Jane Coston (3:06)

Because, you know, in 2017, Trump's first inaugural committee brought in about $107 million. Who was donating the first time?

Ilya Merritz (3:16)

It was all over the place, but definitely it was like businessmen with whom Trump had a long standing relationship. People like Steve Wynn, Sheldon Adelson as well as, I would say, sort of like B, C and D list kind of business people. This time, obviously, like the big story is like all the tech titans who are gonna be there and all the tech money that is flooding in. And because of the increasing role that tech plays in all of our lives and our like, total inability to like, remove ourselves from our technology and our phones, this is really a historic inauguration. And any inauguration is kind of like a blueprint for like, who matters in that new administration and this one. It's such a contrast to last time.

Jane Coston (4:01)

And there were also some shady donations going on too, right? Some anonymous donors, for example.

Ilya Merritz (4:07)

Yeah, there were a number of kind of shell company donors. There were also a number of foreign donors, which is not leg. And there were people prosecuted for basically like arranging for strawman donations to come in from Eastern Europe. I'm talking about 2017 this time. I've seen no evidence of that. That's not to say it isn't happening or couldn't happen, but there's so much kind of more legit looking money coming in that it's almost kind of less interesting.

Jane Coston (4:35)

The consensus among most experts at the time was that the actual cost of Trump's first inauguration would have come out to a fraction of the $107 million the committee organizing it raised. So where did that money go?

Ilya Merritz (4:47)

One place it went was the Trump hotel in D.C. just a few, a few blocks from the White House. It's not a Trump Hotel anymore. We found that the hotel had been paid likely way above market rate for use of a ballroom for some events related to the inauguration. In the end, the D.C. attorney General brought a lawsuit over that and won a judgment. So one beneficiary was Donald Trump's private business, which is poised again to profit from the presidency the same way he did the first time. Because Congress has passed no new laws, there are no new enforcement mechanisms to prevent a businessman president from profiting from his presidency.

Jane Coston (5:30)

Yeah, I remember living in D.C. at the time and it was basically, if you wanted to meet with anyone in Trump world, you always did it at that hotel, which was weird in every single possible way. So how did the Trump family use that hotel for its benefit while he was in office throughout his term?

Ilya Merritz (5:46)

I'm glad you mentioned that. I dropped in on the hotel a few times during the Trump admin and it's like anytime you went, you'd kind of see people like, you'd see like Sebastian, Charlie Kirk or like all these kind of people. Yeah. And if you're a little bit more of a well versed DC Guy than I am, you could probably pick out individual lobbyists and, you know, maybe committee chairs in Congress and people like that. That's not there this time. I'm not sure what the equivalent space is going to be for the second Trump administration. Is it truth social? Is it like various other commercial properties? There's so many ways that you can pay the President to be of the United States that it's kind of mind boggling.

Jane Coston (6:29)

This time around. Trump's inaugural committee has raised more than $170 million for swearing in so way more than the first time around. I know you've moved on to other reporting work, but given all the work you put into covering the first inauguration, what are some of the questions you have about how all that money will be spent? Given that inaugurating a president doesn't cost $170 million, it just doesn't.

Ilya Merritz (6:51)

Right. Well, obviously, who's going to get paid? Are they being paid at market rate, above market rate? I think the most important question though, always is who is seeking influence? Who is, what are they doing to get that influence? I think within the American political system, we tolerate a certain amount of pay to play in the sense of like, you gotta pony up to have a voice at the table for big regulatory decisions. The American people kind of accept that. Then there are areas where it starts to get really dicey. There's ties to foreign governments. Again, foreigners, non Americans are not allowed to donate if there are like very specific, very particular business interests that want a very specific thing from this new administration rather than simply a seat at the table. So Those are the questions to answer, and it's going to take a long time to answer them. It's going to take quite a while before we have the full paperwork on everyone who gave and the amount that they gave. And then it takes several years before the inaugural fund files their charitable tax return. That could tell us, for example, who the biggest contractors are. It's going to be years after this party is over that we'll be able to give it the scrutiny that it or any other inaugural party really deserve.

