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Jane Coaston: It’s Tuesday, December 16th, I’m Jane Coaston, and this is What a Day, the show that learned that Denny’s is releasing, quote, “syrup-filled sneakers” for $195 in honor of National Maple Syrup Day. Yes, the sticky kicks contain Denny Syrup sealed in the shoe. Eew. [music break] On today’s show, from the people who said, what if the military but space? Comes a sequel no one asked for, the US tech force. And Trump declares fentanyl. Yes, fentanyl, a weapon of mass destruction. Well, let’s start with our president, who seems to have an unhealthy focus on our former president. 

[clip of montage of President Donald Trump] They’re highly intelligent, radical left lunatics, okay? So, in a way, that’s worse than having a guy like Biden. But under Biden, real wages plummeted by 3,000. And the cost of Thanksgiving from a year ago, under sleepy Joe Biden. I have to start off by saying, that’s Biden. That’s not Trump. 

Jane Coaston: Trump has been president for 11 months, and during that time, former President Joe Biden has basically left the public eye. Yet as Trump’s own presidency has deflated like an old souffle, he’s gotten very focused on making sure we all know that Biden is still the problem. Trump has always been like this. Thin-skinned, vindictive, and obsessed with his enemies to the point of mania. There is no other version of him. No peace president, no five-dimensional chess, no, this is when Trump finally became president. And we got a crystal clear example of this on Monday. Pretty much everyone was horrified to hear that legendary director Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle Singer Reiner had been found dead in their Los Angeles home Sunday. Their son was booked for suspicion of murder on Monday, I say pretty much everyone because President Trump decided to turn the tragic news into something he wanted to talk about. He posted on Truth Social Monday morning that Rob quote, “passed away together with his wife Michelle reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind-crippling disease known as Trump Derangement Syndrome, sometimes referred to as TDS.” This is a real thing the President of the United States posted online, and then the White House rapid response account reshared on Twitter, and that he doubled down on his comments in the Oval Office. I’ll say this for Joe Biden, he would have never done this shit. Shawn McCreesh is the White House correspondent for the New York Times covering the Trump administration. He recently wrote about Trump’s increasing fixation on Joe Biden. We talked about that, as well as Trump’s horrifying comments on the murders of Rob Reiner and his wife and what they reveal. Shawn, welcome to What a Day. 

Shawn McCreesh: Thanks for having me. 

Jane Coaston: So you wrote about something that I’ve been kind of curious about recently, because President Trump has always been adversarial with basically everyone he perceives to be his enemy, even if it’s like someone who he said was amazing three days earlier. But recently there’s been this person in particular who’s always on the tip of his tongue, former president Joe Biden. How much of that feeling is rooted in fact? 

Shawn McCreesh: It’s completely rooted in fact, and this has been a weird quirk of his second term is the amount that he talks about Biden. Um, you know, I wrote about this topic back in the spring, and we looked at his first 50 days and found that he spoke about Biden on average 6.32 times a day. And it was among his most frequently used terms. He used the word Biden more than he used the word America in many speeches. He used, the word, Biden more, than he used the words Israel or Ukraine. And that trend hasn’t gone away. And in some ways the obsession has become more intense. So we checked back in and found that this has not subsided. 

Jane Coaston: I was actually just talking to my team about how like, weirdly enough for the fact that Joe Biden was president in January of this year, I’ve kind of like forgotten about him a little bit, which I’m guessing that for many people, it might be similar. He’s pretty solidly out of the spotlight. Former president Barack Obama is making more headlines than Joe Biden is. So why is president Trump always talking about him? 

Shawn McCreesh: Well, this is an interesting question because some people think that this is a political strategy by Trump, that it’s a calculated thing where he has to keep reminding people the sort of mess that he was left and that to let Biden go would be stupid and political malpractice. But other people think that Trump actually is just deeply fixated and there’s something about his psychology that won’t let this go. So it sort of depends on who you ask. 

