• Gov. Newsom has expressed concern that Trump would withhold disaster aid.
• "He's tried to do it in the past," Newsom said during a recent taping of "Pod Save America."
• Los Angeles is fighting multiple devastating wildfires.

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said President-elect Donald Trump may seek to withhold federal disaster aid to California as multiple wildfires rage in and around Los Angeles.

"He's been pretty straightforward about that," Newsom said on the "Pod Save America" podcast, which was posted Saturday morning. "He's tried to do it in the past. He's not just done it here in California."

"He's done it in states all across the country," Newsom continued. "In 2018, even before I was governor of California, he tried to withhold money down in Orange County until apparently a staff member —and this has been well reported — said there were a lot of Trump supporters. And, then, he decided to change his mind."

Former Trump White House official Mark Harvey told Politico last year that Trump initially declined to authorize disaster aid for California because it leans Democrat but reversed his position after learning that the affected area was in Orange County, which for generations had been a GOP stronghold.

"We went as far as looking up how many votes he got in those impacted areas … to show him these are people who voted for you," Harvey told the outlet ahead of the November 2024 election.

JPMorgan analysts said the blazes tearing through the Los Angeles region could lead to over $20 billion in insured losses — and about $50 billion in total economic losses. That would make these conflagrations "significantly more severe" than the Camp Fires that struck the state in 2018 and racked up $10 billion in insured losses, the current record.

During the podcast on Saturday, Newsom also called out Trump for spreading what he called "indelible misinformation." Trump has blamed the governor's water policies for the devastating fires.

"What the president-elect was saying about State Water Project and the Delta smelt somehow being culpable of somehow leading to some of the challenges that we face down here…it's delusional," he said.

Emergency workers fighting the LA fires have reported fire hydrants running dry after unprecedented demand on the water system. Newsom on Friday ordered a probe into the source of the water supply issues.

"I am calling for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir," he wrote in a post on X. "We need answers to ensure this does not happen again and we have every resource available to fight these catastrophic fires."

More than 150,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate their homes and over 38,000 acres have so far burned in the fires. The death toll has risen to 11 as of Saturday, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that the federal government would cover 100% of the cost of disaster aid for 180 days.

Trump, meanwhile, has been relentless in his criticism of both Newsom and Biden.

"The fires in Los Angeles may go down, in dollar amount, as the worst in the History of our Country," he said in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. "Let this serve, and be emblematic, of the gross incompetence and mismanagement of the Biden/Newscum Duo."

In a statement to Business Insider, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said Newsom "should be doing his fucking job and actually help people who continue to suffer under his terrible leadership."

• Donald Trump and Dana White have enjoyed a decadeslong friendship predating presidential politics.
• In each of Trump's three presidential campaigns, White lined up behind the president-elect.
• During the 2024 race, the mixed martial arts leader also appeared on Trump's first TikTok video.

Donald Trump might be the only person who can attend an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight and outshine the headliners — even UFC CEO Dana White doesn't draw the same type of reaction.

In November, Trump set the crowd off by walking into UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden to join his entourage, which included Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Trump's cabinet nominees.

White stands at the center of it all. In just under three decades, White has turned his sport, once on the fringe of pop culture, into a spectacle that even a president-elect couldn't resist.

Trump and White's decades-long friendship has been mutually beneficial. White has repeatedly said he will never forget how Trump offered a grand stage to his sport when few others would. Trump successfully deployed White's cohort of podcasters and influencers, led by Joe Rogan, in his 2024 election win.

"Nobody deserves this more than him, and nobody deserves this more than his family does," White told the energetic crowd at Mar-a-Lago as it was apparent that Trump had been elected to a second term. "This is what happens when the machine comes after you."

Here's a look at the decadeslong relationship between Trump and White over the years:

Donald Trump gave a big early boost to UFC

In 1990, Trump opened Trump Taj Mahal, a billion-dollar prized jewel in Atlantic City, that businessman billed as the 8th Wonder of the World. At its peak, it was the biggest casino in town.

Trump needed big acts to fill the casino's arena, which Elton John had christened. In 2001, Trump took a chance on the UFC, which was still trying to escape its brutalist stigma. The sport that then-Sen. John McCain, famously called "human cockfighting" in the 1990s, couldn't even put on an event in Las Vegas.

Trump's UFC event came at a pivotal moment

Shut out of Nevada, UFC staged its fights in a series of smaller venues around the country and the world. White considered the invitation to the Taj Mahal a sign of legitimacy.

"Nobody took us seriously," White has repeatedly said. "Except Donald Trump."

Trump's backing came during a crucial time in the company's history. In January 2001, a month before the Trump-hosted fight, casino moguls Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta purchased UFC. They picked White, Lorenzo's friend and a manager for two of mixed martial arts' biggest fighters, as the president.

Under White's leadership, UFC's popularity skyrocketed

By September 2001, UFC was in Vegas. Four years later, White led UFC onto the airwaves on SpikeTV, cashing in the popularity of reality TV competitions with "The Ultimate Fighter."

It helped that in 2004, Trump welcomed Tito Ortiz, one of the sport's biggest stars, onto the first season of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice," the glitzier spin-off to Trump's smash reality TV hit.

The Ultimate Fighter was a big success, increasing the company's popularity.

White locked in UFC's voice

If White is the face of UFC, Rogan is undoubtedly its voice. His association with the company even predates White's time as president. After the Fertitta brothers purchased UFC in 2001, White offered Rogan a full-time gig as a color commentator. Rogan has said it's in his contract that he'll leave the UFC if White ever exits, too.

Rogan's profile grew alongside the UFC, considering his association with mixed martial arts was part of why he became the host of NBC's "Fear Factor."

The comedian cashed in on his bigger profile in 2009, starting what was then a weekly commentary show. By the time Trump first ran for president in 2016, "The Joe Rogan Experience" was one of the most popular podcasts in the world.

Business didn't get in the way of Trump and White's friendship.

While he's known for real-estate, Trump has sought out many other partnerships and business ventures to varying degrees of success. In 2008, Trump partnered with Affliction, a clothing brand, to launch a competitor in the mixed-martial arts space. Their promotion even landed Russian fighter Fedor Emelianenko, whom White and the UFC had previously sought to sign.

The venture lasted only two fights. According to The New York Times, White sometimes criticized his friend, pointing out his inexperience in operating such a company, "Donald Trump owns casinos."

White and Trump remained close. The UFC head even vowed that he would never fully go after Trump, a nod to the real estate mogul's early support.

White was once far from a conservative firebrand

In 2010, White campaigned with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada as he sought to hang onto his seat amid a difficult year for Democrats. Reid won, and Democrats held onto a slimmer US Senate majority.

According to The Times, White's politics mirrored Trump's in that both businessmen viewed the enterprise through a transactional lens. Trump faced criticism in the 2016 GOP primaries for previously supporting leading Democrats like Hillary Clinton.

White spoke as if he was a stranger at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Few major establishment Republicans spoke at Trump's 2016 convention. Enter White, one of a handful of longtime Trump friends who extolled the virtues of the man who would soon become the Republican Party's presidential nominee.

White even alluded to the fact that his attendance might appear odd.

"My name is Dana White. I am the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. I'm sure most you are wondering, 'What are you doing here?'" White told the crowd in Cleveland. "I am not a politician. I am a fight promoter, but I was blown away and honored to be invited here tonight, and I wanted to show up and tell you about my friend, Donald Trump — the Donald Trump that I know."

White returned to the trail again in 2020.

Ahead of Trump's reelection bid, White said Trump's time in the White House only deepened their relationship.

"We've actually become even closer since he's become the President of the United States," White said during a 2020 campaign rally. "When somebody becomes the President of the United States, you don't ever expect to hear from them again. And I understand it. It absolutely makes sense. This guy is so loyal and such a good friend."

The COVID-19 pandemic made White a conservative star

The COVID-19 pandemic devastated the live event business. Sports, including the UFC, were no exception. White saw an opening as the four major professional leagues struggled through discussions on how to return.

White tried to get the UFC to return with an event on tribal land in California, but that effort was postponed amid Disney and ESPN's uneasiness. In turning to Gov. Ron DeSantis' Florida, White found a much more receptive audience — even if the first fight didn't allow any fans. UFC 249 in May was the first major sporting event since the pandemic's beginning.

Trump delivered a video message congratulating White on the event.

"Get the sports leagues back, let's play," Trump said in a video recorded outside of the Oval Office. "Do the social distancing, and whatever you have to do, but we need sports. We want our sports back."

Out of power, Trump found refuge at the UFC

After leaving the White House, Donald Trump wasn't welcomed in many places. Following the January 6 Capitol riot, the two biggest professional golf governing bodies rebuked him. The Professional Golf Association even stripped one Trump-owned course of the right to host one of the PGA's major four tournaments.

In July 2021, the Manhattan District Attorney indicted the Trump Organization, setting off an array of legal headaches that didn't abate until after the 2024 election. A week later, Trump entered to mostly cheers in Las Vegas as he prepared to take in UFC 264.

Trump made the UFC central to his 2024 bid

Trump officially launched on TikTok at UFC 302 in June 2024. The fighting promotion's audience was also the perfect place for the former president's campaign, given his advisors' emphasis on attracting young men.

White's broader orbit suddenly intertwined with the former president's comeback campaign. Trump, and later his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, made a point of appearing on podcasts geared toward this demographic. The Nelk Boys, Theo Von, Adin Ross, and "Bussin' with the Boys" all shared close ties to White. Trump appeared on each of their respective shows.

@realdonaldtrump

Launching my TikTok at @UFC 302.

♬ original sound - President Donald J Trump

White spoke at Trump's pre-election rally at Madison Square Garden.

