What A Day - Caucusing Up A Storm

Episode Date: January 15, 2024

The Iowa caucuses are here. Former President Donald Trump is in the lead, according to the most recent Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa poll. He has the backing of 48 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers. Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley is in second place with 20 percent, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is in third place at 16 percent.Meanwhile, it is bitterly, bitterly cold in Iowa with a wind chill warning in place until after the caucus on Tuesday. And it’s not just Iowa – an arctic cold outbreak is set to bring record-setting, too-cold-for-comfort temperatures all over. Daily records for this time of year could be broken from coast to coast.And in headlines: Sunday marked 100 days since the Israel-Hamas war began, John Kerry will step down as the U.S. special climate envoy, and the Supreme Court agreed to take on cases that will impact people experiencing homelessness and workers’ rights to unionize.Show Notes:What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

It's Monday, January 15th. I'm Traevel Anderson. And I'm Josie Duffy Rice, and this is What A Day, the pod that's happy to commemorate MLK Day with you. As for how not to commemorate MLK's legacy, don't be like actor Jonathan Majors, okay? Invoking the civil rights legend and wife while fending off assault and harassment charges? Let them people rest in peace. Coretta Scott King is somewhere like, how I get in it? Why am I involved? On today's show, nearly the whole country is gripped with dangerously cold weather. Plus what we think tonight's Emmy ceremony should do to have

a bit more fun. But first, today is the first day of the rest of our lives, or maybe the end of our lives. It is the Iowa caucus, the first act in the circus that is the presidential election season. And the winner is honestly anyone's guess. Actually, that's a joke. We pretty much know who will come out on top of this Republican primary. The question at this point is who will come in a far, far, far second. Yes, there definitely are a few unknowns about today's caucus, but the winner definitely is not one of them. So first, just tell us, rip the bandaid off, how significant is Trump's lead at this point? It is significant. It is a serious lead. He is far and away in first place. The final Iowa poll by the Des Moines Register, NBC, and Mediacom

passed him at about 48%, which is more than double the support of the second-place candidate, Nikki Haley, who is polling at 20%. And Trump's poll numbers are three times that of Ron DeSantis, the robot we all love to hate, who is polling at a meager 16%. It turns out you kind of have to have like a personality to run for president. You got to be able to charm people. You got to be a little flirty.

You got to tell a joke. But the only thing Ron DeSantis flirts with is fascism. So not looking good for him. Now, Trouble, if you like me have not had enough of DeSantis failing at the polls, if you're like, Schadenfreude isn't totally satisfied, get ready for my personal favorite piece of Iowa caucus-related news thus far. So, this past weekend, a prankster in Iowa who CNN says is from the comedy duo The Good Liars. I'm not familiar, but I'm into them now. He presented Ron DeSantis with his very own participation trophy. And the governor did not take it very well. So take a listen. Real quick, before we get started, thank you,

everyone. Governor DeSantis, I want to present to you this participation trophy. Now, probably not going to win the election, right? But we're proud of you for trying. I'm proud of you for this. There you go. Sorry, buddy. He's special, he's unique, and he's our little snowflake. He's our little snowflake. Oh, he doesn't have a sense of humor. He has no sense of humor.

Because we all know that there's no way. There's no way. That he is going to win. Now, let me just say, I said that about Trump and I should probably knock on wood. Well, I don't see it for Ron DeSantis. I got to say, I do not see it for that man. Let's just look at the numbers. Let's look at the numbers. Yeah. So Trump seems to have this in the bag for sure. But it does feel kind of notable that less than half of Republicans are planning to vote for him. You said 48%. Yeah, I mean, like, he definitely is a clear frontrunner. So it would be, as we were just

saying, it would be shocking if he didn't win. But like you just said, 48% doesn't really indicate that Republicans universally adore him, or even mostly adore him. If he's a nominee, of course, many of that other 52% would still vote for him. But still, less than half, it's kind of an indication that there's more variation in the party than I think a lot of people suspect. Yeah, and we mentioned earlier that there are some unpredictable elements of today's caucuses. Can you tell us about those? Yeah, so the main unpredictable element is the weather, which I know you're going to talk about more in just a minute. But it is bitterly, bitterly, bitterly cold in Iowa with a windchill warning in place.

