Trump vs. The Constitution

Summary

Podcast Summary: What A Day – "Trump vs. The Constitution"

Episode Information:

• Title: Trump vs. The Constitution
• Host: Jane Coaston
• Release Date: February 10, 2025
• Duration: Approximately 24 minutes

Overview: In this compelling episode of What A Day, host Jane Coaston delves deep into the tumultuous first weeks of President Donald Trump's second term, examining allegations of a looming constitutional crisis. Through insightful discussions and expert analysis, the episode explores the actions of the Trump administration, the role of key political figures, and the broader implications for American democracy.

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1. Allegations of a Constitutional Crisis

Jane Coaston opens the episode by highlighting concerns raised by Democratic lawmakers about a potential constitutional crisis under President Trump's administration. Within just three weeks of his second term, several alarming actions have been taken that challenge established democratic norms and legal frameworks.

Key Points:

• Influence of Elon Musk: Democrats are alarmed that Elon Musk, an unelected billionaire, is exerting significant influence over the existence of certain government agencies.
• Attempted Shutdown of USAID: The Trump administration has attempted to shutter the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) without seeking congressional approval.
• Blocking Appropriated Funding: Efforts to block already appropriated funds undermine congressional authority and established laws.

Notable Quotes:

• Senator Chris Murphy (Connecticut, Democrat) at [01:10]:
  "I think this is the most serious constitutional crisis the country has faced, certainly since Watergate. The president is attempting to seize control of power and for corrupt purposes. That is the evisceration of democracy."

• Senator Cory Booker (New Jersey, Democrat) at [01:33]:
  "This is an astonishing allowance of corruption and abuse and violations of people's privacy and other most sacrosanct values. We are in a crisis right now."

2. Vice President J.D. Vance Challenges Judicial Authority

Adding to the gravity of the situation, Vice President J.D. Vance publicly questioned the legitimacy of the courts in controlling presidential power.

Notable Quote:

• Vice President J.D. Vance at [02:00]:
  "The courts don't have legitimate authority to control the president's power."

Analysis: Jane Coaston points out that despite these bold statements, the administration has not yet overtly defied court orders. Federal judges have already thwarted some of the administration's more aggressive moves, such as attempts to end birthright citizenship and push federal workers into deferred buyouts.

3. Expert Insight: Conversation with Kate Shaw

To provide a deeper understanding of these developments, Jane Coaston engages in a detailed conversation with Kate Shaw, co-host of Strict Scrutiny, a political analysis show.

Discussion Highlights:

• Defining a Constitutional Crisis: Shaw asserts that even without a fully developed theory, the administration's defiance of Congress warrants the label of a constitutional crisis.

• Court Cases and Supreme Court Influence: Shaw discusses the likelihood that the administration is strategizing to bring cases before the conservative-majority Supreme Court, hoping to overturn longstanding precedents.

Notable Quotes:

• Kate Shaw at [02:45]:
  "Yeah, we are. And I think we don't need to basically have like a fully developed theory of what a constitutional crisis is to know we're in one right now."

• Kate Shaw on Supreme Court Proceedings at [05:33]:
  "I think pretty clearly, yes. I mean, they can't. The Supreme Court can't decide all of these cases, though."

Key Insights:

• Deferred Buyouts and Personnel Removals: The administration's actions against officials in independent agencies may challenge the 1935 Humphreys Executive precedent, potentially leading to seismic shifts in executive power.
• Substantive Policy Moves: The administration's attempts to unilaterally alter federal spending and agency operations without Congressional consent are seen as direct assaults on the separation of powers.

4. President Trump's Super Bowl Interview and Relationship with Elon Musk

In a standout moment, Jane Coaston references President Trump's recent Super Bowl pregame interview with Fox News host Bret Baier, where Trump discussed his administration's relationship with Elon Musk and upcoming initiatives to cut federal spending.

Notable Quotes:

• Donald Trump at [13:02]:
  "I've had a great help with Elon Musk, who's been terrific. He's so into it."

• Donald Trump on Federal Spending at [13:42]:
  "We're going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse."

Analysis: Trump promotes Musk as a pivotal figure in the administration's efforts to streamline federal operations. However, questions arise about Musk's influence and the administration's broader strategies to reduce spending, especially in areas like the Department of Education and the military.

5. International Developments: Israel-Hamas Ceasefire

The episode also touches on the ongoing Israel-Hamas ceasefire, noting recent developments and President Trump's controversial proposals regarding Gaza.

