Trump Returns to the White House

Today is Inauguration Day in DC. As of around noon ET, we will officially be living under a Donald Trump administration. Again. The president-elect's inaugural committee has raised a record $170 million for the ceremony and accompanying festivities — a huge jump from the then-record $107 million raised for Trump’s first inauguration. We talk to reporter Ilya Marritz, former co-host of the WNYC podcast ‘Trump Inc.,’ to explore the parallels between today’s inauguration and 2017.

And in headlines: TikTok restored service to its more than 170 million users in the U.S, a temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas went into effect, and the federal government is rushing to develop a bird flu vaccine.

***Correction: In this episode we stated, "Inaugurating a president doesn't cost $170 million." This needs more context. It is true that, prior to 2017, a president's inaugural committee had never spent more than $100 million on inauguration events. Inaugural committees raise money from private donations. But a second pot of federal money covers the cost of services like security and cleanup. The Washington Post estimated the combined total for Trump's first inauguration likely cost between $175 million and $200 million.

Show Notes:

• 'The Harvard Plan' - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-harvard-plan-pt-1-a-president-on-trial/id1767012898?i=1000679405864 • 'Trump, Inc.' - https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/trumpinc • Check out Pod Save The World – crooked.com/podcast-series/pod-save-the-world/ • Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief • 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