Forecasts say the windchill could mean temperatures could drop to negative 45 degrees. There was also a blizzard in Iowa this past weekend, which means there's a ton of snow. So there's a ton of snow. There's a ton of wind. It is very cold. It's the coldest caucus weather in almost 50 years. It's not the greatest conditions. Right. And so what are we thinking that will mean for the candidates and for the caucuses? Well, it's already affected some of the candidates' ability to actually campaign. So Trump had to cancel a few appearances on Saturday.

Other candidates had their plans impeded. And caucus turnout will almost certainly be lower than it has been in the past. I mean, that seems like a pretty sure bet given the weather and that Trump is in such a clear lead. But it is unclear which candidate will benefit from lower turnout. Like Trump's people are the most passionate, so they might be the most likely to show up. But they also might be more likely to stay home because his lead is so significant. So why would you trudge through the snow and wind to vote for the guy who's going to

win anyway? But as for now, all the candidates are just like begging people to show up. And Trump even said this yesterday at a campaign event in Iowa, the most Trump thing ever. You can't sit home. If you're sick as a dog, you say, darling, I gotta beg. Even if you vote and then pass away, it's worth it. My God, today, what is happening? What? Even if you die, it is OK because you voted. Wow.

I want to be clear that I don't think people should die after voting for Donald Trump in a snowstorm. However, I just think that that is a risk that you are taking. And I want you to really process that risk, you know. I want you to really process it. Just think long and hard about it before you make any decision. Just think long and hard about it. You know. I hope you live.

I hope this is an epiphany moment for you. We can only hope. Thank you so much for that preview, Josie. And you just mentioned how cold it'll be today in Iowa. But as many of us know, it has been cold all over the country. It's been so cold, y'all. My granny would definitely say that we must be living in the last days right before the rapture. And according to national weather forecasts, it's going to feel like that for at least another week. So let's talk about how the country is trying to stay warm. An Arctic cold outbreak is set to bring record setting too cold for comfort temperatures all over. Daily records for this time of year could be broken everywhere from Oregon on the west to the Gulf Coast.

Everywhere in between. And over the weekend, just to give you an idea of what's happening out there, Josie, in Dickinson, North Dakota, it felt like negative 66 degrees on Saturday. I am upset by all this. And I'm also upset because I have to go to Chicago this week. And I feel like I could not have picked a worse time. Oh, yes. I got something for you coming up. Okay. Give me the details about every place, Georgia, Florida area, it's giving temperatures in the teens. Some places will even be single digit cold, but the folks in the Northern

Plains areas, they're going to have it a bit worse. It'll be cold enough for them to get frostbite in as little as 10 minutes. That is how frigid it will be. And we're already beginning to see how these extreme temperatures can lead to tragedy, right? Someone died while snowblowing their driveway near Milwaukee in Idaho late last week. An avalanche killed a man who was skiing in the remote wilderness. The Air Force had to come in and assist with search and rescue efforts. And I'm sure we all remember even before now, the wild moment in time that was the winter of February 2021 when Texas's electricity grid failed, leading to more than 240 deaths.

Yeah, that was an enormous failure on the state's part. Absolutely. And they're in Texas. They're expecting Tuesday and Wednesday to be the biggest challenge for them. But Governor Abbott says that the state's generators have, quote, never been as prepared for a winter event as they are today. And so that's definitely going to get tested. They've literally never been prepared for a winter event. Well, yeah. Like, I mean, if you've never been prepared, I don't know. That

makes me feel that much better. Well, anyway, continue. It's also Governor Abbott. So not sure you can ever feel particularly safe or secure under his watch. Correct. But you mentioned that you're traveling this week. So I want to make sure to note that all of y'all who will be going to the airport, just go ahead and take a chill pill now. Okay. The temperatures likely will affect your travel plans. The cold has already canceled more than 2,000 flights and more than 7,000 have experienced delays. So I want y'all all to just, you know, be calm, Josie, when you go to the airport. Make sure you woosah before you get there.