Key Points:

• Hostage Exchanges: Hamas has released more Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
• Ceasefire Phases: The first phase involves troop withdrawals and hostage releases, with future phases hinging on further negotiations.
• Trump Administration's Proposals: Suggestions for the U.S. to take over Gaza or for Egypt and Jordan to absorb the Palestinian population have sparked debate.

6. Attempt to Shut Down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

A significant focus is the Trump administration's move to dismantle the CFPB, a Congress-established agency aimed at protecting consumers.

Key Points:

• Order to Cease Operations: Russell Vogt, the new director of the Office of Management and Budget, ordered the CFPB to halt all supervision and examination activities.
• Impact of Closure: The CFPB has provided around $20 billion in consumer relief, and its shutdown would require new legislation.
• Administration's Approach: The push to close the CFPB reflects a broader trend of the administration undermining independent agencies.

Notable Quote:

• Unspecified Administration Official at [09:04]:
  "We owe $36 trillion. That's because we let all these nations take advantage of us." (Context: Discussion on economic policies and administration’s priorities.)

7. Social Media Controversies: Ye and Elon Musk

The episode addresses the troubling developments on social media platforms, particularly focusing on anti-Semitic rhetoric from Kanye West ("Ye") and Elon Musk's handling of such content.

Key Points:

• Ye’s Anti-Semitic Tweets: Ye has made numerous disturbing statements, including identifying as a Nazi and making inappropriate comparisons involving Hitler.
• Elon Musk’s Response: Despite public backlash, Musk maintains a stance favoring free speech over censorship, leading to further spread of hate speech.
• Public Criticism: David Schwimmer criticized Musk for providing Ye a vast platform to disseminate harmful rhetoric, highlighting the real-life consequences of online hate speech.

Notable Quote:

• David Schwimmer at [07:22]:
  "You can’t stop a deranged bigot from spewing hate filled, ignorant bile, but we can stop giving him a megaphone."

8. Internal Dynamics of the Republican Party

Jane Coaston offers a critical perspective on the Republican Party's internal struggles and opposition-focused strategy, suggesting it hampers effective governance.

Key Points:

• Lack of Unified Vision: The GOP's focus on opposing Democrats leads to internal discord and impedes the development of cohesive policies.
• Avoidance of Responsibility: Emphasis on blaming external factors, such as "activist judges" or "Hollywood elites," for policy failures instead of addressing governance challenges.
• Consequences of Division: The party's fractured nature makes it difficult to enact meaningful legislation or respond effectively to national issues.

Notable Quote:

• Jane Coaston at [18:56]:
  "The GOP has decided they'll take one and not the other. So I am not surprised that Christy Noem seems unaware that she is now really and truly the government."

9. Public Opinion and Political Climate

Concluding the episode, Jane Coaston references a Quinnipiac University survey indicating that the Democratic Party remains the least popular since 2008, discussing its implications for upcoming political battles.

Key Points:

• Unfavorable Polling: Democrats' declining popularity could influence legislative agendas and electoral strategies.
• Implications for Governance: Low approval may affect the party's ability to push forward its agenda or respond to political challenges effectively.

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Conclusion: In "Trump vs. The Constitution," What A Day provides a thorough examination of the early days of President Trump's second term, spotlighting actions that may undermine constitutional norms and democratic institutions. Through expert analysis and critical interviews, the episode underscores the tension between executive power and established checks and balances, while also exploring the broader political and social ramifications of these developments. Listeners gain a nuanced understanding of the potential threats to American democracy and the strategic maneuvers shaping the current political landscape.

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Notable Mentions:

• Deleteme Advertisement: Although advertisements are present in the transcript, they are excluded from this summary as per the user's instructions.
• Super Bowl Events: Trump's attendance and interactions at the Super Bowl are briefly mentioned, highlighting his public persona and political maneuvers.

Timestamps Referenced:

• [00:01] to [10:52]: Main content discussions.
• Advertisements and non-content sections post [12:25] are omitted from the summary.

Transcript

[Jane Coastin]

It's Monday, February 10th. I'm Jane Coastin, and this is what a day. The show that is taking it nice and slow today because the super bowl was last night and some of us are still running on pure guacamole. On today's show, Project 2025, co author and new director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vogt has only been in office a few days and he's already shutting shit down. He and Ye is back on its hateful Twitter rants. Can someone just take his phone? But first, we're three weeks into President Donald Trump's second term, and already Democratic lawmakers are sounding the alarm that we are in a constitutional crisis. They point to the fact that Elon Musk, an unelected billionaire, is getting a major say in which government agencies get to exist. That the Trump administration has tried to shutter usaid, an independent agency created by Congress without congressional approval. Also, the administration's push to block funding that's already been appropriated and basically run roughshod over laws that were established decades ago. Here's Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy speaking on ABC's this Week on Sunday.

