Tommy Vitor (3:05)

Hello, my friend. Good to see you.

Jane Coaston (3:06)

Good to see you as well. We've been talking a lot about how President Trump ran his campaign partially on America first and no new foreign wars and they were the pro peace ticket. But just over a quarter into his term, he has captured the leader of Venezuela in the middle of the night and dragged the US Into a war with Iran with no end date or clear objectives. What's happening? What's going on?

Tommy Vitor (3:28)

Look, I genuinely thought Trump would be opposed to a regime change war in Iran because he would think it would be bad politics. I kind of think what happened is that the Midnight Hammer operation, the bombing of Iran last June went fine. The Venezuela operation went really well as well in terms of the near term elite opinion in D.C. and now he's got people like Lindsey Graham in Azir and Bibi Netanyahu saying if you take out the ayatollahs and then you take out the Cuban government, you will be the world's greatest president. As Lindsey Graham says, you'll be Reagan. Plus plus plus plus plus and it's all about his ego and wanting to,

Jane Coaston (4:04)

you know, do stuff just for the audience. Midnight Hammer was The so called 12 Day War, the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities that I seem to recall obliterated those facilities. But now we need to re obliterate them.

Tommy Vitor (4:16)

Yes, apparently we totally obliterated Iran's nuclear program, except that we didn't and now we're bombing them again. And I think the thing folks listening should realize is I think that we will almost certainly end up seeing either a US Or Israeli commando operation on the ground in Iran to capture those materials. Because as long as that enriched uranium is there, the nuclear threat that stems from it also exists.

Jane Coaston (4:38)

Right now. We know where Lindsey Graham stands. He's the happiest man in Washington right now. This has been the greatest two weeks of his entire life.

Tommy Vitor (4:47)

Did you watch Megyn Kelly go after him for 20 minutes on her show by the show?

Jane Coaston (4:50)

I did. And we're gonna talk about like the MAGA media split on this because that's been personally Entertaining.

Tommy Vitor (4:55)

I know you love it. I love it, too.

Jane Coaston (4:56)

It's so good. But here's my question. There is an argument to be made that this is just neoconservatism 2.0. This is George W. Bush. Do you think that this is actually where the Republican establishment feels most comfortable? That this actually brings them back even more on board with Trump than they were before?

Tommy Vitor (5:19)

Yeah, it's funny. It's like neocon foreign policy without all the fluffy talk about human rights and freedom and democracy. It's just like old school resource grabs, hawkish militarism. And the saddest part of all is that John Bolton, Trump's former national security advisor, got to work for him in the first term, and then they had a little falling out, they had a little bit of a breakup. Now Trump is prosecuting him, and Bolton is living out his foreign policy fantasies by just invading everywhere. So I agree with you. Like, I do think the kind of, like, establishment neocon wing in Washington is absolutely thrilled at where things have ended up.

Jane Coaston (5:54)

Yeah. And it's always been interesting to me that people position Trump as being an anti war president. And I'm like, no, no, no. He likes wars that we win. He hates losing wars. The problem with the Iraq war was not that hundreds of thousands of people died and we gained nothing and basically destroyed a country and also destroyed Afghanistan for no reason. The problem is that we did not, quote, unquote, win. That was the issue with Vietnam. That's the issue I think Trump has with a lot of conflicts the United States has been involved in since, you know, the early 1960s. It's not that it was bad that we did it. It's that he thinks we just should have won.

Tommy Vitor (6:34)

Yeah. And it kind of makes sense when you know Trump, like, he's an optics guy. He doesn't like a bad look. He doesn't like us looking bad or looking weak. So, yes. And the neocons, like, they think that international institutions are bad and lame and that we should ignore them. They think we always need a bigger military, we should use it more often, and that we have every right to shape events no matter where they are. It could be, you know, CIA fomenting coups in Latin America. It could be invading Iraq. Whatever it is, they're for it.

Jane Coaston (7:00)

So neoconservatives are happy, which. Fantastic.

Tommy Vitor (7:05)

Finally they get a win.

