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What A Day
Streets Of Minneapolis
00:26:04
Minneapolis is still under ICE’s thumb — and contrary to the Trump Administration and some media reports, ICE has not “de-escalated” in the Twin Cities. Multiple media outlets have reported no real change in Department of Homeland Security activity — but the communities in Minneapolis are still standing up to the Trump Administration, using every peaceful tool at their disposal to do so. For more, we spoke to Alex Wagner, host of Crooked’s Runaway Country podcast, who is reporting from Minneapolis. And in headlines, Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the FBI raids a Georgia election office infamous to conspiracy theorists for its role in “rigging” the 2020 election, and Democrats are apparently ready to pass every bill in the massive funding package before the Senate — except for the DHS portion.
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- [00:03]
A
It's Thursday, January 29th. I'm Janie Koston and this is what a day. The show that says Nicki Minaj. I know times are tough. Making music people like is hard. And your husband and your brother might want pardons for sex crimes, but girl, there is never a time that is literally hold hands with President Donald Trump and get made into a meme by the GOP Twitter account. Tough. On today's show, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stands up for truth, justice and a conservative approach to interest rates during Wednesday's Fed rate meeting. And the FBI raids a Georgia election office infamous to conspiracy theorists for its role in rigging the 2020 election. Either FBI Director Kash Patel is bored or his 27 year old girlfriend is performing a country music concert nearby and he needed an excuse to take the jet. But let's start with Minneapolis. The federal officers involved in the Saturday killing of Alex Preddy have been placed on administrative leave, according to an announcement by an official with the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday. That is of course, not what Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino said on Saturday when he alleged that the officers were still working just in a different city. That's just one small sample of the wildly vacillating stories we've gotten from the federal government over the last few days about what's going on in Minnesota. Remember how White House Deputy Chief of staff and worst person alive Stephen Miller said Alex Preddy was a, quote, assassin and domestic terrorist? On Wednesday, Miller flipped like the most disgusting possible pancake, telling CNN in a statement that Border Patrol agents may not have been following protocol regarding protesters when Preddy was killed. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed on Saturday that Preddy wanted to, quote, massacre law enforcement. Now, according to Axios, she's blaming the White House for her statements and at least one Republican senator. North Carolina's Thom Tillis is having none of it or of Trump's attacks on him. Here he is speaking to CNN's Manu Raju on Wednesday.
- [02:03]
B
They're discrediting what I consider to be a very, a very well organized operation in ice. But they're discrediting even these officers. They're going to make their job more difficult and more dangerous with this incompetence that I'm seeing out of nomen, out of Stephen Miller.
- [02:16]
C
The president called you a loser.
- [02:19]
B
I am thrilled about that. That makes me qualified to be Homeland Security secretary and senior adviser to the President.
- [02:25]
A
It's worth noting that Thom Tillis is retiring because no one is as brave as a retiring Republican. But Minneapolis is still under ice's thumb. And contrary to the Trump administration and to some media reports, ICE has not quote de escalated in the Twin Cities. Multiple media outlets have reported no real change in DHS activity. And on Tuesday, video captured ICE officers trying to enter the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis, which is against the law as embassies and consulates are protected by diplomatic immunity. Trump border czar Tom Homan will be giving a press conference today in Minneapolis in an attempt by the administration to try to take control of the narrative about Minnesota. But the communities in Minneapolis are still standing up to the Trump administration, using every peaceful tool at their disposal to do so. To find out more, I spoke to Alex Wagner, host of Crooked's Runaway country podcast, who is reporting from Minneapolis. Alex, welcome back to Wataday.
- [03:20]
D
Jane, I'm thrilled to be here. I'm always thrilled to be here, but I have like lots to tell you.
- [03:24]
A
Yeah, no, you do, because you got into Minneapolis on Tuesday and you hit the ground running. But what did you see when you first arrived? What was your impression of the environment besides cold?
- [03:34]
D
That was an overwhelming feeling, I will say. The first is you get the sense of people are in hiding for real. Like we got to the Park Avenue United Methodist Church, which is normally a hub of activity in that part of the city. It's a block from where Renee Goode was killed. And we were walking in there to interview the pastor and there were four people guarding the door because they're so worried about ICE coming in to raid the church, which is, you know, a place that used to have a clinic and preschool and Spanish language services and all of that has had to go remote. And, and I was out on parent patrol this morning with a mother of a one year old and a four year old. And there are watch people, grandparents and parents in yellow vests watching the streets to make sure ICE isn't imminently going to raid the school and take the teachers away, all of whom have a legal right to be here, but are Spanish speakers in many cases. And there is a 100 plus person sort of chauffeur network that the parents have developed to get the teachers to school, to get groceries to the teachers, to help them care for their children that they have to leave at home because they're too afraid to bring them to school. I mean, the amount of networking, the amount of banding together this group of people in Minnesota have done to make life livable for those in the shadows is something really extraordinary and powerful and in a weird way, full of joy.