[Chris Murphy]

Yeah, listen. I think this is the most serious constitutional crisis the country has faced, certainly since Watergate. The president is attempting to seize control of power and for corrupt purposes. The president wants to be able to decide how and where money is spent so that he can reward his political friends, he can punish his political enemies. That is the evisceration of democracy.

[Jane Coastin]

And New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker echoed The sentiment on CNN's State of the Union.

[Chris Murphy]

This is an astonishing allowance of corruption and abuse and violations of people's privacy and other most sacrosanct values. We are in a crisis right now, and Democrats will use every tool possible to, to protect Americans, to drive down costs, to make us safer. These are the very opposite that Donald Trump is doing to Americans right now.

[Jane Coastin]

As if trying to give Democrats fears some more weight, Vice President J.D. vance took to Twitter on Sunday to argue that the courts don't have legitimate authority to control the president's power. Guys, that's bad, but let's take a step back for a minute. As of now, the administration hasn't openly defied the courts. And federal judges have handed Democrats, nonprofits, and unions some big wins. The courts have put holds on some of the administration's most brazen actions, like trying to end birthright citizenship, pushing millions of federal workers to take a deferred buyout, and freezing federal grants and loans. Here's the thing, though. If we're In a constitutional crisis, what can we do about it? And how should the courts and members of Congress respond to make sense of all of this, I called up strict Scrutiny co host Kate Shaw.

[Kate Shaw]

Kate, welcome to Water Day, Jane, thanks for having me.

[Jane Coastin]

So some Democrats say we are in a constitutional crisis. Are we?

[Kate Shaw]

Yeah, yeah, we are. And I think we don't need to basically have like a fully developed theory of what a constitutional crisis is to know we're in one right now. So I think it's kind of more obvious that we're in a constitutional crisis if we think about defying court orders, which hasn't happened yet, at least not overtly. But I think defying Congress in the way this administration has done is contemptuous of the Constitution and is essentially, you know, that's the stuff of constitutional crises in the same way as defying court order. So, you know, long answer, but short one is again, yes, let's get into.

[Jane Coastin]

Some of the cases in front of the courts right now. Today, a Massachusetts judge has scheduled a hearing on Trump's deferred resignation offer to millions of federal workers. That same judge already put a pause on the original deadline last week. What are you going to be watching for in that case?

[Kate Shaw]

So, you know, I think that maybe to take a step back, we have a few different categories. There's like kind of the personnel category and then the policy category. And so the deferred kind of the buyout individual removals of officials, both, you know, anonymous officials, at least as of yet, whose names we don't know, but FBI and DOJ officials who worked on the January 6th cases and also, you know, more high profile people, commissioner of the Federal Election Commission and the National Labor Relations Board and I guess like the Kennedy center trustees. So there are a lot of both removals and actions vis a vis personnel. And those I think are in a category where the administration thinks that the Supreme Court has given it a lot of leeway. And it kind of thinks that for good reason. Right. John Roberts and the conservative justices on the Supreme Court have issued a series of decisions expressing this, I think, pretty ahistorical conception of the presidency, which is the presidency has in the president who occupies it has something approaching plenary, complete control over subordinate officials in the executive, executive branch, whether that's again, people, commissioners on these multi member boards and commissions, or essentially the entirety of the federal workforce. And that where statutes seek to constrain the president's total control over those subordinates, those statutes are at the least constitutionally suspect, if not, you know, outright unconstitutional. So I have a feeling at the end of the day, the federal courts are not gonna disable Trump and Musk from doing things like, again, offering deferred buyouts. These outright terminations, I think, can be. Are more difficult. And then that's just kind of everything in the personnel domain. There are these, you know, a ton of different cases about substantive policy moves. Happy to talk about those as well.

[Jane Coastin]

So, in short, are you saying that because of the conservative majority in the Supreme Court, the plan is to tee up cases to appear in front of that Supreme Court with the hopes that the conservative majority will side with them?

