It's Wednesday, May 6th. I'm Jane Koston, and this is What A Day, the show that is making it clear. Do not follow President Donald Trump's fitness advice. Here he is on Tuesday speaking during a press conference celebrating the return of the presidential fitness test. I work out so much, like about one minute a day max. Please just go for a walk. On today's show, does Iran have kamikaze dolphins? And who's actually paying for Trump's ballroom? The answer will probably not surprise you. Let's start with the buzzword of the 2026 midterms, affordability. Fighting for an affordable future for every American is a pretty solid political strategy, which may be why Trump is annoyed that Democrats are using it. Here he is at an event at a Florida retirement community last week. I come into office and I say, wow, look at how high these prices are. And the Democrats start screaming, affordability, affordability. They're the ones that cause the problem. I'll tell you one thing. They got one good line of bullshit. That's one thing I'll say. But he's annoyed for a good reason. Well, not good for him. See, Americans have noticed that Trump has not made good on his campaign promise to make America affordable again. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll found that just 23% of Americans like how Trump is handling the cost of living, which could explain why he has a 62% disapproval rating in that same poll. Some Democrats are seeing an opportunity, not just to beat Trump, but to come up with a strategy to move forward as a party. That's why last week, members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus announced the new affordability agenda, a series of bills intended to help Americans' wallets. But can they convince the voters who believed in Trump's economic plan back in 2024? To find out, I spoke to Texas Democratic Representative Greg Kassar. He's the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Representative Kassar, welcome to What-A-Day. Thanks for having me. Last week, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, of which you are the chair, announced a package of bills called the New Affordability Agenda. There's a lot going on here, a lot of pieces. So can you give me the elevator pitch? What is the new affordability agenda? The new affordability agenda is our list of fresh, bold policies that will save the average American family money. Every single family that I know of in my district is struggling with the basics, the utility bills, the grocery bill, the increased gas prices. And this is the Progressive Caucus's response saying there are things we can do to save every American family a ton of money by going after the corporate interests, the super powerful, the ultra rich that are screwing you over. How will these bills do that? Well, let's just get into the specifics of, say, one of them, a bill called the Lower Utility Bills Act that I introduced, chair of the Progressive Caucus alongside Josh Riley, who represents one of the most competitive and one of the more conservative districts that any Democrat in the country represents. And what we are seeing is that people's electric bills have gone up sometimes 50% just in the last few years. And these for-profit companies are doing things like charging their new private jets to you saying they need to raise your utility bill for that. They're asking for crazy profits. Sometimes a fourth of your bill is just their profit, way more than a normal business. And so this bill says, screw that, that is no longer allowed. So we have bills like that. We have bills to cap child care costs at $10 a day for most Americans at max 7% of your income. Attack the big costs hitting your life because we can't just say the word affordability over and over again and expect that's going to win us an election. People are looking for our real ideas. People know that we oppose Trump and we should continue to do so and hold him accountable. But then we also have to have a pitch on how we're going to make your everyday life better. You said in various conversations that your focus here is on American workers. You did a lot of traveling around after the 2024 election, talking to people, talking to people in red states, talking to people who voted for Trump and talking to workers. But President Biden tried focusing on workers. He was very pro worker, very pro union. He joined an auto worker picket line. He did a lot of things that I think a lot of people who are pro union, pro labor would have dreamed of. And still, a lot of American workers, even people who benefited from those policies, voted for Trump in 2024. Why do you think this plan will get them on board with Democrats? Look, there has always been a part of the party that has been pushing a more working class agenda. And I support it and push for many of those great things that Joe Biden did. But there's another part of the party, especially after this election lost Donald Trump, that are asking for us to go the opposite way. or corporate forces that are saying we should just roll over and play dead, not have an agenda this election, just point out how bad Trump is. But that would be a huge failing and a huge problem because while holding Trump accountable is very