• Joe Biden’s presidency officially ends at noon on Monday, when Donald Trump is sworn in… again. And along with the end of Biden’s presidency comes reflection on his legacy as leader of the free world. Biden made his case for the history books during a farewell address Wednesday night from the Oval Office. But despite some notable wins, Biden also tallied some painful failures – on inflation, the war in Gaza, and maybe chief of all, his decision to run again in 2024. Alexis Coe, presidential historian and bestselling author, weighs in on Biden’s legacy.
• Later in the show, a Pasadena resident reflects on evacuating from the LA fires.
• And in headlines: Trump’s pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency told senators during his confirmation hearing that he believes in climate change, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chose state Attorney General Ashley Moody to replace Sen. Marco Rubio, and TikTok users brace for the app to potentially shut down this weekend.

• Alexis’ op-ed – https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/biden-legacy-trump-election-win-1235154852/
• 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/

TRANSCRIPT

Erin Ryan: It’s Friday, January 17th. I’m Erin Ryan in for Jane Coaston. And this is What a Day. The show pouring one out for right wing strongman and former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro whose request to leave the country to attend Trump’s inauguration was denied by his country’s Supreme Court. So sad when aspiring dictators can’t be there to support one another. [music break] On today’s show, all the political hot air coming out of those confirmation hearings won’t spare DC from a cold snap on Trump’s Inauguration Day. And TikTok users brace for their beloved app to shut down operations in the U.S.. Also, director David Lynch has passed away, which means I will be watching Lost Highway tonight, which also means I will be having bonkers dreams tonight. Whether you’re a social media user, political junkie, or film weirdo right now a lot is coming to an end. And it’s not clear if what we’re headed toward is ultimately good or bad. It’s a time of deletion of indelible change. It’s not just the end of one era. It feels like the end of several eras all at once. Not knowing what comes next is frankly unnerving. And it’s why my most prized possession is currently my weighted blanket. But let’s start by talking about the end of a political era. Joe Biden’s presidency officially ends at noon on Monday when Donald Trump is sworn in again. And along with the end of Biden’s presidency comes reflection on whether he was any good at being leader of the free world. Biden made his case for the history books during his farewell address Wednesday night from the Oval Office. 

[clip of President Joe Biden] In the past four years, our democracy has held strong, and every day I have kept my commitment to be president for all Americans through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history. 

Erin Ryan: Joe Biden says that Joe Biden will remember himself as a pretty good president. Guess it’s settled. But despite some notable wins, he also tallied some painful failures on inflation, the war in Gaza, and maybe chief of all his decision to run again in 2024. That decision is still dividing Democrats, and it played a role in ushering in the very cabal of oligarchs Biden warned the nation about in his speech. 

[clip of President Joe Biden] Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America. Of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead. 

Erin Ryan: Oligarchy is such a cute word for something so scary. Kind of like Kremlin. It’s too cute. Anyway. To explore Biden’s legacy, his victories and shortcomings. I reached out to presidential historian and bestselling author Alexis Coe. Alexis Coe, welcome to What a Day. 

Alexis Coe: Thank you for having me. 

Erin Ryan: All right, Alexis. Even within the Democratic Party, there’s a debate about Biden’s legacy and whether history will view his presidency as a success or a failure. And I guess just start, big picture. Where do you fall within that debate? 

Alexis Coe: It’s difficult to judge, first of all, as the presidential historian. I do not like to comment on a presidency if we haven’t had at least a decade, because we have to wait for certain policies, as Biden has promised us to unfold, to take form and to see the effects. The problem here, and this is true for every president, is they inherit something. But Biden is sandwiched between Trump’s first presidency and his second. So everything about his presidency with with a few exceptions, is going to be connected to that and his refusal to leave office. 

Erin Ryan: Right. Like a like an Oreo cookie with like the cookie part being made of something really gross and then the inside being made of something where you’re like, oh is this okay? Um. As a historian, how do you think Biden’s farewell address compares to other presidential farewell addresses? 