Jane Coaston: Yeah, I tend to go with the not very calculated idea. It could be five dimensional chess, or it could be that this guy’s obsessed with the person who beat him in 2020, and one of those seems more obvious. But like, let’s give that first theory a little bit of credence. Is that messaging working? 

Shawn McCreesh: It’s hard to know exactly if the message is working, but I would say if you want to give that theory credence, the one thing that comes to mind for me is that Trump is keenly aware of the power of repetition. It’s sort of one of the skills of his verbal sorcery. He just knows about beating a message into somebody’s head over and over and over again. And so, insofar as that this might be calculated, I think there’s a reason why he mentions Biden as much as possible. I don’t know that his base is ready to start saying, hey, this is your economy now. We’re a year into this, you know, like how much longer can that go on for? And the other thing is that a lot of the shockwaves in the economy have to do with things that Trump did himself, like tariffs. Of course, that has not changed his messaging at all. 

Jane Coaston: Of course not. It is kind of strange because a lot of the things he’s attacking Biden for right now are the things Trump himself seems to be facing right now, even down to like inflation and then trying to deny it or falling asleep places or being old. 

Shawn McCreesh: Yeah, it’s true. I think two things that really were were getting Biden at the end were um he just looked too old to do the job, and the economy wasn’t as good as he was telling people it was. And then there was a perceived callousness to the way that the Biden administration kept insisting to people that it wasn’t bad as they thought it was, and so you really see that in spades with Trump now. He’s literally has fallen asleep in his own meeting that’s televised, and then he’s giving this tour about affordability and he’s telling people they don’t need 37 pencils and dolls for their children and that everything’s amazing. And so it’s undeniable that some of their troubles are looking very similar now. And that’s what’s interesting about this to me, which is that the more that Trump’s troubles resemble Biden’s troubles, the more Trump keeps attacking Biden for those troubles. So it’s this really weird thing where it’s like his wheels are sort of stuck in the mud. 

Jane Coaston: Yeah, I mean, I used to joke that for Donald Trump, it was always 1988. But now I’m starting to think like, is it just kind of always like 2021? And as we mentioned earlier, this is not just a Biden issue. Somehow President Trump is always talking about someone else, whether he’s blaming them for something or attacking them for not agreeing with him. This is just who he is. So outside of Biden, who else always seems to be on the other side of a Trump rant and is there like a theme to it? 

Shawn McCreesh: Well, the one thing on this I will say that was interesting to me is that I think we all think of Trump this way and we think, well, this is how he was with Obama and this is how he was Hillary. And it just sort of depends on who the target is. But actually when we went back and looked, the way Trump spoke about Obama during the first 50 days of Trump’s first term was completely different. He only mentioned him like 35 times. Some of those times were positive. Then you compare it to the way. Trump talked about Biden during the 1st 50 days of Trump’s second term. He mentioned him 316 times, and it was all completely in the negative. All of which is to say that the numbers actually show that he was not as fixated publicly on his predecessor the first time he was president. 

Jane Coaston: Yeah, I think it really goes to show that 2017 actually was like a while ago. 

Shawn McCreesh: It was, and I, I think Biden also does hold a unique spot in his mind. These two guys are like forever linked in history because January 6th never would have happened if Biden didn’t beat Trump and, you know, that led to a lot of the indictments and everything else, and then Trump came roaring back and you even go to the national portrait gallery in Washington. And it’s a picture of Trump, a picture of Biden, a picture of Trump like Biden will always be in between two Trumps. And that’s how it is even in the, you know, the Rose Garden presidential walk of fame or whatever. 

Jane Coaston: Yeah. 

Shawn McCreesh: Trump’s calling it now. It’s just a weird quirk of history that these guys will always be really tightly associated. And Trump just can’t seem to get him out of his head. 

Jane Coaston: It’s interesting also, because I wanted to talk to you about the comments that the president made about the late Rob Reiner and his wife who were murdered, as far as we know. But what was interesting to me, and I don’t mean interesting in a good way, is how this seems to be such a like off-the-wall statement that he’s getting a lot of responses on Truth Social saying, like, whoa, this is too much. He seems so- siloed from the idea that maybe this is not a good thing to say publicly as the President of the United States? What did what did you make of that? 