- [04:55]
A
Yeah, I was thinking because you have this weird juxtaposition of people who have been pushed into the shadows, but also people who are coming out of the shadows to protest. You know, we've seen the videos of people who are like, I've never protested anything before. I've been a Republican voter for 25 years, something like that, where they're just like, I have to stand on business right now. And so the people of Minneapolis have been protesting en masse for three weeks now in extraordinarily cold weather. How are they feeling? What. What are the numbers like? What are you seeing?
- [05:22]
D
Well, it ranges. I mean, I think there are always protests happening at the Whipple Federal Building, where people are being brought for detention hearings and are being taken out and on buses and onto chartered deportation planes. And there's always kind of a tension between those protesters and ice, and that's probably the liveliest. But I was at the Alex Preddy memorial last night, which is the site of where he was gunned down, and there were, you know, scores of people there just paying their respects to his life. The sun is set. It's 2 degrees. And this is the calling. I mean, I cannot underscore or emphasize enough how much people are emotionally invested in this. They feel like this is the fight for the country. And Minnesotans, let me just say, Jane, they don't mind the cold like we do.
- [06:07]
A
They're tougher.
- [06:07]
D
They're tougher people.
- [06:09]
A
No, no. I've watched a lot of Minnesota Gophers football, and I could tell you that they don't care. It's a different thing. But you. You mentioned going to a UMC church, and, you know, I'm a member of a UMC congregation, and I can tell you, like, United Methodists are gonna stand up to power. What did that pastor tell you about the church's experience in the midst of all of this?
- [06:29]
D
Well, so he quoted from the Bible, and being a bad churchgoer myself, I can't. I'm not gonna butcher the phrasing, but he said it's a time where the sound of joy is equal to the sound of sorrow. And what he has seen among his congregation, the way they have come through for each other, the way that they have looked out for each other. This is a moment of community and connection. And in that way, I think the pastor, Dan Johnson of this church was incredibly emboldened to continue the good work that he's been doing. I will also say I asked him and about this video that's gone viral of Don Lemon and a bunch of people Protesting ICE going into a church and interrupting church service, which was greeted on the right with like. People were appalled that the, the house of worship had been desecrated in this way and that people's church services would have been interrupted. That is what is happening at a place like Park Avenue United Methodist Church every day. They cannot have Spanish language services anymore because they're afraid of ice. They had to close the preschool. The house of worship is being compromised, abused, I would say, by Trump and his ICE goons every single day because they've targeted the people that worship in that particular house. And you know, that's okay. Cuz it's a liberal house of worship. It's not okay. It's not okay.
- [07:50]
A
You mentioned also that you've been talking to childcare providers and I think a lot about how, how are local childcare folks dealing with the high tensions with immigration enforcement? You know, tell me about what the community is doing to wrap themselves around them.
- [08:07]
D
Well, I mean, first of all, when I was talking to these parents, they've organized collectively a toy library for the kids who are stuck at home so that they have access to new toys. They're trying to share, you know, parenting and babysitting services so that these children are not completely alone. But I mean, Jane, there are ICE notices on the front door of a preschool. They don't have outdoor recess anymore because they're worried that the teachers are going to get grabbed by ice. They keep the shades drawn on all the classrooms because they don't want ICE agents to be able to look inside. This is collective trauma that is being visited upon people that I think we haven't even begun to grapple with. I mean, I asked this mother, I said, you have a one and a four year old. What do they think is happening? And she said, I just try and tell them without too much detail that parents always want to keep teachers and kids safe. And that's what we're trying to do. And that explanation can fly up to a certain age. But I gotta tell you, you know, we talk about COVID and what those school closures did. This kind of fear is piercing and it stays with you. And if you are a child, I cannot imagine what this does to your understanding of yourself and your place of safety in the world.
