vermont US Senator Peter Welch not only spoke out on his behalf, as did the other members of Vermont's congressional delegation, but Senator Welch also went to Colchester, Vermont, and visited him in the prison where he was being held. Vermonters turned up again and again and again protesting on Mr. Madawi's behalf at the State Capitol in Montpelier and at the prison where he was being held. And today they got him out. And that support for him among his community in Vermont was referenced again and again in the ruling today setting him free. Let me just Read you a little bit from that ruling. It's pretty remarkable. Quote, through counsel, Mr. Madawi filed a motion for release on April 22nd. That motion is supported by over 125 letters of support from professors, neighbors, fellow students and others who know him well. All attest to his mild and peaceful nature, his deep intelligence, and his commitment to principles of nonviolence and political activism. Now, because the Trump administration accused Mohsen Madawi of anti Semitism versus criticism of the war in Gaza, the judge goes on in his ruling to note this. He says, quote, a striking number of these letters come from Jewish colleagues and professors involved in the study of the history and culture of Israel and Judaism. The judge's ruling continues. Quote, non Citizen Residents like Mr. Madawi enjoy First Amendment rights in this country to the same extent as US Citizens. The Supreme Court has never held that the First Amendment fails to protect non citizens political speech to the same extent it protects citizens political speech. That includes the right to be free from retaliation for the exercise of First Amendment rights. The judge says people who know Mr. Madawi describe him as a peaceful figure who seeks consensus in a highly charged political environment. But even if he were a firebrand, his conduct is protected by the First Amendment. The judge says, quote, this court also considers the extraordinary setting of this case and others like it. Legal residents not charged with crimes or misconduct are being arrested and threatened with deportation for stating their views on the political issues of the day. Judge says, quote, our nation has seen times like this before, especially during the Red Scare and the Palmer raids of 1919 and 1920, which led to the deportation of hundreds of people suspected of anarchist or communist views. Similar themes were sounded during the McCarthy period in the 1950s when thousands of non citizens were targeted for deportation due to their political views. The judge in his ruling then cites a famous Supreme Court dissent that called out, quote, the menace to free institutions inherent in procedures of this pattern. The judge today says, quote, the wheel of history has come around again. But as before, these times of excess will pass. Quote, Mr. Madawi has strong ties to the Vermont community where he owns a home. He is a full time student who has been accepted into a graduate program. He has deep connections to professors, his faith community, and it would appear a great many friends. Mr. Madawi's release is in the public interest. His continued detention would likely have a chilling effect on protected speech, which is squarely against the public interest. Continuing to detain him would not benefit the public in any way, as he appears to be neither a flight risk, nor a danger to the community. Mr. Madawi's release will benefit his community, which appears to deeply cherish and value him. This court therefore declines to stay its order pending appeal, and instead requires Mr. Madawi's immediate release, whereupon his friends and neighbors, who had packed the courtroom and held silent throughout the judge's ruling from the bench, they reportedly could not contain themselves anymore. And according to the New York Times reporter who was in the room, they burst into applause. And then Mohsen Madawi was set free and walked out of the courthouse. So it is not an idle question, right? It is not a hypothetical question to ask, what are the plans in your town for when Trump's agents come and arrest somebody from your church or your school or your neighborhood? Right? Within the Mohsen Madawi case, we've got this sort of case study. They would not be setting him free if Trump was able to spirit him away to Louisiana. They weren't able to spirit him away to Louisiana because they acted fast. And they were only able to act fast because they had planned in advance what they would do if, in fact, Trump's masked agents did come in and arrest this young man in advance. They made a text chain, they made a network, they called lawyers, they made a plan. And now he's free. And this isn't the only time it has worked. You might remember at the beginning of this month, we saw it in Sackets Harbor. Sackets Harbor, New York, do you remember this? The small town where a mom and her three kids were taken by Trump's immigration agents? And the school district where