Jane Coston (8:06)

You mentioned how this inauguration is a lot different from the first one because all of these corporations want to get involved and there are tons of big names sprawling around him, kissing the proverbial ring. You've got Elon Musk, you've got Mark Zuckerberg, Mark Andreessen. Basically, if you're rich and easily annoyed, you are a huge fan of Trump this time. So the influence peddling seems way more out in the open this time. And in your view, is that a good thing, that we can see them doing this? We know what's going on. What do you think?

Ilya Merritz (8:37)

I mean, we've said for years and years that sunlight is the best disinfectant, but that idea was kind of germinated in our pre Internet age, and now we're just floating in a soup of so much information that I think it just tends to breed cynicism. So that can be a bad thing for our democracy. On the other hand, if people feel that it gives them the tools to actually understand who's seeking influence in the new administration, that's really good. I also can't let this little convo pass without mentioning that a lot of corporations that expressed outrage over the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol, number of corporations that said they weren't going to give to Trump affiliated groups or that kicked Trump off their platform or whatever else. They're back in the picture now. And that just sort of shows how important it is to have the favor of a very transactional president who is telling the world how he's going to do things, which is the transactional way. If you're Donald Trump, maybe your defense to that is this is how the world works. The other side of it is breeding an immense amount of cynicism and also saying, yeah, laws don't matter. All these measures that we've put in place to have an accountable government, a government that's accountable first and foremost to the people, they don't really matter because the raw tools of power, money and influence, that's what really matters. And let's just be real.

Jane Coston (10:08)

Ilya, thank you so much for being here with me.

Ilya Merritz (10:11)

It was a pleasure.

Jane Coston (10:12)

That was my conversation with reporter Ilya Merritz. He's the former co host of WNYC's podcast Trump Inc. His current project with the Boston Globe is called the Harvard Plan about Higher education and culture Wars. We'll link to his work in our show notes. 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 Bombas well, in a lot of the United States it is too cold to do literally anything. The upside? You can cocoon yourself in Bombas socks, slippers and underwear all winter long. The secret? They're fabrics. We're talking about the good stuff like merino wool, which feels as cozy as a ski lodge. But if you want to brave the cold on the slopes or on a snowy run, Bombas has athletic socks built for that too. My personal favorite though are the slippers. If you have constantly cold feet like me, you will love the warm, fluffy sherpa lining and the marshmallow like cushioning. But it doesn't really matter which Bombas you get because every Bombas item gives back. For every item you purchase, Bombas will donate another item to someone facing homelessness. Really? They've donated over 150 items thanks to purchases like yours. And if for some reason you're not a fan of whatever you get, don't worry because they have a 100% happiness guarantee that covers free exchanges and returns too. So try Bombas. Now. Head over to bombas.comday and use code day for 20% off your first purchase. That's B O M B A S.com day code day at checkout.

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Jane Coston (12:25)

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Jane Coston (12:57)

Here are some other stories we're following today.

Ilya Merritz (12:59)

Head of Lines.

Jane Coston (13:03)

Repeat after me we do not thank Trump for the return of TikTok.

Dahlvette Quince (13:10)

Trump is being applauded for something he started.

Jane Coston (13:14)

Stop thanking that guy. TikTok is back. I think maybe users across the US returned to the app Sunday after it went dark for a few hours over the weekend. A lot happened over the past few days, so stay with me. On Friday, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal law to ban TikTok from US app stores starting Sunday. In anticipation of the ban, the app went dark Saturday night. It told users, quote, sorry, TikTok isn't available right now. But early Sunday morning, Trump said on his social media platform, I'm asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark. He also promised to issue an executive order to keep the ban from immediately going into effect. Soon after TikTok restored service to its more than 170 million users in the U.S. it put out a statement thanking Trump for, quote, providing the necessary clarity and assurance that its service providers wouldn't face any penalties for keeping the app alive. But let's not forget Trump's previous stance on the app. He issued executive orders while in office in 2020 banning TikTok and WeChat, a Chinese owned messaging app. We're looking at TikTok. We may be banning TikTok, we may be doing some other things. There are a couple of options, but a lot of things are happening. Isn't that always the case anyway? Trump's newfound support for the app comes in the wake of the 2024 election. He credited TikTok with helping him reach young voters. But even though Trump is down a 180 on TikTok, House Speaker Mike Johnson hasn't. He told NBC's Meet the Press Sunday he's going to uphold the ban. Are you concerned by not enforcing this law, the US Is sending a message of weakness to China?

