The Takeout

President-elect Donald Trump roiled Washington this week with his picks for Defense Secretary, Director of National Intelligence and Attorney General. Senator Peter Welch (D-VT), a member of the Judiciary Committee, will have a say on whether Matt Gaetz, Trump's pick to lead the Justice Department, gets confirmed. He joins Major at the CBS News Washington Bureau to rehash the busy week that was in politics and to look ahead at what's to come when the new administration sweeps into town in January. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The people have spoken. Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, will be the 47th president come January. How did Trump win? What will he do next? We've got the sharpest political minds at CBS News to break it all down over cheesecake and omelets at Junior's in New York City. CBS News Director of Elections and Surveys Anthony Salvanto and Senior White House and Political Correspondent Ed O'Keefe join Major for a coffee-fueled chat about the election and the incoming administration. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More than 60 million Americans have already voted in the 2024 election. Who they voted for remains a mystery, but there are plenty of clues about voting patterns says Democratic data guru Tom Bonier of analytics firm TargetSmart. Voter registration data can also provide breadcrumbs to a public hungry for hints about the election outcome. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hurricane Helene ran roughshod over western North Carolina in late September, killing nearly 100 and making life difficult for thousands more. Major speaks to Appalachian State professor and former CNN correspondent Chris Moody who lives in the region and has been tracking the clean up effort. Major is also joined by elections expert and CBS News contributor David Becker who explains how voting will change in North Carolina to accommodate storm victims. Join us. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CBS News Executive Director of Elections and Surveys Anthony Salvanto joins Major this week to explain how CBS News digests data, conducts polls and makes Election Day projections. A recent CBS News poll found that Harris voters and Trump voters can't even agree on basic facts about the economy, FEMA relief and immigration. Join us for a behind the scenes look at CBS News's preparations for the upcoming election that is shaping up to be one of the tightest races in recent memory. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"The Apprentice," a Donald Trump biopic starring Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan, depicts Trump's early business career and his relationship with controversial mentor Roy Cohn. The film premieres on October 11th, but there's at least one person who doesn't want you to see it: Donald Trump. His lawyers threatened to sue the filmmakers earlier this year to block the film's release (they haven't sued so far) and his campaign team calls the movie, "pure malicious defamation." That's not how director Ali Abbasi sees it. In fact, Abbasi tells Major there's plenty in the film for Trump haters and Trump lovers alike. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last month, Major traveled to Wisconsin and interviewed two prominent figures spreading the gospel of Trumpism via the growing white Christian nationalist movement. This week, Major sits down with Jim Wallis, a D.C.-based public theologian and justice activist who believes many of that movement's leaders are, "power brokers who are using religion to promote fear and hate." In his latest book "The False White Gospel," Wallis makes the argument that the teachings of the Christian nationalist movement are "antithetical to the teachings of Jesus," and if democracy is to be refounded, we must raise up the faith in all of us. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D) believes her battleground state will remain competitive until the last vote is counted on Election Day. What advice does she have for Vice President Harris's presidential campaign? Do the Democrats have a chance of winning the House of Representatives? What can Congress get done between now and the end of the year? Rep. Dingell takes on these questions and more in this week’s show. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Major traveled to Atlanta earlier this month to speak with four battleground state election administrators - Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D), Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Member Bill Gates (R), Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein (R) and Chief Operating Officer for Georgia’s Secretary of State Gabriel Sterling (R). All four shared a sense of cautious optimism roughly two months ahead of Election Day, but they sounded the alarm on threats of violence rooted in lies and misinformation. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Election Day 2024 is roughly 5 Scaramuccis away. A Scaramucci, of course, is the length of time former Trump White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci lasted in that role (11 days). And how times have changed. Scaramucci is now an outspoken critic of the former president and has endorsed her opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. The always colorful Scaramucci tells Major why he thinks Harris will win in November and why he now views his former boss as unfit for office. Join us! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices