President Joe Biden announced Sunday he is ending his re-election bid and is throwing his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Party’s nominee in November. It’s the latest bombshell shakeup to this year’s presidential race. Biden said in a statement, “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.” In her own statement, Harris said she intends to “earn and win the nomination.” Within hours, a number of big-name Democrats endorsed Harris, though party leadership remained notably quiet on her candidacy as of late Sunday. California Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee talks about why she thinks it’s time for the party to unite around Harris, while Axios National Political Correspondent Alex Thompson explains what’s next for Harris to successfully campaign.

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• 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

Since the moment someone shot Donald Trump last weekend, we’ve been hearing the same thing: this election’s over, and it’s going to Trump. But the course of this race—and American politics more broadly—will probably change less than you think. Tre’vell and Max take a look at past assassination attempts in the U.S. and abroad to explain why surviving violent attacks does not guarantee an election victory. Has any politician successfully leveraged these assaults for political gain? Which US president survived two assassination attempts in one month? How would this have played out if Trump were in office? Listen to this week’s How We Got Here to find out.

Former President Donald Trump wrapped up this week’s Republican National Convention on Thursday night with the longest speech in convention history. He started with a first-person account of the attempted assassination against him last weekend. But his promised message of unity fell apart quickly as he embraced autocrats, doubled down on false claims the 2020 election was stolen, and promised the biggest deportation in history. Washington Post reporter Dylan Wells joins us from the convention while Republican political strategist Mike Madrid talks about what’s next for the Never Trump movement.

And in headlines: The calls for President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race continued to snowball, a federal appeals court fully blocked the Biden Administration’s student loan repayment program, and Costco is selling an emergency food kit with 150 freeze-dried and hydrated food servings with a promised shelf life of 25 years.

Show Notes:

• Read Dylan Wells, Washington Post Campaign Reporter – https://tinyurl.com/2jdwteuw
• 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

Wednesday was jam-packed with new developments on and around the Democratic campaign trail. The White House announced that President Biden tested positive for COVID. Biden also appeared to give himself room to exit the presidential race, saying in an interview with BET News he’d reconsider running if “some medical condition” emerged. However, Biden remained defiant and said he had no plans to drop out. California Congressman Adam Schiff became the most high-profile Democrat to publicly call on Biden to exit the race, telling The Los Angeles Times he has “serious concerns” over whether Biden can beat former President Trump in November. And the Democratic National Committee announced it plans to move forward with a virtual roll call vote to officially nominate Biden ahead of the convention, despite calls to drop it amid the ongoing debate within the party over the president’s candidacy. Politics reporter Todd Zwillich breaks down what it all means.

And in headlines: Special Counsel Jack Smith appealed the dismissal of Trump’s classified documents case, investigators looking into the assassination attempt against Trump at a rally this weekend reportedly told lawmakers that Secret Service spotted the gunman on a nearby roof roughly 20 minutes before shots were fired, and ‘Shogun’ and ‘The Bear’ lead this year’s Emmy nominations.

Show Notes:

• 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

On the outskirts of this week's Republican National Convention, the ultra-conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation held a "Policy Fest" to discuss its plans for the next Republican administration. One of the big talking points during the event was Project 2025, a nearly 1,000-page policy blueprint for the next Republican administration to dramatically remake the federal government at almost every level. While former president Donald Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, members of his administration were directly involved in crafting it. McKay Coppins, a senior staff writer at The Atlantic who covered the Trump administration, tells us more about the goals of Project 2025.

And in headlines: A jury convicted New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez on all 16 counts he faced in his federal corruption trial, President Biden is reportedly weighing sweeping changes to the Supreme Court, and a new Senate report found almost half of all worker injuries in Amazon warehouses happen during Prime Day.

Show Notes:

• Read Project 2025 – https://www.project2025.org/
• Check out McKay Coppins work – https://www.theatlantic.com/author/mckay-coppins/
• 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

Former President Donald Trump chose Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate on Monday, just as Republicans kicked off their national convention in Milwaukee. Vance, who rose to fame in 2016 with his memoir ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ has undergone a radical political transformation in the years since. Once an outspoken critic of Trump, Vance is now one of the former president’s biggest supporters in Congress. Zack Beauchamp, a senior correspondent for Vox and author of the new book “The Reactionary Spirit,” explains why Vance was a logical pick for Trump.

And in headlines: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the assassination attempt against former president Trump at the weekend rally was a security “failure,” Special Counsel Jack Smith says he’ll appeal a federal judge’s decision to dismiss Trump’s classified documents case, and President Biden reiterated his plans to stay in the presidential race during an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt.

Show Notes:

• Read Zack Beauchamp's article, "What J.D. Vance really believes" https://tinyurl.com/3me4cftx
• 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

On Saturday, a gunman attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at one of his campaign rallies in Pennsylvania. While Trump was not seriously injured, he said on social media that one of the bullets did graze his ear. President Biden addressed the nation on Sunday evening, acknowledging one of the more shocking instances of political violence in recent history. This all happened just two days before the Republican National Convention kicks off in Milwaukee. We dive into what we know about the shooting so far, and what it means for the week ahead.

And in headlines: Israel killed dozens of Palestinians in a strike on southern Gaza, half a million people are still without power from Hurricane Beryl, and honor celebrities we lost over the weekend.

Show Notes:

• 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

Why isn’t there a way for party leaders to get together—in a back room, ideally somewhere dark and smokey—and just give Biden the boot? As it turns out, that’s the way things used to get done. Max and Tre’vell explain how back room dealings originated, and why they fell out of favor. Why did the Vietnam War force Democrats to change the process? Did the switch make political parties more extreme? Were there benefits to having a cabal? Listen to this week’s How We Got Here to find out.