Ilya Merritz (14:45)

No, I think we will enforce the law. And when President Trump issued the Truth.

Dahlvette Quince (14:49)

Post and said save TikTok, the way.

Ilya Merritz (14:51)

We read that is that he's going to try to force along a true divestiture, changing of hands, the ownership.

Jane Coston (14:58)

That's not what he said. But sure. President Biden signed the TikTok ban into law back in April. It required Chinese parent company ByteDance to either sell its stake in TikTok or face removal from app stores in the U.S. byteDance has made it clear it has no interest in selling, despite at least one offer from several investors and billionaires. A long awaited and temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect Sunday. It started with the release of three Israeli hostages. Israel also released 90 Palestinian prisoners Sunday as part of the deal, all of them women and minors. The ceasefire is supposed to last for six weeks while negotiations for a permanent ceasefire continue. Over that period, Hamas has agreed to release 33 hostages, while Israel says they'll release almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas has also agreed to stop rocket attacks, while Israel says it will halt military operations within Gaza's borders. In an address late Saturday before the deal went into effect, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credited cooperation between the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration. Netanyahu added that he spoke to Trump on Friday. Here's the prime minister speaking through an interpreter.

Ilya Merritz (16:12)

He talked to me yesterday and blessed this agreement and he honestly said that the first phase of the agreement is only a temporary ceasefire.

Jane Coston (16:22)

Netanyahu went on to say that Trump told him if needed, he would remove all obstacles in the way of allowing Israel to continue the war. The federal government is putting more money toward the development of new vaccines for bird flu. On Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services said It's giving nearly $600 million to pharmaceutical company Moderna to help expedite an MRNA vaccine. The vaccines would be similar to the vaccines the company developed for Covid, but for the strains of bird flu in wild birds, poultry and dairy cows. That's in addition to the nearly $180 million Moderna was given in July. The federal government says it already has two vaccine candidates, but because they use older technology, they can take longer to produce. HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and response Don O'Connell said an MRNA based bird flu vaccine can be produced faster. The Agriculture Department says bird flu has spread to almost 1,000 herds of dairy cows across 16 states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says so far There have been 67 confirmed cases of bird flu in humans in the U.S. one infected person in Louisiana died earlier this year, but the CDC says the risk to the general public is still low because there's no evidence the disease is spreading from person to person. As we mentioned earlier, Donald Trump is set to be sworn in again today at noon Eastern time, and he's made a lot of promises about what he wants to do in his first few days back in office. Trump has said repeatedly he plans to pardon some most all of the January 6th insurrectionists soon after taking office. He told NBC's Kristen Welker last month that he plans to issue those pardons immediately. I'm gonna look at everything. We're gonna look at individual cases. Yeah, okay. But I'm gonna be acting very quickly. Within your first 100 days. First day, first day. First day.

Ilya Merritz (18:08)

Yeah.

Jane Coston (18:08)

I'm looking for. Another issue Trump says he wants to tackle quickly is immigration, specifically deporting undocumented immigrants. Stephen Miller, Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy, told Fox News that on day one, Trump plans to sign, quote, the most comprehensive border security package by executive order in American history.

Ilya Merritz (18:26)

That bill will ensure that every single.

Dahlvette Quince (18:29)

Element of this government is committed to.

Ilya Merritz (18:30)

Restoring our national sovereignty. State Department, Defense Department, Department of Homeland Security, the Department of justice, FBI, atf, dea, ICE and Border Patrol.