- [09:19]
A
I've been thinking a lot about how so many of the people who are leading this effort to defend Minneapolis against this incursion, as I view it, are women. You think about Renee Goode, you think about the women who are leading this effort. It was funny. There have been a bunch of kind of MAGA tweets about like, this must be the most well organized thing ever. You know, they've got hot hands, they've got all this stuff. Who is behind this? And I was like, clearly you have never. You have never been to a PTA meeting. But, like, what has it been like to see these women in Minnesota working together to protect their community?
- [09:53]
D
Yeah, one mom, I said, you know, how are you dealing with this? What's your self care? And she was like, I look at my spreadsheet of drivers that are on the schedule for the next day, and that's my piece. And I was like, God, I feel you so hard. Sometimes I stand in front of an organized closet and I'm like, I got this. I can do this. I think the sense of shared purpose is really powerful. And one mother told me that often in the hurly burly of daily life, you go drop your kids off at school, you don't really talk to other parents. This has brought people in much deeper communication with each other. And she said still side chats about like, can you believe she did this? Like, it is still a social network. And that gives people, I think, strength and also a sense that they're in control. You know, I think one of the things that Minneapolis teaches us is that you are not powerless and that you there are levers to pull. And doing all of this, this organization has made people feel a sense of control over what is an unbearably chaotic and viscerally destabilizing time.
- [11:00]
A
News broke Wednesday that two federal immigration officers involved in Alex Preddy's killing were placed on administrative leave on Saturday. Have you heard any reactions on the ground there? And I think, moreover, when you ask people like, what kinds of repercussions do you want for what has happened here?
- [11:18]
D
So I interviewed the Minnesota AG Keith Ellison today, and I was asking about those officers placed on administrative leave. And you know, unsurprisingly, he is deeply skeptical about what is happening here in terms of both review and investigation. And the idea that ICE is investigating ice, he's like, first of all, they don't have the capacity to do a criminal investigation. They don't know how to do that. The FBI does. And by the way, Cash Patel is a clown. But there are plenty of people at the Bureau that understand what needs to be done here. They're just not on the case. That has to be reformed. I mean, you can put them on administrative leave, but that took days. Alex Preddy was murdered on Saturday. Today is Wednesday. That should have happened immediately. And he told me, he's like, those ICE officers were back out on the street after they shot and killed Alex Preddy. I mean, think about that for a second. They walked away from that murder scene and then went back to work. That in and of itself is a miscarriage of justice.
- [12:13]
A
Some sources report those officers were placed on administrative leave on Saturday. Is Ellison saying that didn't happen?
- [12:18]
D
Ellison was saying that didn't happen. Now, the feds are obviously not sharing a lot of information with the state, but he told me he believed that they were back out on. There are massive questions about how much evidence the state is actually ultimately gonna gain access to and whether they'll be able to conduct a fulsome investigation. But I think they are focused. And Keith Ellison said, look, this caravan is gonna go to another blue state. And I have a word out to all other state AGs, like get your documents ready, get your filings ready about why the Insurrection act isn't necessary. Be prepared. And I think that is the silver lining here, is that it is a model both for resistance, but also for accountability.
- [12:56]
A
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar hosted a town hall in Minneapolis on Tuesday night where she was attacked by a man who sprayed her with an unknown liquid from a syringe. Congresswoman Omar continued with the town hall uninjured, like an og. The Hennepin county attorney said Wednesday that the liquid was non toxic. But I imagine it's jarring all the same, especially because Ilhan Omar has been the subject of so much, actually the object of so much derision and hate, including from the administration, even today. Have you heard any discussion of that?
- [13:26]
D
AG Keith Ellison, whose seat she took over when she became a representative, said she has the heart of a lion. And I just think, first of all, all props to Ilhan Omar, not only for just being who she is, so resilient and resolute, but at the end of that video, she's ready to go after the guy, right? Like, that's so Minnesota. That's so the immigrant mentality, like just the tenacity and the daring do. Right. I think it's a huge issue as far as safety. You know, we talk about Trump putting targets on people's backs. It is not a coincidence that in this moment where he is vilifying Somali migrants, where he is talking so ill specifically about Ilhan Omar, that someone tries to scare her at best, if not hurt her. So, yeah, I mean, I think it raises really big questions about how we're protecting people who are in the crosshairs of Trump's rhetoric, if not his actual goon squat.
- [14:19]
A
It's funny how you see both Congressman Ilhan Omar and Alex Preddy, who were so brave and who were standing up for what's right. And meanwhile the maga, right, pretends like they're so tough and they've got like 90 guns. And it's really indicative of where strength really lies here.
