From $400 million planes to $300 million ballrooms, from cryptocurrency to just plain… currency, President Donald Trump and his family have profited massively from his return to the White House. According to the Center for American Progress, the Trump family has received nearly $2 billion in cash and gifts since President Trump won the 2024 presidential election. This week, during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the White House, the president downplayed his family's dealings in Saudi Arabia, but the reality is that those business ties have grown significantly during his second term. For more on just how much money Trump and his family are making from his return to the Oval Office, we spoke to Andrea Bernstein, podcast host and author of "American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power."

And in headlines, President Trump threatens Congressional Democrats with violent rhetoric, Customs and Border Patrol prepares more immigration crackdowns in Louisiana and Mississippi, and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is set to meet with President Trump at the White House.

Show Notes:

• Check out Andrea's book – wwnorton.com/books/american-oligarchs
• Call Congress – 202-224-3121
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

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For the last two weeks, a critically important climate conference has been taking place in Belem, Brazil. For the first time in 30 years, the United States did not send a delegation to the conference. Outside of the event, massive groups of Indigenous people have gathered to demand that world leaders do something to curtail the effects of climate change, which their communities are already feeling. Somini Sengupta, international climate reporter for the New York Times, joins the show to recap the conference.

And in headlines, Elon Musk predicts a work-less utopia at the Saudi Investment Forum, the Trump Administration comes up with concepts of a plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war, and a federal judge restarts criminal contempt proceedings against the Trump Administration over potentially illegal deportation flights to El Salvador.

Show Notes:

• Check out Somini's reporting – www.nytimes.com/by/somini-sengupta
• Call Congress – 202-224-3121
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

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President Donald Trump joyously welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, also known as MBS, to the White House on Tuesday. That's despite the fact that, according to US intelligence, MBS allegedly ordered the 2018 murder of Saudi dissident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The meeting was supposed to center on Saudi investments in the United States in exchange for military equipment and possible access to nuclear technology – as the US and Saudi Arabia become closer partners than ever before. So for more on what MBS's very friendly visit means for U.S.-Saudi relations, we spoke with Pod Save the World co-host Tommy Vietor.

And in headlines, Education Secretary Linda McMahon works to "break up federal bureaucracy", the US takes one step closer to maybe possibly finally seeing the Epstein files, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott says he'll take the state's redistricting fight to the Supreme Court.

Show Notes:

• Check out Pod Save The World – tinyurl.com/4n6y99mu
• Call Congress – 202-224-3121
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.