Alexis Coe: In some ways, it was standard. It was also, though, a real visual reminder uh that spoke against what he’s still talking about, which is a little bit like Trump still talking about the big lie. Biden is still talking about um winning the election and how he could have done it. And so it was difficult. I kept thinking about that as I was watching him. And that is the problem with refusing to leave office is what would have been a legacy that rivals FDR. And it would have you know, that would have been the book on Biden. Now, that legacy is a chapter or two, and everything else is about what happened after. 

Erin Ryan: In 2020, Biden ran on the idea of returning American government back to normal, both in the eyes of Americans and in our allies abroad. Do you think he succeeded? 

Alexis Coe: I do think he succeeded there. I think he definitely reestablished democratic norms. He should get credit for being an excellent manager. And I think we see that throughout his administration. The retention level has been impressive. It it might be the best of any presidential administration in American history. He has um executed some amazing deals. As a result, the people he puts on the ground and entrusts and empowers are quite good. But we do at the same time, um have difficulties when you talk about normalcy, because for normal Americans, democratic norms don’t matter as much as, say, inflation. 

Erin Ryan: Well, before we get to his failures, I want to talk about his successes, which you kind of alluded to in earlier answers. He managed to pass a lot of legislation with narrow majorities in the House and Senate. Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the Chips Act, a Historic Climate Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act. Um. What do you think the long term impact of that legislation will be? Is there a historical analog to legislation that big? Is is he going to be like an FDR light in that regard? 

Alexis Coe: I think so. I mean, there’s this funny line in Hamilton that people often quote, um “I couldn’t undo your work if I tried, and I did try.” And so there are certain things that do exist that people put into policies. But but again, we just can’t tell yet the problems that Biden faces as far as his legacy, because by the time we see some of these things come into effect, he, you know, will likely not be with us anymore, is that he can’t really speak to it. He was never a great communicator about his accomplishments. And I’m sort of these things have gone unnoticed already, which makes me worry. Um. The Office for Gun Violence Prevention and Control. I would argue that that was an incredibly innovative office. I wish we had heard more from it, um but critics would say it didn’t do anything and they would be right to say so. I think um what was interesting last year is I went on a 13 stop tour, a discussion tour for New America, where I’m a senior fellow, and I asked a simple question, how should a president be? And of course, I went to all these different places that I tried to not go to the same schools and the same bookstores and the same think tanks that I always go to. I tried to sort of branch out and I would talk to people when they picked me up at the airport and I would tell them what I’m doing. And um and what was really shocking to me is how few people knew Kamala Harris. They didn’t really know who she was. They had a vague idea, and that was something that was really surprising to me, but not as time went on. And so I think one of the biggest failures, obviously, was not having a primary, but also not um not putting her at the forefront during this time. The Office of Gun Violence Prevention, she ran that office. It was through the vice president’s office. There were so many opportunities to put her at the forefront. And he really didn’t because he didn’t believe his time had come to an end. 

Erin Ryan: Mm hmm. Another failure. Um. The Biden administration kind of didn’t ever figure out how to address American’s fears about inflation. Yeah, it was something happening globally, and there were a lot of reasons why the 2024 election didn’t go Democrat’s way. But inflation is the one that a lot of people who didn’t vote for Kamala Harris cite. What other presidents in the past have struggled with inflation and how have they been remembered? 

Alexis Coe: I mean, we have Hoover, of course, and we have the Great Depression. And we have people um we have Grover Cleveland who didn’t respond adequately to the panic that occurred. Um. We have Grover Cleveland again. Of course, he’s the only other president, aside from Donald Trump, who was reelected and had nonconsecutive terms. He refused to sort of um, you know, respond to this. There can be debates over whether those were unforeseen consequences. But I think this comes back to this issue of communication. When we rank presidents, when historians rank presidents, and I’m expecting this any day in my mailbox, we don’t just sort of like make a list and put numbers next to them. There is a set of criteria and each one is weighted. And one of the most important things is, is a president’s ability to communicate with the public. And there were lots of ways that I thought Biden could have done it. Going on TikTok, an account he opened I think six months to a year before he left office uh was not the way to do it. It was not the way to do it. And so I think that in general and it was it was hard because this is this this politician who has a wonderful history um of of empathy and of really connecting with Americans. And he just seemed unwilling or unable to do so. 

