Jane Coston (3:12)

It is a different ballgame than it was in 2016. We've got a conservative supermajority in the Supreme Court that's handed Trump, in all future presidents, probably mostly Republicans, broad immunity from prosecution for actions they take in office. We've got an incoming Republican Senate and House and bananas policy promises from the president elect. What are some of the fights that the ACLU is gearing up for?

AJ Hikes (3:34)

The second Trump administration is going to be significantly more aggressive and effective in executing the plans to erode our democracy. And, and we believe him when he has been very clear about what he's going to do. Everything that's outlined in Project 2025, Mass Deportation Force that we've never seen in our country's history. We're concerned about national abortion ban, we're concerned about efforts to mobilize the military to criminalize dissent and stifle free speech and expand government surveillance and target political opponents. And probably unsurprising to Jane, we have a plan. And so our plan really leans into the unique strengths that we have at the aclu. We have a plan around litigation, we have a plan around creating firewalls in our states because there's a lot that we can do at the state and local level, aside from what's going on at the federal level. And then we have a plan around ensuring protest and dissent and debate are able to survive at any cost, because we know that that's one of the places that he's going to attack. I know that there's a lot of conventional wisdom that's among liberals, progressives, I hear this all the time, that we just have no path in the courts. Like the courts are lost to us. We just can't win. That's not true. We really can win. First thing to remember is that most cases don't go to the Supreme Court. We're always kind of hyper focused on the Supreme Court. Supreme court takes about 60 cases. That's out of tens and thousands of cases. So those cases are decided at the lower levels and we can win at the lower levels. We have before, we're winning now. So we have litigation plans across all of our issue areas and the ones that are really at the top of the trumpet administration's priorities. The second piece that we're looking at, what we call our firewall for freedom. We have a 98 page plan about how the states can really be protagonists and the first lines of defense against federal government encroachment. We've already done that work with the states. A lot of it is already moving now. So we have an opportunity to use states rights and employ the federalist structure that we have to advance rights and liberties. And then of course, we want to make sure that we have folks on the field. And so when we're talking about protesting mass deportations, protesting the scapegoating of trans kids, we wanna make sure that people are able to stay in the streets and be heard. And so we're doing know your rights materials, we're talking about legal observers, we're really making sure that folks can stand up against this administration.

Jane Coston (5:49)

I wanna get into a little bit of the specifics here, because obviously you've talked about Trump's plan for mass deportation of immigrants. He's wasted no time appointing people like his former senior advisor, Stephen Miller, who hates everyone, and former acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Tom Homan, who loves the idea of deporting families as groups. You mentioned focusing on the local level. How are you preparing for those kinds of legal battles, especially at the local level, to protect migrant communities.

AJ Hikes (6:16)

So the first thing to remember, especially when we're talking about some of the concerns that we have around mass deportations, is that Trump actually cannot enact this plan without the help of governors. He cannot do this without having governors helping him round folks up. He needs attorneys general, state legislatures. And we have been working with those folks for months to frankly prepare to cut off that help. And it's not just elected officials. Right. Regular folks also have an important role to play here. I wanna remind folks that it wasn't just lawyers who acted after the Muslim ban and the first Trump administration. Right. It was regular people who flooded the airports, who protested in the streets, who called out injustice, who made the media pay attention and to show see that the American people do not support this. So we have a playbook for cities and municipalities and even in red states, that's the Thing we're not just talking about. In blue states or even in purple states, there is a role for mayors and city councils to play to protect the rights and freedoms. During the first Trump administration, People Power volunteers met with more than 1,000 law enforcement officials. They testified at city council meetings. They submitted letters to the editor, to local papers, which resulted in local governments adopting binding ordinances and resolutions to protect immigrant communities. So we have a very strong history of volunteers showing up, engaging in this work to protect the rights of everyone.

Jane Coston (7:39)

How do the legal fights get more complicated if we have basically a Trump loyalist attorney general like Matt Gaetz or otherwise at the helm of the Department of Justice? Like, it seems challenging if you just have a person who's just like, I'm just here to do whatever Trump wants.