White energized the crowd at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally just days before the election, where he said that Vice President Kamala Harris wouldn't bring "change" to the country.

And he emphatically praised Trump in advance of an election that was seemingly tied in most of the swing states.

"He is the most resilient, hardest-working human being that I've ever met in my entire life," White said during his remarks.

Celebrating his win, Trump turned the mic over to White

Dana White just thanked

Adin Ross, Theo Von, Nelkboys and Joe Rogan for the Trump victory #Election2024 pic.twitter.com/GYye6c9onc

— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) November 6, 2024

As Trump spoke to an adoring crowd at Mar-a-Lago and to the nation, he invited White to make remarks, and the UFC president wasted no time singing the praises of the president-elect.

"He keeps going forward — he doesn't quit," White bluntly said. "He deserves this. They deserve it as a family."

White also name-checked podcast hosts that had welcomed Trump into the so-called "Manosphere."

A former UFC spokesperson will have a key role in Trump's White House

One of Trump's key White House aides also has ties to UFC. Steven Cheung, who will be the White House communications director, was a spokesperson for UFC before he left to join Trump's 2016 campaign.

Cheung's brash statements, particularly those bashing DeSantis during the 2024 primary season, received considerable attention and drew comparisons to how closely they mirrored Trump's own rhetoric.

Just before Trump took office, Meta tapped White for a new role.

Trump may have helped out White again. In January 2024, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the UFC executive would join the technology company's board. Zuckerberg's move was widely seen as a play to curry favor with Trump and his orbit.

White might be done in the political arena

White wasn't very political before he campaigned for Trump. He has said that his outspokenness may be an exception only reserved for his friend.

"I'm never fucking doing this again," White recently told The New Yorker. "I want nothing to do with this shit. It's gross. It's disgusting. I want nothing to do with politics."

• Wildfires are burning across Los Angeles County.
• Hundreds of thousands of people are under evacuation orders or warnings.
• Insured losses could top $20 billion, JPMorgan analysts estimated — the most-ever in California.

The Los Angeles area is battling a series of massive wildfires that continue to rip through its picturesque mountains and hillsides — creating a hellscape of burned-out neighborhoods and upended livelihoods that could ultimately be the most costly fire disaster in California history.

Authorities on Friday night expanded the evacuation zone related to the largest blaze, the Palisades Fire, east toward Santa Monica, less than 1.5 miles from the iconic Santa Monica Pier. The zone now encompasses the famous Getty Center, home of the Getty Museum.

Officials have now ordered over 150,000 residents to evacuate and warned another 166,000 to be ready to leave if the fires continue to spread. About 38,000 acres have burned, and the LA County Medical Examiner has reported 11 deaths related to the fires so far.

At a press conference on Friday evening, officials managing the Eaton fire, which now spans over 14,000 acres and is one of the largest and deadliest, said they did not expect the blaze to spread significantly over the weekend due to more moderate wind conditions. However, officials said they are anticipating another high-wind event early next week. It was strong Santa Ana gusts of up to 90 miles per hour that first whipped the fires into a frenzy earlier this week.

JPMorgan analysts said the blazes tearing through the region could lead to over $20 billion in insured losses — and about $50 billion in total economic losses. That would make these conflagrations "significantly more severe" than the Camp Fires that struck the state in 2018 and racked up $10 billion in insured losses, the current record.

Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman described the scene in LA as apocalyptic, as thick bands of smoke surrounded the city. Los Angeles County is home to about 10 million people.

"Not since the 1990s, when Los Angeles was hit with the fires, the flood, the earthquake, and the riots, have I seen such disaster occur here in our city," Hochman said at a briefing, referring to the Northridge Earthquake and the disturbances in the wake of the Rodney King verdict.

Erroneous emergency alerts telling residents to evacuate areas unaffected by the fires further heightened panic in the region. Kevin McGowan, the director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, apologized for the messages at Friday's conference.

"There is an extreme amount of frustration, anger, fear, with regards to the erroneous messages that have been being sent out through the wireless emergency alert system. I can't express enough how sorry I am for this experience," he said.

He reassured residents that resolving the issue is his "top priority" and that he has technical specialists working to identify the root cause. "I implore everyone to not disable the messages on your phone," he said.

Late Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration warned civilians against flying unauthorized drones in areas undergoing firefighting efforts, after a firefighting plane sustained wing damage from a civilian drone and had to be grounded.

Satellite images of the LA fires showed the destruction left in their wake.

Starlink, Elon Musk's SpaceX subsidiary that provides satellite internet service, said Thursday that people in the Los Angeles area can use the company's network to text loved ones, contact 911, and receive emergency alerts.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday announced that he's doubling the number of California National Guard personnel on the ground to 1,680 members.

"The men and women of the California National Guard are working day and night to help Los Angeles residents during their greatest time of need," he said in a statement.

Here's a look at the latest happenings in the main fires spreading throughout the area:

Palisades Fire

The Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades area north of Santa Monica was the first fire to strike the region on Tuesday morning. It has spread to over 21,500 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Around 11% of the fire is contained, it says.

Five people have died in the Palisades fire, according to the medical examiner's office.

Los Angeles City's Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said at a press briefing earlier this week that the Palisades Fire had damaged or destroyed over 5,300 structures.

Crowley would not confirm reports that the fire started in a resident's garden, saying the origin is still under investigation.

Some celebrities have lost homes in the blaze, including Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal.

On Thursday, a drone hit the wing of one of two Super Scooper planes fighting the wildfires, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a Friday press conference. He said the plane was under urgent repairs and set to be flying again by Monday. "If you fly a drone at one of these brush fires all aerial operations will be shut down," he said.

Eaton Fire

The second-largest fire in Los Angeles County is the Eaton Fire, which started on Tuesday evening in the Pasadena-Altadena area at the foothills of the Angeles National Forest.

Six people have died in the Eaton fire, according to the medical examiner's office.

The blaze has spread to over 14,100 acres, per Cal Fire. At least 7,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed, and 15% of the fire is contained.

Marrone said the fire had pushed toward Mount Wilson, where a number of communications towers are located.

He said the cause of the fire remains "unknown."

Hurst Fire

The Hurst Fire, which began late on Tuesday night in the northern part of the San Fernando Valley, spread to 799 acres and is 76% contained, per Cal Fire.

In an X post on Thursday afternoon, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the mandatory evacuation order for the Hurst Fire had been lifted.

Kenneth Fire

On Thursday, a small brush fire erupted at the Victory Trailhead near the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Marrone said that the fire had been stopped. It burned just over 1,000 acres, but no structures were reported damaged. It is 80% contained, per Cal Fire.

A mandatory evacuation order was issued for several neighborhoods near the fire.

LAPD said it had detained a possible arson suspect but could not confirm any connection to the fire.

An evacuation notice intended for residents impacted by the Kenneth Fire was mistakenly sent out across LA County due to a "technical error," County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in an X post.

Sunset Fire and others

The Sunset Fire broke out in the Runyon Canyon area of the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday evening, quickly spreading to scorch over 40 acres and threaten major LA landmarks.

As of Thursday morning, firefighters were able to stop the fire's forward progress, Crowley said.

All evacuation orders related to the Sunset Fire were lifted as of 7:30 a.m. Thursday, she added.

A large structure fire consumed two large homes in the Studio City area but firefighters were able to stop its forward growth at just one acre and prevent another brushfire, Crowley said.

Yet another fire, the Lidia Fire, started Wednesday afternoon in Acton near the Antelope Valley, about 20 miles northeast of the San Fernando Valley. It consumed 395 acres but is now 100% contained, according to CalFire.

The Woodley Fire, which began Wednesday morning in the southern part of the San Fernando Valley, has been suppressed and there are no current threats, Crowley said.

Patrols were monitoring the area for any flare-ups, she added.

Events canceled and landmarks closed as smoke chokes LA

Major and minor events alike have been canceled or postponed across the Los Angeles area as the city battles the fires.

The 30th Annual Critics Choice Awards, set for Sunday night, were rescheduled for January 26. A National Hockey League game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Calgary Flames, scheduled for Wednesday night at Crypto.com arena, was postponed. The LA Lakers rescheduled Thursday night's game.

Music venues across the city were also canceling or postponing their shows, including The Troubadour, The Wiltern, The Echo, the Kia Forum, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and others.

Flights into and out of LAX, Hollywood Burbank Airport, Ontario International Airport, and Santa Ana's John Wayne Airport were also experiencing delays and cancellations. LAX, however, remains open.

The fires are also shuttering tourist destinations in and around Los Angeles, which attracts nearly 50 million visitors a year.

The fires forced some Los Angeles-area landmarks to close, including the Hollywood sign, the Los Angeles Zoo, the Broad Museum, the Norton Simon Museum, the Getty Villa and Getty Center, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal CityWalk, and the Griffith Observatory.

Airbnb told CNN that it would be allowing refunds for bookings in areas affected by the wildfires, following a viral social media post from a customer who said the company refused to offer her a refund.

California already struggled with an insurance crisis

The devastating fires this week will likely only worsen California's ongoing insurance crisis, where many homebuyers already struggle to get approved for loans, home insurance, and fire insurance — even in areas outside the typical risk zones.

In recent years, some insurance companies, like State Farm, have stopped accepting new home insurance policies in the state entirely, as wildfire risks have only increased.

Experts told Business Insider that prices are likely to continue rising for those who can still get insurance.

"I've seen numbers go up 200%, 300%, even 500% in a year," Nick Ramirez, the owner of a California insurance agency, told BI.

And as the fires' estimated damages already climb into the billions of dollars, some homeowners will have to rebuild without the help of insurance payouts.

