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TRANSCRIPT

Jane Coaston: It’s Thursday, May 28th, I’m Jane Coaston and this is What a Day, the show shouting out 35 former federal judges who have sued the Trump administration over President Donald Trump’s $1.776 billion MAGA slush fund. That brings my count of lawsuits over the slush fund to four, which interestingly, is the number of brain cells one would need to have to believe that the slush fund is a good idea. [music break] On today’s show, Trump’s endorsement streak continues. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton dominated Senator John Cornyn in Tuesday’s Senate Republican primary runoff. And a Ball State University employee gets paid after she was fired for criticizing Charlie Kirk. Turns out free speech does go both ways. But let’s start with the war in Iran and Israel’s role in any potential peace deal. Because despite whatever Trump has said over the last few days, his war in Iran does not look like it’s ending soon. Granted, when we’re getting pearls of wisdom from Trump like this at Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, I couldn’t possibly see why anyone is worried. 

[clip of unnamed news reporter] Iran wants control of the Strait of Hormuz. Would you accept a short-term deal that allows Iran and Oman to control the Strait and would they have to open it immediately or would you be open to that happening over a period of time? 

[clip of President Donald Trump] No, the strait is going to be open to everybody. It’s a– 

[clip of unnamed news reporter] And who will control it? 

[clip of President Donald Trump] It’s international waters. Nobody’s going to control it. We’re going to watch over it. We’ll watch over it, but nobody’s going to control it. That’s part of the negotiation that we have. They would like to control it, nobody’s gonna control it. It’s International waters and Oman will behave just like everybody else and we’ll have to blow them up. They understand that. They’ll be fine. 

Jane Coaston: What? But here’s the thing. A major factor in what happens with Trump’s war in Iran isn’t Trump, it’s Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Despite a ceasefire, Israel has continued to bomb targets in southern Lebanon, part of the country’s war against Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed proxy militia that controls a swath of Lebanon. On Wednesday, Israel told residents of southern Lebanon to leave their homes as the Israeli military moves into new areas of the country, again, during a cease-fire. So, what do Israel’s goals mean for Trump’s war on Iran? And the future of the Middle East. To find out, I spoke to Nahal Toosi. She’s a senior foreign affairs correspondent and columnist at Politico. Nahal, welcome back to What a Day. 

Nahal Toosi: Hey, it’s great to be here. 

Jane Coaston: The U.S. and Iran have been working on some kind of deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, but there have been various reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also helped to start this war back in February, has not really been involved. What does Israel want out of the Iran War? 

Nahal Toosi: Ideally, I think this Israeli government and many Israelis uh want regime change in Iran. That remains the long-term goal. Uh. And it’s one that does not seem like it’s going to happen this time around. And it is really important to understand that that’s really the ultimate desire is changing that regime completely. 

Jane Coaston: But it doesn’t seem like that’s a priority for Trump or in these negotiations. Like, I feel like we stopped hearing about regime change back at the beginning of March. Now we’re just getting at Strait of Hormuz open, nuclear material dealt with. What does that mean for Israel? 

Nahal Toosi: I think Trump would have loved to have seen the regime fall. He would have loved to had that be part of his legacy. But guess what? It turns out regime change is hard, especially when a regime is not just built around one single guy. The thing about the Iranian regime is that it’s a system. It’s deeply entrenched. It’s designed to rebuild itself. Probably some people around Trump knew this from the beginning, but Trump himself has come to realize that um you can’t simply dislodge this regime, and so when you have a situation when this conflict is causing so much global economic pain, so much political pain for him, uh he’s now thinking, well, how can I uh how can I put a stop to this without causing too much more damage? 

Jane Coaston: But at the same time, he has added a new condition for a peace deal, that more countries in the Middle East join the Abraham Accords, which were brokered by Jared Kushner during Trump’s first term. First, can you remind us, like, what are the Abraham Accords? 

Nahal Toosi: The Abraham Accords are a set of deals that normalize relations between Israel and other countries that sign on to them, several of them having been Arab countries. These are diplomatic relations. They would formally recognize Israel as a country and set up embassies, that sort of thing. They establish economic ties, cultural ties. And so you’ve had several countries already join, the UAE, Bahrain, they’ve been part of this in the past. And uh Trump and the Biden administration, they have tried to expand these accords over the years to bring on more people, gain Israel more friends. Uh. And now Trump brought this up um at a time when the odds are very low that many countries wanna join this particular deal. 

Jane Coaston: Yeah, I was I was wondering, like, is this even feasible? I know you wrote about this, but he wants Pakistan and Turkey to join. And he even talked about Iran joining, which was very confusing. This seems to me to be kind of a poison pill. Like, if you add this in, you have something that’s going to push people away from the bargaining table who might have been more interested. 