[Kate Shaw]

I think pretty clearly, yes. I mean, they can't. The Supreme Court can't decide all of these cases, though. Right. So they are doing so much so sloppily and so fast that I think that they're going to get stymied, at least in the short term, by the lower federal courts that do still believe we, you know, kind of function in a system of law. Congress passes statutes, they mean something. You know, presidents and unelected special government employees don't get to just dissolve federal agencies and fundamentally change the conditions of federal employment kind of by fiat. And the administration, I think, will appeal much or all of that, ultimately hoping to get before this conservative Supreme Court. And they will with some of these cases, and they will win some of them, but they won't get all of them up there. And I think that they, even if they get a lot of them up there, they're not going to win in all of them. And I think that, that, that's a really, there's a really important point there, which is, you know, the courts actually, even if they're not going to save us, can do a lot to create friction, to slow things down, to actually stem the bleeding that a lot of these moves are causing. And I think that is important and valuable, even if ultimately the Supreme Court does side with the admin. Some significant portion of these cases.

[Jane Coastin]

But Musk and Vice President Vance are already throwing the authority of the courts into question. On Sunday, JD Vance appears to have been overtaken by the spirit of Andrew Jackson when he tweeted, quote, judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power. I mean, that's bonkers. That's the point of the court. So what's your read on a statement like this? Because it also is telling. Because I'm pretty sure that he would be pretty into the Supreme Court restraining, say, the Biden administration.

[Kate Shaw]

Yeah, I mean, that was a real escalation. Right. And so you know, I think it's deeply concerning. It's not the first time that, you know, Vance has revealed himself to be a little like, you know, Andrew Jackson curious. Like a couple years ago, right, he gave a couple of interviews in which he explicitly said, you know, fire every mid level bureaucrat. I mean, he's like giving advice to a hypothetical future President Trump and he says, you know, fire every mid level bureaucrat. And when the courts stop, you stand in front of the country and say, John Roberts has made his ruling, now let him enforce it. So I mean, a couple things. I actually always thought that quote was really revealing because it actually made clear that when the courts stop you, right, this predictive claim made clear that the things that he was contemplating and advising Trump to do were unlawful under existing law. So that actually seems like a meaningful concession insofar as some parts of their coalition are saying, no, no, the, you know, the law actually is on our side or at least, you know, the Supreme Court, when it gets these questions, has put in place the foundations that like make this thing we're doing lawful, even if it's not lawful at this present moment under exist law. But yeah, I mean, it is. The, the, the suggestion of defiance of courts is deeply concerning. We haven't actually seen it yet. So I don't, unless and until we are actually in a position where we are seeing something more concrete than this kind of saber rattling on social media, I don't want to assume that we're there. But certainly the constitutional crisis you started by asking about is a, a much more serious one. If in fact we are looking a week from now or even days from now at this administration outright defying federal court orders.

[Jane Coastin]

Now somehow we are only three weeks into Trump's term, which is insane. But where do you think Democrats could find success and where might courts side with Trump potentially shattering precedent?

[Kate Shaw]

So I think that some of these removals, right, like the firing of FEC commissioner and NLRB commissioner, I think there's a very good chance that Trump wins those court cases and the supreme court overturns this 1935 precedent called Humphreys Executor, that said statutes can limit the President's ability to fire individuals who sit on these independent boards and commissions. And that's not to say the President can never remove somebody in one of those positions, but the President has to provide reasons. They can't just do it, you know, just because they've decided they want to replace that person with someone else, which is, and the fact that Trump didn't try to supply reasons for those firings suggests to me that they are very interested in, you know, taking the fight directly to the Supreme Court and trying to get this 1935 precedent overruled. So those are cases where I think the administration is going to very likely prevail and I don't exactly know what the consequences will be, but I think they could be, you know, basically seismic. On the kind of substantive policy fight like does the President have the ability to just ignore money that Congress has appropriated for spending? I think that the arguments in defense of what the administration seems to be doing with places like USAID are weak. And I have a sliver of hope that even, you know, John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh, you really just have to pick off those two. Or John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett have some kind of awareness of what it would do to the kind of separation of powers to, you know, to co sign. The President's having basically unilateral authority over spending, which is basically unilateral authority over lawmaking. Right. Like the Constitution sets forth a process with like real roles for Congress, the courts, the President and it would essentially collapse all that kind of into executive power.

[Jane Coastin]

Kate, thank you so much for being here.

[Kate Shaw]

Thank you so much, Shane.