important, it can't be all we do because so many of the voters I talked to that voted for Trump this time, that maybe voted for Biden last time, said that they didn't know if we were willing to stand up to the special interests that are screwing them over, that are upset with the system. And while I agreed with so much of what Joe Biden did and said while in office I think what he said at a big donor meeting once that nothing will fundamentally change I think that is a big problem I think we need to turn the page on that and say, no, we actually do need things to fundamentally change. We need for there to be a really significant new tax on millionaires and billionaires and corporations. We need big pharma to make less money for you to have cheaper prescription drugs. We need to tax the huge windfall profits the oil companies are making right now off of this war and give the money back to you. So I think we need to double down on the pro worker part of the Joe Biden agenda and make sure that we don't just sort of fall into, let's say we win the majority, which would be very challenging, but I think we will do it. And then if all we do is Trump accountability, folks won't find out what Democrats are really for. I think a better way for me to ask this question is what we saw in 2024 was Democrats were like, here's a list of all the things that we have done on behalf of workers and folks who are struggling. Here are the ways in which we are trying to improve your life. And Trump offered, therefore, they, them, I'm for you. Are we trying to solve a cultural problem with politics and policy? Yeah, we cannot come to this knife fight with a policy book. In part, of course, these are policies. And as a policymaker, we should have them on the campaign trail. We should know what we're going to vote for in the majority. But this is also different than your typical list of policies coming from a policymaker. The policies of the new affordability agenda tell a story, and they pick a fight. Donald Trump knew how to tell a story and how to pick a fight. He said, your rent is higher because of Venezuelan asylum seekers. He said your health care is worse because of the LGBT community. But it wasn't a Venezuelan mom who jacked up your rent. It was Wall Street hedge funds. It's not woke politics or LGBT youth that are making your health care worse. It's big pharma CEOs. And so we need to be willing to pick the villains in the story and make sure it's the real villains and that we solve the real problems because so many of the voters we've lost think that we're the party of the status quo. If you go and ask them, that's what you hear every single day. They may not have gotten the message from Washington, D.C. or the consultants. They just sense that the Democratic Party is wishy-washy or not strong or just as bought off by special interests as anybody else. We've got to break free of that and point out who the real villains in the story are. That way we can re-solidify our base, bring solidarity back into the story and take on the folks that are really screwing folks over rather than allowing Donald Trump to scapegoat the vulnerable. Now, Trump has been constantly touting his worker-friendly policies. And I'm using air quotes because a lot of the policies he's talking about, the big, beautiful bills, no tax on tips and overtime, the small business summit he hosted this week, a lot of those, when you get into the nitty-gritty, you're like, hang on a second. This actually doesn't do very much for people. But how can you talk to voters and say, you know, Democrats are for workers when what they heard during the election and what they've heard recently is, oh, you know, no tax on tips. Here's what Trump has done. You know, you mentioned you don't want to get into a knife fight with policy, but how are we able to kind of go tit for tat? How are we able to fight Trump on these issues, given that he has said that he wants to lower the cost of living? He hasn't. And, you know, he's talked about being president of the American worker. How do you contest that? Well, look, everything's gotten more expensive. Inflation is higher this year than it was last year and the year before that. And no matter how much propaganda Trump puts out there, you cannot deny the fact that people are struggling right now and their bank accounts are running out at the end of the month. And so we have to step into that and say not only that we're against what Trump is doing, screwing you over and having lied to you, I think we need simple proposals that will immediately improve your life. So when I go, and as I have gone to about half a dozen Republican held districts and talked to independent voters and voters that went the other way last election, folks say, okay, that guy, I voted for him. I voted for Trump. He lied to me. What are you going to do? And I think having something simple, not something that's going to take years to implement, but something direct like, okay, the gas prices are up. We're going to have a windfall profits tax on those guys in the oil industry that are making money hand over fist and send you a rebate of hundreds of dollars for the extra gas payments you've had to make, people get that. When Donald Trump is