Donald Trump Won. What Now?
PDS Published 11/06/2024
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Trump Delivers Victory Speech
And with all that, we saw Trump speaking to a crowd early this morning after his victory became clear:
"This was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. There's never been anything like this in this country, and maybe beyond.” (BYTE: 0:25-0:34)
" We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly. We're going to fix our borders. We're going to fix everything about our country.” (0:45-0:55)
“This will truly be the golden age of America. That's what we have to have tonight. This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again." (2:02-2:21)
From there, as well as thanking the American people, he went on to acknowledge some of his most high-profile allies.
Right, first, he complimented and congratulated JD Vance, notably while referring to the media as the “enemy”:
“And he’s a feisty guy, isn’t he? You know, I’ve said, go into the enemy camp – and you know the enemy camp is certain networks – and a lot of people they’re like sir do I have to do that? He just goes: OK. Which one? CNN? MSDMC?” (7:43-8:02)
Right, that comes less than a week after Trump joked during a campaign rally he wouldn’t mind being someone shooting through journalists if there were another attempt on his life.
But in any case, that actually led to Vance taking the podium to say a few words:
“Well Mr. President, I appreciate you allowing me to join you on this incredible journey. I thank you for the trust that you placed in me. And I think that we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America.” (8:34-8:49)
“And after the greatest political comeback in American history, we’re gonna lead the greatest economic comeback in American history under Donald Trump’s leadership.” (9:03-9:12)
Next, we had Trump hopping back on the mic to thank his top campaign advisers (BROLL: 10:59-11:05).
And then, shouting out Elon Musk:
“A star is born. Elon.” (11:53-11:56)
Right, he spent a couple minutes talking about SpaceX’s successful landing of its Starship rocket last month.
“And it came down so gently, and then it wrapped those arms around it, and it held it, just like you hold your baby at night, your little baby. And it was a beautiful thing to see and I called Elon, and I said, Elon was that you? He said: yes it was. I said: who else can do that? Can Russia do it? No. Can China do it? No. Can the United States do it other than you? No. I said that’s why I love you, Elon.” (13:58-14:27)
And with that, you had Trump calling Musk a “supergenius.”
With, of course, this as some people say Musk may have a lot to gain from a Trump presidency.
Right, Musk has been spending millions helping him get elected, as well as been accused of amplifying misinformation and possibly breaking the law with his million dollar giveaway scheme.
And with that, Musk is expected to have a position in Trump’s administration, which critics fear would give him power to regulate his own companies.
But in any case, we also had UFC CEO Dana White getting a shoutout, taking the mic and calling Trump “the most resilient and hardworking man” he’s ever met in his life, and then giving a few shoutouts of his own:
“I want to thank some people real quick. I want to thank the Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Von, Bussin’ With the Boys, and last but not least the mighty and powerful Joe Rogan.” (18:06-18:18)
And finally, we had Trump calling out RFK Jr.
Right, that’s a guy who’s gone from protector of the environment to someone spreading misinformation about topics like fluoride in drinking water and vaccines…
Which are generally seen as some of the greatest public health achievements of the twentieth century.
And with that, Trump has reportedly promised RFK control of the public health agencies' while saying he won’t have any say in environmental issues.
“He’s going to help make America healthy again.” (19:38-19:43)
“He wants to some things and we’re gonna let him go do it.I just said, but Bobby, leave the oil to me. We have more liquid gold, oil, and gas. We have more liquid gold than any country in the world. More than Saudi Arabia. We have more than Russia. Bobby, stay away from the liquid gold. Other than that, go have a good time, Bobby.’ (19:58-20:20).
And that, of course, Trump’s support for the fossil fuel industry, it’s just one reason why many people are worrying about what his presidency will mean for climate change.
But yeah, only time will tell.
We’ll have to wait and see exactly how this second Trump presidency plays out.
And we’ll be keeping you updated here on the show, of course.
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Breaking Down Trump’s Tariff and Deportation Plans
Know, since we know that Donald Trump will be president again on January 20th, we should talk about some changes that we're going to see in the country.
If he follows through on the things that he's been saying.
Since he's talked about a great number of things while on the campaign trail, I'm just going to limit it to two things today, and that is tariffs and deportations.
First regarding tariffs, you have outlets like Axiosnoting that Trump has floated at 10% or 20% tariff on all imported goods and a 60% tariff on Chinese imports
If he reclaims the white House.
While Donald Trump has held up tariffs is one of the greatest things ever invented, saying it is going to solve a lot of the problems that people have, especially regarding costs.
Reportedly in a recent Wall Street Journal survey of 39 economists not one expert polled approved of Trump'splan to put tariffs on all imported goods and this is they're also seems to be kind of a general misunderstanding among some regarding what tariffs do.
Right is Axios notes. Trump is right.
The tariffs can raise revenue for the government is imposing saying he's wrong when he claims they only punish manufacturers abroad can also hurt U.S. companies and consumers.
Right in that because let's say you're importing something from China. China is not paying the tariff.
The American is paying the tariff with that extra added cost affecting Americans in one of several ways.
One, the person importing can raise the price of the product that they're selling is then costing the consumer more money and possibly the, the person that's selling the product gets fewer sales.
They could also keep their price the same, but make less profit or and this appears to be Trump's thinking.
They then work with an American manufacturer or depending on what the tariffs are for specific countries, a different country than China.
And this is the Biden administration, as reports note, kept and even expanded some of Trump's tariffs.
Adding President Biden also imposed his own tariffs, for example, on Chinese electric vehicles and batteries.
And those specific tariffs have been more widely seen as a way to try to limit the damage that China is trying to do to American markets.
Right in the way that those tariffs are often explained is as a defensive move, way to combat China, from driving out U.S competitors
and dominating entire industries by setting below market prices.
I think of it kind of like trying to fight off a Walmart that's going to put all the other shops around it out of business, though, I guess on a global scale.
And as far as the mom and pop shop, talking about U.S. industries. And it's also not that simple, right?
Then you have to worry about retaliatory tariffs.
And actually with all this as far as the impact, was a 2019 study that estimated that by the end of 2018, import tariffs were costing U.S. consumers in the firms that import
Foreign goods in additional $3 billion per month in added tax costs.
Axios also noting that the study found that tariffs were allowing U.S. producers to increase their prices because they faced less foreign competition
Then again, we're going to have to wait and see what specific things Donald Trump does after he takes over the presidency.
That also is true regarding deportations. Because.
According to Axios, a source familiar with Trump's plan said that if elected, Trump wants to mobilize Ice agents along with the FBI, DEA, federal prosecutors, the National Guard and even state and local law enforcement officers to carry out deportations of undocumented immigrants.
There would also be Fast-Track deportations is something that's been limited to recent border crossers.
Reportedly, it would be expanded to apply to anyone who illegally crossed the border and couldn't prove they'd been living in the U.S. for more than two years.
Also being reported that Trump would curtail the usual multi-step deportation process here by using an obscure section of the 1798 Alien and Sedition Act to immediately
Round up and deport migrants with criminal histories Axios saying connected to that.
The military would build massive sites near the border to hold people awaiting deportation of this, if implemented, of course, would look very different state by state.
Texas, for example, Donald Trump would likely have a lot of support at the state level.
The same, at least to some degree, possibly said for Florida and Georgia.
And I also mentioned those specifically, is because reportedly in just those three states,
There are 2.9 million undocumented immigrants.
But then it's very likely you'd see a drastically
Different situation in a state like California.
Axios noting likely pushback in Democratic led states with well organized Latino advocacy groups and sanctuary cities.
And then all of this, you know, it could have economic implications
With, among other things being generally understood that illegal immigrants actually, you know, help play a role in easing inflation and helping the economy avoid a recession after the pandemic.
People also pointing to how deportation can actually hurt local economies.
Axios, for example, noting in 2011, for example, unpicked crops rotted in Alabama after the state passed a harsh anti-immigrant bill.
However this would look or play out I mean it's massive news because it's believe they're around 10.5 million undocumented immigrants in the country.
But for now, regarding these two things and a number of things, we're going to talk in the days and weeks to come.
We're going to have to wait to see what actually happens. What we said on the campaign trail on that road to the white House.
And then what does it actually look like when the administration is in power? broad strokes, the core, the nooks and crannies. All of it.