the kids were all in school, and the churches in that town and the whole town of Sackets Harbor, New York, they all came out to demand that those kids and their mom be released. This is a town where there aren't even 1400 people. The population of this town is like 1360 people. More than a thousand people came out in that town and marched and protested to get that mom and her kids home. And they got them home. ICE released them. And people are doing things like this everywhere. Back in Vermont, where Mohsen Madawi was just freed, these nuns from the Sisters of Mercy joining a protest to try to return eight farm workers, farm workers who were all arrested and taken away on a local dairy farm. You might have heard this weekend in the news about the big raid where they arrested more than 100 people at a nightclub in Colorado Springs. You heard about this this weekend? Well, this was yesterday. People turning out at the El Paso County Sheriff's office in Colorado Springs saying, let these people go. Yesterday there was an ice raid of some kind in Evansville, Illinois where they arrested people while people in Evansville were immediately out in the streets yesterday protesting. Local news in Evansville last night and today is full of news about the outrage in that community and the protests in response. Trump's so called border czar, this guy, Tom Homan, he paid a visit to give a speech in Rochester, New York yesterday. Tom Homan in Rochester, New York, was greeted by not one, not two, but three different protests by angry Rochester residents. One in front of the public safety building in Rochester, one outside the club where Homan was speaking, and one on a highway overpass on his route into the city. Due process is overdue, Tom. Today in Washington, D.C. there was some peaceful civil disobedience. People blocking traffic this morning. They had a huge copy of the Constitution that they unfurled as a big banner. Their signs said things like, which will you choose? Courage or compliance. That was the theme of this action today. Courage or compliance? Torch fascism. With the Statue of Liberty in her torch, they had a big globe with a sign in front of it. Respect existence or expect resistance. This morning's action that we just showed you there, that comes on the heels of the big rally for fired federal workers that we saw at Union station in Washington D.C. yesterday. Last night, when Trump showed up in Warren, Michigan for his big weird hundred days speech, he was greeted by a whole lot of people who wanted to give him a little piece of their mind. 100 days of BS. What's there to celebrate next to vets versus fascism? Make America grift free again. You're fired. With a pretty good portrait of Trump there, grifter in chief. Also, this sign, you voted for democracy, not dictatorship. This one made me laugh. Put in by Putin. Fair enough. This was a fine shout out to the Queen, Sharon Jones. 100 days, 100 nights to know a man's heart. You know that song? Or in this case, 100 days. 100 nights to know a man has no heart. A lot of hundred days signs in war in Michigan greeting the president last night. 100 days of incompetence. 100 days of cruelty. 100 days of chaos and loss. 100 days of destruction. 100 days of greed and evil. Which spells out Doge. 100 days of Edvard Munch's the Scream. 100 days of lies, insults, cruelty, incompetence, corruption, betrayal. Celebrating 100 days of ineptitude and corruption. Warren, Michigan says, hi, Mr. President, I dissent. That's what greeted him when he arrived in Warren, Michigan last night. We're expecting a lot of protests tomorrow, May 1, also known as May Day. We expect hundreds of protests against Trump tomorrow all over the country. May Day, you may know, is also Law Day. And all over the country tomorrow there are going to be stand up for the rule of law events, people saying protect our courts, protect our rights, including one of these events we believe is going to happen on the steps of the United States supreme court in Washington, D.C. according to lawdayofaction.org, one of the things going to see at many of these Stand up for the rule of law events tomorrow is lawyers publicly reaffirming the oath that lawyers take when they become a member of the bar. People essentially re swearing their oath to support the Constitution of the United States. This first hundred days of this presidency have been, there's a lot of ways you could call it. A lot of people have been coming up with good signs, but their own spin on it. I would say it's been a historic debacle. But I would also say that one of the most important things to know about that is that the country is very clearly wide awake to it. Right. This is not a secret. Quote Trump appears to be less popular at the 100 day mark than any other president since the inception of approval polling. Says the Financial Times headline Trump's approval at 100 days lower than any president in at least seven decades. Headline Poll finds more Americans