• Biden in a new interview said Trump was "very complimentary" of a portion of his economic record.
• The president made the statement while speaking with USA Today days before he's set to leave office.
• Trump's 2024 election victory was fueled by voter dissatisfaction over large parts of the economy.

In a newly-published interview with USA Today days before he's set to leave office, President Joe Biden said President-elect Donald Trump praised of a portion of his economic record during a private meeting.

"He was very complimentary about some of the economic things I had done," Biden said. "And he talked about — he thought I was leaving with a good record."

Biden in the interview didn't specify exactly what policies Trump praised, and the gesture could've simply been an element of the courtesies that presidents and president-elects generally extend to each other when discussing a White House transition.

The president during the interview also issued a warning for his predecessor and soon-to-be successor regarding tax policy and the economy overall.

"I think if he moves on the tax cuts of $5 trillion, I think if he moves on dealing with increasing tariffs across the board, all they are is increasing costs of consumers in America," Biden said. "And if he decides to do away with some of the major programs, whether it's dealing with the rescue plan or infrastructure or the climate law, I think he's just going to, you know, hurt himself, hurt the economy."

Throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump hammered President Biden over his economic record, repeatedly needling the commander-in-chief on issues like inflation and housing affordability.

When Biden stepped aside as the Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris became the party's standard-bearer, Trump pursued the same strategy, tying voter dissatisfaction with the economy to Biden's No. 2.

The president-elect in November was victorious in the major swing states — making significant gains with groups that had long backed Democrats — in large part because of his focus on the economy.

Trump during his first term pledged to get an infrastructure agenda in place and even sought to work with congressional Democrats on the issue.

However it was Biden — an ardent Amtrak fan — who oversaw passage of the gargantuan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, also known as the bipartisan infrastructure law. The law is one of the biggest domestic accomplishments of Biden's presidency, and one that's poised to reshape his economic legacy years — and potentially decades — after he leaves office later this month.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung in a statement to Business Insider said Trump was elected to a second term to "continue the massively successful economic policies" of his first administration.

"Joe Biden's disastrous policies led to record inflation and an economy that left behind all Americans," Cheung said.

• Trump wouldn't rule out using military force to take Greenland and retake the Panama Canal.
• The president-elect made the remarks during a major press conference just days before his 2nd term.
• Denmark has emphatically stated that Greenland isn't for sale.

President-elect Donald Trump isn't ruling out using military force in an effort to gain control of Greenland and retake control of the Panama Canal.

During a Tuesday press conference, Trump was asked if he'd assure the world that he wouldn't use military or economic coercion to secure the sovereign territory and the vital waterway, respectively.

The president-elect in his response reinforced the critical economic importance that he sees in Greenland and the Panama Canal.

"I can't assure you," he said. "I'm not going to commit to that. It might be that you'll have to do something."

"We need Greenland for national security purposes," he continued. "People don't even know if Denmark has any legal right to it. But if they do, they should give it up."

Late last year, Trump spoke about possibly taking back control of the Panama Canal from Panama as well as his wish to secure Greenland from Denmark. He also floated buying Greenland in 2019.

Trump during Tuesday's press conference also threatened to "tariff Denmark at a very high level" if the country didn't give up control of Greenland.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark earlier on Tuesday said that "Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders," adding that the strategic Arctic island is "not for sale."

Greenland is a Danish colony, though it has had self-rule since 1979. Greenland could declare its independence but would need to hold a formal vote first. Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede said recently that it was "time to take the next step for our country," hinting at the possibility of a referendum this year.

As for the Panama Canal, the Carter Administration signed a treaty in 1977 that began a process that led to Panama taking full control of the canal in 1999. Last month, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said in a statement that his nation controls "every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area."

Shortly after, Trump responded on Truth Social by stating, "We'll see about that," and then posted a photo with the caption, "Welcome to the United States Canal!"

Business Insider has reached out to representatives of Trump for comment.

• Amazon will reportedly pay $40 million to license a new documentary on Melania Trump.
• Melania Trump will serve as an executive producer on the film, Puck reported.
• The incoming first lady is not expected to be in Washington full time during her husband's second term.

Amazon will reportedly shell out $40 million to license a documentary on incoming first lady Melania Trump. The price tag includes the film itself, a smaller-scale theatrical run before being featured on Prime Video, and a supplementary docuseries.

Puck's Matthew Belloni reported more details about the Brett Ratner-directed film as the onetime and future first lady prepares to rejoin the biggest spotlight in the country in less than two weeks. The New York Post has also reported that Amazon paid $40 million for the project.

Melania Trump will be an executive producer on the projects, Belloni said. It's unclear how much the incoming first lady will be paid.

Puck also reported that both Disney and Paramount sought streaming rights for the Melania Trump documentary. Apple and Netflix did not place bids for the documentary, sources told the outlet.

Multiple sources told CNN in November that Melania Trump would likely split most of her time between New York and Florida, while also maintaining a presence at the White House during her husband's second term.

The news about the documentary comes as President-elect Donald Trump's relationship with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos continues to be a hot topic in both the business and political worlds.

In December, The Wall Street Journal first reported that Amazon would donate $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee, part of a cascade of tech leaders seeking to cement or strengthen their relationships with the president-elect.

Bezos last month traveled to Mar-a-Lago to dine with Trump alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Ahead of the November election, Bezos, the owner of The Washington Post, chose to end the newspaper's longtime practice of endorsing presidential candidates. The decision sparked a huge outcry among subscribers and led to the exit of several members of the editorial board.

In an op-ed defending the move, Bezos called his stance "principled."

Business Insider has reached out to Amazon for comment.

• Trump has raised millions from CEOs and businesses for his inauguration and presidential library.
• Apple CEO Tim Cook was the latest to contribute, Axios reported.
• The Times reported that Trump has raised over $200 million since winning a second term.

President-elect Donald Trump will take office in less than three weeks.

In the meantime, he continues to craft his policy agenda and make key appointments for his second administration.

He is also raking in substantial amounts of money.

From Meta and Coinbase to Ford and GM, businesses and CEOs are contributing large sums to Trump's inauguration and future presidential library as the president-elect prepares to enter the Oval Office for a second term.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is the latest to contribute $1 million of his own money to Trump's inaugural committee, according to Axios.

Trump has so far collected a total of at least $200 million, according to The New York Times, which spoke to sources involved in the fundraising. At least $150 million of that will go toward his inaugural, far more than the $107 million he raised for the event in 2017.

The super PAC Make America Great Again Inc. is also set to benefit from the cash infusion, giving Trump's allies a powerful vehicle to boost his conservative plans on everything from tax policy to the environment, as well as the GOP lawmakers who'll back his agenda.

David Tamasi, a Washington lobbyist, waved off the notion that donors were contributing to Trump to stay on his good side. However, he told the Times that some leaders may seek to build rapport after being detached from the president-elect's orbit.

"It is a time-honored DC tradition that corporations are enthusiastically embracing this cycle in all manners, largely because they were on the sidelines during previous Trump cycles," Tamasi said. "They no longer have to hedge their political bets."

There are virtually no limits to contributions for inaugural committees, and corporations have traditionally funded inaugurations regardless of the political party of the incoming commander in chief.

President Joe Biden's inaugural committee raised $63.8 million for his 2021 inauguration, according to FEC filings.

Trump's relationships with many top business leaders became rocky during his first term, namely in the aftermath of the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white nationalist groups sparked violent clashes. The January 6, 2021 attack at the US Capitol, days before Trump left office, led several companies to pause financial contributions to GOP politicians who had voted to overturn the 2020 presidential results.

Even during the 2024 presidential campaign, some business leaders stayed out of the political fray, while others, like LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman and Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings, supported Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.

• Most Americans see economic difficulty as the reality for 2025, according to a new Gallup poll.
• Republicans have a much rosier view of the US economy headed into the new year.
• Nearly eight-in-ten Republicans (78%) believe 2025 will be a year of economic prosperity in the US.

Most Americans are predicting economic difficulty and international discord in 2025, but Republicans are expressing broad economic enthusiasm weeks before President-elect Donald Trump is set to begin his second term, according to a new Gallup survey.

In the new poll, 56 percent of respondents said they believed that the coming year would bring economic difficulty, while 44 percent felt it would bring prosperity. And regarding international conflicts, roughly two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents foresee a year of political conflict, versus the 32 percent of respondents who see 2025 as a more peaceful year.

A majority of Republicans, buoyed by Trump's victory and the conservative agenda that'll be pursed by the forthcoming GOP-controlled Congress, had positive sentiments on virtually every economic and foreign policy topic.

Nearly eight-in-ten Republicans (78%) polled believe that 2025 will be a year of economic prosperity in the US, compared to 40% of independents and 15% of Democrats. And 63% of Republicans believe that 2025 will be a largely peaceful year on the international front, compared to only 28% of independents and a scant 8% of Democrats.

On other economic issues, Republicans are energized.

Among GOP respondents, 88% believe the stock market will climb in the new year, compared to 65% of independents and 46% of Democrats. (Overall 66% of respondents believe the stock market will rise in 2025, compared to 33% who believe it will decline.)

And 87% of Republicans believe prices will increase more reasonably in 2025, compared to 46% of independents and 23% of Democrats who share a similar view.

In 2024 — under President Joe Biden's tenure in office — the S&P 500 rose 23.3% percent. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had a nearly 13% gain in 2024.

The November election was defined by the state of the economy, with Trump making inroads with broad swaths of voters over inflation and affordability concerns.