AJ Hikes (7:52)

I'm gonna be honest with you. We are very, very, very concerned about that. We do know that. That the most extreme folks are nominated for these positions. We expected that. We know that Trump is gonna use that office as really his personal vendetta machine, and we are prepared for that. We're ready to push back in the courts and in the streets, defend protesters, journalists, and really push back against the abuse of executive power that we anticipate left, right, and center.

Jane Coston (8:17)

So you have an opportunity now to speak to my audience, our audience of anxious, afraid people who are so worried that the courts are just done for, that everything is screwed. I keep saying, like saying everything's screwed just does Trump's work for him. The only way out is through. But what is your message to people who are already very afraid and nervous about what the next four years could look like for them and for the people they love?

AJ Hikes (8:42)

I'll tell you that I facilitated a town hall with a lot of ACLU supporters, with our own ACLU internal audience, which is feeling a lot of what you're talking about, just grief, fear, anxiety, and frankly, deep concern for our families, our friends, our communities. Many of us that are at the ACLU are here because we're impacted communities. This work is the work of our lives. And so I wanna say whatever folks are feeling, you are in very good company. Right? And we have so much work to do, throwing our hands up. This kind of resignation that I've seen for folks is just not the answer. I wanna remind folks that we have tremendous disappointment at the top of the ticket, for sure, on election night. But we had a lot of incredible wins, especially around abortion. We were able to secure the right to abortion for 50 million folks. So 50 million folks woke up after election night with an access to reproductive care that they did not have the night before. There is so much that we can actually still do here. So please do not give up and lead democracy to Trump and the Trump administration, especially during this incredibly important time.

Jane Coston (9:50)

Aj thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate you.

AJ Hikes (9:54)

Absolutely. Thank you so much, Dean.

Jane Coston (9:55)

That was my conversation with AJ Hikes, Deputy Executive Director for Strategy and Culture at the aclu. We'll get to more of the news in a moment, but if you like the show, make sure to subscribe, leave a five star review on Apple Podcasts, watch us on YouTube and share with your friends. More to come after some ads what a Day is brought to you by SimpliSafe if you've ever worried about the safety of your home and family, there's no better time to get SimpliSafe. SimpliSafe's Active Guard Outdoor Protection changes the game by preventing crime before it even happens. With no long term contracts or cancellation fees for around $1 a day, SimpliSafe is offering my listeners exclusive early access to their Black Friday sale this week only. You can get 60% off any new system with a select professional monitoring plan. This is their best offer of the year. Head to simplisafe.com whatoday that's simplisafe.com whatoday there's no safe like simplisafe. What a day is brought to you by Nutraful. Nutraful is the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand. Improve your hair health in just three to six months with Nutraful. For a limited time, Nutraful is offering our listeners $10 off your first month subscription and free shipping when you go to Nutraful.com and enter the Promo Code Day. N U T R A F O L.com promo code day what a Day is brought to you by the Zero Emission Transportation Association Education Fund. The Zeta Education Fund wants Americans to know about the positive economic impact the EV and battery supply chain is having on our communities. Like how it's already created 240,000 jobs and attracted $177 billion of investment. More than a million EVs were sold in the US last year and there are currently over 200,000 public charging locations in the United States. Join forces with the Zeta Education Fund and help spread the facts about what a transition to EVs means for the future of America. Get on board@zeta zeta.org join and now the News Head of Lines.

Vivek Ramaswamy (12:02)

We expect certain agencies to be deleted outright. We expect mass reductions in force in areas of the federal government that are bloated. We expect massive cuts among federal contractors and others who are overbilling the federal government.

Jane Coston (12:14)

That was Vivek Ramaswamy on Fox News on Sunday, talking about his and Elon Musk's plans as the heads of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, a department that isn't a department because, much to Trump's chagrin, you just can't make a department without approval from Congress. Ramaswamy and Musk have been tasked with reducing federal spending, a job that is actually held by the Government Accountability Office, a real thing that actually exists. Ramaswamy says he's got a plan to get around those pesky things like checks and balances, the power of the pen.

Vivek Ramaswamy (12:44)

And the beauty of all of this is that can be achieved just through executive action, without Congress in general.