give Trump an F than any other grade for his first 100 days. They asked Americans to grade him. More Americans gave him an F than any other grade. Headline New polls reveal Americans, including Republicans losing faith in Trump. And you pile on top of that, the economic judgment that is pouring in now in reaction to Trump's bizarre economic policy decisions. Donald Trump's first hundred days mark worst for US Stock market since Gerald Ford. US Stocks have underperformed the rest of the world this year by the widest margin in more than three decades as Trump's erratic policymaking sparks an investor exodus from American assets. QUOTE US economy shrinks 3/10 of a percent in the first quarter as Trump trade wars disrupt businesses. US economy shrank in early 2025 as Trump tariffs sapped growth. I mean, it's bad. I would say it's an historic debacle. But you know, it's not over yet. We're only 100 days in. How's he handling this bad news? How are his political skills at this moment for handling a political moment like this? Well, here's Another headline for you from today. Headline, trump on Tariffs says, quote, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30. He really did say this on camera at the White House. I'll spare you the tape. I'll tell you though, his exact quote was, well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally. That's a little snapshot of the President's political skills right now. That's his political instincts, his ability to know just the right thing to say in a difficult moment. That's how sharp this point in his life he is handling the disastrous American public opinion polling and his performance thus far and the self imposed, total self immolation of the US Economy by telling America's children, you know what, you have too many toys anyway. Suck it up, kids. Also buy my crypto coin. You can maybe tie it all up in a bow with this new polling from the Public Religion Research Institute. Axios got the first look at this polling and I think their headline on it sums it up. Well, quote, most Americans see Trump as a, quote, dangerous dictator. And that's exactly what that poll found. I mean, the exact phrase that was put to people in this large, well respected poll was, president Trump is a dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy. Do you agree? The answer was yes by eight points. Yes. A majority of Americans agree with that. 52% of the country agrees with that. Break it down along racial lines. 67% of black Americans agree that Donald Trump is a dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy. 67% of black Americans, Latino Americans, 63%, Asian American or Pacific Islander, 58%. It's only white people among whom a majority do not agree with that statement. But even among white people, it's still 45%. A dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy. Speaking of Trump's power being limited, court losses keep piling up for him. Trump is now being forced by the courts to reinstate the more than 1400 people he tried to fire from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Trump has also just been ordered to pay Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty the $12 million in grant funding they were owed in April, according to their congressional appropriation that Trump nevertheless was refusing to pay out. And that ruling is important on its own terms. But in that ruling, you should know there was sort of an important sort of statement that went along with it. Language in the ruling from the judge in this case who is a very conservative 81 year old Ronald Reagan appointed judge in Washington. He closed his ruling in this case by noting that the constitutional paradigm that mandates that Trump can't block this funding that was approved by Congress. That constitutional paradigm, in the judge's words, is quote, a framework that has propelled the United States to heights of greatness, liberty and prosperity unparalleled in the history of the world for nearly 250 years. If our nation is to thrive for another 250 years, each co equal branch of government must be willing to courageously exert the authority entrusted to it by our founders. Judge Royce Lamberth, deeply, deeply conservative veteran judge in the federal district court. Today, yesterday in Washington. What a time, right? I mean, this is the end of the hundred days. This is the start of the second hundred days. And here's Donald Trump, less popular than any president has been at this point in his presidency since the dawn of modern polling. He's like blaming Joe Biden for everything he's doing. He's complaining that the polls must be fake, all of them. He's telling America's kids that, you know what, they've had it too good. And that's about to change. Well, meanwhile, the courts are finding their voice and the people never lost theirs in the first place. Second 200, second hundred days the country seems like we're ready tonight. We're just getting started. Lots to come tonight. Stay with us.