Biden last summer stepped aside as the Democratic presidential nominee in part because a poor debate performance against Trump, but one of the president's biggest challenges was his difficulty in selling his economic agenda to an American public that endured noticeable price increases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee, she sought to orient her campaign around economic concerns, laying out proposals to provide tax deductions for small businesses and offer $25,000 in down-payment support for some first-time homebuyers. She fell short in the swing states — notably in the "blue wall" — as Trump retained an advantage on economic issues throughout the campaign.

With Trump returning to the White House, Republicans — who were largely pessimistic about the economy under Biden — are now much more jubilant about what 2025 will offer.

The Gallup survey was conducted from December 4-15 among 2,121 adults.

• Infrastructure has played an important role in President Biden's term in office.
• The bipartisan infrastructure law is one of Biden's signature domestic policy achievements.
• The outcomes of Biden's economic initiatives and projects will define his overall legacy.

As he enters his final few weeks in the Oval Office, President Joe Biden's political standing remains far below what it was when it entered office. Major infrastructure projects, however, could enhance the president's legacy long after he's left office.

Biden signed into law a highly consequential infrastructure bill, a goal that eluded President-elect Donald Trump. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, also known as the bipartisan infrastructure law, is already a defining aspect of Biden's presidency. And the CHIPS and Science Act, designed to once again make the US a leader in semiconductor manufacturing, could also change some minds on Biden's overall economic record.

While many of the upgrades are already in the works, the ramifications of these investments may not be felt for years.

Here's a look at some of the projects that could eventually reshape Biden's domestic legacy:

Brightline West

California has long been known for its car-centric culture.

However, in recent decades, there's been a major effort to bolster public transit throughout the state. In LA, the Los Angeles Metro Rail system is expanding its D Line. And a planned extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, or BART, into Silicon Valley is poised to be a critical link in the San Francisco region.

A newer part of California's transit equation is high-speed rail.

The California High-Speed Rail project, which will connect San Francisco to the Los Angeles Basin as part of its first phase, is currently under construction.

And then there's Brightline West, a separate under-construction high-speed rail route that will link Las Vegas, Nevada, to Southern California.

In September 2024, the Federal Railroad Administration signed an agreement that'll direct $3 billion to the Nevada Department of Transportation for Brightline West. The signing came after a December 2023 announcement that the project would be awarded funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Brightline West is expected to begin operations in 2028, just in time for the summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Airport Improvements across the US

The Airport Infrastructure Grants (AIG) program is part of the $25 billion allocated for airport and air traffic control improvements within the infrastructure law.

These investments will address some of the most pressing needs at airport facilities across the US. A slew of airports, from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia to Hawaii's Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole, have already received funding from the program.

As part of the program, $20.1 million was awarded to the Atlanta airport in August 2024 to improve its taxiways and taxi lanes, while $49.6 million was granted to the Ellison Onizuka Kona airport to rehabilitate its Runway 17-35 that same month.

The replacement of the Blatnik Bridge between Minnesota and Wisconsin

The John A. Blatnik Bridge serves as a vital transportation link between Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin. The bridge opened for traffic in 1961 and is in dire need of repairs.

Biden visited Superior in January 2024 to announce that $1.06 billion will be allocated to replace the aging bridge. A new bridge will allow for increased capacity and the construction project is expected to boost the area's economy in a considerable way.

According to the White House, the bridge in its current state was set to close by 2030.

"For decades, people talked about replacing this bridge, but it never got done, until today," Biden said during his visit to the Midwestern locale.

The bridge is set to be closed for construction for four years, beginning in 2027, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Interstate 5 Bridge replacement between Washington state and Oregon

The Interstate Bridge, also known as the Columbia River Interstate Bridge, carries Interstate 5 between Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon.

The bridge is a critical economic link in the Pacific Northwest and regional leaders for years have sought funding to replace the two spans.

Through the infrastructure law, the project in December 2023 was awarded a $600 million grant from the National Infrastructure Project Assistance program, also known as the Mega Grant program. The program was designed to set aside federal funding for complex projects that are likely to boost the economy.

In July 2024, the US Department of Transportation announced that the Interstate Bridge replacement project would also receive roughly $1.5 billion in funding from the Federal Highway Administration's Bridge Investment Program.

"Under the Trump administration, 'infrastructure week' was just a punchline, but President Biden turned it into a historic legacy of investing in America and American workers in states across the country," Democratic National Committee deputy communications director Abhi Rahman told Business Insider in a statement.

Semiconductor Plants funded by the CHIPS Act

Biden during his term in office has placed a major emphasis on strengthening the US' hand regarding advanced chip manufacturing.

And in November 2024, his administration finalized $6.6 billion in funding for the Arizona subsidiary of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The award will fund the construction of three factories in Phoenix.

Biden in November said the projects would create thousands of jobs, calling it the "largest foreign direct investment in a greenfield project in the history of the United States."

The investment is significant as it comes before Trump — who in the past has criticized the CHIPS Act — is set to return to office in January.

Investments in Clean Energy

The Georgia-based bus manufacturer Blue Bird in July 2024 was awarded $80 million from the US Department of Energy to bolster its production of electric school buses.

Blue Bird received the funding as part of the Biden administration's $1.7 billion investment to transform shuttered or at-risk auto manufacturing plants into facilities that can produce electric and hybrid vehicles. The dedicated funding was part of the Biden-backed Inflation Reduction Act, which the president signed into law in 2022.

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia in a statement said that the investment is slated to bring 428 manufacturing jobs and 250 construction jobs to Fort Valley.

"This is about converting fleets of diesel-powered school buses into clean energy vehicles for the future," the senator said.

• In decades past, Americans often voted for candidates who had considerable politial pedigrees.
• But there've also been well-known figures who simply decided — for whatever reason — to give politics a try.
• Many voters are no longer giving a first preference to figures with extensive political backgrounds.

For generations, individuals who entered politics in the US generally followed similar career trajectories. Many of them have been lawyers who worked their way up to Congress or the Governor's Mansion from city councils, county boards, and state legislatures. For these figures, their prominent roles led them to occupy some of the most influential positions in government.

In recent decades, extensive government experience has sometimes become a political liability, as nontraditional candidates have latched onto the frustrations of an electorate that has witnessed increased gridlock and polarization in the states as well as Capitol Hill.

Donald Trump effectively used the argument against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, as many voters that year were looking for a "change agent" candidate without the more traditional Washington pedigree. And despite his previous stint as president, Trump once again ran as an outsider in 2024 and won a second term in the White House.

Trump certainly isn't the first person to have used this argument while running for office.

Here's a look at several figures from nontraditional backgrounds who made the jump into politics:

Ronald Reagan

During Reagan's two terms in the White House, he became one of the most consequential Republican presidents in modern times, serving as an ideological beacon for conservatives across the country.

Decades before Reagan's presidential tenure from 1981 to 1989, his career was anchored in media and film. In the 1930s, he served as a sports announcer for WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa, calling University of Iowa football games and Chicago Cubs baseball games.

Reagan then headed off to Hollywood, where he acted in a string of films — including several Western movies — from the late 1930s through the 1960s. He also served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1947 to 1952 and from 1959 to 1960.

In the 1960s, he made a full leap into politics, giving his famed "A Time for Choosing" speech in support of 1964 GOP presidential nominee Barry Goldwater. The address catapulted him to national stardom and helped him launch a successful bid for the 1966 California governorship, when he knocked off then-Democratic Gov. Pat Brown. In 1970, Reagan was reelected as governor.

Reagan sought the 1976 GOP presidential nomination, but lost his bid to then-President Gerald Ford, who in turn was defeated in the general election by former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter.

But Reagan won the GOP presidential nomination four years later, ousting Carter from office.

Jesse Ventura

Jesse "the Body" Ventura rose to prominence as a World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler in the 1970s and 1980s.

And he later acted in several films, including the 1987 sci-fi film "Predator" alongside future California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He entered the political world in 1990, when he was elected as the mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. He served in the role from 1991 to 1995.

In 1998, Ventura was elected as Minnesota's governor, winning 37% of the vote as the Reform Party candidate in a multi-candidate race against Democrat Hubert "Skip" Humphrey III and Republican Norm Coleman.

Ventura declined to run for reelection in 2002.

Al Franken

Franken rose to fame as a writer and cast member on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" in the 1980s and 1990s.

He later hosted "The Al Franken Show" on the progressive-minded Air America Radio.

Franken fully entered politics in 2008 when he ran against then-Republican Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota in what was one of the most competitive races in the country that November. Due to the razor-thin margin of the race and ensuing ballot recounting and litigation, he was not sworn in until July 2009.

He was easily reelected to a second term in 2014 but stepped down from office in January 2018 after facing allegations of sexual misconduct.

John Hickenlooper

After graduating from Wesleyan University, Hickenlooper began his professional career as a geologist before co-founding the Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver.

Hickenlooper used his business background to launch himself into Democratic politics, serving as the mayor of Denver from 2003 to 2011 and as governor of Colorado from 2011 to 2019.

In 2019, Hickenlooper jumped into the 2020 presidential race, but was unable to gain traction in a primary that included President Joe Biden.

Hickenlooper then decided to enter the 2020 Colorado US Senate race and went on to defeat Cory Gardner, the incumbent Republican.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Schwarzenegger rose to international prominence as a professional bodybuilder, winning the title of Mr. Universe in 1967, when he was 20 years old.

Beginning in the 1980s, he jumpstarted what became a highly lucrative acting career, starring in hits like "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," along with well-known films like "Predator," "Total Recall," "True Lies," "Kindergarten Cop," and "Eraser," among others.

From 1990 through 1993, Schwarzenegger chaired the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Schwarzenegger — who at the time was married to Kennedy family scion Maria Shriver — later launched his candidacy in the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election. California voters that year backed the recall, which sent then-Democratic Gov. Gray Davis packing and brought Schwarzenegger into office as he was the top choice among voters to replace Davis.