Jane Coaston (7:06)

Fantastic. It's 2003 all over again. I'm in high school. Life is terrible. But MAGA is Trump's base. And I think it's interesting because there's been a lot of reporting. I'm sure people have seen about, like, you know, maga's gonna be disappointed or MAGA is split. I don't think so, because I think Trump understands that MAGA is him. They like what he likes. This is essentially it's like a fan relationship or Stan relationship almost. But. But that is not the entirety of the people who voted for him in 2024.

Tommy Vitor (7:33)

Right.

Jane Coaston (7:33)

Or that the GOP is relying on votes in 2026 and 2028. What or who is Trump risking with the war in Iran?

Tommy Vitor (7:41)

First of all, I just, I fundamentally agree with like the, the overarching premise, which is like, MAGA is for what Trump is for.

Jane Coaston (7:46)

Yeah.

Tommy Vitor (7:47)

By and large. And a lot of voters, frankly, like, don't think that deeply about these issues because they don't have time to. They're doing other stuff.

Jane Coaston (7:53)

Right.

Tommy Vitor (7:54)

That said, there is a vocal slice of the Republican Party and of MAGA that believed Trump when he said he would never do a regime change. Wars in the Middle east, people like Tucker Carlson, people like Nick Fuentes, J.D. vance used to be in this camp.

Jane Coaston (8:10)

Right.

Tommy Vitor (8:10)

Wonder what happened to him. So there's like the far right, kind of isolationist wing of the Republican Party, of the MAGA world. There's also the newer voters that came in through, let's say, Joe Rogan's podcast. There are veterans shows like the Sean Ryan show. Sean Ryan was in the Special Forces. Like his seen personally the cost of war. That's why he opposes this sort of interventionism. But there are other voters who are just young and feel like the economy is not working for them. The government doesn't do the stuff they want and all of a sudden we're paying tens of millions of dollars to drop bombs on Iran again instead of spending on healthcare. Like, they don't get that. That pisses them off. That is not America first, as Trump would say.

Jane Coaston (8:45)

Right. I have seen numerous people who said, like, this isn't what we voted for. Sagar and Jetty, a conservative commentator and co host of the podcast Breaking points, tweeted on February 28 that the war was, quote, the, the most profound campaign betrayal in modern US history. Now I think that there's been this story that's not necessarily true, but there's kind of a story that like, it doesn't really matter what Trump does, cuz nothing bad ever happens to him. He's the cat that always lands on his feet. Everything always works out. But, you know, actions do have consequences. So what happens now that there are A swath of people who were sold a bill of goods in 2024 and have seen that Trump doesn't care about them at all. What happens now?

Tommy Vitor (9:29)

I mean, I think in the near term, what happens is gas prices are going to go up and they're going to stay up for a really long time. And that is another, like, enormous betrayal of what Donald Trump ran on. His number one thing was, like, Joe Biden is bad at handling inflation. Your costs are up, the price of eggs are up. I'm going to make them go down. And now the price of everything for everyone is going to go up and the price of fertilizer is going to go up. Like, one third of the fertilizer in the world goes through the straight of Hormuz. That means everything we buy is going to be more expensive. And I think Trump thinks he can bend the world and bend reality to his will. He thinks if he says it enough, it becomes so. But when you, every day you see that gas is at 348 a gallon instead of 248, you can't spin that. They're going to be pissed. And I think they're going to slowly

Jane Coaston (10:16)

slip away from it to that point. The Trump administration is now choosing to just rebrand whatever America first means. Last week, Deputy White House Chief of Staff and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller. That's too many titles for him. He told Fox News's Sean Hannity quote, america first means America will be the greatest, most unquestioned, unmatched power in the world.

Tommy Vitor (10:35)

What?

Jane Coaston (10:36)

Yeah. No.

Tommy Vitor (10:37)

When I was preparing for POD Save the World this week, I was going back and watching some old interviews, and I found one where Trump in 2018 was saying that people are sick and tired of America being the world's policeman. And then you look at all the things we're doing right now. Like, we just started launching military operations in Ecuador along with Ecuadorian special forces to go after drug cartels. We are bombing boats in the Caribbean. We did a regime change overnight in Venezuela. Now we're at war in Iran. Like, it's the opposite of what Trump ran on. Like, that is not what America first was. America first was focusing on things at home, making people's lives better at home, not. Not bombing everyone around the world.