saying, yeah, you can write off on your taxes about this much of overtime and it winds up being not nearly as much as people thought, I think we go right at them and say our overtime plan is to make overtime pay double time. It should pay double your wage. We should update that law that hasn't been updated in nearly 100 years. So I think we need populist policies that go right to the point rather than what the Democrats have sometimes done, which is instead of a headline policy, kind of get into the fine print and negotiate things that are going to lower drug prices over the course of the next 10 years because we're going to sort this and that out. For a lot of voters, they don't see the change fast enough. And I think it has people lose face in democracy and in both parties. Representative Kassar, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you very much. That was my conversation with Texas Democratic Representative Greg Kassar. Unlike pretty much everything else right now, the price of this podcast is still zero dollars. So if you want to support us another way, make sure to subscribe. Leave a five star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts Watch us on YouTube and share with your friends More to come after some ads What a Day is brought to you by AuraFrames Are you like me in that you have hundreds of photos in your camera roll that never see the light of day? AuraFrames has been a game changer for me. Now I'm finally seeing those memories I worked so hard to preserve. With AuraFrames, you get free unlimited storage. Add as many photos and videos as you want. And you can preload photos before it ships. 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View important disclosures at acorns.com. Starting a business can be overwhelming. You're juggling multiple roles. Designer, marketer, logistics manager. All while bringing your vision to life. Shopify helps millions of business sell online. Build fast with templates and AI descriptions and photos, inventory and shipping. Sign up for your one euro per month trial and start selling today at Shopify.nl. That's Shopify.nl. It's time to see what you can accomplish with Shopify by your side. Here's what else we're following today. Joining me is Crooked's news editor, Greg Walters, to talk about the big stories. Hey, Greg. Hey, Jane. Okay, Greg, I have big news for you. We have officially reached the Kamikaze Dolphins stage of the war with Iran. At least, judging by a question from a reporter from the right-wing Daily Wire to Secretary of War slash Little Boy Pete Hegseth and General Dan Cain on Tuesday morning. For Secretary Hegseth, are there still concerns about mines in the strait? And can you kind of clarify these reports of Kamikaze Dolphins that we've heard about? I haven't heard the kamikaze dolphin thing. It's like sharks with laser beams, right? And I can't confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins, but I can confirm they don't. Kamikaze dolphins, Greg? That's right, Jane. Never mind the Navy SEALs, which is, of course, a human special ops team. We're talking about actual dolphins. Our crack news team here at Crooked Media looked into this, And it seems to have started with a single report in the Wall Street Journal citing unnamed Iranian officials who told the reporter that Iran might unleash, quote, mine carrying dolphins to menace U.S. warships. I love unnamed Iranian officials. They give some amazing quotes. But okay, fact check. Some countries, including the US and the Soviet Union, have trained up so-called military marine mammals, including dolphins and sea lions for stuff like mind detection. But the idea that Iran has like a fleet of killer dolphins that they're about to unleash to, if you will, change the tide of war, for now, is very, very thinly sourced. and there have been questionable reports on this sort of thing in the past, including the time Hamas claimed to have captured a, quote, Israeli spy dolphin. Yes, a real sentence that really happened in 2015. But I see that none of this hesitation and questioning stopped Fox News talking head Jesse Walters from just running with it like it was reality and claiming it shows that Iran is getting desperate. Kamikaze dolphins. The Persians want to strap mines to dolphins to weaponize the strait. Don't tell PETA. These rogues are desperate. Yeah, forcing Tehran to call in the war dolphins for backup shows Donald Trump has the Iranians right where he wants them. Right. And it's worth noting that General Cain's first reaction to this whole thing was to quote Dr. Evil from Austin Powers, specifically the time he said, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads. So that's the stage we're at in this war, Jane. And reminder, Dr. Evil didn't even get his laser sharks. He got ill-tempered mutated sea bass, but I digress. I think this entire conversation reflects the fact that the Trump administration is stuck in a very bad situation. And speculation about how this log jam might get broken is getting downright weird because there are no easy answers. Yeah So where are we with Trump master plan to guide tankers through the Strait of Hormuz a Project Freedom The short answer is Jane it not going so hot In fact it not going at all