As a member of the GOP's moderate wing, Schwarzenegger championed initiatives to reduce greenhouse gases and held more liberal views on abortion rights than many within his party. He was reelected in 2006 — with the near-unanimous support of Republicans, nearly a quarter of Democratic support, and the backing of a majority of Independents — and left office in 2011.

Schwarzenegger has since been critical of the California Republican Party, telling The New York Times Magazine in 2023 that the state GOP had "done a horrible job" in representing its citizens.

Cynthia Nixon

Cynthia Nixon has been acting since 1979, with a laundry list of well-regarded television and film roles, as well as Tony Award-winning performances in the Broadway plays "Rabbit Hole" and "The Little Foxes."

But it was her portrayal of sharp-witted lawyer Miranda Hobbes in the smash HBO series "Sex and the City" that made her one of the most recognizable faces in entertainment when the show originally aired from 1998 to 2004. (It was followed by two SATC movies and the ongoing Max series "And Just Like That…".)

Nixon has been an outspoken advocate for education and women's causes, and in 2018, she launched a Democratic primary challenge against then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

In the primary, she focused on income inequality and enacting single-payer health care in the state, but came up short to Cuomo — taking 34% of the vote to the then-governor's nearly 66% share.

Ahead of the 2024 general election, Nixon urged New Yorkers to back Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential candidacy on the Working Families Party line.

Nicole Shanahan

Shanahan, the onetime running mate of ex-Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (another Kennedy family scion) in the 2024 election, is new to the national political scene.

An attorney, Shanahan founded the patent technology company ClearAccessIP, and was once married to the billionaire Google cofounder Sergey Brin. (Shanahan and Brin divorced in 2023.)

In selecting Shanahan, Kennedy Jr. in a March 2024 interview with Newsweek emphasized the value he placed on attracting the support of a broad array of Americans, but especially among young voters.

"I want somebody who will look out for young people and not treat them as if they're invisible," he told the publication. "She's just 38 years old; she comes from technology and understands social media."

In August 2024, Kennedy Jr. and Shanahan suspended their campaign. Kennedy Jr. endorsed Trump soon thereafter, and he's now Trump's nominee to lead the sprawling Department of Health and Human Services.

Donald Trump

At this point, Trump's background is almost universally known.

In 1980s and 1990s, he turned his New York City real-estate empire into the sort of celebrity that he had long coveted.

Leaning into the palace intrigue of Trump Tower and his Trump Organization, Trump began hosting the NBC reality program "The Apprentice" in 2004. It was an immediate success and for over a decade the show and its variations boosted him in the public eye.

When Trump launched his 2016 presidential campaign, he did so at Trump Tower in Manhattan. And during the campaign against Clinton, he repeatedly sought to make a contrast between his time outside of the Beltway and his opponent's time in government.

After a tumultuous first term, Trump lost the 2020 election to Biden.

Four years later, after Biden stepped aside as the presumptive Democratic nominee, he would go on to face Harris and win the general election.

Ross Perot

A Texas native who founded Electronic Data Systems, a data processing company, Perot became a billionaire and was a symbol of the Lone Star State's enormous economic ambitions.

Perot's 1992 presidential campaign captured the hearts of many Americans who identified with his populist message, and he won nearly 19% of the popular vote and almost 20 million votes. Then-Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas won the presidency that year, but only secured 43% of the national popular vote, with incumbent GOP president George H.W. Bush taking in 37% of the popular vote. Clinton easily swept the Electoral College in 1992, winning many conservative-leaning states with pluralities.

In 1996, Perot ran for president again, this time as the Reform Party nominee, but ultimately came up short again. In his second presidential run, he continued to sound the alarm on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which he had railed against in 1992 — arguing that the pact would cost jobs for American workers.

Ben Carson

During the 1980s and 1990s, Carson rose to prominence as one of the top pediatric neurosurgeons in the world, and he was an enduring role model for the many schoolchildren who dreamed of one day going into the medical field.

In his autobiography "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story," Carson wrote of his difficult childhood growing up in Detroit before he recounted how education set him up on the path for success.

For decades, Carson enjoyed remarkable success in medicine before retiring in 2013.

Carson then entered the political fray, running for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. He initially polled strongly in the field of Republican candidates, but faltered on Super Tuesday and ended his campaign.

Trump nominated Carson to become his secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and after being confirmed by the US Senate, the longtime neurosurgeon served from March 2017 until January 2021.

• Former President Jimmy Carter's grandson credited his longevity to exercise.
• Carter died at 100 on Sunday and was the longest-living president in US history.
• But Jason Carter told Time before his grandfather died that he would have attributed his longevity to his marriage.

The grandson of late President Jimmy Carter said that his grandfather's exercise habits may have contributed to his longevity. 

Carter died on Sunday at 100, making him the longest-living commander-in-chief in US history.

He was treated for brain and liver cancer in 2015, and had been in hospice care since February 2023.

Jason Carter, a former Georgia Democratic state senator and the party's 2014 gubernatorial nominee, told Time in 2023 that his grandfather consistently made an effort to find places to jog during his many travels, and later switched to biking as he grew older. 

He said: "If he got to a new city that he had never been to before, whether there was Secret Service or not, he would say, 'Hey, is there a bike?'"

The former president also previously played tennis daily. 

However, Jason Carter said that his grandfather would likely have credited his longevity to his 77-year marriage with his wife, Rosalynn Carter, who died in 2023.

"The best thing I ever did was marry Rosalynn," the former president said during a 2015 interview at the Carter Center in Atlanta. "That's the pinnacle of my life."

Jimmy Carter served as a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967 before his stint as governor from 1971 to 1975.

Running for the White House in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, he won the 1976 presidential election, defeating then-President Gerald Ford, but lost his reelection bid to former California Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1980.

After leaving Washington, the Carters returned to their native Georgia. The former president received widespread recognition across the globe for his early efforts to combat climate change and his decades-long humanitarian work.

Jason Carter told Time that his grandfather's tenure in the Oval Office was very much a "millennial presidency," noting that many of the policy items that younger Americans currently want to see addressed were things that the former president foresaw in the 1970s and 1980s.

"If we had listened to his presidency when they started talking about climate change, when they started talking about changing the way that we consume energy, solar and alternative sources — we would be far, far ahead of where we are now," he said.

Jason Carter told the Journal-Constitution in August that his grandfather was "more alert and interested in politics and the war in Gaza," and was trying to "make it" to November 2024 to vote for Kamala Harris in the US presidential election.

• Former President Jimmy Carter, who served from 1977 to 1981, has died at age 100.
• The 39th president of the United States was widely admired for his global humanitarian work.
• Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He was the son of a peanut farmer from Georgia.

Former President Jimmy Carter, who rose from humble beginnings in rural Georgia to the White House and was renowned for his global charity work, has died at age 100.

He died Sunday in his Plains, Georgia home, The Carter Center — the former president's nonprofit organization — confirmed in a statement posted to social media.

"My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love," said Chip Carter, the former president's son, said in the statement released by the Carter Center. "My brothers, sister, and I shared him with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honoring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs."

President Joe Biden in an address to the nation said a major service for former president Carter would be hosted in Washington DC. 

"Jimmy Carter lived a life measured not by words, but by his deeds," Biden said. "On behalf of the world, and the whole nation, we send our whole heartfelt sympathies and our gratitude for sharing President Carter for so many years."

The Carter Center in February 2023 announced that the former president would enter hospice care to "spend his remaining time at home with his family" following several hospital stays. After almost a year and a half in hospice, Carter's grandson, Jason, said the former president was "coming to the end."

Carter had previously been treated for brain and liver cancer, was hospitalized after a fall in 2019, and had surgery the same year to relieve a buildup of pressure around his brain.

Presidents often fade into the background after they leave the White House, but Carter — the 39th president of the United States — was in many ways a more popular, impactful figure after his single tumultuous term from 1977 to 1981.

Carter has often been referred to as the best ex-president in history, a compliment he seemed to embrace.

He came to be admired for his amiable demeanor and lifelong dedication to public service and humanitarianism. Carter was a US Navy veteran and a Nobel laureate.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, who died in November 2023 at age 96. He is survived by his four children, 11 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. 

The peanut farmer who became president

Carter, whose full name was James Earl Carter Jr., was born October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. His father was a peanut farmer who'd served in the Georgia state legislature. His mother, Lillian Gordy Carter, served as a nurse, civil- and women's-rights activist, and Peace Corps volunteer in India at the age of 68 in 1966. The Carters were deeply tied to their Baptist faith.

Carter graduated from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1946. He served in the Navy for seven years before returning to Georgia to take over his family's peanut farm after his father died.

'I'll never tell a lie'

Carter entered state politics as a Democrat in the early 1960s and in 1970 was elected to the Georgia governorship. In 1974, he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president.

Initially, Carter was pegged as a long shot given his lack of political connections and the fact he was relatively unknown nationally.

But Carter painted himself as an honest outsider with strong morals at a time when many Americans were disillusioned with Washington over the Watergate scandal, and his campaign gradually gained momentum.

He repeatedly told voters, "I'll never tell a lie."

Carter's longtime embrace of civil rights was also crucial to his victory.

After being elected governor, Carter declared during his inaugural address, "I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over."

He carried these sentiments into his presidential campaign and allied himself with key Black members of Congress. Carter received overwhelming support from Black voters, especially in the South, which propelled him to the White House.

Carter won the Democratic nomination in July 1976, choosing then-Sen. Walter Mondale of Minnesota as his running mate against President Gerald Ford, the Republican incumbent. Carter defeated Ford in November of that year, winning 50.1% of the popular vote and capturing 297 electoral votes to Ford's 240.