- [14:34]
D
Bullies always try and project strength until you punch them in the nose and you realize that it's just mostly talk. And there's a reason that Trump's moniker that he hates the most I think in the last year is Taco. Trump always chickens out. So yeah, take that and smoke it.
- [14:50]
A
Alex, as always, thank you so much for joining me.
- [14:53]
D
Jane, as always, thank you for having me.
- [14:56]
A
That was my conversation with Alex Wagner, host of Crooked Media's Runaway country podcast. There is way more news to come, but don't forget you can watch us on YouTube and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. Why Today is brought to you by ZBiotics let's face it, after a night with drinks, I don't bounce back the next day like I used to. I have to make a choice. I can either have a great night or a great next day. That is, until I found Pre Alcohol Zebiotics. Pre Alcohol Probiotic drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. Here's how it when you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut. It's a buildup of this byproduct, not dehydration, that's to blame for rough days after drinking. Pre alcohol produces an enzyme to break this byproduct down. Just remember to make pre alcohol your first drink of the night. Drink responsibly and you'll feel your best tomorrow. Every time I have pre alcohol before drinks, I notice a difference the next day. Even after a night out, I can confidently plan on working out without worry. Ready to try it? Go to zebiotics.com wadnow you'll get 15% off your first order when you use code WAD at checkout. Plus, it's backed by a 100% money back guarantee, so there's no risk. Subscriptions are also available for maximum consistency. Remember to head to zbiotics.com wad and use the code WAD at checkout for 15% off. Wadaday is brought to you by Acorns. So many people are focused on where their money is today Acorns is a financial wellness app that cares about where your money is going tomorrow and with the Acorns potential screen, you can find out what your money is capable of. Acorns is a smart way to give your money a chance to grow. Acorns is easy. You can sign up in minutes and start automatically investing your spare money even if all you've got is spare change and Acorns grows with you. Whether you're just starting out or thinking about settling down, Acorns supports your big and small goals across every life stage. Sign up now and Acorns will boost your new account with a $5 bonus investment Join the over 14 million all time customers who have already saved and invested over $27 billion with Acorns. Head to acorns.com wad or download the Acorns app to get started. Paid non client endorsement compensation provides incentive to positively promote acorns. Tier 2 compensation provided potential subject to various factors such as customers accounts, age and investment settings does not include Acorns fees. Results do not predict or represent the performance of any Acorns portfolio. Investment results will vary. Investing involves risk. Acorns Advisors, LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor. View important disclosures@acorns.com wad here's what else we're following today.
- [17:41]
D
Head of Lines.
- [17:45]
E
What ICE is doing is state sanctioned thuggery. It must stop.
- [17:53]
A
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats are ready to pass every bill in a massive funding package before the Senate except for the Department of Homeland Security portion. During a press conference on Wednesday, Schumer said the DHS bill, which includes ICE funding, needs work. He told reporters the Democratic caucus was united behind three main legislative goals to rein in ice.
- [18:14]
E
First, we want to end roving patrols. We need to tighten the rules governing the use of warrants and require ICE's coordination with state and local law enforcement. Second, we want to enforce accountability. There needs to be a uniform code of conduct and accountability. Federal agents should be held to the same use of force policies that apply to state and local law enforcement and be held accountable. And third, we want masks off, body cameras on.
- [18:50]
A
That all sounds pretty reasonable to me, but a White House official told Roll Call that a demand for legislative reforms is as a condition of funding the DHS is a, quote, demand for a partial government shutdown because masks are just too awesome, I guess. The deadline to pass the massive funding package and avoid a partial government shutdown is Friday night. The package would allot funds for a swath of government agencies, including the Departments of Labor Education and Defense. A Senate vote on whether to move forward with the legislation is set for today. As Schumer reiterated on Twitter, quote, until ICE is properly reined in and overhauled, the DHS funding bill won't have the votes to pass the Senate this week. In Trump's revenge tour, the FBI raided Georgia's Fulton county election office. On Wednesday, Fulton county became ground zero for right wing conspiracy theories about Trump's 2020 defeat. District 5 Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. Spoke to the press Wednesday.
- [19:45]
E
This is nothing but sowing the seeds of distrust, right? This is a full frontal attack on democracy. This is a code red in America in Fulton County. We've seen it in Minneapolis and now we're seeing it here in Fulton County.