And for everyone else, if you have to leave the house, make sure you're bundled up as much as possible. Little to no skin exposed, especially because frostbite and hypothermia is real. This is not the time to try to look cute or do your photo shoots in the snow, okay? You can save that for next week when things hopefully are a little bit more tolerable but that is the latest for now now let's get to some headlines headlines yesterday marked 100 days since the Israel-Hamas war began. Israel declared war in response to the October 7th attack by Hamas, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 others were taken hostage.

And since then, nearly 24,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. Gaza health officials say most of the people killed were women and children, and over 80% of the population has been displaced as well. And according to the Associated Press, experts say that the Israeli military campaign in Gaza is among the, quote, deadliest and most destructive in recent history. And the UN's humanitarian chief has said, quote, Gaza has simply become uninhabitable. The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be dire and there are no signs of the fighting ending anytime soon. And concerns of a wider conflict in the region continue.

Last week, the United States and the UK launched airstrikes against sites controlled by the Houthi rebels in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Washington, D.C. on Saturday to call for a ceasefire and an end to U.S. aid to Israel. The rally was part of a global day of protests that also saw marches across the world, including London, Paris, Rome, Dublin, Johannesburg, and more. Take a listen to what one of the protesters in D.C., Renee Johnson, told The Washington Post. I have been to 26 protests so far, and honestly, I keep going because we need to end the occupation. It's been 75 years. We can't do it any longer. They can't take it any longer. John Kerry will step down from his position as the U.S. Special Climate Envoy, which he's held for almost three years.

Axios first reported the former Secretary of State's plans over the weekend and revealed that he'll join Biden's reelection campaign later this winter. Kerry and Biden worked together in the Senate for decades, so the continued partnership is no surprise. But also, Kerry played some key roles in climate policy as the envoy, leading U.S. negotiations at three international climate conferences, including COP28 in Dubai, most recently. And even before that role, he worked on negotiations for the famous 2015 Paris Agreement, a pivotal treaty for tackling climate change adopted by 200 nations. He also launched World War Zero, a bipartisan coalition of world leaders and celebrities pushing for public action for the climate crisis. Perhaps most famously, in 2004, Kerry won the Democratic nomination for president before losing to George W. Bush. And in news out of Taiwan, that is Lai Ching-tei, the president-elect of Taiwan, in his victory speech over the weekend. His win means a third

term in power for the pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive Party and a bitter response from Beijing, who wanted this party ousted. The Chinese Communist Party views Taiwan as part of its territory, even though they haven't ruled over the island. In the lead up to the polls, China called Lai a dangerous separatist who'd be a threat to peace in the region. The U.S. has stayed on relatively good terms with Taiwan, but tends to make public stances that they're not taking sides. That's why President Biden told reporters in response to the election results, quote, we do not support independence. But Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Lai on his victory and the Taiwanese people for, quote, demonstrating the strength of their robust

democratic system and electoral process. China was not happy about Tony's remarks. They called his message a violation of the U.S. one China policy, which vows to only keep unofficial ties with Taiwan and recognize it as part of China. But it wasn't just Blinken. Lai received messages of congratulations from leaders all over the world. And now we turn to a tragic story from Texas, where a woman and two children drowned in the Rio Grande as they were trying to cross the southern border on Friday. The Mexican government reported the incident as it was happening to U.S. homeland security on Friday night. Border patrol agents then notified Texas officials asking to enter the Rio Grande so they could potentially save the migrants. But the Texas National Guard refused to allow them to help and physically

blocked them from the river. It's like evil in humane. The Texas military department claims that its troops didn't see anyone in need of help the day of the incident, even after Mexican authorities recovered the three bodies on Saturday. Weird excuse because people were telling you that there are people in need of help. This all comes after Texas Governor Greg Abbott received heavy backlash for saying that state officials would do everything in their power to stop migrants at the border. He said, quote, the only thing we are not doing is we're not shooting people who come across the border because, of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder. Yes, if you murder people, you may be charged with murder. That feels uncontroversial. Kind of how that works. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Ay-yi-yi.