[Rachel Maddow]

Did you know 39% of teen drivers admit to texting while driving? Even scarier, those who text are more likely to speed and run red lights. Shockingly, 94% know it's dangerous, but do it anyway. As a parent, you can't always be in the car, but you can stay connected to their safety with Greenlight Infinity's driving reports. Monitor their driving habits, see if they're using their phone, speeding and more. These reports provide real data for meaningful conversations about safety. Plus, with weekly updates, you can track their progress over time. Help keep your teens safe. Sign up for Greenlight [e-mail] podcast.

[MSNBC Announcer]

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[Chris Hayes]

All the stories that we're covering are live and happening as we speak.

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Watch your favorite shows live.

[Chris Hayes]

What's happening right now is a hostile.

[Julia Anguin]

Takeover of the US Government.

[MSNBC Announcer]

Read live blogs and in depth essays and listen to coverage as it unfolds. Go beyond the what to understand the why. Download the app [e-mail] app hey everyone, it's Chris Hayes.

[Chris Hayes]

This week on my podcast, why is this Happening? New York Attorney General Letitia James.

[Rachel Maddow]

It's important that individuals understand that in.

[Chris Hayes]

Our system of justice that there are judges independently analyzing all that we put forth.

[Rachel Maddow]

They make a determination as to whether.

[Chris Hayes]

Or not our cause of action, our.

[Rachel Maddow]

Claim, has any merit based on the law.

[Chris Hayes]

Politics stops at the door. That's this week on why is this Happening? Search for why is this Happening? Wherever you're listening right now and follow so I've been saying this week as we come to the end of me being here for shows every night, that I wanted to spend these last few shows talking about some of what is around the corner for Trump's second hundred days and beyond. Some new threats in what Trump is doing that the country I think hasn't really focused on yet. But I think this is stuff that's on its way. On Monday night we talked about the first thing I really wanted to raise a flag on, which is this military zone Trump has created on the border where active duty US Troops have been given legal authorization to arrest US Citizens and search US Citizens on US Soil. That is not something the American military is supposed to do. Second thing we talked about last night, which is all of these immigration related powers being turned against U.S. citizens agents smashing up the house of a U.S. citizen and her daughters in Oklahoma City, U.S. citizens getting letters from the government telling them to leave the country. U.S. citizens being arrested and held in immigration prisons, U.S. citizen children being sent out of the country. This is something that is already happening here. This is not a slippery slope to worry about in the future. It's already happening. But here's the third thing I wanted to raise. Something that we sort of just, I think, haven't really gotten our heads around yet. And it relates to Doge and Elon Musk and what he's done in Washington, but it's the sort of black box at the center of whatever he has been doing in Washington. We know that Doge is not about saving money because even the amount of money that they claim to have saved, it's barely more than the amount of money they are thought to have wasted with the way they have behaved in Washington. There's been a ton of embarrassing and really indefensible mistakes that Musk and the Doge team have made. But those mistakes, no matter how much publicity they get and how often they need to be reversed, it hasn't led them to stop making those mistakes. They haven't course corrected on any of that. So it seems like maybe they're not even viewing those things as mistakes. The one thing they are consistently doing and doing as aggressively as possible. And they haven't given us an explanation for why they're doing it, is that they are aggregating data. It is a huge data grab from what appears to be every agency in the government, and that really appears to be their only consistent priority, the only thing they are consistently and aggressively doing everywhere they insert themselves. What is that about? Why are they doing that? This is from investigative journalist Julia Engwin, who has reported on data privacy and security for years. She's writing in the New York Times today. She says, quote, Doge. Doge is assembling a sprawling domestic surveillance system for the Trump administration, the likes of which we have never seen in the United States. Over the past hundred days, Doge teams have grabbed personal data about U.S. residents from dozens of federal databases and are reportedly merging it all into a master database. This month, House Democratic lawmakers reported that a whistleblower had come forward to reveal that the master database will combine data from federal agencies, including Social Security, the irs, and the Department of Health and Human Services. The whistleblower also alleged that Doge workers are filling backpacks with multiple laptops, each one loaded with purloined agency data. What this amounts to is a stunningly fast reversal of our long history of siloing government data to prevent its misuse. In their first hundred days, Musk and Trump have knocked down the barriers that were intended to prevent them from creating dossiers on every US Residential. Now they seem to be building a defining feature of many authoritarian regimes, comprehensive files on everyone so they can punish those who protest. A longtime civil Liberties lawyer tells Ms. Anguin for the Times today, quote, this is what we were always scared of. The infrastructure for turnkey totalitarianism is there for an administration willing to break the law. Joining us now is Julia Engwin. She's founder of Proof News. She's the author of Dragnet Nation, a quest for Privacy, security, and freedom in a world of relentless surveillance. Ms. Anguin, I really appreciate you being here tonight. Thank you.

[Julia Anguin]

Thanks for having me.

[Chris Hayes]

So I think that your op ed is really helpful. I'm not any more tech savvy than the average bear, but I have found myself increasingly worried about what we don't know about why Doge is assembling data the way they are and what they are planning to do with it. For an audience that may not be totally familiar with surveillance technology and the kind of privacy protections that you're so well versed in, can you explain in just layman's terms what you're most worried about here?