Shawn McCreesh: God, that there’s so many things to say. Um.  I mean, first of all, it’s horrifying and crazy and it has been interesting actually watching people revolt against him who are not the usual suspects. I mean real MAGA people were shocked by this, um but it’s so interesting to me because actually the cadence of the tweet, the way it’s written, it follows the format of the classic Trump tweet. You know it’s sort of like the old one, like happy Thanksgiving even to my losers and haters. 

Jane Coaston: Yeah. 

Shawn McCreesh: Who I wish blah, blah, right? Right? So it’s this sort of jokey format, except it is about two people whose throats were allegedly slit by their own child. And to me, it’s like some kind of, I don’t want to say a mask dropping because we know what Trump is, but it’s so shocking and so depraved and it’s a usual format applied to something uniquely ghastly, um, and this is a little off kilter, but I, what occurred to me when I read that was, um. I was in London for Trump’s UK state visit in September. And I got to go to Windsor Castle the night that King Charles threw Trump the dinner. And I was just thinking, wow, like this is everything Trump could have ever wanted out of life. It is like the apex, the ultimate thing he could have gotten. It’s unique that a royal was giving him a second dinner. That never happens. All the most powerful people in the world were all there to kiss his ass. The room was amazing. And the second the dinners over, he goes upstairs after getting everything he’s ever wanted in life, and he picks up the phone and starts tweeting that Jimmy Kimmel is guilty of treason and should be punished or fired or, you know, whatever he said in that tweet. And I just was so stunned that, you know, even for one night, he can’t just give it a rest. But like, this is his psyche. It’s very unusual. It’s, it’s not like a normal person. 

Jane Coaston: I think that that’s kind of where where I’m at right now, where I am like, this person who is the President of the United States is a profoundly strange and deeply troubled person. 

Shawn McCreesh: You know, a lot of people in America can see that. Then there are a lot of people who don’t really see that for what it is. But, you know this tweet has really made those people see this in a way that they don’t normally do. And I mean, talk about an unforced error. It’s like, that’s all Washington is talking about today and probably will be for the next week. And it’s just such a strange thing for him to have picked up the phone and said that of all things that he could have said. 

Jane Coaston: I saw some people saying online, like well now we’re we’re used to this. And I’m, like, I am not used to this. 

Shawn McCreesh: No. 

Jane Coaston: This is very strange. 

Shawn McCreesh: His capacity to still be able to shock 10 years in is in and of itself shocking. 

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

Shawn McCreesh: Thank you. 

Jane Coaston: That was my conversation with Shawn McCreesh, White House correspondent for the New York Times covering the Trump administration. We’ll link to his piece in the show notes. We’ll get to more of the news in a moment, but if you like the show, make sure to 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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Jane Coaston: Here’s what else we’re following today. 

[sung] Headlines.

[clip of President Donald Trump] With this historic executive order I will sign today, we’re formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, which is what it is. No bomb does what this is doing. 

Jane Coaston: President Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office on Monday that claims illicit fentanyl is closer to, quote, “a chemical weapon than a narcotic.” It isn’t. Trump made the announcement during a ceremony recognizing military service members with the Mexican Border Defense Medal, which is exactly what it sounds like. The executive order says, quote, “the potential for fentanyl to be weaponized for concentrated large-scale terror attacks by organized adversaries is a serious threat to the United States.” A thing no one contemplated until literally just now. Trump’s new fentanyl designation directs the government to hunker down and focus on fentanyl related crimes. It calls for greater cooperation between the Pentagon and the Justice Department on fentanyl and drug trafficking issues. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, fentanyl overdoses are the leading cause of death for Americans 18 to 45. But could there be another reason for the order? Maybe to help the administration justify its ongoing campaign against alleged drug smuggling boats that probably don’t contain fentanyl. Just a thought. 