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up more cases this session, one of which will impact people experiencing homelessness across the country, and another that will have huge implications on a worker's right to unionize. The first case, Mount Pass, Oregon,

versus Johnson, Gloria et al., will decide whether or not homeless people have a constitutional right to camp on public property if no other suitable shelter is available. Justices will look at a decision made by a lower court that deemed it cruel and unusual punishment for city officials to deny homeless people a place to sleep by clearing their camps or arresting them for trespassing. Those officials appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court. The other case that the Supreme Court agreed to take up involves everyone's least favorite union-busting coffee chain, Starbucks. The case surrounds seven Starbucks employees in

Tennessee who were fired in 2022 for supporting their store's union drive. The National Labor Relations Board ruled that the firings violated federal labor law and it ordered Starbucks to rehire the workers who are now known as the Memphis Seven. But the coffee chain claims that the firings had nothing to do with the union and wants the decision overturned. Labor advocates are watching to see if the justices will side with workers or corporations on the issue of retaliation. The high court will hear both cases in the coming months and are expected to issue rulings by June. And finally, funny electronic messages on highways will be out in 2026. That's because

the U.S. Federal Highway Administration is banning quirky or humorous messages on highway signs because they can be distracting to drivers. I don't fall for it. That's according to the Highway Administration's 1,100-page manual that it released last month. So states across the country now have two years to adhere to the rules, which require signs to be, quote, simple, direct, brief, legible, and clear, and be used to share important information. So while it's not quite time to bid farewell to these funny, sometimes sassy signs, we wanted to take a moment to give them the time and respect they deserve with some of our favorites that we've seen posted online. So starting in Ohio, one sign read, quote,

visiting in-laws, slow down, get there late. That's cute. You know, gotta meet people where they're at. That's cute. Over in Mississippi, another sign reminded drivers to stay focused on the road by saying, quote, Four I's in Mississippi, two I's on the road. Clever. That's a smart one. Informative. You learn something. Love that. Another one in Pennsylvania read, quote, Don't drive star-spangled hammered. You know, patriotic.

Sure. Pun. From the Commonwealth. And one in Iowa read, quote, does your blinker not work or what? That might be my favorite. That might be my favorite. I love it. It's ridiculous to get rid of these.

I'm voting for whichever candidate will let us keep these signs. Let us know what you've seen in your state on our Discord channel and tell us how you feel about the new rules. We want to hear all the best highway signs. Listen, back in my day, the signs used to be simple. Click it or tick it. Yeah. We didn't have all this other stuff going on.

Your day. And those are the headlines. We will be back after some ads to talk about our expert advice on how to make award shows better. Hey, WOD Squad. We are going to wrap up by talking about award shows because the Primetime Emmys air tonight. They were supposed to be handed out last September, but the ceremony got delayed because of the Hollywood strikes. HBO Succession leads with the most nominations. But we don't want to talk about who might win. We want to talk about how to make award shows fun again. Yes, the last Emmys in 2022 hit a ratings rock bottom with just 5.9 million people

tuning in. And the Oscars may have had a slight bump in viewers lately, but overall, it's lost more people than a DeSantis rally in Des Moines. And we're not saying that it's because award shows are boring lately, but you've got to admit, they're not fun, okay? Maybe they're not boring full out, but they're not fun. They're not like what they used to be. So Josie, I want to know what's a memorable award show moment from the past that, you know, if it happened again, it might get you tuning in because it was just that fun. Okay, so number one, let's just call a spade a spade. The best award show in terms of performances is the Tonys, period. Okay. That's just what it is.