- [20:07]
A
Trump has spent years falsely claiming Fulton County, Georgia rigged the 2020 election. Six years, to be exact. Despite courts and his own former attorney general finding no evidence of widespread fraud, Trump's tirade eventually landed him and 18 others under state indictment for trying to overturn the vote. Now the FBI says it's executing a court authorized search at the county's main elections office, seizing records tied to 2020. As of the time of this recording, officials and the Justice Department aren't offering details. Cool. So there's a whiff of suspicion here, prompting Arrington Jr. To make the right request.
- [20:41]
E
I want to make sure that there is a full and complete inventory because these are the original voting records, original absentee ballots.
- [20:51]
A
Right.
- [20:51]
E
And so once that stuff leaves our custody, where's the chain of cut? Where is the chain of custody? Once it leaves our control, how can we know if we're going to get everything back? How can we know if they might do something mischievous?
- [21:07]
A
We won't and we don't know.
- [21:08]
E
They might lose.
- [21:10]
A
Yes, they might.
- [21:14]
B
While job gains have remained low, the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization and inflation remains somewhat elevated. In support of our goals today, the Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave our policy rate unchanged.
- [21:30]
A
Jerome Powell, noted Fed chair and human white noise machine, announced Wednesday that interest rates remain unchanged. So soothing. This is Powell's first public comment since he disclosed earlier this month that he's under federal investigation. An investigation he says is really just a thinly veiled attempt to bully the Fed into lowering interest rates.
- [21:49]
B
Indicators suggest that conditions may be stabilizing after a period.
- [21:52]
A
Sure, his cadence sounds like an audio instruction manual for an instruction manual, but make no mistake, these are shots fired at Trump's intimidation tactics. Powell was peppered with questions about who might replace him. New details on the DOJ's probe into him and about Fed Board Governor Lisa Cook's case at the Supreme Court. And of course, he didn't answer. What a class act. What he did talk about the danger of politicizing the Fed, saying credibility is, quote, hard to restore once independence is lost.
- [22:23]
C
We didn't remove an elected official. We removed someone who was not elected, and it was actually an indicted drug trafficker in the United States.
- [22:32]
A
Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. Rubio defended President Trump's recent military action to remove Nicolas Maduro from power in Venezuela. He argued the operation took out a major US national security threat and said the US Is now working with interim authorities to stabilize the country. He insisted there are no current plans for further military intervention. One question came up a lot. Are we at war with Venezuela? Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul asked the question rhetorically until he was forced to answer it himself.
- [23:03]
C
We just don't believe that this operation comes anywhere close to the constitutional definition of war.
- [23:07]
B
But would it be an act of war if someone did it to us? Nobody dies, few casualties. They're in and out.
- [23:13]
E
Boom.
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B
It's a perfect military operation. Would that be an act of war? Of course it would be an act of war. I'm probably the most anti war person in the Senate, and I would vote to declare war if someone invaded our country and took our president.
- [23:27]
A
When Rand cooks, he cooks. Senators also pressed Rubio on other foreign policy issues, like concerns about Iran and recent tensions over Greenland and NATO. Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine pushed Rubio on Trump repeatedly referring to Greenland as Iceland last week at Davos.
- [23:43]
B
We're not mad at Iceland.
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E
They haven't cost us any money.
- [23:46]
B
The president just mistook the two countries for each other, correct?
- [23:49]
C
Yeah, he meant to say Greenland, but I think we're all familiar with presidents that have verbal stumbles. We've had presidents like that before. Some made a lot more than this one.
- [23:58]
A
Apparently it's not as bad as the guy we said had dementia is the new defense. And that's the news. Before we go, want to hear more about Alex Wagner's reporting in Minnesota? Listen to the latest episode of Runaway Country. Now, wherever you get your podcasts, that's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, contemplate how there's a fairly decent chance that Trump never finishes his ballroom after all, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just about how the destruction of the east wing of the White House and the construction of a ballroom that might cost nearly half a billion dollars, might get held up in court because Trump was supposed to get authorization from Congress. Like me, Water Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe@crooked.com subscribe I'm Jane Kostin and when a Justice Department lawyer compared Trump destroying the East Wing to the time President Gerald Ford put in a pool, a federal judge appointed by President George W. Bush said the only non exception explicit thing one can come on. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producers are Emily Foer and Chris Allport. Our producer is Kaitlin Plummer. Our video editor is Joseph Tutra. Our video producer is Johanna Case. We have production help today from Ethan Oberman, Greg Walters and Matt Burke. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison and our senior vice president of news and politics is Adrienne Hill. Our theme music is by Kyle Murdoch and Jordan Kanter. We had help today from the Associated Press. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America EAS.