Nahal Toosi: You know, some people do see it as a poison pill, and they think it could collapse all of the Iran talks. But a number of smart Arab diplomats and others that I’ve spoken to say, look, Trump says a lot of stuff, and he tends to forget about them. And one of the things that they saw him doing with this request is appeasing his GOP base, right? So you had people like Lindsey Graham and Mark Levin and others who are like very hawkish on Iran. Being very unhappy with the contours of the Iran deal that was emerging, and they were taking it out on Trump. And so when Trump put this out there saying, hey, as part of the deal, we can have everybody sign the Abraham Accords, suddenly these guys thought, well, actually, maybe it’ll work. They kind of softened their criticism of Trump. So some Arab diplomats say, look, this is not actually gonna happen, but he just kind of needs to say this to calm down some of the GOP base. 

Jane Coaston: At the same time that Trump and Iran are engaged in peace talks, Israel is dialing up its attacks on Hezbollah and Lebanon, even though they’re supposedly in the midst of a ceasefire. How is the rest of the region responding to Israel’s increasingly aggressive actions in the Middle East, as it occupies land, obviously in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria. I mean, I think it goes to your point about, like, Israel’s not making signing onto the Abraham Accords look more appealing with its actions. 

Nahal Toosi: Look, there are a lot of benefits you could argue to signing the Abraham Accords, I mean, in terms of investment, things like that. But yeah, the Lebanon fighting continues. It’s escalating. Look, I don’t even know what the word ceasefire means anymore. Like there are like words that are so increasingly meaningless in the national security space these days, like what is a war? What is a conflict? Um. What is a deal, right? Like, so so yeah, there’s supposed to be a ceasefire. But the Israelis say that Hezbollah is attacking them and that they’re they’re striking back and they have to uh wipe out this group that is Iranian backed. And so absolutely, this ceasefire is falling apart. And what’s important is that the reports that emerged about the deal with Iran was that there might have to be an end to the fighting in Lebanon, too, right? And the Israelis are like, wait, wait wait. We we’re not necessarily going to sign up to that. So the fact that they’re escalating the fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon could undermine the ability to strike a deal between the U.S. and Iran. 

Jane Coaston: How do other countries in the Middle East view Israel right now, especially as this war continues? 

Nahal Toosi: So, many of the countries in the region um are really increasingly worried about Israel’s actions and Israel’s role, especially this particular Israeli government, which is very, very right-wing, has some very far-right figures, um and has been very, very aggressive. Let’s not forget that, you know, the Gaza War remains an open wound for many people and many Arab governments in particular are just deeply alarmed. These are some of these governments might have actually signed the Abraham Accords, had it not been for what happened in the Gaza War and how Israel, um you know, has has the actions that it has taken in Gaza that have killed so many Palestinians. That’s just part of it, though. Israel has also been acting very aggressively in Syria, as we described acting very aggressively in Lebanon, taking a lot of territory there, and it’s also effectively de facto annexing parts of the West Bank increasingly through settlers who are increasingly violent toward the Palestinians who are there. So although many countries in the region are extremely unhappy with Iran, do not like the Iranian regime, were originally kind of hoping the regime would fall, they also are looking at Israel and they’re thinking, what is this government up to? Is it trying to be like the regional hegemon and how are we going to deal with them if and when we can control the Iranian threat? 

Jane Coaston: Yeah, it strikes me that Benjamin Netanyahu is up for re-election this year, and he has a government which, as you’ve mentioned, is increasingly right-wing with the ways in which the settler violence is kind of encouraged. You saw the National Security Minister Ben Gvir be banned from France because of his actions with regard to members of a protest flotilla. You’ve seen how the right-wing government, which keeps Netanyahu in power, seems to be pushing away the rest of the Middle East, but Netanyahu gets to stay in power so that works for him. Is peace in the Middle east possible as long as Netanyahu is in power? [laughter] I know, I know. 

Nahal Toosi: Um. You know Netanyahu has been, he’s like the longest serving Israeli prime minister. Not contiguous, but I mean, definitely very long serving. One thing I’ve learned is never ever bet against the guy. After October 7th I thought politically he was done for, a lot of people thought that, nope, he is not going to give up. He’s also facing trial on corruption charges. So he’s very much incentivized to stay in power. And this is a guy who really just can’t let go. I mean, he’s just not able to um ride off into the sunset. There are people who say he is the worst leader in Israeli history and others who say he’s he’s the best because he’s protected Israel because he saw the threat from Iran coming. You know, is is is the region going to be better off because he stays in power or not? Oh, I mean, it’s very hard to know. Look, I think it’s important to remember that even if Netanyahu were not in power, Israelis in general, after October 7th, 2023, are much more hardcore and right-wing and security-minded. They are much less willing to tolerate the threats on their borders or in the region. Many of them are very, very much supportive of going after Iran. So whoever takes power after Netanyahu. It’s not going to be like a 180. Um. And so it’s it’s not just necessarily about him, but in so many ways it is about him.  