Trump paused Project Freedom last night, supposedly in the name of boosting peace talks. But the blockade remains in place. And it's worth noting that there has been quite a lot of shooting lately. Here's General Cain on Tuesday morning. Since the ceasefire was announced, Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships. And they've attacked U.S. forces more than 10 times, all below the threshold of restarting major combat operations. Greg, I am not a big war doer, but that seems like a lot of shooting for a ceasefire. It does seem more than like what I would call a ceasefire ceasefire. um you know like you not a not exactly like a war guy but uh trump is basically trying to tell us this is no big deal can i ask you about iran mr president they fired at u.s ships several times in the last five hours what do they need to do to violate the ceasefire they fired them in little boats with pea shooters you know the pea shooters little boat with little you know why because they don't have any boats anymore their navy is comprised of they call them little boats And they're fast, yeah. They're so fast that they had eight of them and they're all gone. And they're fast, but they're not fast like a missile. A missile is slightly faster. One, you'll find out it's not an answer. So he didn't answer the question. But are those little boats faster than a dolphin, Greg? I have no idea. Someone should ask Pete Hegseth. But we also know that Project Freedom didn't exactly crack open the Strait of Hormuz. We saw four ships go through the Strait on Monday, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Pete Hegseth said two U.S. commercial ships went through, accompanied by U.S. destroyers. But before this war, the rate going through the Strait of Hormuz was something like 130 ships a day, right? Right. So we've only got to go from 4 to 130, or just a 3,150% increase, and we're back in business. Speaking of business, let's talk about the ballroom. Back to the ballroom, I'm afraid. I just wanted to ask, because in July, the White House said that it would cost $200 million. Yesterday, the president said $300 million. Is $300 million now the operative figure? And why did it go up by so much? $300 million is the figure. And again, it's not going to cost the taxpayers a dime. That was in October of 2025. But in May 2026, you're paying for the ballroom if the White House gets its way. Right. I mean, I heard Mexico will pay for the wall, Jane. But yeah, surprise, surprise. Republican senators have slipped language seeking one billion dollars for security aspects of the ballroom into their new immigration enforcement package, the one they're hoping to ram through with no Democratic support. Now, this is the time in which I get to be very pedantic because, funnily enough, the actual text of the legislation says it can't pay for the ballroom just for security upgrades for the White House complex. Chuck Grassley, a spokesperson, even told The Washington Post, quote, this bill does not fund ballroom construction. But don't tell the White House that because the White House said in the statement Tuesday that the bill would pay for the ballroom. Right, Jane, who are you going to believe? Chuck Grassley or your lion eyes. You know, I think that saying that this ballroom will cost nothing except for the $1 billion security bill is a bit rich. It's like saying that you get one free ballroom when you sign up for a ludicrously expensive monthly subscription package. Don't judge what I get on cable. And somehow I feel confident that by next month we'll have yet another explanation for how much Trump's imperial ballroom will cost and who's going to pay for it. But Greg, I would never let you pay for my ballroom. The dolphins will pay for your ballroom, Jane. And that's the news. Before we go, in more dystopian news, the Bezos-backed Met Gala has happened. And you already know who has thoughts. On this week's Keep It, guest hosts Riri Chaney and Kyla Buchanan talk through the biggest looks and moments from the night. Plus a sequel nobody asked for, but maybe we all deserve. Devil Wears Prada, too. New episodes of Keep It drop every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review. Wonder at Delta's decision to stop serving you a Coke or a bag of pretzels on a short flight and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading, not just about how, as of May 19th, Delta will no longer serve snacks or beverages on flights shorter than 350 miles, like D.C. to New York or L.A. to San Francisco. Like me, What A Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooket.com slash subscribe. I'm Jane Koston. And where am I going to get a Biscoff cookie now? What A Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producer is Emily Fore. Our producer is Caitlin Plummer. Our video editor is Joseph Dutra. Our video producer is Johanna Case. We had production help today from Greg Walters, Matt Berg, and Ethan Oberman. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison, and our senior vice president of news and politics is Adrian Hill. Our theme music is by Kyle Murdoch and Jordan Cantor. We had help today from the Associated Press. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East. Thank you.