The Georgian swept the Deep South, the last Democrat to do so on the presidential level, while also carrying important battlegrounds like Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The informal president

As president, Carter sought to portray himself as a man of the people and make the presidency more accessible.

After he was sworn in, Carter and his wife walked to the White House, launching an informal tradition followed by subsequent presidents at their inaugurations.

He also spoke and dressed in a less formal manner and held frequent press conferences.

Carter entered office as a popular figure pushing for ambitious programs to address the country's myriad social and economic woes. His administration had a historically large number of women, Black, and Latino members and staff.

Though Carter's image as an "outsider" seemed to be advantageous during his campaign, it hurt him with Congress once he was in the White House. He struggled to get lawmakers on board with his bold proposals for reform, and his approval ratings tanked as he struggled to push his proposals through the legislative branch.

A scandal in the summer of 1977 didn't help matters. At the time, Bert Lance, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, was accused of being involved in dubious financial activities as a Georgia banker. Carter at first defended Lance, whom he saw as a close friend, but ultimately called on him to resign.

In 1979, amid an energy crisis and recession, Carter delivered his infamous "crisis in confidence" speech, contending that the nation needed to restore its faith in itself. The speech was well-received at first but was ultimately not a particularly successful selling point.

Carter's biggest accomplishments were in foreign policy

Despite the many challenges Carter faced, his presidency wasn't without major accomplishments.

On the domestic front, his achievements included establishing the Department of Education and the Department of Energy and expanding the national parks system. His actions helped lay the framework for future administrations to tackle America's educational and energy needs.

But Carter's biggest accomplishments as president came in the foreign-policy arena.

He facilitated the first peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, known as the Camp David Accords. Carter also established full diplomatic relations between the US and China and orchestrated two important treaties between the US and Panama.

Carter also stood up to the Soviet Union on human rights and completed negotiation of the SALT II nuclear-limitation treaty (though the treaty ultimately fell through with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan).

The Iranian hostage crisis and Carter's downfall

Carter's progress in the realm of foreign policy was in many ways overshadowed by the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.

Amid a revolution in Iran that saw a pro-US government ousted, a mob of students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran and took the staff members as hostages. The revolutionary Iranian government, led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, supported the actions of the students. The US Embassy staff members were ultimately held hostage for hundreds of days.

The timing of the crisis and Carter's perceived failure to secure the release of the hostages, which included a disastrous military operation that failed to rescue them, was deeply damaging to his image domestically.

Combined with an economy in turmoil, the hostage crisis was a large part of the reason Carter lost reelection in a landslide to former Gov. Ronald Reagan of California in 1980. In that race, Carter's support had diminished across the South and in the Midwestern and Northeastern states that boosted his first presidential bid; he earned 49 electoral votes to Reagan's 489.

Carter's administration negotiated the release of the hostages during his final days in office, and they were freed the same day as Reagan's inauguration.

The post-presidency peacemaker

Carter spent most of his postpresidential years championing human rights and pushing for peace in various corners of the world. He founded The Carter Center to focus on such issues in 1982 and played an active role with Habitat for Humanity until the end of his life.

As a private citizen, Carter worked for peace everywhere from North Korea to Haiti. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for what the Norwegian Nobel Committee described as his "decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."

Staying humble

After he left the White House, Carter moved back to Plains, Georgia.

He's the only US president in the modern era to return to the two-bedroom house he lived in before ascending to the highest office in the land.

Carter favored a humble lifestyle. He was known to fly on commercial airliners, unlike other past presidents who preferred private jets, and was filmed walking up and down the aisle to shake the hands of other passengers.

He also cost US taxpayers far less per year than any other former president, according to the General Services Administration, in large part because he avoided extravagances.

Carter was a former president longer than anyone else in US history.

Staying true to principles

In 1954, the chief of police and a Baptist minister in Plains asked Carter to join the local White Citizens' Council, a pro-segregation organization.

The peanut farmer said no, and a few days later the men came back to tell Carter he was the only white man in the community who hadn't joined. Carter told them he didn't care.

The police chief and minister returned a third time and said they would pay the $5 membership fee for Carter if that's what was holding him back. He was also warned that his peanut business would face a boycott if he didn't join.

In response, Carter told them: "I've got $5. And I'd flush it down the toilet before I'd give it to you."

Throughout Carter's long life, he frequently proved unafraid to stray from the pack, even if it made him at times unpopular.

• Some Democrats are dismissing the forthcoming DOGE push to cut wasteful government spending.
• Others in the party aren't totally writing off what Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are selling.
• Several key progressives believe they can work with the DOGE regarding the defense budget.

President-elect Donald Trump has grand plans to reduce the size of government, and he has said he'll use Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's Department of Government Efficiency as a vehicle to make his intentions a reality.

Several Democrats, including Reps. Ro Khanna of California and Jared Moskowitz of Florida, have already signaled that they want to be a part of the conversation regarding any proposals.

Here are the congressional Democrats who could potentially give DOGE's recommendations a bipartisan boost:

Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida

Moskowitz was the first Democratic lawmaker to join the House's DOGE caucus, which will partner with the DOGE commission and look into ways to rein in spending.

The congressman in December told Business Insider that his overall mission is to reorganize the Department of Homeland Security so the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Secret Service reports squarely to the commander-in-chief.

"If this is where that conversation is going to happen, I'm happy to be at the table," Moskowitz said. "And if they want to do stupid stuff, I'll call it out and I'll vote against it."

In a recent NPR interview, Moskowitz said joining the DOGE caucus isn't an indication that he's fully embracing Trump's legislative worldview.

"On some issues I'm progressive. On other issues I'm conservative, and I think that's how most of my constituents are," he said.

Rep. Val Hoyle of Oregon

Hoyle is another Democratic lawmaker who's joined the DOGE Caucus and is firmly standing behind the decision.

In a recent statement, she said she came to Washington "to be in the rooms where the tough conversations are happening" — while also affirming her commitment to protecting Social Security.

"I oppose cuts to the Social Security Trust Fund — always have and always will," she said.

"The DOGE Caucus is a forum to discuss ways to find savings in the budget," she continued. "Anyone who thinks there aren't opportunities to make government more efficient and effective is not living in the real world. This isn't a partisan issue."

Rep. Ro Khanna of California

Khanna, who represents a district that includes a chunk of the Silicon Valley, is known for his progressive views. He has crossed the aisle on a range of issues, including legislation involving technology and veterans.

"President Trump signed five of my bills in his first term. I think I was the California Democrat who had the most bills signed by him, and it's because I looked for areas of common ground," Khanna said in a December interview with Spectrum News.

Regarding the DOGE, Khanna said he hopes to work with the commission to root out wasteful spending in the Department of Defense.

"American taxpayers want and deserve the best return on their investment," he recently wrote in a MSNBC op-ed. "Let's put politics aside and work with DOGE to reduce wasteful defense spending."

Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware

During a November appearance on Fox News, Coons, a close ally of President Joe Biden, seemingly expressed an openness to some of DOGE's goals.

"They could save tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars," he said at the time. "Depending on how it's structured and what they do, this could be a constructive undertaking that ought to be embraced."

Coons also threw cold water on the $2 trillion figure, arguing that "there's no way" to make such dramatic spending cuts without impacting programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont

Sanders, a longtime progressive champion, turned heads when he wrote on X that "Elon Musk is right" regarding the need to tackle wasteful spending in government.

"The Pentagon, with a budget of $886 billion, just failed its 7th audit in a row. It's lost track of billions," he said. "Last year, only 13 senators voted against the Military Industrial Complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud. That must change."

Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York

Suozzi, a Long Island congressman known for his moderate brand of politics, said he looked forward to Musk and Ramaswamy's high-profile December visit to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers. However, Suozzi wrote on X that he was told the meeting wasn't open to Democratic members, a development he said was "unfortunate."

"I would have liked to attend the meeting and explore whether there are any opportunities to work across party lines to promote cost savings and efficiencies," he said. "Many of us on this side of the aisle share both the goal of making government more efficient, and actually have experience doing it."

• In recent decades, there's been a very visible pipeline from politics to the media industry.
• Some critics have pushed backed against former political figures migrating to major news networks.
• Several key figures have successfully made the jump, becoming staples of TV news.

In recent decades, the politics-to-media pipeline has become an enduring phenomenon, with former party leaders and communications gurus using their previous gigs to become well-compensated hosts and pundits on network news programs.

In March, former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel was hired as a paid contributor for NBC News (and subsequently dropped after pushback from some of its top hosts), and in December, controversial former congressman Matt Gaetz accepted a job as an anchor at OAN.

Here's a look at key figures who have successfully made the jump over the past few decades:

George Stephanopoulos

Stephanopoulos has become a household name as a result of his nearly 15-year tenure as a co-anchor on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Before Stephanopoulos became one of the biggest names at ABC News, he had a background steeped in Democratic politics, first as an aide to onetime Rep. Edward Feighan of Ohio in the 1980s before working on the unsuccessful 1988 presidential campaign of then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.

Stephanopoulos rose to prominence as a deputy campaign manager for Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign, later serving as White House communications director and a senior advisor in the administration.

At ABC News, Stephanopoulos is not only one of the faces of the weekday morning team but he also serves as the anchor of "This Week," the network's Sunday public affairs program.

In December 2024, ABC News settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump against Stephanopoulos and the network after the host during a March interview said Trump had been "found liable for rape" in the case involving the writer E. Jean Carroll. (Trump was found liable for sexually assaulting and defaming Carroll.)

Joe Scarborough

Scarborough was elected to the US House from Florida during the 1994 "Republican Revolution," when his party regained a majority in the lower chamber after 50 years of Democratic control.