Jane Coston (12:50)

When people say this can just be done, it can't be. We'll see how this goes. On Sunday, President Biden authorized Ukraine to use long range U.S. missiles in its fight against Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long pressed Biden to lift the US Ban on using such weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened nuclear warfare if Russia is attacked with these types of missiles. The new permission comes as Russia readies nearly 50,000 troops, including those sent by North Korea earlier this month to retake the Ukrainian occupied region of Kursk. White House officials say that lifting the ban on long range attacks is meant to help Ukraine keep control of the southern Russian region for as long as possible. If Russia were to take it back, Ukraine would lose significant leverage at the negotiating table. Tuesday marks 1000 Days of War in Ukraine. The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense assault on Gaza and neighboring Lebanon over the weekend. Israeli airstrikes killed nearly 100 Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday. At least half of those deaths were from an attack on a residential building in the northern region of the Gaza Strip in neighboring Lebanon. Sunday marked the IDF's sixth consecutive day of attacks on the country's capital, Beirut. Several buildings in the city's southern suburbs were destroyed as Israel continued its targeting of Hezbollah officials. The Lebanese militant group said that an Israeli airstrike killed its media spokesperson, Mohammed AF. The country's health ministry said that four people were killed and 14 more were wounded in an attack that killed Afif and that the IDF issued no evacuation warning beforehand. And just when you thought it was over, the Democratic Party is still begging for your money. Dem's post election fundraising messaging focuses on things like Trump's terrifying cabinet pics or the hope that some of the uncalled congressional races might go blue. Rumors have circulated that the Harris Walls campaign is going to end up in debt despite raising over a billion dollars in the just over 100 days of. But Patrick Stouffer, the campaign's chief financial officer, has said that's not true. Still, some staffers have expressed mixed feelings about things like a massive expensive ad in the sphere in Las Vegas or the $1 million the campaign paid Oprah Winfrey's production company Harpo for a star studded town hall event. A storyline that Fox News Maria Bartiroma took the opportunity to run with on Sunday. While speaking on Sunday Futures with noted random actor guy Scott Baio. Your reaction to Oprah Winfrey getting up at the podium saying if you don't vote for Kamala, you'll never vote again. And then we out that actually her.

AJ Hikes (15:15)

Company was paid a million dollars. What's going on with Hollywood support?

Vivek Ramaswamy (15:19)

I don't know. I mean, if you, if you really believe in somebody, you support them, you don't, you don't have to pay them.

Jane Coston (15:24)

For the record, the campaign says Winfrey was not paid a personal fee. A million dollar price tag was for a production cost for the Michigan event. Baio went on to say, when I.

Vivek Ramaswamy (15:33)

Came out for Trump in 2016, not only did I not get paid, but I knew that I was sacrificing my career because I believed in the man and I believed in his vision.

Jane Coston (15:46)

Yeah, I'm sure that's why his career tanked and not because of super babies, baby geniuses too, or God's not dead. In God we trust. Still, Democrats, please stop texting me. I'm dealing with enough already. And that's the news. One more thing. Let me take you back to Barack Obama's presidency. It was a simpler time. Okay, it was not a simpler time, but it was a very different time. Because back then, the Republican Party believed very firmly that absolutely no one should tell you what to eat, including and perhaps especially first lady Michelle Obama. Back in 2010, Michelle Obama helped launch a program called let's Move, aimed at reducing childhood obesity and getting kids to be more active. Let's Move emphasized encouraging healthy eating and exercise and getting better food into school lunches. Around this same time, Michael Bloomberg, then mayor of New York City, proposed a ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. Democrats were talking about how to get kids healthier. Barack Obama signed a ban on trans fats and packaged food. And the FDA tried to make food companies reduce the amount of salt in our food supply and the Republican Party and Fox News lost its ever loving mind.

Vivek Ramaswamy (17:13)

When I heard this, I thought, get your damn hands off my fries, lady. If I want to be a fat, fat fatty and shovel french fries all day long, that is my choice.

AJ Hikes (17:21)

We're going to have, you know, the.

Vivek Ramaswamy (17:23)

Government fining us if we use salt. Coming up straight ahead. All this talk about the government taking salt away from you because it's so bad for you. But aren't there good things about salt? I hate the government getting involved and telling me what to eat and not to eat. Food police. Do you think the government should regulate the ingredients in the food we eat?