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Ballot Measures
But it wasn’t just the President and Congress that people were voting on yesterday - we’ve also got to talk about some key ballot measures.
Starting with one of the hot button topics of this election cycle: abortion.
Right, 10 states this year asked voters whether they should enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions. []
And in 7 of those states, the measures passed.
First, there’s places like Maryland, Montana, Nevada, and New York - where abortion is already legal and their passing measures are ensuring that it can't be messed with in the future. []
And then in Colorado, there were already no gestational limits and their passing measure allows public funds to be used towards abortion. []
Meaning the path is now clear for the state to partially cover abortion under Medicaid and some state employee health insurance plans.
Now, other states are using their reproductive rights measures as ways to overturn existing abortion restrictions.
Like in Missouri - which currently has a near-total abortion ban with no exceptions even for cases of rape and incest.
But with their Right to Reproductive Freedom amendment passing with 53% support according to the AP, things are changing. []
With the amendment enshrining the right to make all decisions regarding reproductive health care without government interference.
And Rachel Sweet, the campaign manager of Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, added in a statement,
“Today, Missourians made history and sent a clear message: decisions around pregnancy, including abortion, birth control, and miscarriage care are personal and private and should be left up to patients and their families, not politicians.” []
And Arizona has a similar story - with Prop 139, which secures the right to abortion until fetal viability in the state’s constitution, passing with 62% support according to the AP. []
Which means that Arizona’s existing 15 week ban will be overturned.
But then we’ve got to talk about the measures that didn’t pass.
In Florida, Amendment 4 would have made clear that no law could, quote, “prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability.” []
Which would have overturned the 6 week abortion ban that went into effect back in May.
And while Amendment 4 did get the majority of votes - with the AP reporting 57% support - it fell just short of Florida’s constitutional requirement of a 60% majority in order to pass an amendment. []
With Lauren Brenzel, the campaign director for the Yes on 4 Campaign, saying,
“The reality is because of Florida’s constitution a minority of Florida voters have decided Amendment 4 will not be adopted. The reality is a majority of Floridians just voted to end Florida’s abortion ban.” []
Then in South Dakota, the AP says that 61% of voters rejected Amendment G - which would have overturned the state’s current abortion ban and guaranteed the right to an abortion without restriction in the first trimester. []
And then allowed abortion with escalating restrictions further into pregnancy.
Finally, we’ve got to talk about Nebraska. []
Because they had 2 separate reproductive rights measures on the ballot this year - with one that would have legalized abortion until viability or when medically necessary. []
And the other would enshrine the existing 12 week ban in the state’s constitution - restricting abortion to the first trimester except in cases of rape, incest, or medical emergencies. []
Now, these dueling ballot measures caused a lot of confusion leading up to the election - with organizers for each measure accusing the other of using misleading tactics to trick voters.
In fact, this summer, the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office said they had received nearly 100 affidavits from voters, asking to have their names removed from an abortion petition they had been misled into signing. []
With the majority of those, at the time, asking to have their name scrubbed from the petition supporting the 12 week ban measure. []
But on election day, that’s the one that got the most votes - with AP reporting 53% support compared to 49% support for the "until viability” measure. []
And that is where we sit on abortion after Election Day 2024 and I would love to know your thoughts about it - especially if you’re from any of these states.
Noncitizen Voting Measures
Moving on from abortion, let’s talk about voter eligibility.
In 8 different states, there were Republican-backed constitutional amendments on ballots that would make it explicitly illegal for noncitizens to vote in state and federal elections. []
And in every single one of those 8, the ayes had it - with clear majorities supporting each of the measures. []
In Idaho, Kentucky, and Missouri, the amendments passed by more than 60%
In Wisconsin, Iowa, and North Carolina, it was more than 70%.
And in Oklahoma and South Carolina, they passed by more than 80%.
Now, it is important to note that the GOP controls the legislature in each of these states and they are the ones that referred these amendments to the ballot this year. []
With election experts saying that this is a way to push the narrative that noncitizens are coming out in droves to vote and influence our elections. []
Despite the fact that there is little evidence to support that - it’s already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections and it’s incredibly rare.
With the Brennan Center for Justice finding 30 suspected noncitizen votes out of 23.5 million back in 2016. []
Making noncitizen votes account for 0.0001 percent of votes cast.
