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TRANSCRIPT

Jane Coaston: It’s Thursday, July 3rd, I’m Jane Coaston, and this is What a Day, the show that is wishing you a happy 4th of July, and hopes you get to do something that is actually fun and enjoyable and isn’t thinking about how our country is currently run by racist alligator enthusiasts. [music break] On today’s show, Sean Combs, aka Diddy, was denied bail and is awaiting sentencing after a jury found him guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. And Wisconsin’s highest court ruled that a nearly 200-year-old law does not ban abortion in the state. But let’s talk about New York City, America’s biggest city and a place that’s finally getting trash bins so you can stop seeing and smelling mountains of garbage bags in the streets. The city’s board of elections on Tuesday confirmed that Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old New York State Assembly member, beat former New York governor and alleged sex pest Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary to be the next mayor of the Big Apple. And not by a thin margin. The results show that Mamdani won by 12 points. Now, there’s a lot I can’t tell you about what Mamdani’s win means, but it puts him in the driver’s seat for the mayoral race. Given how Democrats dominate New York. And his main opposition will likely be the current mayor, alleged corruption enthusiast Eric Adams. Especially since Adams has the backing of the city’s favorite former resident, President Donald Trump. Here he is on Tuesday. 

[clip of President Donald Trump] I know you have a good independent running, Mayor Adams, who’s a very good person. I helped him out a little bit, he had a problem. 

Jane Coaston: Of course, Trump had way more to say on the subject of Mamdani, both on his personal yelling platform, Truth Social, and during a press conference with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday. 

[clip of President Donald Trump] A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally. He’s, you know, we’re going to look at everything but–

Jane Coaston: A lot of people are not saying that because it’s not true. Racists are saying that, because they are racist. They are also complaining about Mamdani eating rice with his hands or having a wife who is either too Muslim or not Muslim enough. Actually, a lot of the so-called criticism Mamdani has gotten from the right seems to be that he is both going to personally launch a caliphate from Central Park and that he’s going to do full communism. A non-Jewish Fox News host even said that she questioned the faith of Jewish Democrats who supported Mamdani. Anyway. Mamdani, a United States citizen born in Uganda to parents of Indian descent who has lived in America since childhood, addressed Trump’s, we’re going to take a look at deporting him, bullshit in the same way Mamdami campaigned for office in the first place, by focusing on the issue he cares most about, making life affordable for everyday people. Here he is responding to Trump. 

[clip of Zohran Mamdani] I fight for working people. I fight for the very people that have been priced out of this city, and I fight for the same people that he said he was fighting for. This is the same president who ran on a campaign of cheaper groceries, who ran on a campaign about easing a suffocating cost of living crisis. And ultimately, it is easier for him to fan the flames of division than to acknowledge the ways in which he has betrayed those working class Americans, not just in this city but across this country, and the ways which he continues to betray. 

Jane Coaston: How does Mamdani want to focus on working people? Raising taxes on New York’s top earners and raising the corporate tax rate to pay for free busses, expanded free childcare, and starting a city-owned grocery store pilot program. In addition, he supports a rent-freeze on stabilized apartments and an increase in housing stock to make housing more affordable. Mamdani got a lot of support from New York City Controller Brad Lander, who also ran for mayor. The two cross-endorsed one another. I spoke to Lander on Wednesday afternoon. Controller Brad Lander, welcome to What a Day! 

Brad Lander: Great to be here, thanks for having me on. 

Jane Coaston: Now that Assemblyman Mamdani’s primary win has been officially confirmed and by a decisive 12 point lead, what do you think were the keys to his decisive win? 

Brad Lander: Look, he ran a fantastic campaign like focused like a laser beam on affordability and the cost of living issues that are crushing New York’s working families. Um. He did it with his own charisma and also with just a real native understanding of the media landscape of the things people are paying attention to and did a great job. I mean, you know, I was working hard in the same attentional landscape to try to break through. Um. And props to him for finding ways to do it. 

Jane Coaston: Now, obviously in any local race, especially a municipal race, there’s a lot of like hyper local politics to get lost in the national media narratives about it. But with that said, do you think Mamdani’s win is sort of an only in New York story? Or does it say something bigger about national democratic politics? 

Brad Lander: I mean, I think people are fed up with establishment, with sort of politics that look like their politics of the past, uh hungry for fighters. I think in many ways, the line right now in the Democratic Party is not between progressives and moderates, but between fighters and folders. Uh. And he showed a like ambitious, get out there and fight, do things in a new way, bring some hopefulness into this dark time. And then more on the um you know how do you reach people front, I ran a campaign that I think was like it was 10 years ago, you know raise money and advertise on television. I mean, it wasn’t that bad, but uh you know people need to wake up to the digital media tools that are all our lives right now. It’s not just young people. All of us are on our phones all the time. That is bad for us, but it is true. Um. You know, look, then it helps to have, like, really great charismatic candidates as well, those you can’t always get at the drugstore, but you know them when you see them. 

