I think there’s a great optimism in this economy.”
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Donald Trump’s disastrous tariff plan directly impacted folks in the What A Day universe — or what I call, the real, real America.
- You know things ain’t good when China starts trolling the United States online with dank memes. Well, that’s where we are: Stuck in the middle of the world’s dumbest trade war. Beijing boosted its import tariff on American goods to 125 percent, matching President Donald Trump’s tax on Chinese products. Trump backed off his heaviest tariffs on European countries and almost everyone else, but significant damage has been done. Average people have become collateral damage — including many of you, What A Day readers, who wrote in to share your experiences. Here’s what you had to say.
- Meredith told us that a cost spike in the construction industry threw the future of projects she’s working on into uncertainty. That includes one $70 million development in higher education that’s been in the works for over two years. “My budgets are carefully set and accounted for with appropriate contingency for unforeseen conditions, inflation and the like. What they don’t have is another 5 or 10 or whatever percent to absorb tariff costs,” she wrote. Tariffs on hardware for doors, furniture and audio-visual equipment will be hit hard.
- Angela and her husband, who own a drive-thru coffee shop in Florida, emptied their savings to jumpstart the shop in 2021. They’ve also mortgaged their cars and home. In the last week, they saw suppliers raise prices up to 25 percent. The tariffs, combined with the state raising the minimum wage, is putting them in a dire situation. “What kind of tweet do we need to sponsor for the White House to decrease the interest rates for small businesses?” Angela wrote. “It seems that everything is stacking against us more and more.”
James has been working on a board game with his family for years, and they’re finally ready to start production in China… which, all of a sudden… well, y’know.
- Finding a new factory so late in the game-making process would be difficult, he said. “We can only wait and hope the tariffs go down so we can import the games and still have our business model intact,” James wrote.
- Many have suffered losses in the stock market downturn — but Rusty’s were pretty serious. “I lost $100,000 in 3 days,” he wrote. “I'm lucky I can sort of afford it, but it still sucks.” You’re not alone! Major businesses took a hit, too. One eye-popping example: Apple airlifted 600 tons of iPhones from India in an attempt to avoid Trump’s tariffs. That couldn’t have been cheap!
Oh btw, egg prices have spiked to a record high, again. Well, you know what they say: You gotta break a few eggs to make an idiotic, unforced recession… or, uh, what’s that saying again? |
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A Louisiana judge ruled Columbia University grad student Mahmoud Khalil eligible for deportation, despite being arrested for no reason other than leading campus protests supporting Palestinian rights. That doesn’t mean he’ll be deported: Mahmoud’s lawyers filed a lawsuit in New Jersey that could block his deportation if they win. Fingers crossed!
The State Department has ordered employees to report instances of “anti-Christian bias” among their colleagues. An administration-wide task force will collect information “involving anti-religious bias during the last presidential administration,” Politico reports, citing an internal State Department message. Well, that’s incredibly disturbing. Whoo, what a week, guys. Sheesh.
Donald Trump lined up deals with five more big law firms, in which each agreed to offer a combined total of $600 million worth of pro bono legal support to his favored causes, the New York Times reports. It’s the latest in a string of deals Trump has made with law firms, who are more willing to bow down to the president than oppose his radical agenda.
The U.S. government has already spent $154 billion more this year than it did last year. That’s notable, because Elon Musk claims DOGE is on track to cut $150 billion in government spending (which is, by the way, a big retreat from his initial $1 trillion estimate). So… DOGE MIGHT be on track to ALMOST cancel out Trump’s big spending? Geniuses at work!
The Trump administration is planning to install federal oversight over Columbia University, as it escalated pressure on the school following funding cuts. That would allow a judge to require that Columbia comply with Trump’s orders and totally upend the traditional ways that the government normally handles civil rights issues on campus.
The Trump administration is citing the dire wolf “de-extinction” news this week as an excuse to cut protections for endangered animals. “If we’re going to be in anguish about losing a species, now we have an opportunity to bring them back,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum reportedly told employees this week. “Pick your favorite species and call up Colossal,” he added, referring to the company that brought back the wolf. If it were that easy, I’m sure we’d see Trump assemble a team of T-Rexes on the White House South Lawn.
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WE'RE ALL FRIENDS HERE
Trump’s tariffs might finally do what indictments couldn’t—damage his polling. On the newest episode of Pollercoaster, Dan breaks down the numbers and the aftermath of the Wisconsin and Florida special elections. Plus, he answers questions from the Discord. Caroline Reston moderates. Not a member? This month only, we are offering a FREE 30 day trial of our Friends of the Pod subscription. With your subscription you'll also enjoy ad-free episodes of Offline, Lovett or Leave It, Pod Save America, and Pod Save the World. You’ll also join our Discord community where you can process and discuss the news with fellow listeners all around the world. Sign up at crooked.com/friends or directly through the Pod Save America Apple Podcasts feed to start your free 30-day trial now!
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How is Katy Perry preparing for her upcoming flight to space? “I was listening to ‘Cosmos’ by Carl Sagan and reading a book on string theory,” the pop star told the Associated Press. “I’ve always been interested in astrophysics and interested in astronomy and astrology and the stars. We are all made of stardust and we all come from the stars.” Profound stuff right here, ladies and gents.
…And how is she hyping herself up for the adventure? “I am talking to myself every day and going, ‘You’re brave, you’re bold, you are doing this for the next generation to inspire so many different people but especially young girls to go, “I’ll go to space in the future.” No limitations,’” she said. That’s what I tell myself every morning, too! What a coincidence.
I dropped by MSNBC this afternoon with our news editor, Greg, to talk about our collaboration with The Guardian's Joseph Gedeon about DOGE possibly spying on federal workers, with host Christina Ruffini. Thank you all again for making this story happen! You’re forever part of the Crooked fam.
Meet Miss Lucille Bluth Reston-Núñez (aka Lucy), who is Crooked producer Caroline Reston's beloved pup.
“She's a high anxiety girly girl with a penchant for nibbling sheets and eating trash. She's known around the office as a man-hater with a heart of gold. She's a staunch libertarian, who supported Kamala Harris but would have preferred an open primary.”
She’s perfect, too, clearly.
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