And opponents of these measures say that they could suppress the votes of immigrants who recently became citizens if states are consulting poorly maintained records to determine who can and can’t vote. []
And they say it could also scare voters into not trusting elections.
But I would love to know your thoughts about this.
Marijuana Measures
And finally, let’s talk about weed. The devil’s lettuce. The marijuanas.
Right, there were 3 states with measures on the ballot to legalize recreational marijuana - Florida and both Dakotas.
With the no votes in the Dakotas taking it by a good margin - 52% in North Dakota and 55% in South Dakota. [][]
Florida’s 60% rule, however, has claimed another victim - with Amendment 3, which would legalize weed recreationally for people 21 and over, getting 55% support. []
But, again, because the support doesn’t meet that 60% threshold, it’s a no.
The only state that ended up passing a marijuana measure yesterday was Nebraska - with their Initiative 437 to legalize medical marijuana passing with 70% of the vote. []
Along with Initiative 438 to establish the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to regulate the medical marijuana program - passing with 66% of the vote.
And that is where we are in terms of ballot measures.
I would love to know your thoughts here - especially if you’re from any of the states that we’ve been talking about.
Let me know in those comments down below.
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Third world lead poisoning
When we think of lead poisoning in the United States, maybe we go to leaded gasoline or lead paint, but usually the worst example that comes to mind is the water in Flint, Michigan.
Which makes sense; it was a horrible, criminal disaster that will never be undone.
But what if I were to tell you that what happened in Flint, something considered extreme for the United States, is actually the norm for much of the rest of the world?
In fact, even that’s too generous; for the majority of the world’s children, what happened in Flint is 10 times better than what’s happening to them right now.
Right, at the height of Flint’s water crisis, one in 20 children there had elevated blood-lead levels. [Quote, find “20”]
But in low and middle income countries, half of all children, or an estimated 800 million of them, have elevated blood-lead levels, according to UNICEF and the nonprofit Pure Earth. [Quote, find “800”]
So comparatively, lead poisoning in the poorer parts of the world is a massively bigger issue, yet surprisingly, it’s so much easier to solve.
Because while in the U.S., cleaning up lead means digging up and replacing tons of old pipes, something that’ll cost tens of billions of dollars,
In poor countries, it usually means making relatively simple adjustments to how certain products are made, which often costs just millions of dollars.
So today we’re gonna look at one famous example of this: Bangladesh [Bongla-desh].
Right, and one character you need to know about is Jenna Forsyth [Pronounce 00:26], then a PhD student at Stanford. [Image, crop out right half]
Because in 2014, as she explains to NPR, her adviser gave her data showing that around half of a sample of over 400 pregnant women in rural Bangladesh had high levels of lead in their blood. [Quote, find “400”]
So tagging along with some other researchers, Forsyth hopped on a plane to go investigate.
But when they got there and interviewed the pregnant women, they just couldn’t figure out where all the lead was coming from. [Image]
Right, they suspected agricultural pesticides, but sampling hundreds of agrochemicals turned up nothing. [Quote, find “pesticides”]
Then they tried lead paint, but the women lived in primarily unpainted tin homes, so that wasn’t it. [Quote same link, find “tin homes”]
Well how about lead-soldering on cans? Right, that can flake off into the food?
Except whatever amount of lead that did contribute wasn’t enough to explain the data they had. [Quote same link, find “soddering”]
I mean, they tested every guess they had — soil, water, rice — but nothing came up.
So Forsyth went back to the drawing board, meaning she dug up older research for any clues.
And in one small study of 28 kids, she found the answer hiding in plain sight: turmeric. [Study]
Right, if you’ve ever had curry, this bright yellow spice is what gives it that iconic golden hue. [B roll, 06:16]
I mean, it’s one of the most common ingredients in South Asian cuisine, so the idea that it was poisoning people came as a shock. [B roll, 01:46]
But Forsyth and her team tested turmeric powder and turmeric roots from local markets, and both contained the same type of lead found in the pregnant women’s blood. [Quote, find “fingerprint”]
So the next step was to figure out how lead was getting into the roots to begin with.