[Julia Anguin]

Well, what I'm worried about is the fact that the federal government has incredibly sensitive data about us. And we never really think about it, right? We send in our IRS returns and every penny we've spent and everything we've earned. We, we file an unemployment claim benefit, we get a Social Security check. And all those things are separate and we deal with separate agencies. And never before has the government contemplated putting them all in one place. But that's what Doge is doing. And the thing is that the reason that governments want to do that usually is they want to build these comprehensive dossiers on people. So essentially the thing that authoritarians really like is they want to be able to say with a snap of a finger, I don't like this person, let's find something on him. And if they have to go to 6, 10 agencies to figure out that thing, that's hard. They want it all in one place, so they want to be able to just get something on you. China is sort of the example that does this. They have these master files that they have on every citizen that are everything that they've ever done. It's called social credit scores they have, and they use it to punish dissent. And I'm very worried that that's where we're going. We have a president who's been really strong, outspoken about he wants revenge on his political enemies, and we have somebody collecting data about everyone so that he can go after his enemies.

[Chris Hayes]

You write really, I think articulately and clearly about the privacy laws and the sort of inherent safety structures that are built into siloing data the way that you're describing. So it can't be easily combined. But if the typo of one Stop Shopping master database is being compiled here, is US Privacy law powerless against it? I mean, could legal action force the dismantling of something like that, or would it effectively be beyond the law?

[Julia Anguin]

Well, our privacy law is really not up to the task. First of all, we are one of the only nations that doesn't have a comprehensive privacy law that protects basically sets a minimum baseline for all data usage. Every other country has one, and almost every other country has a data protection authority that's an agency tasked specifically with protecting data. So we're already behind. But then if you look at the law that specifically applies to the federal government data, the Federal Privacy act, it was passed in 1974 basically under. But a thought that, like, you would have good faith actors who would be making sort of maybe a mistake with data, but not acting malevolently so there's really no fines. I mean, minimum fines. There's very little remedies. Basically, the remedy is you go to the court and say, they took my data, they were wrong. I want it corrected. Sort of like the idea was more like correcting your credit score or getting your name changed. And so there isn't a lot that the judges have to work with when they are using. They know that this law applies, but there's not a lot that they can do to stop other than saying make sure that the data is correct or that you publish a notice in the Federal Register saying you're going to use the data for this purpose, both of which are not really adequate remedies for the creation of dossier files about every citizen the likes of which we have never seen.

[Chris Hayes]

Yeah. Which just highlights the need to have a political response to this that creates a political cost for those who are trying to do it. First step toward that is understanding what they're doing. And I think your work on this has really helped me at least understand what the threats are and what the parameters of this are. So. Julia Anguin, investigative journalist, thank you so much for your writing on this and thank you for your time tonight.

[Julia Anguin]

Thank you.

[Chris Hayes]

All right, much more news ahead here tonight. Stay with us.

[Rachel Maddow]

Did you know 39% of teen drivers admit to texting while driving? Even scarier, those who text are more likely to speed and run red lights. Shockingly, 94% know it's dangerous, but do it anyway. As a parent, you can't always be in the car, but you can stay connected to their safety. With Greenlight Infinity's driving report reports, monitor their driving habits, see if they're using their phone, speeding and more. These reports provide real data for meaningful conversations about safety. Plus, with weekly updates, you can track their progress over time, help keep your teen safe. Sign up for Greenlight [e-mail] podcast.

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[Chris Hayes]

All the stories that we're covering are live and happening as we speak.

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[Chris Hayes]

What's happening right now is a hostile.

[Julia Anguin]

Takeover of the US Government.

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Read live blogs and in depth essays and listen to coverage as it unfolds. Go beyond the what to understand the why. Download the app [e-mail] app Citizens, since.

[Mayor]

We each upgraded to Xfinity in our homes, the WI fi has been booming. It's fair to say our town has officially become a boom town.

[Chris Hayes]

Mayor, will I be able to drop into multiplayer gaming battles with Low lag.

[Mayor]

The lag won't be an issue, but your questionable skills may be.

[Chris Hayes]

And what if I have hundreds of devices on the WI Fi? Purely hypothetical.

[Mayor]

Seems like a lot, but sure, hundreds of devices, all booming together with the Xfinity Gateway. Yes, friends and neighbors, with Xfinity, the WI Fi is booming.

[Rachel Maddow]

Restrictions apply.