Erin Ryan: After the election in 2024, you wrote a piece in Rolling Stone about how by choosing to run again, he squandered his legacy. Why does it all boil down to that decision for you? 

Alexis Coe: It was astonishing to watch. Um. I think it doesn’t all boil down to that. It is the process and what it will do um to our collective memory as we look back at his legacy. And we also wonder what we didn’t know. How it got to that point, we’ll sort of question everything. And his legacy is not his own anymore. It now belongs to Donald Trump and whatever he does and it depends you know who you talk to. But um many historians I know, many, many political scientists think that this is the end of democracy as we know it. And these are not, you know, doomsayers. I think that Biden again, you called it an Oreo cookie. And I think that’s a that’s more appealing than a sandwich. But [laughter] it it really you cannot look, he will it will always be there. He will never be just fluff anymore.

Erin Ryan: He’s always going to be the filling in a in a Trump sandwich. 

Alexis Coe: No, no more filling. 

Erin Ryan: Although I guess you don’t call it a bread sandwich. So it would be the Biden sandwich surrounded by Trump flavored bread, but neither here nor there. So ultimately, does Biden’s presidency become just a footnote to Trump’s legacy. It seems kind of like that’s what you’re saying. Or maybe is it worse? Like, is his legacy the end of American exceptionalism? 

Alexis Coe: That does seem very likely. I think that we can’t say because we don’t know what’s going to happen. The first Trump presidency was such a wild ride and we’re waiting for an inaugural address. We don’t really know what it will say. Um. I was shocked by the last one. American carnage is a catchphrase that will now live next to other inaugural addresses, such as um ask not what your country can do for you. And so I think that we really can’t underestimate the importance of Trump’s presidency when it comes to Biden’s legacy. 

Erin Ryan: Alexis Coe, thank you so much for joining us. Always great to hang out with you. And I always wish our hangs were longer. Um. Thank you so much. 

Alexis Coe: Thank you. 

Erin Ryan: That was my conversation with presidential historian and author Alexis Coe. We’ll get to more of the news in a moment. But if you like the show, make sure you subscribe. Leave a five star review on Apple Podcasts. Watch us on YouTube and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. [music break]

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Erin Ryan: Here’s what else we’re following today. 

[sung] Headlines. 

[clip of Lee Zeldin] I want to work with people to ensure they do their part to protect our environment. 

Erin Ryan: Senate confirmation hearings continued on Thursday with Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick for head of the Environmental Protection Agency. The former Republican congressman and New York gubernatorial loser fielded questions from lawmakers about his qualifications for the job. Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders asked Zeldin directly if he believed in climate change. To which Zeldin said yes. 

[clip of Senator Bernie Sanders] Do you agree with President-elect Trump that climate change is a hoax? 

[clip of Lee Zeldin] Well, first off, um Senator, it was great to a to meet with you as well. I believe that climate change is real, as I as I told you. 

Erin Ryan: There was also this pretty funny moment mid hearing when Sanders’ phone rang. 

[clip of Lee Zeldin] And solar power. 

[clip of Senator Bernie Sanders] [sound of loud cell phone ring] Sorry. 