Jane Coaston: One voting block Mamdani did struggle with are Black voters. A New York Times analysis found that former governor Andrew Cuomo dominated in precincts where at least 70% of residents are Black. Cuomo still hasn’t rolled out running as an independent. Mayor Eric Adams still plans to do so. So what do you think Mamdani needs to do to bolster support in Black communities that may be skeptical of his message?

Brad Lander: I will say he did very well with younger Black voters, um and that the gap between him and Andrew Cuomo was I think about 15 points, which is significant, but that said, look, he’s got to get out and do the work. You know, you got to be in neighborhoods talking to people in the same way that he went, you know, after Trump was elected, you know did that famous video where he went out to Woodside Avenue and Fordham Road. Those are largely immigrant neighborhoods, more Latino, more Asian. Uh. He’s got to do the same thing in Southeast Queens and in Harlem and in, you know, central Brooklyn. You know, it is definitely true that Black voters are feeling the crushing affordability crisis more than anybody else. I think it’s just the case that older Black voters um have reason to be a little more small C conservative, to fear what’s new, what’s hip. But that said, I mean, what folks want, in my opinion, is that their kids would be able to imagine they could buy a home in New York City, and that they know their neighborhoods are going to be safe and someone’s gonna, you know, the safety and affordability crises are very real. You know, it’s just a question of kind of getting out there and getting people more comfortable. Maybe it’s one of those campaigns, like Jews tried to run in Florida, where we sent young people to go talk to their bubbies and zaydes, they’re grandmas and grandpas to explain why it was important to vote, and this will be like, young people, go talk to your parents. And that might be a way to do some interesting outreach to older African-American and other voters. 

Jane Coaston: The higher New York Democratic establishment has been so far reluctant to endorse Mamdani. We have not seen endorsements from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Governor Kathy Hochul. Can he win the general election without the support of the broader party? 

Brad Lander: He can win the general election without the support of the broader party, but the party should get on board um in order to show that what we’re building is this broader coalition. I mean, he is the Democratic nominee for mayor and senior New York Democrats should support him. You don’t have to agree with every single thing he says. You know, an assembly member, Michael Lasher, did a, a Upper West Side Jewish Democrat. Definitely closer to the center than Zohran or than me, did a really good endorsement where he made clear there’s some things we really disagree on, but I believe he is a person of decency and integrity. He has the overwhelming support of the democratic electorate. He is going he is our nominee. He’s going to be our mayor. So if you love this city, figure out how you can help make it go well rather than lengthening the fight that is dividing New Yorkers. Especially with the President of the United States threatening to put our candidate in a concentration camp. When I say this is the dividing line is not progressives versus moderates, it’s fighters versus folders. People are going to show which side of that line they are on in the coming days and weeks and the consequences will be felt for a long time to come. 

Jane Coaston: Let’s get to the Trump of it all, you know, this week without any evidence, he questioned Mamdani’s citizenship, despite again, zero evidence to do so, and threatened to arrest him if he blocked immigration arrests. But it you know that is bonkers. I want to say just off the top it’s–

Brad Lander: It’s bonkers except two weeks ago his guys arrested me. 

Jane Coaston: Yeah, I know because that’s the thing where it just becomes like these empty threats just got way more full. But it does raise serious questions about the you know the challenges Mamdani will face when he’s working with a hostile president who keeps posting on social media about how he’s going to save New York and also make it hot again? Which I thought that I was pretty sure that currently New York is hot enough. So how how do you how are you thinking about that? 

Brad Lander: Well, first, I mean, on the upside, I guess I would say to me, I cannot think of a better identity from which to stand up to Donald Trump than New Yorker. It’s like if there’s a place where we have a chance to make inclusive multiracial democracy real and remind people what’s great about it, that it generates energy and vitality and culture and creativity and value and wealth, and then we try to figure out how to keep it going, keep the city safe and clean and well-functioning, and share its benefits better. Like what we have here is the answer to Donald Trump. Um. And if we get it together, um I really believe it can work. And yes, he’s very likely to send in the National Guard at some point, like he did in Los Angeles. He is very likely to ratchet up immigration enforcement, like he is doing here and around the country. We, like many others, are going to face budget cuts. So those all take serious work. And the and you know the mayor-to-be Mamdani is going to need a first-rate administration and make sure that he’s in position to deliver on promises and run the city well. But I think will be like a real clarion call for what the alternative to Trumpism looks like. 