[Chris Hayes]

I'm about to show you a remarkable photograph. This is taken today by Reuters. It's aerial footage taken by drone and it shows men, prisoners. Excuse me, this is Monday. Shows men, prisoners who are being held at the Bluebonnet immigration prison in Anson, Texas. They're out on the yard at the facility and the prisoners know that the drone is there. You see them waving to the drone, making sure that they're being seen. They are signaling to the drone, signaling for help, using their bodies to spell out sos. These men may be among the many people the Trump administration is trying to send to a prison in El Salvador with little to no due process and no way to get before a judge to get out, to ever get back home. The Bluebonnet immigration prison in Anson, Texas, where these men are, that's the same one where the Trump administration earlier this month told 50 of these men they would be shipped out of the country imminently. Buses full of men were on the road, presumably headed for the airport with huge numbers of law enforcement cars and escort. But the ACLU got a last minute emergency order from the court. It blocked the administration from sending those prisoners away. The buses and their law enforcement convoy escort passed the airport exit, turned around and came back to that facility in Anson, Texas. For weeks now, the whole country has been watching the high stakes court battle over prisoners like these, and specifically over the fate of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose lawyers deny that he is a member of a salvadoran gang called MS.13, which is what the Trump administration alleges against him. The Trump administration has variously said they sent him away by mistake and also not by mistake. The district court judge in that case and the Supreme Court have ordered the Trump administration that they must facilitate Mr. Abrego Garcia's return to the US the district court judge has been demanding that the Trump administration tell her what, if anything, they've been doing to get the guy back. Last week, in a somewhat mysterious turn in that case, both the Trump administration's lawyers and lawyers for Kilma Abrego Garcia, they agreed that they would essentially put the issue aside for about a week. They would delay any further proceedings by mutual agreement for about a week. And given how fast paced the that this court case has been going. It was a little bit strange when they made that decision. At the time, we didn't know why both sides in the case would agree to that pause. Well, now tonight we do, because tonight Kilma Abrego Garcia's lawyer has told MSNBC the reason for that week long pause was because the Trump administration said it would, quote, take steps to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to the United States. That is why his lawyers agreed to the pause. And that, of course, is a big deal. The Trump administration has been saying publicly they don't have the legal authority to bring this guy back. Back. Now, his attorney says Trump administration lawyers told the judge actually they are working to get him back. They just needed a few days to get it done. Well, a week later, nothing seems to have happened. The lawyer for Mr. Kilmar Abrego Garcia telling us, quote, it remains unclear what, if anything the government has done in the past seven days to bring our client home to his family. And all of this comes, of course, as the president himself told ABC News last night, that he could get Mr. Abrego Garcia back if he wanted to. He just doesn't want to. It'll be interesting to see how that lands in court. Throughout these many immigration cases, protesters and lawmakers have kept the pressure up by, by showing up. But it has been judges who have been holding the line and it has been lawyers who have been rushing these cases into court in the most dire of circumstances. One of the lawyers leading that fight has been the ACLU's leak alert. He joins us next. Stay with us. In the first Trump term, when the Trump administration was separating little kids from their moms and dads at the border, attorney Lee Gelert was leading the fight in court against those policies, and he has since for years. He's still in the lead. Today, when the Trump administration ordered that another plane full of men should be shipped from Texas off to a prison in El Salvador, it was Legalernt and his team who rushed to three different courts in the span of five hours to stop them. And they stopped them. Joining us now is Lee Gelernt. He's deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrant Rights Project. Mr. Gilla. Lee, it's really nice to see you. Thank you for being with us tonight.

[Lee Gelernt]

Thanks, Rachel.

[Chris Hayes]

So we just showed footage that we got from Reuters of men at the Bluebonnet immigration prison in Texas out on the yard at that facility spelling out SOS with their bodies. It's really dramatic. This happened on Monday. Reuters published these images today. We know the court has ordered that people in that facility who are part of the lawsuit you brought can't be sent out of the country. Are you worried that those men are at risk of being sent out of the country right now?