And after talking to farmers, they learned that it all went back to the 1980s, when a major flood fucked everything up. [Quote, find “1980s”]
Right, all of a sudden, the turmeric roots wouldn’t dry properly in the sun, so they turned a black-ish color instead of their usual yellow. [Quote same link, find “dry properly” and Image]
And the farmers did what made rational sense at the time; they polished their crops with the cheapest yellow pigment available at the time: lead chromate. [Image]
Because at the marketplace, those brighter roots sold better, so even after the floodwaters receded, farmers kept up the practice. [Quote same link, find “appealing” and Image]
But it didn’t confine itself to Bangladesh; these lead-contaminated spices spread across and beyond South Asia, including India, Pakistan and Nepal.
With that being just one source of global lead exposure, but there are many others.
From house paint, makeup, pots and pans to cookware glazes and improperly recycled batteries.
And the consequences are nothing short of enormous.
With lead killing an estimated 1.5 million people every year. [Quote, find “1.5”]
Then there’s the disability and disease, which especially impairs children.
Right, about 20% of the academic gap between upper-income and lower-income countries’ kids can be attributed to lead. [Quote, find “20%”]
Or if you wanna put a dollar figure on it, the World Bank estimated that the yearly global cost of lead exposure, including lost IQ points, premature deaths and welfare expenditures, is six trillion dollars, or 7% of the entire world’s GDP. [ wQuote, find “trillion”]
But none of this is inevitable, and Bangladesh proved it.
Because in 2019, Forsyth and her team took their findings to the country’s Food Safety Authority, and the government didn’t hesitate.
With officials putting out public notices in the top newspapers warning the public and vendors not to buy the brightly colored turmeric. [Quote, find “top newspapers”]
Also distributing 50,000 educational fliers across the country. [Image]
As well as directly alerting major turmeric farmers and organizing workshops with mill owners. [Quote, find “workshops”]
Then, to make sure everybody got the message, they pulled off a dramatic demonstration of how fucking serious they were.
With the government inviting television crews to the main spice market in the capital to broadcast what happened next.
And then, officials whipped out these devices that look like radar guns, and they scanned every vendor’s turmeric for lead contamination. [Image]
Hell, they even had a judge there to issue rulings right there on the spot in a so-called “mobile court.” [Quote]
So when all was said and done, the government confiscated nearly 2,000 pounds of turmeric and dished out over 9,000 dollars in fines. [Same quote]
And since then, Forsyth tells NPR the share of turmeric samples testing positive for lead has dropped from 47% to 0%. [Quote same link, find “0%”]
A textbook case of an effective public health intervention that took relatively few resources to accomplish.
And we know those results can be replicated, because other countries have done it too.
Right, Georgia (the country, not the state) also had a lead poisoning crisis in 2019 that affected some 40% of children ages two to seven. [Quote, find “41”]
But in just two years, researchers identified the problem: lead chromate was being used to polish the color of spices, just like in Bangladesh. [Image]
So the government intervened to clean up the supply chain, and now lead is almost totally gone from the spice market there. [Image and quote same link, find “eliminated”]
Or take Malawi [Pronounce], as another example.
Right, with just 300,000 dollars in donor funding, that country cleaned up half the market for lead paint, and the other half has committed to phasing out lead by the end of this year. [Quote, find “300”]
In case after case, the formula is generally the same.
You conduct national blood surveys, test consumer products for lead contamination, design regulations, then enforce those laws and monitor producers.
But given how far each dollar spent on this problem goes toward fixing it, you’d be surprised to learn how little we invest as a species.
Right, according to Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Alexander Berger, CEO of Open Philanthropy,
“the yearly global funding for tackling lead poisoning in developing countries totals just $15 million — the cost of a single 60-second ad at the Super Bowl.” [Quote]
Or rather, that was the total, until now.
Because UNICEF and USAID have announced a new 150 million dollar initiative to combat lead poisoning in the third world. [Headline]
With that money being distributed across more than a dozen countries, from Indonesia and Uganda to Ghana and Peru.
But eventually, those funds will run out, so what really matters is that awareness of this issue snowballs until the money keeps flowing for the long term.
And then, maybe, just maybe, humans can do a really cool thing without even having to give up that much.
Links:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/09/22/lead-poisoning-children-flint/
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/375139/lead-partnership-usaid-unicef-samantha-power