Jane Coaston: I think the challenge, though, is that, yes, all of that is likely to happen, like Trump is likely send in the National Guard, he is likely to do, you know, to ramp up ICE in New York. But also, let’s say, Mayor-to-be Mamdani would have to work with the administration. I mean, that was something that we talked about a lot with Governor Hochul when we had her on the show a couple months ago. That is a big part of the job, those kind of interactions. So how do you think Mamdani would do so with this particular administration given all of this. 

Brad Lander: I mean, that’s a big question. I’ll give a few thoughts. First, you know one of my favorite things that happened in the last few weeks was that Andy Byford, who is maybe the most talented municipal transit leader in the world. You know he ran the he ran the MTA, he’s been back helping run Amtrak. Donald Trump appointed him to lead the Penn Station redevelopment. He’s gonna be great at that though. And maybe we’ll have to put a few more Corinthian columns on the new Penn Station That would be my design uh style. But that’s a great place for New York City and state and the federal government to work together. So there can be some opportunities at the levels of housing and health care and transportation. Um. And a lot of folks are continuing to try to do that despite the madness at the higher level, when the president is threatening to deport, strip your citizenship and imprison you, you have to stand up and fight. Um. There are ways of doing that. You try to channel the non-violent you know resistance traditions. We have them in our repertoire. Like we know how to stand up and fight in ways that also look to deescalate. None of that’s easy, but a good starting block is your voters are with you. They feel some hope in the future. You put a good team on the field and build some unity. Um, you do your homework, you pick up the garbage, you partner with other government agencies, and then when fights come from bullies, you don’t back down. 

Jane Coaston: I wanted to ask, there have been voices largely on the right criticizing you and raising questions about your commitment to your faith because you have endorsed Mamdani. I can’t even begin to imagine how insulting that must be. But what do you think that says about how outsiders are viewing this race? 

Brad Lander: Yeah, I mean, we are recognizably New York City characters. I mean I’m pretty sure I scan for people like a Jewish New Yorker. Um. And yeah, I means the fact that Donald Trump and Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams are all trying to weaponize anti-Semitism and the very real and understandable fears of Jews, I feel this, of rising anti-semitism. For their own craven political purposes. It’s like so cynical, it’s hard to believe and yet this is the timeline we’re in and like I take it very personally and I get that people are just suspicious of politicians in general and would imagine that we don’t really have souls or real identities but like Jewish New Yorker is not something I put on to run for office with, like raising my Jewish kids here is the most important thing to me in the world. Like that’s how I wake up every day and go to bed at night. And, you know, Donald Trump or Eric Adams or Andrew Cuomo, you know might be able to defeat me in a race, but they can’t make me a bad Jew. Uh. And I just tried to bring that spirit to the race long before the cross endorsement. I mean, that was about me standing up. I have been a critic of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza for decades and of the way it’s prosecuting the war in Gaza for many months. And you know that led me to be attacked myself and just be out there for who I am. And I mean, I mostly do my cursing in Yiddish um and I did at Cuomo several times in this race. I do think that put me in a position when we did the cross endorsement to show you could disagree with us. We don’t agree 100% with each other. But here are a Muslim New Yorker and a Jewish New York standing together to say, we’re not gonna let Andrew Cuomo be the mayor. We wanna focus on affordability. We both believe in keeping all New Yorkers safe. That’s a pretty good place to start. Let’s try to have some conversation about it. 

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

Brad Lander: Really nice to be on with you. Thank you.

Jane Coaston: That was my conversation with New York City controller, Brad Lander. 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]

[AD BREAK]

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

[sung] Headlines. 

[clip of Speaker Mike Johnson] Hey everybody, I guess you want a progress report? I don’t know. Um.

Jane Coaston: Speaker Mike Johnson found out just how much everyone seems to hate President Trump’s big Republican spending bill debacle disaster adventure on Wednesday. Truly the only bipartisan thing to come out of it is mutual disgust, for very different reasons. It’s close to 9pm Eastern right now at the time of this recording and there is no vote yet. Pressure was put back on the House to hold a vote on Trump’s heinous tax and spending cuts package, or as we are now going to call it, the bill that hates poor people. But Johnson, as always, tried to put a positive spin on the clusterfuck that is the Republican caucus. 

[clip of Speaker Mike Johnson] We are we are working through um uh everybody’s issues and and making sure that we can secure this vote uh I feel very positive about the progress we’ve had lots of great conversations I’ve met with uh individuals and groups all day long as has the president who’s fully engaged as well um trying to uh to convince everybody this is the very best product that we can produce. 

Jane Coaston: I bet it is the very best product you can produce. I bet it is. Anyway, the Senate approved the measure by the skin of its teeth Tuesday after Vice President J.D. Vance had to cast a tie-breaking vote. Remember, we’re recording Wednesday night Eastern Time, and the GOP catfight is ongoing. Several Republicans raised concerns over Senate changes that could mean steeper cuts to Medicaid and an ever-increasing deficit. Yes, you heard that correctly. The Senate version of the bill was so terrible, House Republicans actually think they went too far. Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York took to the floor to remind Americans, and her colleagues, what the legislation is really about. 