Jane Coston (18:39)

Trump has also promised to delay the TikTok ban, impose high tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, pull the US out of the Paris climate agreement again, and more. The Associated Press says Trump is Preparing more than 100 executive orders for the first days of his presidency. And that's the news. One more thing. As we mentioned, Trump's inauguration today also means new executive orders, especially on immigration. What will be in those executive orders? Honestly, we don't know. And that matters. Let's go back to January 2012. Barack Obama was president, and I lived in a group house in D.C. and spent a lot of time watching Golden Girls. And during a GOP presidential primary debate, former Massachusetts governor and future Utah Senator Mitt Romney introduced me to a new self deportation. The answer is self deportation, which is.

Ilya Merritz (19:44)

People decide that they can do better.

Jane Coston (19:46)

By going home because they can't find.

Ilya Merritz (19:47)

Work here because they don't have legal.

Dahlvette Quince (19:49)

Documentation to allow them to work here.

Jane Coston (19:51)

You can't really hear it on the clip, but the audience laughed at this idea because it sounded stupid. Why would anyone leave a country they fought so hard to get to just because of some new laws? But the answer is a lot of people, and Donald Trump is counting on it. See, here's the truth. You know how Trump keeps talking about how he's going to launch the biggest deportation effort in American history? It's going to be way, way harder than he thinks. For example, here's his incoming border czar, Tom Homan, talking about planned ICE operations in Chicago on Fox News. Well, look, I want Kyle Gore and my raids. They're going to be targeted enforcement operations. When ICE goes out, they're going to.

Ilya Merritz (20:27)

Know exactly who they're looking for, pretty much where they'll find him.

Jane Coston (20:31)

The problem is, mass deporting a population larger than that of the state of Ohio is really, really, really hard to do. Trump wanted to deport millions of undocumented people during his first term, but was only able to manage removing at most around 350,000 people in a year, according to the Associated Press. In those planned raids in Chicago Homan mentioned He now says that those plans are being reconsidered because the information leaked to the press, though according to the Wall Street Journal, the person who was bragging about planned raids in Chicago was Tom Homan at a holiday party. Of course, we are not dealing with a finely honed government instrument here. We are dealing with people in multiple agencies and jurisdictions who are all equally capable of fucking up royally. Donald Trump hasn't gotten savvier or wiser, he's just older. He and his administration want undocumented people to self deport because it's easier and cheaper and they are more than willing to use scare tactics to make it happen. And sadly, liberal media outlets are often just as willing to use fear to drive views or engagement, which means folks who need information will just get scared instead. So here's what you actually need to no matter what Trump says, we don't actually know anything until something gets signed. And even then, there's still so much that has to happen for anyone to get removed from the country. The National Immigrant Law center has some helpful tips. First, if you're undocumented, talk to a lawyer. Second, create a safety plan. Make sure you know your emergency contacts and talk to your kid's school about whom they should contact in an emergency. You can also ensure that your emergency contact has the ability to make medical and legal decisions for your kids, too. Third, gather your documents. Keep your identity documents and your financial information in a safe place, and add in your tax returns, bills, leases and school records. We are not going to do the Trump administration's job for them. If they want to scare people into leaving their homes and communities, that's on them. The best way to respond is to stay calm, stay informed, and stay connected to one another. Before we go, Trump is back in the White House following Monday's inauguration, which means the chaos isn't slowing down, it's speeding up. In the latest episode of Inside 2025, Dan and Alyssa take a deep dive into how inaugurations come together, the scandals from the past and their favorite moments from previous ceremonies. Get access to this exclusive subscriber series and more by joining Friends of the Pod. Head over to Crooked Dot com friends to learn more. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, inform people about the fun fact that Martin Luther King Jr. Was a kick ass pool player and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just about how Martin Luther King Jr. Learned to play pool while getting his doctorate at Crozier Theological Seminary despite his father's objections and used to call out his shots before he made them like me. What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe@crooked.com subscribe I'm Jane Coston and I dream of being like 10% as cool as Martin Luther. The King Jr day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producers are Raven Yamamoto and Emily Foer. Our producer is Michelle Eloy. We had production help today from Tyler Hill, Johanna Case, Joseph Dutra, Greg Walters and Julia Claire. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison and our executive producer is Adrienne Hill. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East.

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