Jane Coaston (11:14)

I think that Trump really likes bombing people around the world and does not care about any of this. To me, this is an administration that thinks they will simply be obeyed by their voters. They will say what America first means, and their voters will say, great, Cool. Are they right?

Tommy Vitor (11:31)

With a big chunk of those voters. They might be right, but like elections in America are won and lost by five point swings. You know, it's like if you lose 20% of Joe Rogan's audience, that's a big chunk of people and that will really hurt you in the midterms. And that will hurt J.D. vance if he runs in 2028. And also I think this could open up like a actually isolationist maga lane in the 2028 Republican primary because all of a sudden JD Vance has reportedly not only told Trump that he's for the Iran operation, but to go bigger.

Jane Coaston (12:02)

Yeah, people who are not super online might not know this, but JD Vance hasn't like tweeted or anything since this began. Which normally he's like tweeting at complete randos because he's bored because being Vice president is boring, but he's been real quiet.

Tommy Vitor (12:16)

This man will write like an op ed length tweet attacking the intern at the center for American Progress and he hasn't said a goddamn word about the regime change war in Iran that he

Jane Coaston (12:24)

helped start Tommy, thank you for joining me.

Tommy Vitor (12:27)

As always, thank you for having me.

Jane Coaston (12:28)

That was my conversation with Tommy Vitor, co host of Crooked Media's Pod Save the World. It's Friday and you're still listening to a podcast about news. You're probably the coolest person in your friend group. Don't worry, there's more news incoming, but if you like the show even on a Friday, please subscribe. Leave a five star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Watch us on YouTube and share with your friends. We'll be back after some ads. This episode is brought to you by IQ Bar, our exclusive snack hydration and coffee sponsor. IQ Bar Protein Bars, IQ Mix Hydration Mixes and IQ Joe Mushroom Coffees are the delicious, low sugar, brain and body fuel you need to win your day. All IQ Bar products are clean, label, certified and entirely free from gluten, dairy, soy, GMOs and artificial ingredients. All IQ Bar products are packed with clean, delicious ingredients that keep you physically and mentally fit like magnesium, lion's mane and more. There are plenty of flavor combinations to choose from across all IQ Bar products, from Mint Chocolate Chip protein bars to Blueberry Pomegranate hydration mixes to Vanilla Spice Coffee and even limited edition and seasonal flavors too. With over 20,000 5 star reviews and counting, more people than ever are fueling their busy lifestyles with IQ Bar's Brain and Body Boosting bars, hydration mixes and mushroom coffees. Their ultimate sampler pack includes all three IQ Bar has become a part of my daily routines, especially before or after a big workout. And right now, IQ Bar is offering our special podcast listeners 20% off all IQ Bar products, including the Ultimate Sampler Package, plus free shipping. To get your 20% off text WAD to 64,000 text WAD to 64,000. That's WAD to 64,000. Message and data rates may apply. See Terms for details. What a Day is brought to you by bookshop.org where you shop for Books matters. When you purchase from bookshop.org, you're supporting more than 2,500 local independent bookstores across the country. Independent bookstores do more than sell books. They take care of and pour back into their communities, creating safe spaces that foster culture, curiosity and a love of reading. Whether you're searching for an incisive history that helps you make sense of this moment, a novel that sweeps you away, or the perfect gift for a loved one, bookshop.org has you covered. Use code WAD to get 10% off your next order at bookshop.org

Dan Pfeiffer (14:44)

if you love positive America and want more of my political analysis, you should subscribe to my newsletter, the Message Box I'm Dan Pfeiffer, former Senior Advisor to Barack Obama, and in message box I break down what's actually happening in politics and what it's going to take to beat Donald Trump. Maga if you follow every poll and every twist and turn in the campaign message box is for you. This isn't just hot takes. Every edition delivers clear analysis, behind the scenes insight and practical strategy you can actually use whether you're working on a race, organizing your community, or just trying to win the argument in your group chat. So if you're listening to this, hit pause, go to your browser and head to crooked.com yeswedan because I have a special offer for Crooked Crooked media fans. You will get 20% off a message box for an entire year. So go to crooked.com yeswedan.