[clip of Lee Zeldin] That’s okay. [laughter]

[clip of unknown speaker] Almost saved by the bell. [laughter]

[clip of Senator Bernie Sanders] That was the fossil fuel industry. [laughter]

Erin Ryan: There is nothing less surprising to me than the fact that Bernie Sanders does not have his phone on silent at all times. That is a that is incredibly old guy coded. But even though Zeldin pledged to protect the environment, he’s expected to roll back many Biden era climate laws. He voted against the Inflation Reduction Act when he was a member of the House in 2022. And a telltale sign that he’s in the pocket of big oil. Well, they’ve been lining his pockets with donations to his campaigns over the years. When Trump announced Zeldin’s nomination last year, he said that if confirmed, his main focus was, quote, energy dominance and making US the, quote, “artificial intelligence capital of the world.” I will give a crisp $100 bill to the first reporter or manasphere podcaster to ask Lee Zeldin to explain in his own words how artificial intelligence works. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has chosen his replacement for Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who is expected to become Trump’s wee little secretary of state. On Thursday, DeSantis announced that State Attorney General Ashley Moody will fill in Rubio’s seat on the Hill. She joined him for a press conference. 

[clip of Ashley Moody] I have one message right now to President Trump and to my new colleagues on the United States Senate. America first. Let’s get it done. 

Erin Ryan: America first, and let’s get it done happen to be the two most commonly used phrases in MAGA mad libs, uh which I do not recommend purchasing. Moody is a classic MAGA Republican. Apart from the fact that unlike many classic MAGA Republicans, she has not dyed her hair Hulk Hogan blond. She once sued Trump for fraud back when she was a prosecutor, but has since become, quote, “one of Trump’s biggest surrogates.” She denies the results of the 2020 election. She’s joined several lawsuits against the Biden administration over its support of gender affirming care, gun control, and environmental protections. Well, like I always say, the only thing that can stop climate change is a good guy with a gun. And DeSantis said on Thursday that all of these stellar qualities make her the perfect fit for the U.S. Senate. 

[clip of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis] I wanted somebody with a demonstrated record of delivering results. 

Erin Ryan: I know I should be triggered by this, but the fact that she’s not Lara Trump has made me kind of like her for the next 30 seconds. Maybe? Moody will serve out the rest of Rubio’s term once he resigns. She’ll have to run in a special election in 2026 to keep the seat. How many days do we have left with TikTok in the United States? As of now, the app is on track to potentially, maybe, possibly go dark on Sunday. That’s the deadline TikTok’s Chinese parent company Bytedance faces to either sell the app to a non-Chinese entity or be banned from U.S. app stores. The Biden administration says because the deadline is happening so close to Trump’s inauguration, it’s going to leave enforcement of the TikTok ban up to the incoming administration. Reminds me of how sometimes when I stay at an Airbnb, I don’t strip the sheets. You can handle that next people. A White House official told NBC News, quote, “Americans shouldn’t expect to see TikTok suddenly banned.” But Bytedance has shown zero interest in selling, and it’s reportedly planning to shut down TikTok in the U.S. on Sunday. National security concerns aside, I believe I speak for every parent of a very small child when I say, what am I supposed to do when I’m up at 3 a.m. trying to calm the baby down now? Fix it Emperor Trump. Well, apparently he kind of wants to. Which has left me with really conflicted feelings because I will not be starting his second term approving of his actions. The Washington Post on Thursday reported that Trump is considering an executive order to keep TikTok operating in the US while a potential sale is negotiated. The Supreme Court is also weighing the constitutionality of this whole thing on First Amendment grounds. The court has scheduled a decision day today, signaling it could rule on the law. Either that or feature more confused ramblings from Justice Alito, who earlier this week during a different First Amendment case asked lawyers for the adult content industry whether online porn websites featured thoughtful essays by the modern equivalent of Gore Vidal like Playboy. I’m so serious. That really happened. You can look it up. You’re welcome. Tech bros and red state Karens are donning their black ties, Oscar de la Renta knockoffs and of course, their MAGA hats to celebrate Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday. Snoop D-O double G double thumbs down has disappointed all of us with an expected performance at DC’s first ever crypto ball. That’s scheduled for tonight. I feel like I can smell it. And leading up to the inauguration, several parties are on the calendar in and around the Capitol. They include a party at tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s mansion and another at a member’s only club hosted by the Tech podcast, All In. Uber and Elon Musk’s X, I’ll never call it by that. I will always call Twitter by its dead name, are also hosting an event and Spotify is hosting a brunch with a guest list that includes Joe Rogan, Megan Kelly and Ben Shapiro. Nightmare blunt rotation. And on Monday night after the inauguration, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is throwing a black tie reception with co-hosts and Republican donors Miriam Adelson and Todd Ricketts, thus creating the most impossible game of FMK of all time. Many of these same tech leaders also made big donations to Trump’s inauguration fund. The nearly $200 million his team raised far surpasses the $107 million he raised in 2017, which was also a record at the time. And that’s the news. [music break] One more thing. There are myriad ways to discuss the fires in Los Angeles. We can talk about whether local and state officials could have done more to stave off some of the destruction. We could talk about how cynical political actors will use disaster victims as a political football. We can talk about how in times of devastation, community can fill in gaps left by bureaucracy. Hell, we can talk about how most of the stuff in our houses turns into poison when it’s set on fire and how that might not be great. But today we’re going to talk about how uncomfortably close every one of us is to being a climate refugee. In an era of climate change, something as random as a cigarette butt being tossed on a pile of leaves could determine whether or not your home remains standing. Whether your community remains intact. I wanted to talk to somebody familiar with the razor’s edge we all walk now. Amanda McPhillips, a single mother of two from Pasadena, California, who evacuated because of the fires. Amanda, welcome to What a Day. 