[Jane Coastin]

That was my conversation with Strict Scrutiny co host Kate Shaw. 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 Deleteme. Ever wonder how much of your personal data is out there on the Internet for anyone to see? Way more than you think. Your name, your contact information, Social Security number and home address, even information about your family members, all being compiled by data brokers and sold online. That's why I recommend Deleteme. Deleteme is a subscription service that removes your personal info from hundreds of data brokers. Sign up and provide Deleteme with exactly what information you want deleted and their experts will take it from there. Deleteme sends you regular personalized privacy reports showing what info they found, where they found it and what they removed. And Deleteme is not just a one time service. Deleteme is always working for you. Constantly monitoring and removing the personal information you don't want on the Internet. To put it simply, Delete me does all the hard work of wiping your and your family's personal information from data broker websites. Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for Delete Me now at a special discount for our listeners today. Get 20% off your delete me plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com wad and use promo code WAD at checkout. The only way to get 20% off is to go to JoinDeleteMe.com WAD and enter code WAD at checkout. That's JoinDeleteMe.com WAAD code WAAD celebrate black.

[Kristi Noem]

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[Chris Murphy]

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[Jane Coastin]

Here'S what else we're following today.

[Kate Shaw]

Head of lines.

[Donald Trump]

And I've had a great help with Elon Musk, who's been terrific. Bottom line, you say you trust him? Trust Elon? Oh, he's not gaining anything. In fact, I wonder how he can devote the time to it. He's so into it.

[Jane Coastin]

I Wonder that too, Mr. President. I wonder that too. The long held tradition of the presidential super bowl pregame interview continued on Sunday with President Trump. Fox News host Bret Baier sat down with Trump at Mar a Lago ahead of the game to discuss the President's first weeks in office. The network aired part of the pre taped interview right before the big game. Bayer asked Trump about his relationship with Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or doge. And the President said Musk is doing great work finding ways to cut federal spending.

[Donald Trump]

Then I'm going to tell him very soon, like maybe in 24 hours to go check the Department of Education. He's going to find the same thing. Then I'm going to go go to the military. Let's check the military. We're going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse.

[Jane Coastin]

Bayer also asked the President about one of his key campaign promises, bringing down the price of groceries. Bayer asked Trump when Americans will finally feel that sweet, sweet economic relief, to which he said this no, I think.

[Donald Trump]

We'Re going to become a rich. Look, we're not that rich right now. We owe $36 trillion. That's because we let all these nations take advantage of us.

[Jane Coastin]

So we're too poor now. But when we're rich, we won't care about grocery prices. Fox will air the full interview tonight on the Special Report with Bret Baier. Also on Sunday, Trump became the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl. He greeted the Kansas City Chiefs on the field when he arrived in New Orleans with some of his children. Trump also brought along some of his Republican colleagues, including speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Senator Lindsey Graham. Prince Albert II of Monaco was also seen in the president's suite.

[Chris Murphy]

Hmm.

[Jane Coastin]

The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas continued to hold over the weekend. Hamas released three more Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners, and on Sunday, Israel's military withdrew more troops from northern Gaza. This is all in accordance with the first phase of the ceasefire deal, which ends in three weeks. The next phase calls for a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops and the releasing of all of the remaining Israeli hostages, but nothing is guaranteed. Officials from Israel and Hamas are still negotiating whether or not to extend the ceasefire, and those negotiations could get even more complicated. Egypt announced on Sunday that it will host a summit of Arab leaders later this month to discuss the, quote, new and dangerous developments in the Palestinian issue, AKA President Trump's big idea for the US to take over Gaza and make it the Riviera of the Middle east and his proposal that Egypt and Jordan take in the roughly 2 million Palestinians living there. The Trump administration is working to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with an order to halt nearly all of its work. In a notice confirmed by the AP over the weekend, Russell Vogt, the new director of the Office of Management and Budget, ordered the CFPB to, quote, cease all supervision and examination activity. Since its creation, the CFPB says It's delivered around $20 billion in consumer relief for people across the US through canceled DEB compensation and reduced loans. And because the CFPB is a creation of Congress, it would need a separate act to officially shut it down. But that has yet to stop the Trump administration from steamrolling all over the federal government and its independent agencies, according to an email sent Sunday by administration officials. The agency's headquarters in D.C. are also set to be closed this week. Employees and contractors were asked to work remotely, something I thought Trump fans hated. Coincidentally, Elon Musk posted on Twitter Friday, quote cfpb rip with a tombstone emoji professional. The online homepage for the agency was also down on Sunday. This is so 2022. Can you guess what David Schwimmer was referencing when he wrote that on Instagram? Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars JLO and Ben Affleck getting married. Beyonce's Renaissance album. No, no. And sadly, no. Over the weekend, the Friends star called out Ye the artist formerly known as Kanye west for his anti Semitic comments on Twitter and Elon Musk for allowing Ye to post those anti semitic comments on Twitter. Ye posted a series of disturbing tweets, including, and I quote, I'm a Nazi. Hitler was so fresh and Elon stole my Nazi swag at the inauguration. The list goes on and on and on and on. There's a lot to be concerned about here. In response, Schwimmer wrote on Instagram, quote, we can't stop a deranged bigot from spewing hate filled, ignorant bile, but we can stop giving him a megaphone. Mr. Musk, Kanye west has 32.7 million followers on your platform X. That is twice as many people than the number of Jews in existence. His sick hate speech results in real life violence against Jews. But the actor's direct message to Musk, a man who prides himself over his platform's free speech policies, may be moot. Musk said last year in reference to Twitter ads, if it's a choice between censorship and money and free speech and losing money, we're going to pick the second, though he has absolutely no problem booting people from the platform because he doesn't like them personally or they post things he doesn't like. And that's the news. One more thing. For reasons beyond my understanding, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem likes to go on Sunday morning news shows and talk, and Super Bowl Sunday was no exception. She went on cnn, State of the Union and spoke to Dana Bash and what she said was interesting. I remember a time when Republicans were very careful about and worried about the government, particularly unelected people. Well, we can't trust the government anymore.