While in Congress, Scarborough championed conservative policies on everything from foreign affairs to the federal budget.

He later stepped down from the House in September 2001.

In 2003, Scarborough began hosting the MSNBC program "Scarborough Country." The show ran until 2007.

Since 2007, he has hosted the MSNBC program "Morning Joe."

In March 2024, Both Scarborough and his cohost (and wife) Mika Brzezinski publicly voiced their disagreement over the McDaniel hire and stated that she would not be a guest on their program.

After President-elect Donald Trump's November 2024 victory, Scarborough and Brzezinski were rebuked by many of their viewers after the pair went to Mar-a-Lago after the election in a push to "restart communications" with the incoming president, whom they were very critical of during the campaign.

Scarborough defended the move and waved off the criticism.

"Yesterday I saw for the first time what a massive disconnect there was between social media and the real world because we were flooded with phone calls from people all day, literally around the world, all very positive, very supportive," he said in November.

Jen Psaki

As White House press secretary from January 2021 until May 2022, Psaki was the public face of President Joe Biden's administration.

Before that, she was a White House deputy press secretary, deputy communications director and communications director under President Barack Obama — as well as a State Department spokesperson in his administration.

In between her stint with the Obama and Biden administrations, she served as a CNN political contributor.

She now hosts the MSNBC program "Inside with Jen Psaki," which premiered in March 2023.

Nicolle Wallace

Since 2017, Wallace has been an integral part of the MSNBC lineup as the host of "Deadline: White House."

Wallace previously served as the White House communications director from January 2005 until July 2006 under President George W. Bush and later worked as a senior advisor for John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign.

In 2014, Wallace joined ABC's "The View" as a co-host, but exited the program at the end of the season.

Michael Steele

Steele, an attorney and former Maryland lieutenant governor, was one of the most prominent Black Republican officeholders during the George W. Bush era.

In 2006, Steele unsuccessfully ran for the US Senate in Maryland, winning the GOP nomination but losing the general election to Democrat Ben Cardin.

He served as chair of the Republican National Committee from 2009 to 2011, leading the party as it picked up 63 seats in the House (and thus retook control) in the 2010 midterm elections.

In May 2011, Steele became a MSNBC political analyst.

He later backed Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

Steele now hosts the MSNBC program "The Weekend," alongside commentator Alicia Menendez and former Kamala Harris chief spokesperson Symone Sanders-Townsend.

Claire McCaskill

For years, McCaskill carved out a reputation as a moderate Democrat, serving as a prosecutor and as Missouri's auditor.

Despite the increasingly conservative lean of Missouri, McCaskill was elected to the US Senate in both 2006 and 2012, but she was unseated by Republican Josh Hawley in 2018.

McCaskill has since become a NBC News and MSNBC political analyst, and is a frequent guest on "Morning Joe."

Symone Sanders-Townsend

Sanders-Townsend rose to prominence as the national press secretary for Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, where she was a highly-visible force in boosting the independent Vermont lawmaker's bid.

Sanders lost the Democratic primary to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that year, but Sanders-Townsend later emerged as an advisor for Biden's 2020 presidential campaign.

After Biden won the presidency, Sanders-Townsend became a senior advisor and the chief spokesperson for Vice President Harris. She would later depart Harris' office and pivot back to a perch in media.

Sanders-Townsend can now be seen on MSNBC's "The Weekend" alongside Steele and Menendez.

• Elizabeth Warren wants President-elect Trump to set conflict-of-interest rules for Elon Musk.
• Warren called any lack of rules an "invitation for corruption on a scale not seen in our lifetimes."
• Musk is set to play an influential role in Trump's second term as a co-lead for the DOGE.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Monday asked President-elect Donald Trump to set conflict-of-interest rules that would apply to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who's set to take on a high-profile role as a co-lead of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The Massachusetts Democrat and former 2020 presidential candidate sent the letter to Trump's transition team, according to The Washington Post, noting that the team's members have to adhere to an ethics policy that compels them to "avoid both actual and apparent conflicts of interest."

Musk, who spent over $250 million to help elect Trump and boost other GOP candidates ahead of the 2024 general election, has been one of Trump's most omnipresent confidants in recent months, accompanying the president-elect on trips and sitting in on his talks with world leaders.

Trump has tasked Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy with cutting government waste through the DOGE. The pair have said they want to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget.

"Putting Mr. Musk in a position to influence billions of dollars of government contracts and regulatory enforcement without a stringent conflict of interest agreement in place is an invitation for corruption on a scale not seen in our lifetimes," Warren said in her letter.

"Currently, the American public has no way of knowing whether the advice that he is whispering to you in secret is good for the country — or merely good for his own bottom line," she continued.

Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt in a statement to Business Insider responded to Warren by praising Musk's influence and criticizing the Democratic lawmaker. Leavitt called Warren a "career politician whose societal impact is 1/1024th of Elon Musk's" and said Trump's transition team was adhering to high ethical guidelines.

Musk was one of Trump's highest-profile surrogates during the presidential race, spending weeks campaigning for the president-elect in pivotal Pennsylvania, which Trump would go on to win en route to a national victory.

• Reid Hoffman said there's a "greater than 50% chance" he'll receive retaliation for backing Kamala Harris.
• The LinkedIn cofounder made the remarks on an episode of "The Diary of a CEO" podcast.
• Hoffman was one of the vice president's most prominent Silicon Valley business supporters.

Reid Hoffman, the billionaire LinkedIn co-founder and outspoken Democrat, said he thinks it's likely that he will face retaliation from President-elect Donald Trump for supporting Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.

"I think that there's a greater than 50% chance that there will be repercussions from a misdirection and corruption of the institutions of state to respond to my having tried to help Harris get elected," Hoffman said on an episode of "The Diary of a CEO" podcast that aired on Monday.

Hoffman said that he hopes any retaliation from Trump would be fairly tame, naming possibilities like IRS audits or phone calls from the incoming president trying to hurt his business prospects.

"It could get much worse, but I don't really want to speculate on it because I don't want to give anybody any ideas," he said.

Any repercussions would, he added, be "undemocratic and un-American."

Regardless, Hoffman said that he has no plans to leave the United States.

Nearly 90 top business executives — including Hoffman — signed a letter endorsing Harris' candidacy ahead of the general election, touting her plan to expand tax deductions for small businesses. The letter said that Harris' White House bid was "the best way to support the continued strength, security, and reliability of our democracy and economy."

Hoffman was also part of a cohort of business leaders who put together an initiative to get right-leaning swing voters onboard with Harris' candidacy by stressing her pro-business stances.

On the podcast, Hoffman said he'd spoken to fellow billionaires during the campaign who applauded his political actions but declined to partake themselves for fear of getting "penalized" if Trump won.

"Part of the reason why I think less people were public about it this cycle was because President Trump was threatening personal and political retaliation, and so you had to have a certain degree of courage to stand up — and courage in the public area," he said.

Since winning a second term, Trump has put several Silicon Valley business leaders in prominent roles, from Department of Government Efficiency co-head Elon Musk to newly minted AI and crypto czar David Sacks.

Despite his dislike for Trump and many of his policies, Hoffman said that some of the president-elect's deregulation efforts could broadly benefit entrepreneurs.

"I think they're going to reduce regulation across the board for all entrepreneurs, so I think that's helpful for entrepreneurship," he said.

Representatives for Hoffman and Trump did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

• Vermont, home to Sen. Bernie Sanders, has long been known for its progressive politics.
• But in the November general election, Republicans made key inroads in state legislative races.
• Many voters, who generally back Democrats on the federal level, sided with the GOP on local issues.

In recent decades, Vermont has become known for its progressive politics, with figures like independent Sen. Bernie Sanders dominating the New England state's political landscape.

On the federal level, the Democratic edge is clear. Vice President Kamala Harris defeated President-elect Donald Trump by over 31 points in Vermont, one of her top showings in the country.

The popular Republican governor, Phil Scott, even voted for Harris, declaring he "put country over party."

But further down-ballot, Republicans made some key gains in Vermont, breaking Democratic supermajorities as voters concerned about affordability boosted the GOP in a series of pivotal races.

Before the November general election, Democrats held 107 out of 150 seats in the Vermont House of Representatives, and the GOP held 37 seats. But when the state House reconvenes in January, Democrats and Progressives will have 91 seats, compared to 56 for the GOP; independents will hold three seats. And in the Vermont Senate, the previous 21 to 7 Democratic advantage over the GOP will shrink to a 16 to 13 Democratic majority (in addition to one Progressive member).

While Democrats will continue to hold majorities in both chambers, they'll lack the numbers to override any vetoes from Scott, who in November was reelected in a nearly 52-point landslide on a platform of stabilizing the school budget process and staving off significant property tax increases. The governor has also sought to tackle the housing shortage in Vermont, where affordability has been a major issue for lawmakers in recent years.

A June 2024 assessment taken for the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development found that the state will need to boost the pace of homebuilding to produce the 24,000 to 36,000 new year-round homes from 2025 through 2029 needed to address demand and replace homes impacted by flooding.

"The goal is to get them to come to the table … and to get enough support to work toward more affordability," Scott's policy director, Jason Maulucci, told The New York Times, referring to Democratic state lawmakers.

Trump made critical electoral gains across the country as many voters dissatisfied with the economy opted for him instead of Harris. During President Joe Biden's term in office, inflation drove blocs of traditionally Democratic-leaning constituencies, like Latino voters and young voters, into the GOP's fold.

After Biden stepped aside as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in July, Harris took on the party's messaging on the economy. But despite some polls showing her having made inroads against Trump on the issue, she ultimately fell short in critical swing states.