Amanda McPhillips: Thank you. 

Erin Ryan: First of all, how are you doing? I know that there’s that’s a loaded question, but overall, how are you doing? 

Amanda McPhillips: We are okay. We are grateful that we have our house. I think like everybody, we’re basically hour by hour at this point and where we’re going to be and what we’re going to do. My son’s school is one of the schools that was burned down. So we’re trying to figure out what happens with the kids at this point. 

Erin Ryan: Oh my gosh. Wow. And and walk me through the day that you evacuated from Pasadena. Um. What did things look like in your neighborhood? What was going through your head as news of the Eaton fire broke, especially as a parent? 

Amanda McPhillips: Well, the day was really normal. I know the Palisades fire was going on and I was aware of it. And all of a sudden everyone started saying, there’s a fire in Eaton Canyon. I downloaded Watch Duty like everybody in L.A. did and started just really tracking it As the fire started getting bigger and it was clear it was much more dangerous. I started to get a little bit nervous. The winds were really, really bad. I mean, it was literally like having a hurricane that just never stopped. That was just going. Um. You’d look out the front window and you can see the flames coming down. You would see flashes in the sky because it was clear power lines were coming down and it looked scary outside. And it’s that horrible like orangey glow. 

Erin Ryan: Yeah. 

Amanda McPhillips: And there’s like stuff like, swirling. It’s true what they say, you just know. And I was like, we have to go. We have to go right now. And so I pack the car. We at that point, we weren’t even under watch. We drove to a friend’s house that lives like on the South, like a different part of Pasadena that seemed safer just to, like, figure out what to do next. And in the time it took us to get in the car and get there, which was maybe 20 minutes, it went from nothing to a watch to a go. That’s how fast it moved. Like to the evacuation order, when we started seeing what was getting getting burned, it was I mean, it was wild I mean, it’s wild. Like we’re so, so lucky. There’s houses, you know, 0.5 miles from us that that burned. 

Erin Ryan: Wow. And so are you in the South Bay now? 

Amanda McPhillips: Now we’re back in the house, but we’re looking at possibly relocating for a couple of months because there’s no school for my kindergartner to go to. Um. 

Erin Ryan: Ugh. 

Amanda McPhillips: I mean look, we’re grateful that we have this house. Um. And if it can be of service to a family that doesn’t have the option to leave the area for work or other reasons, there’s I think at least 45, if not more families in our school alone. 

Erin Ryan: Right. Well, I’m in the Eagle Rock, Highland Park area. 

Amanda McPhillips: Okay. 

Erin Ryan: So we’re not far apart from each other. And it’s–

Amanda McPhillips: Yeah. 