And not often I watch the 2013 opening from the Tonys where Neil Patrick Harris, like, it's amazing. So many things happen in this opening. It's wild. Magic is involved. There's, like, fire and acrobats and a lot of different stuff and they're even special guests so check out this clip Mike Tyson coming out I mean it was so random. Diana Ross is brought up.

A whole bunch of kids jump out. There are jokes about unions. Newsies come out. I mean, it's incredible. You have to watch it. If you haven't watched it, it'll make your whole day. What about you, Trayvon? Tell me what your clip is.

Well, I remember that moment. It is a good one. Definitely harkens back to the days of fun at an award show. Now, for my memorable moment that I would like to offer for the people, I'm going to go a little outside of the box, okay? We're going back to 2004, and it's the summer, and Monique is hosting the BET Awards. And the clip that you are about to hear is one of the legendary members of hip-hop group Ying Yang Twins is ying-yanging in the audience, and Monique, a fabulous award show host, handles the situation beautifully. Take a listen. Now I'm gonna have security come take him out of here in a few minutes, America. Don't worry

about it. I mean, what is that? We see you sitting here yin-yang-y. Spell it. Oh, okay. I can't. Yeah, I got this, Claire. I got this, Claire. Yes, indeed. See how our cousins do at the cookout? See how they do at the cookout? There's one cousin at the cookout that will upset everybody. It's like, why he had to come? I love you, brother.

So proud of what you're doing. Keep doing your thing. You understand me? Oh, my God. Y'all take your birth control pills, please. Now, Josie. Oh my God. I've never heard that. Listen, this is an iconic moment. That was incredible. You've got to go watch it back. She does these performances to Beyonce's music catalog as well, surrounded by a whole bunch of other big girls. Like, it's really good.

But the reason why I bring it up here in this conversation is we've been having all this conversation about the award show host. All right. Joe Coy had issues at the Globes. Anthony Anderson is hosting tonight. I'm sure they will have issues with him. We need to bring back Monique as the archetype of a type of host because that is how you handle a crowd. That was incredible. That's true comedian work on display. And I just think that is something that we're missing from a lot of award shows. It's losing that energy. It is. And that's why no one's watching. I have to say, I do feel like that clip was anti-Atlanta slander.

Well. Yet, I did love it. Despite that. It was incredible. I mean, in 20 seconds, I went through like six different emotional registers. Just unbelievable. To end with, I'm so proud of you. When we all know that she is not, is unbelievable.

That's what's called nuance, okay? That is nuance. That's what's called nuance. That's incredible. Anyway, there you have it, award show producers. We have done your job for you again. Next time, we're going to have to collect your check, okay? But we'll let you get away with it for free in this moment.

One more thing before we go. You all may have heard of the resignation of Harvard University's president, Claudine Gay, a few weeks ago. On this week's Pod Save the People, host DeRay McKesson and Kaya Henderson dive deep into the details of how the situation marks the beginning of an avalanche of attacks on higher education from rich funders. They also cover how Biden's presidential campaign needs to up its strategy for Black voters. To hear the details, head to the Pod Save the People feed now.

That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, be humble when you commemorate MLK, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just road signs with better jokes than Joe Coy like me, What A Day is also a nightly newsletter, so check it out and subscribe at Cricut.com slash subscribe. I'm Josie Duffy Rice. I'm Trey Val Anderson.

And the primaries are finally here. Oh yes, buckle up, buttercup. Yay. It's gonna be great, okay? But maybe that's not good news, because how does this end? Who knows? With smiles on our face.

Just smile through it, Josie. I'm not putting money on that one. I'm not putting money on that. What a Day is a projection of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance. Our show's producer is Itzy Kintania. Raven Yamamoto and Natalie Bettendorf are our associate producers. And our showrunner is Leo Duran.

Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kshaka. Thank you.