Vermont's form of Republicanism has traditionally been more moderate than the socially conservative brand that defines the national GOP. However, the state is still dominated by rural areas, where the party was ripe for gains. Democrats, who for years have been the driving force in the state capital of Montpelier, faced the ire of many voters who wanted to see the legislature curb tax hikes in the state.

"Voters have been telling us for years that they're sick of rising costs, rising rents, rising property taxes and grocery bills, and they feel like they can't get ahead," consultant Lachlan Francis told the Times. "They have felt that way for a long time, as the Legislature followed an agenda that was perceived as inflationary, and there was a price to pay for that."

• ABC News settled a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump for $15 million.
• The money will go toward Trump's future presidential library, according to court documents.
• Anchor George Stephanopoulos in March inaccurately said that Trump had been found "liable for rape."

ABC News will pay $15 million toward Donald Trump's future presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by the president-elect, according to newly-filed court documents.

Trump filed the lawsuit over comments made by star anchor George Stephanopoulos in March on the Sunday program "This Week," when the journalist said that Trump had been found "liable for rape" in a suit brought by the columnist E. Jean Carroll.

While the Manhattan jury found Trump liable for the sexual abuse of Carroll, he was not found "liable for rape," as Stephanopoulos said on the program during an interview with Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina.

"Donald Trump has been found liable for defaming the victim of that rape by a jury," Stephanopoulos said at the time. "It's been affirmed by a judge."

According to the settlement agreement, ABC News will place the $15 million in escrow, which will go toward Trump's presidential library and foundation. The network also agreed to pay $1 million in attorneys' fees, and it will place an editors' note at the bottom of a March article.

The note reads: "ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC's This Week on March 10, 2024."

"We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing," ABC News said in a statement.

Business Insider reached out to a spokesperson for Trump for comment.

• President Biden touted his economic record during a Tuesday speech at the Brookings Institute.
• Biden suggested that he should've had his name printed on the 2021 stimulus checks, similar to Trump in 2020.
• Trump won a second presidential term in November with a heavy economic message for voters.

President Joe Biden during a Tuesday speech said that it was "stupid" of him to have not signed COVID-19 stimulus checks that went out as part of the American Rescue Plan, contrasting himself with President-elect Donald Trump.

While speaking at the Brookings Institute, Biden touted the effects of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, which Congress passed in 2021, as a major economic accomplishment of his administration. But the president also reflected on the actions of Trump, his predecessor and soon-to-be successor.

"I also learned something from Donald Trump — he signed checks for people … and I didn't," he said. "Stupid."

In March 2020, Congress passed the CARES Act, a $2.2 trillion bill signed into law by Trump at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic that provided $1,200 relief checks to millions of Americans. Trump's name, controversially, was added to the relief checks by his administration.

This year, many Americans, who yearned for the pre-Covid economic conditions earlier in Trump's first term, chose Trump at the ballot box over Vice President Kamala Harris.

Biden from the earliest days of his administration sought to tackle some of the biggest pandemic-era economic issues.

The American Rescue Plan provided $1,400 checks to most Americans.

But inflation dogged the Biden administration's economic message, and the president was unable to articulate a convincing defense of his policies ahead of the 2024 election. His standing, coupled with concerns over his advanced age, led him to step aside as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in July.

Harris assumed the mantle as the Democratic standard-bearer, but she had to run a 107-day campaign and was unable to overcome Trump's advantage on the economy among a broad swath of voters.

• Donald Trump successfully used podcasts to expand his reach during the 2024 presidential campaign.
• On Election day, Trump ended up boosting his support among men overall compared to 2020.
• A variety of podcast hosts are set to have a substantial level of influence in Trump's second term.

President-elect Donald Trump's love for the media is well-known — just look at how much Trump's early picks resemble a Fox News greenroom.

The president-elect made significant efforts during his campaign to get his message in front of podcasters and influencers. Now that he's set to return to power, these commentators will play a major role in setting and pushing his agenda. Or they'll just stream from the White House.

If Donald Trump Jr., who hosts his own podcast, gets his wish they might even be seated somewhere in the White House briefing room.

'The Joe Rogan Experience'

The UFC commentator and comedian Joe Rogan has become one of the biggest names in the podcast world. Rogan's persona and massive following (14.5 million followers on Spotify and nearly 19 million subscribers on YouTube) have given him the sort of platform that continues to attract a range of high-profile guests.

Trump's appearance on Rogan's podcast in October allowed him to reach a critical audience — which heavily skews male — ahead of an election where the president-elect boosted his performance with men compared to 2020. Rogan's reach is so substantial that Trump took a few hours off the campaign trail to travel to Austin, Texas, to sit in the studio with the podcast host.

Rogan, shortly before the election, endorsed Trump's candidacy, calling him "the biggest there is."

Many Democrats pushed for Vice President Kamala Harris to appear on the program before the election, but scheduling during the frenetic last weeks of the race precluded her from traveling to Austin to do so, according to a campaign statement at the time.

"My sincere wish is to just have a nice conversation and get to know her as a human being," Rogan said in October.

'Bannon's War Room'

One of the more seasoned podcasters in Trump's orbit, former White House strategist Steve Bannon, started his program during Trump's first impeachment. Trump has said he listens to "Bannon's War Room."

Bannon used the program to foment backlash to then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California. And Kash Patel, Trump's pick to lead the FBI, has made countless appearances on the show.

Former White House Trade Council director Peter Navarro, set to return to Trump's second administration, was among a handful of commentators who kept Bannon's show going while he was in prison. Like Navarro, Bannon was sentenced for his defiance of a subpoena from the House January 6 committee.

'Triggered with Don Jr.'

Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect's eldest son, has confirmed he won't be in the incoming administration. But he remains a key voice in his father's ear.

Trump Jr. pushes his message in multiple forms, including on his podcast, "Triggered With Don Jr.," which he has hosted for almost a year. He's frequently hosted some of Trump's congressional allies, along with top aides like Stephen Miller, who will return to the White House.

In a recent episode, Trump Jr. teased how the president-elect's transition team is eyeing ways to bring conservative podcasters into the White House briefing room.

'This Past Weekend with Theo Von'

In August, the comedian Theo Von hosted Trump on his podcast, "This Past Weekend with Theo Von." On the program, Von spoke openly with Trump about his recovery from drug addiction. It may not have been seen as a typical stop for a presidential candidate, but the conversation was heard by many Americans, providing Trump with another connection to a bloc of male voters who don't consume much mainstream media.

Von received a shout out from UFC president Dana White during Trump's election night victory speech in Florida.

'The Charlie Kirk Show'

Charlie Kirk, a cofounder of the conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA, has spent over a decade advocating for limited government and free markets among students on high school and college campuses.

Ahead of the 2024 general election, Kirk used Turning Point Action, the political advocacy arm of Turning Point USA, to boost Trump's bid for a second term and amplify his conservative message. Kirk appeared alongside Trump at campaign events in key swing states like Georgia and Nevada, which the president-elect went on to flip in November.

Kirk hosts "The Charlie Kirk Show" podcast, which serves as an influential vehicle for reaching the sort of young voters who were a key part of Trump's electoral gains.

'Full Send Podcast'

Few shows personify "the manosphere" that Trump spent the summer tapping into more than "Full Send," a podcast started by a group of influencers called the Nelk Boys. Trump has made multiple appearances on Full Send, even stumping with one of its members in Las Vegas. Unlike Bannon and some others on this list, the Nelk Boys are not explicitly political, which made their audience ripe for Trump's 2024 appeals but also means they're unlikely to engage in the day-to-day news cycle.

Adin Ross

Adin Ross, an internet personality and popular streamer, sat down with Trump this past August and in a departure from many interviews — gifted the Republican a gold Rolex watch and a customized Tesla Cybertruck.

Ross became a big name through his livestreams of video games, and Trump's interview with the streamer was one more way that he was able to connect with a male-skewing audience.

'The Dan Bongino Show'

Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent, is so firmly entrenched in the conservative space that he was selected to replace the late Rush Limbaugh in his coveted time slot. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and other influential leaders on the right have pushed Trump to name Bongino to run the agency tasked with protecting the president. In the meantime, Bongino has been a vocal proponent of Trump's other nominees and helped lead a pressure campaign to push Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican, to back Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon.

'Verdict with Ted Cruz'

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has repeatedly offered his full-throated support to Trump, a stark contrast to the bitter end to his 2016 GOP primary run. Like Bannon, Cruz launched his podcast amid Trump's first impeachment battle. He has since used his platform to shed light on Congress and to discuss the news of the day.

With a 53-47 Republican Senate majority beginning in January, Trump can't afford many defections if he wants to get his agenda through the upper chamber. Cruz is well-positioned to serve as a narrator for a far more supportive group than the one that repeatedly vexed Trump in his first term.

'The Megyn Kelly Show'

Many in Trump's orbit once detested former Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly after she asked him during a 2015 GOP presidential debate about past inflammatory comments directed toward women.

"You've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals," she asked at the time. "Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president?"

Trump repeatedly blasted Kelly after the interview.

But in the intervening years, Kelly left Fox and was hired by NBC News before a tumultuous departure. She's since become a major conservative voice in the podcast world and interviewed Trump on her show in September 2023.

Ahead of the 2024 election, she appeared alongside Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, voicing her support for his campaign and calling him a "protector of women."

'All-In Podcast'

Key venture capitalists embraced Trump ahead of the 2024 election, including former PayPal executive David Sacks. Sacks and fellow venture capitalists, Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, and David Friedberg, hold court on their podcast, "All-In," which was launched during the pandemic.

It remains to be seen how involved Sacks will be going forward on the podcast now that Trump has named him his AI and crypto czar. Trump made an appearance during a June episode.