[clip of Scott Cooper] So look, what we’re trying to do is a couple things. Um. As you know, technology is obviously incredibly important to the future of the government, and we’re trying to reshape the workforce to make sure we have the right talent on the right problems.  

Jane Coaston: Office of Personnel National Management Director Scott Cooper spoke with CNBC’s Squawkbox Monday about the Trump administration’s latest endeavor, the U.S. Tech Force. According to its official website, Tech Force defines itself as a quote, “elite group” of about a thousand tech bros and broettes to bring the government out of the 1980s and into Trump’s AI-first America. Because everyone has always said, hey, I wonder what it would be like if that Grok bot that glazed Elon Musk ran the IRS website. So if you’re skilled in software engineering, AI, cyber security, data analytics, et cetera, the federal government wants you. FYI, participants will have to commit to around two years of service to the program. Tech Force employees will be working on projects across a slew of federal agencies, including the Departments of War, Treasury, State, Labor, Commerce, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Interior, according to the site. And in true Trump fashion, Tech Force has also partnered with America’s billionaires. Core members will be working with a bunch of private technology companies, like Adobe, Amazon Web Services, NVIDIA, OpenAI, Palantir, Robinhood, Uber, and Zoom, among others. That’s the sound of populism. The program comes in the heels of an executive order Trump signed last week aimed at enhancing America’s AI global dominance. The House Oversight Committee alleges Washington, D.C.’s police chief pressured subordinates to manipulate crime data to make the city appear safer than it was. According to a new report from the Republican-led House Committee, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith threatened or punished commanders who reported crime spikes. She allegedly pushed them to downgrade charges in ways that underreported crime. A separate review by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office shockingly found thousands of police reports were misclassified, artificially lowering crime statistics. Washington, D.C. Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser accused the Committee of cherry picking testimony while failing to interview Smith or senior leadership. She also defended Smith, who recently announced that she is stepping down at the end of the year. Mayor Bowser accused Republicans of speeding to judgment, quote, “in order to serve a politically motivated timeline.” How could she possibly have gotten that idea? President Trump is heading to North Carolina on Friday to campaign for GOP Senate candidate Michael Whatley. Lucky guy. Trump has endorsed Whatley, the former chair of the Republican National Committee, who is running to replace Thom Tillis, the retiring North Carolina Republican Senator. The visit is part of Republicans’ latest mission to sharpen their affordability message ahead of the midterm elections. Luckily they have Trump, a messenger who cuts with laser precision. You know, like in Trump’s recent rally in Pennsylvania where he honed in on what voters really care about. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s machine gun lips, whether to call Joe Biden sleepy or crooked, and how, quote, “wind is the worst” or messages like this that he delivered in the Oval on Monday. 

[clip of President Donald Trump] But the affordability is on the Democrats because they have made it unaffordable to be in this country. But we’re bringing those prices down and they’re coming down quickly. 

Jane Coaston: Being a Trump speechwriter is a little like writing to Santa, you’re hopeful that the fat man will read what you wrote, but there’s no proof that he ever has and honestly you’re starting to have doubts about the entire premise. And that’s the news. [music break]

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Jane Coaston: That’s all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, go watch Stand By Me, and tell your friends to listen. And if you’re into reading, and not just about how it’s really worth remembering that between 1984 and 1992, Rob Reiner directed films like Misery, A Few Good Men, When Harry Met Sally, and The Princess Bride, but my favorite of his has to be Stand By Me, a movie about what it means to be a kid who finally finds a friendship that fits, like me, What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at Crooked.com/subscribe. I’m Jane Coaston and rest in peace, Rob and Michelle. [music break] What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It’s recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our producer is Caitlin Plummer. Our associate producers are Emily Fohr and Chris Allport. Our video editor is Joseph Dutra. Our video producer is Johanna Case. We had production help today from Greg Walters and Matt Berg. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison and our senior vice president of news and politics is Adriene Hill. We had help from the Associated Press. 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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