Jane Coston (17:41)

Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska turned right wing hero, performatively drank a Big Gulp during her appearance at the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference because nobody, nobody was going to take away her right to drink a soda roughly the same size as a baby. Oh, bluebird's not around our big old safe. We're cool. It's now 2024 and RFK Jr. President Trump's nomination for HHS secretary has lots of ideas for making America healthy again. And some of those ideas sure seem familiar. If we took all of these chemicals out, our nation would get healthier immediately.

Vivek Ramaswamy (18:18)

We'd have fewer sick days, we'd have.

Jane Coston (18:21)

Better focus, we'd have less anxiety. Our kids would learn more easily. We'd lose weight, we'd have more energy. We'd have fewer tumors and longer lives. See, I've been racking my brain for why the GOP's rapturous embrace of RFK Jr bothers me so much. Sure, there's the anti vaccine stance or how he treated his late wife and his embrace of literally anything provided a doctor said he shouldn't. And the fact that Trump says he's just going to deregulate everything anyway and a bunch of other stuff. But I finally figured it out this weekend. It's a hypocrisy. See, I know 2014 seems like it was a long time ago, but a lot of the Republicans who were in our lives sadly got their start back in this time. Back then, they were part of the Tea Party, railing against government power and screaming at anyone who would listen and a bunch of people who wouldn't, that nothing was more important than letting parents decide what their kids ate or drank or did and that anything involving the government was communism. And now a whole bunch of these exact same people have absolutely no problem with RFK Jr telling everyone exactly how and what to eat and demanding that preservatives and pesticides get out of the American food supply. So I think we have two options here. Either a bunch of Republicans have decided that actually government can do good and be good on behalf of the citizenry, ensuring we are all happier, healthier people, or they're all full of shit. Before we go, we all know that Trump's decisions will have major consequences in the us. You can probably already tell by their GOP Oscars. But what does that mean for UK politics? On the latest episode of Pod Save the uk, hosts Nish and Coco break down how Trump's looming second term could influence political landscapes beyond our borders. Head to the Pod Save the UK feed to listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review do not take me on a cruise and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just about how often murders take place on cruise ships and how cruise ships will often fly the flags of countries with extremely lax approaches to law enforcement to avoid regulations on things like murder, like me, what a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe@crooked.com subscribe I'm Jane Costen and seriously, no cruises. No cruises, no big boats. No cruises, no ocean. No thank you. Next. Hey, it smells so good in here. Yep, that'd be the coffee. I know.

AJ Hikes (21:33)

It's just I've had nasal polyps for.

Jane Coston (21:35)

So long now I'm on this medicine.

AJ Hikes (21:37)

And my congestion and breathing are much better.

Vivek Ramaswamy (21:40)

Dupixent Dupilumab is an add on prescription maintenance treatment for uncontrolled chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps in adults and children 12 years and up. It can help shrink your nasal polyps so you can breathe better with less congestion.

AJ Hikes (21:51)

I'm pretty jazzed about it. Plus, I don't want another surgery and.

Jane Coston (21:55)

Now I might not need one. So what can I get you?

AJ Hikes (21:58)

Medium coffee, please.

Vivek Ramaswamy (21:59)

Severe allergic reactions can occur. Get help right away for face, mouth, tongue or throat swelling, wheezing or trouble breathing. Tell your doctor right away of signs of inflamed blood vessels like rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in limbs. Tell your doctor of new or worsening eye problems like eye pain or vision changes, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection or asthma. Don't change or stop steroid asthma or other treatments without talking to your doctor.

Jane Coston (22:21)

Do more with less nasal polyps. Ask your doctor about Dupixent.

Vivek Ramaswamy (22:25)

Learn more@dupixent.com or call 1-844-dupixent Carl's Jr.

AJ Hikes (22:30)

S. Big Carl fans know nothing beats the layers and layers of flavor of a Big Carl. Nothing beats that char, grilled beef, American cheese and tangy Carl's classic sauce. Nothing except getting a second Big Carl for just $1.

Vivek Ramaswamy (22:44)

Big Carl just one upped itself for just one buck. To buy one Big Garl, get one for a buck.

AJ Hikes (22:50)

Deal only. Carl's Junior Big Burger good Burger available for a limited time at participating restaurants.

Vivek Ramaswamy (22:56)

Tax out included.

AJ Hikes (22:56)

Price may vary.

Vivek Ramaswamy (22:57)

Not valid with any other offer, discount or combo.