Erin Ryan: Absolutely crazy how how quickly things turned for people, friends and neighbors in Altadena and Pasadena. I’d imagine you and your neighbors have been in touch. 

Amanda McPhillips: Yes. 

Erin Ryan: Since all of this happened and everything’s scattered. How have you talked about recovering? Like, do you know what direction you’re moving in? What is everybody going to do now? 

Amanda McPhillips: I think the idea is to rebuild. But even when it comes to our school, I don’t know. Do you rebuild in the same place? There’s this terrible thing that happens after a fire like this where the burn scar is going to be so big that theoretically this area would be safe for a matter of years. But that’s not forever. I think everyone’s having trouble wrapping their head around it because it doesn’t feel like there’s a North Star for what recovery looks like because there’s no part of your life that’s normal. Like, I went to go take money out of the ATM and I’m like, oh our bank burned down. Like, everything stops. 

Erin Ryan: Yeah. Yeah. And you so I’ve got little kids too, but mine are three and like, seven months old. How are you talking to your kids about what happened? Because it happened right in front of them. It seems like there’s–

Amanda McPhillips: Yeah. 

Erin Ryan: –no sheltering. 

Amanda McPhillips: Yeah, you have to. And I think my oldest is six in kindergarten and my youngest is three. And I mean, part of the reason I live in L.A. is because I was displaced during Sandy in New York. [?]–

Erin Ryan: I was in New York for Sandy too! I feel like we’re like ships in the night Amanda. 

Amanda McPhillips: I know. I know. We didn’t have water damage, but all the infrastructure had been underground, so it flooded out. And it’s funny because when I think about my oldest in kindergarten, so much of his whole life is shaped already by climate change. We might end up moving out of this area for good because of the fire risk and some issues like this. But I think it’s going to just be ingrained in them as like a way of life. Like for him, he’s upset. I think it’s harder for them to process that the physical school is gone, but for the kids, being near their friends has been the most important thing. Like, well, when can I see my friends again? 

Erin Ryan: Ugh. 

Amanda McPhillips: And we’ve explained it as you know, the school might not be there, but the community is there. Our friends are there, the teacher. Everyone is safe and that’s what matters. And we’re going to be helpers now and help everybody. 

Erin Ryan: I’m so sorry, Amanda, that you were so directly impacted by the fires. 

Amanda McPhillips: Oh thank you. 

Erin Ryan: And that your family was so directly impacted. And thank you so much for joining us. 

Amanda McPhillips: Of course. 

Erin Ryan: I wish you the best and take care of yourself. 

Amanda McPhillips: Yeah, thank you. 

Erin Ryan: That was my conversation with Amanda McPhillips of Pasadena. [music break] Before we go, Crooked’s Friends at Vote Save America Action and Crooked ideas have set up a disaster relief fund to benefit those impacted by the horrific wildfires here in L.A.. It’s super easy for you to make one donation that’s split among incredible charities doing critical work for our neighbors and first responders like the Latino Community Foundation, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, California Community Foundation Wildfire Relief Fund and Inclusive Action. Thanks to you, we have raised nearly $200,000 for these great groups so far. Great job, everybody. Learn more and make a tax deductible donation at VoteSaveAmerica.com/relief. [music break] That’s all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe. Leave a review. Do a creepy dance in the Black Lodge to honor David Lynch and tell your friends to listen. And if you’re into reading and not just synopsis of David Lynch’s filmography like me, What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at Crooked.com/subscribe. I’m Erin Ryan. Jane Coaston will be back on Monday. And in the words of David Lynch, let’s try that again. But this time, good. Or in the words of David Lynch, fix your hearts or die. [music break]

Jane Coaston: What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It’s recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producers are Raven Yamamoto and Emily Fohr. Our producer is Michell Eloy. We had production help today from Johanna Case, Joseph Dutra, Greg Walters and Julia Claire. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison and our executive producer is Adriene Hill. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East. [music break]

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