[Lee Gelernt]

So right now, right now they are not, because the Supreme Court still has the case. We're waiting for the Supreme Court to rule. The initial ruling was a temporary, what's called an administrative stay. The Supreme Court's going to rule. We, we expect fairly soon, and we'll see what happens. We're hoping that the Supreme Court says they cannot be removed and says something that covers the whole country, because what we've been dealing with is the government moving people all around the country trying to avoid judicial review. So wherever we get an injunction, they go to somewhere else. So we're now in six different courts in the country. We've told people we're willing to file in as many places as necessary, but ultimately we hope to get the case to a point where there's one ruling covering the whole country and people can't be removed based on a wartime authority during peacetime, especially without notice. I mean, the most dramatic thing that's happened is the government now said they're not even going to give the 24 hours notice. They reduced it to 12 hours, and they tried to keep that secret from all the courts around the country, including the Supreme Court. They're saying that's reasonable notice, 12 hours to figure out for these men in detention what they're going to do.

[Chris Hayes]

Lee, the men who have already been sent to El Salvador, who are there now with having never seen a judge having no hope of any judicial review while they're there. The government of El Salvador brags that nobody ever gets out of that facility, which is a remarkable thing to be bragging about, given that there was no process in deciding who went there. What are the hopes now for the men who are there now, not just Kilmar Abreco Garcia, who's in a different prison now in El Salvador, but all the men who are in that terrorism prison. What are the hopes that any of them will be brought back?

[Lee Gelernt]

Yeah, I'm glad you asked about that, Rachel, because we're fighting on two tracks. One is to not have anybody else sent, but the other is to get the men who were sent there, because there's no question at this point that they were sent without being able to see a judge, without being able to contest that they were even gang members. And we now know from the evidence that's emerging that many, many of these people had no ties to gangs. Maybe it's going to turn out none of them did. We have filed another case in D.C. to try and get those men back. And what we're saying is they were sent there unlawfully. There's no question that they're in the constructive custody of the US as you've pointed out before, we are paying for that detention. They are being held in that facility at the behest of the United States government. No matter what the administration wants to say, there is no question that if we ask for the men back, we get them back. So we're hoping that a judge says they have to be brought back. And the U.S. supreme Court has already said, Abrego Garcia, the government has to facilitate that return. The government's stonewalling that. We are asking another court about the 130 plus people that were sent the Venezuelan men under the Alien Enemies act that night of March 15.

[Chris Hayes]

Lee Gelert, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants Rights Project, I don't know if we'll ever have the power to clone a adult humans so they can just double their work. But if we ever gain that capacity as a species, I'm going to line you up first as the first man who needs to be doubled because of all the work that you are doing for the country right now. Lee, thank you for your time tonight. Good luck.

[Lee Gelernt]

Thanks, Rachel.

[Chris Hayes]

All right, we'll be right back. Stay with us. All right. That's going to do it for me tonight. And for the first hundred days of whatever this has been, it has been a privilege to be here with you for it every weeknight for these first hundred days. Obviously, I'm not going far. I will see you again on Monday at 9:00 Eastern and I'll see you every Monday thereafter. I am not going away. I'm just going back to Mondays. It will all be fine. But I do want to tell you we have something special for you tomorrow night in this time slot, 9:00pm Eastern here on MSNBC. Tomorrow night, Stephanie Ruhl and Jacob Soboroff are doing a live town hall with some of the hardest hit folks in this first hundred days of Trump. They're doing a live town hall with federal workers who have been forced out of their jobs by Trump and inexplicably by his biggest campaign donor, who apparently gets to fire people in government. The special is going to feature original reporting from Jacob, who has been tracking some of the life and death consequences of Trump's huge slashing cuts to the federal government. They're also going to be joined by Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. It's going to be a big deal. Do not miss that again tomorrow. That's 9pm Eastern here on MSNBC. And I will be back with you on Monday. I love you guys. Thanks for having me.

[Rachel Maddow]

Did you know 39% of teen drivers admit to texting while driving? Even scarier, those who text are more likely to speed and run red lights. Shockingly, 94% know it's dangerous, but do it anyway. As a parent, you can't always be in the car, but you can stay connected to their safety with Greenlight Infinity's driving reports. Monitor their driving habits, see if they're using their phone, speeding and more. These reports provide real data for meaningful conversations about safety. Plus, with weekly updates, you can track their progress over time, help keep your teens safe. Sign up for Greenlight [e-mail] podcast.