Jane Coaston: Nahal, thank you so much for joining me. 

Nahal Toosi: It’s been great. Thank you. 

Jane Coaston: That was my conversation with Nahal Toosi, senior foreign affairs correspondent and columnist at Politico. We’ll link to her work in the show notes. More news about terrible people doing terrible things is coming. Sorry. But if you like the show, 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. 

[AD BREAK]

Jane Coaston: Here’s what else we’re following today. 

[sung] Headlines. 

[clip of President Donald Trump] I don’t care about the midterms look what happened last night. That was the prelude to the mid terms. 

Jane Coaston: About that, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton dominated Senator John Cornyn in Tuesday’s Texas U.S. Senate runoff. This was the latest contest where Trump sought to oust an incumbent he saw as insufficiently loyal. The grudge-holding president endorsed Paxton last week, calling him a, quote, “true MAGA warrior.” And let’s not forget that Paxton is corrupt as hell. However, this could create an easier path to victory for the Democratic candidate, Texas State Representative James Talarico. 

[clip of President Donald Trump] I love construction, it’s very exciting. 

Jane Coaston: House Democrats are introducing a bill to block construction of Trump’s proposed triumphal arch near the Lincoln Memorial. The bill comes after a federal commission approved the design for the project, which Trump wants to serve as an entrance to the nation’s capital. The 250-foot arch is one of several projects the Republican president is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his imprint on Washington. In a related note, gas prices are above $4. 

[clip of Secretary of State Marco Rubio] We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States. 

Jane Coaston: That was Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday reassuring the public about the ongoing Ebola crisis. Trump’s administration is planning to send Americans who are exposed to Ebola, while abroad, to a new facility in Kenya instead of flying them to the United States, an official said Wednesday. The Quarantine and Treatment Center is being set up by multiple departments and will be designed for Ebola patients who need to get out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and receive care quickly. The official said the plan would help patients avoid an hours-long medical evacuation to the U.S. It was unclear where in Kenya the new facility will be built or whether the Kenyan government has signed off on the plan, which seems like an important factor. A former Ball State University employee who was fired from her job will receive $225,000 to settle her lawsuit against the school. The woman was terminated for a Facebook post criticizing conservative activist Charlie Kirk after his assassination. She is the fourth person who has received a six-figure payout after being punished for making comments following Kirk’s death. An attorney for the woman said in a statement, quote, “The First Amendment does not allow government institutions to retaliate in those circumstances. And this settlement reflects that.” Because life just isn’t tough enough for people attempting to live in the United States, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, announced last week that green card applicants will have to return to their home country to apply, rather than doing so from the U. S. That’s a massive shift for the more than 600,000 people already in the U.S. who apply for a green card each year, including spouses of American citizens and holders of U.S. work visas. In response to questions from the Associated Press. The Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday the shift wouldn’t prevent anyone, quote, “who legitimately and properly qualifies from obtaining a green card,” although it will result in some people having to apply overseas with the State Department. Sure, just trust the Department of Homeland Security on this. And that’s the news. [music break]

Jane Coaston: Before we go, mark your calendars. On June 8th, What a Day episodes will be hitting YouTube and your podcast feeds just in time for the golden hour. As you know, the news never stops. And in a couple of weeks, we will get it to you even faster. The latest updates, freshest analysis and headlines as they happen just in time for your evening commute, decompression walk, or your new designated What a Day listening time. If you aren’t already, subscribe to What a Day on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and follow at Crooked Media on social so you never miss an episode. Same show, new release time. [music break] That’s all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, relish the list of performers playing for Trump’s Great American State Fair on the National Mall this June, and tell your friends to listen. And if you’re into reading, and not just about how audiences will thrill to performances by Martina McBride, Millie Vanilli, Flo Rida, and Brett Michaels, like me, What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at Crooked.com/subscribe. I’m Jane Coaston and Milli Vanilli? Really? We’re doing Milli Vanilli in 2026? [music break] What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. Our show is produced by Caitlin Plummer, Emily Fohr, Erica Morrison, and Adriene Hill. Our team includes Hayley Jones, Greg Walters, Matt Berg, Joseph Dutra, Johanna Case, and Desmond Taylor. Our music is by Kyle Murdock and Jordan Cantor. We had help today from the Associated Press. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East. [music break]