[clip of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] This bill represents, in the text of this bill, the largest and greatest loss of health care in American history. 17 million Americans will lose their health care on this bill. Not undocumented people, not quote unquote the disgusting term illegal, but 17 million Americans. 

Jane Coaston: This is a fluid situation and anything can happen between now and the wee hours of the morning. But as of now, still, that looming, self-imposed July 4th deadline is hanging over the GOP’s head. If Republicans want to please their MAGA overlord, they’ll have to get the big beautiful bill to the president’s desk by Friday. A New York jury convicted disgraced rap mogul Sean Diddy Combs of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, but acquitted him on the more serious sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges. Douglas Wigdor, Cassie Ventura’s attorney, commented on Wednesday’s verdict in the trial against her former partner. 

[clip of Douglas Wigdor] We’re pleased that he’s finally been held responsible for two federal crimes, something that he has never uh faced in his life. He still faces substantial jail time. Of course, we would have liked to have seen a conviction on the sex crimes and Rico, but we understand beyond a reasonable doubt it’s a high standard. And um we’re just pleased that uh that he still faces a substantial jail time. 

Jane Coaston: Combs was denied bail and will return to Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center to await sentencing with convicted crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried and alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO murderer Luigi Mangione. And in case you forgot, MDC is notorious for its inhumane conditions. While Combs could face up to 20 years in prison, the verdict is seen as a win for Diddy and his team. He was reportedly applauded as he left the courtroom and supporters gathered outside the courthouse in lower Manhattan. Combs was indicted in 2024 by federal prosecutors who accused him of running a criminal enterprise that facilitated his abuse and exploitation of women in so called freak-offs among other alleged unlawful activities. His high profile trial lasted for seven weeks and included testimony from Combs’ former girlfriends, employees, and fellow celebrities. 

[clip of Josh Kaul] Today’s ruling marks a major victory for reproductive freedom, following the uncertainty and harm to women’s health that have resulted from the overturning of Roe v. Wade. 

Jane Coaston: That was Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announcing Wednesday that the state Supreme Court ruled a nearly 200 year old law does not ban abortion in the state. The 1849 statute made it a felony for anyone to, quote, “destroy the life of an unborn child, except for the pregnant person or doctor in the case of an emergency.” While the law was never officially repealed, it was nullified in 1973 by the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Roe vs. Wade. That was until this seemingly woman-hating court got its hands on it in 2022. That was when the court overturned Roe, throwing Wisconsin into a period of legal ambiguity. Wednesday’s 4-3 decision fell along party lines, upholding Wisconsinites’ right to abortion care. Finally, some good news. 

[clip of Linda McMahon] And now UPenn, one of the most well-known offenders of Title IX, has re-changed its athletics policy to ensure that no female athlete will ever have to compete against or suffer the indignity of being forced to share an intimate facility with a biological male. 

Jane Coaston: Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced on Tuesday that the University of Pennsylvania entered into a, quote, “resolution agreement” to resolve its so-called Title IX violations. Those alleged, read, bullshit violations, well earlier this year, the Trump administration opened an investigation into Penn as part of its crackdown on transgender athletes and sports. The case focused on a swimmer named Lia Thomas. She last competed for the university in 2022 when she became the first openly transgender athlete to win a NCAA Division I title. The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights concluded in April that Penn violated Title IX and gave it an ultimatum. Penn said in a statement it would change its policies to be, quote, “consistent with the federal government’s current interpretation of Title IX and current NCAA policies.” So what does that really mean? It means stripping Thomas of her accolades. The university’s website now has a note underneath the women’s all time school records that reads, quote, “competing under eligibility rules in effect at the time, Lia Thomas set program records in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle during the 2021-2022 season.” Yes, because that tiny one liner tucked into the bottom of Penn Stats makes up for kissing Trump’s ring. And that’s the news. [music break]

[AD BREAK]

Jane Coaston: That’s all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, enjoy the long weekend and don’t get hurt by fireworks, and tell your friends to listen. And if you’re into reading and not just about how I still love my country, but I do not love the fact that nearly 15,000 people were treated in the ER last year for fireworks injuries like me. What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at Crooked.com/subscribe. I’m Jane Coaston, and we’re off for the holiday tomorrow, so be safe. Have fun and have some blueberry cobbler. See you Monday. [music break] What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It’s recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producer is Emily Fohr. Our producer is Michell Eloy. Our video editor is Joseph Dutra. Our video producer is Johanna Case. We had production help today from Greg Walters, Matt Berg, Sean Ali, Tyler Hill, and Laura Newcomb. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison, and our senior vice president of news and politics 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.