Jane Coaston (15:31)

With Verbo Care Help is always ready before, during and after your stay. We've planned for the plot twists, so support is always available because a great trip starts with peace of mind. Here's what else we're following today. Head of Lines House Republicans should immediately take up this bill and pass it. If they do not, they will have to explain to families across this country in November why they refuse to lower the cost of housing. Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren spoke on the Senate floor Thursday after pulling off a rare feat passing bipartisan legislation. There was so much going on in D.C. this week and thankfully. What a day's Matt Burgess in D.C. reporting on the biggest stories in politics. Hey, Matt.

Matt Burgess (16:25)

Hey, Jane.

Jane Coaston (16:26)

What's up?

Matt Burgess (16:26)

Just hanging out in the midst of the chaos.

Jane Coaston (16:30)

So, Matt, a bipartisan housing bill passed the Senate on Thursday. The votes were 89 to 10. It was CO sponsored by Senator Warren and South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott. It's funny because I don't know about you, Matt, but like, the idea of bipartisan legislation has gotten to the point of like, they can do that. That's legal.

Matt Burgess (16:50)

I mean, I don't think that I can remember a time during this administration that we've seen such bipartisanship. But I think that it goes to speak to how big of an issue housing is in the United States. I mean, the goal of this bill is to boost housing supply, cut regulations, and expand how federal aid can be used to build affordable homes and rentals. But as we've seen over and over again in the past two years, this is going to the House and there's going to be problems. GOP lawmakers are annoyed that they were not involved in some of these discussions, and they want to add a bunch of small things that could take up a lot of time to get this bill through.

Jane Coaston (17:29)

Speaking of the Senate, though, Senate Democrats blocked a bill passed by House Republicans that would fund the Department of Homeland Security. Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman voted with Republicans on this, which checks out.

Matt Burgess (17:42)

Yeah, Democrats tried over and over in the past few weeks to get Republicans to fund, you know, tsa, fema, Coast Guard and other things that are under DHS via narrower bills. But the GOP is not cool with that. They just want the full budget passed. Lawmakers have just said Democrats need to fund ICE if they want to get the rest of those bills passed. And so far, no one is budging and there's been no progress. I think it's the fourth time in four weeks that the full DHS budget has been voted down. Which just goes to show how stalled negotiations were. Washington state Democratic Senator Patty Murray told the AP this week, quote, I'm willing to talk to people, but I'm not willing to sit in a room, have coffee, give away a few things, and have Stephen Miller override whatever we all agree to.

Jane Coaston (18:32)

I mean, I also wouldn't want Stephen Miller to override anything I agreed to or I don't want him to do anything at all. I've really been very strong on that anti Stephen Miller stance.

Matt Burgess (18:42)

And apparently they're having coffee with Stephen Miller, too, so wouldn't want to be there.

Jane Coaston (18:47)

Oh, that sounds awful. In other news, the deadly war in Iran continues. It's costing billions of dollars, 11.3 billion over the first six days. But the White House is posting memes because they are insanely online. Matt, what have you been.

Matt Burgess (19:04)

You're right. There have been a lot of really just bizarre videos coming out of the White House, mostly posted to the White House Twitter page or YouTube. People who are listening might recall the White House using Call of Duty footage combined with drone strike footage that drew significant backlash from the public. Another few over the past week have included Kylo Ren from Star wars and even spongebob squarepants calling in drone strike. I thought that the latest video was about a bowling montage that again included drone strikes. But as I was writing for Thursday's newsletter about this, the White House posted a video that featured Wii characters. You might remember the video game console from about a decade ago. These Miis, as they're known, were playing Wii sports. They were playing tennis, playing basketball, playing golf. And anytime that they hit a ball, it triggered drone strike footage. And it's just a bizarre thing to see come out of a White House. I asked White House press official Anna Kelly about this, and she told me, quote, the White House will continue showcasing the many examples of Iran's ballistic missiles, production facilities and dreams of owning a nuclear weapon being destroyed.