[Kate Shaw]

Having access to personal data.

[Jane Coastin]

Yeah. Oh absolutely.

[Chris Murphy]

You are the government.

[Jane Coastin]

Yes, Christy, you are the government. The so called deep state lady. You now run a government department set up after 911 that once put anti war activists in a federal terrorism database. I have been mad for three straight weeks, with occasional breaks to watch sports or old episodes of Law and Order. I'm not scared, not chastened, just mad. And I think I'm mad in part because of the exact phenomenon illustrated so beautifully by our puppy killer Secretary of Homeland Security. For pretty much my entire life, the Republican Party has operated not as a political party with its own ideas, but as an opposition party. There are a lot of moving parts within the gop, a lot of actors who don't get along and don't agree. Seriously, what do Senators Tom Cotton and Rand Paul even talk about? But they can agree on what they don't want, and that's whatever Democrats or liberals want. They were and are the party of no. But that has also meant that they are almost fundamentally allergic to the responsibilities that holding power requires. There is always a scapegoat, always a reason why they should get all of the power, but none of the blame for problems. Look, if you have a political belief, it is imperative that you think to yourself, what is the worst possible outcome if I got everything I ever wanted? But the American right just doesn't do that. Instead, you get excuses. You've all heard them. If it just weren't for those activist judges, if it just weren't for the Hollywood elite when women bled out in their cars because of bans on abortion after the Dobbs decision, some conservatives responded that it wasn't their fault. It was the fault of those hospitals for fearing litigation, the litigation based on laws Republicans wanted in the first place. You bought the ticket. Take the fucking ride. Seriously, there are people within the Trump administration with power over the lives of millions of people who seem to think that they should get to do whatever they want because Kathy Griffin posed with a fake severed Trump head once Having power is fun and cool. Responsibility is hard. So the GOP has decided they'll take one and not the other. So I am not surprised that Christy Noem seems unaware that she is now really and truly the government. Because honestly, I think she kind of wishes she wasn't. After all, it's pretty hard to complain about bad governance when you're the one doing it. Before we go, the Democratic Party is the most unpopular. It's been in polling dating back to 2008, according to a new survey from Quinnipiac University. On the latest episode of Polar Coaster, Dan unpacks what the results mean and answers listener questions. Get access to this exclusive series, ad free episodes of Pod Save America and more by signing [e-mail] friends or subscribing directly on the Pod Save America Apple podcast Feedback For a limited time, enjoy a 7 day free trial. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, Shudder in horror at what the super bowl halftime show used to be like, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just about how before Michael Jackson performed at the 1993 Super bowl, previous themed halftime shows were entitled Winter Magic and Bebop Bamboozled and featured some of the worst marching bands you have ever seen in your life. Like me, what a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and [e-mail] subscribe I'm Jane Coston and thank you Kendrick Lamar. Waterday 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 Aloy. We had production help today from Johanna Case, Joseph Dutra, Greg Walters and Julia Claire. Our senior producer is Erika 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.

[Kristi Noem]

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