Jane Coaston (20:16)

It's funny because they aren't showcasing any of that. You just see stuff blowing up and then you see, like, meme footage. Or in one video posted on Wednesday, the White House used NFL footage of players, including retired Baltimore Ravens defender Ray Lewis. Like, those kind of, like, he got lit up kind of hits and then contrasted that with, like, war footage. And that got a ton of pushback from other former NFL players, as you can imagine. Former NFL safety Ryan Clark said, quote, there are families here in our country whose loved ones have decided to give their life to fight for our rights and our freedoms who don't see war as a sport. War doesn't deserve a highlight film for Tropic Thunder to be a part of it. War is not a comedy. He referenced Tropic Thunder because that movie was spliced in two. Because of course it was. I keep saying this, but it's been interesting to me. And I'm curious if you think about this, Matt. Like, there's been no effort to manufacture consent for this war at all. Like, there's been no, like, here's why we need to go do this. Here's the thing. We're gonna go do. And here's why we're gonna do it, and here's why it's worth it for people to die in this conflict. Instead, we're getting meme videos on a platform most people don't use.

Matt Burgess (21:23)

Exactly. It's one thing that when you watch those videos you notice is that you're not really seeing that much. You're seeing these grainy, unclassified, supposedly videos of war. But it's like a truck in the middle of nowhere. There's rarely people involved. It's just a random scene that you can't even make out. It doesn't look like Iran missile facilities as far as I've seen. It's just totally random and seems to be like a total play at their hyper online base.

Jane Coaston (21:52)

I think that this entire presidency has been a play at their hyper online base. But Matt, as always, thank you so much for hanging out.

Matt Burgess (22:01)

Thanks for having me.

Jane Coaston (22:02)

And that's the news. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, Leave a review, Congratulate Wad listene Win Decker for winning his primary in North Carolina last week and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just about how Wynn was inspired to run for office through Crooked and Vote Save America's candidate recruitment program. And now he has a shot to flip one of the most competitive State House seats in North Carolina. Like me, what a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe@crooked.com subscribe I'm Jayne Coaston and win. Thank you for listening. Have a great workout this morning. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producer is Emily Foer. Our producer is Kaitlyn Plummer. Our video editor is Joseph Dutra. Our video producer is Johanna Case. We had production help today from Greg Walters, Matt Berg, Sean Ali and Ethan Oberman. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison and our senior vice president of news and politics, this is Adriene Hill. Our theme music is by Kyle Murdoch and Jordan Cantor. We had help today from the Associated Press. Our production staff is proudly unionized for the Writers Guild of America East.

Dan Pfeiffer (23:34)

If you love positive America and want more of my political analysis, you should subscribe to my newsletter, the Message Box. I'm Dan Pfeiffer, former senior advisor to Barack Obama, and in messagebox I break down what's actually happening in politics and what it's going to take to beat Donald Trump. Maga. If you follow every poll and every twist and turn in the campaign message box is for you. This isn't just hot takes. Every Edition delivers clear analysis, behind the scenes insight and practical strategy you can actually use whether you're working on a race, organizing your community, or just trying to win the argument in your group chat. So if you're listening to this, hit pause, go to your browser and head to crooked.com yeswedan because I have a special offer for crooked media Fans. You'll get 20% off a message box for an entire year, so go to crooked.com yeswedan.

Jane Coaston (24:21)

The sun's shining, birds are singing, and all feels right in the world.

Tommy Vitor (24:26)

Until the season changes and suddenly you lose your motivation to get out of bed. In fact, one in five people experience some form of depression no matter the season or time of year.

Jane Coaston (24:36)

At the American Psychiatric association foundation, our vision is to build a mentally healthy nation for all because we want you to live your best life and be your best you all year round.

Tommy Vitor (24:47)

Please visit mentallyhealthynation.org to learn more.