• 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.

• President-elect Donald Trump once supported a US ban on TikTok.
• Then, during the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said he would "save TikTok."
• His cabinet picks might indicate what position he'll ultimately take once in office.

President-elect Donald Trump's views on whether TikTok, which a Chinese company owns, poses a threat to the United States have shifted 180 degrees.

Will they come full circle?

In April, lawmakers concerned about Chinese influence passed a law giving ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, a deadline of January 19 to sell its social media app to a non-Chinese company or face a nationwide ban. TikTok appealed, but on Friday, a federal court upheld the law, siding with the Biden administration's argument that the service poses a national security threat.

In 2020, Trump unsuccessfully sought to ban TikTok in the United States but has since had a change of heart. During the 2024 campaign, Trump said young people would "go crazy without it." Trump's own TikTok accounts generated millions of views.

Which side Trump ultimately lands on the issue could have a major impact on ByteDance and TikTok, which says it has over 170 million users in the United States. Even if the law is upheld after future appeals, Trump could choose not to enforce it during his presidency.

Trump's closest advisors, however, might have something to say about that. Some of Trump's top cabinet nominees support a TikTok ban.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida — Trump's nominee for secretary of state — called a ban a "win for America" earlier this year. Trump's pick for Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, also advocated for a TikTok ban in Project 2025, a road map for the first 180 days of a new Republican presidency that the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, published in 2023.

Carr wrote in the plan that TikTok is part of a Beijing "foreign influence campaign by determining the news and information that the app feeds to millions of Americans."

Project 2025 refers to TikTok as "a tool of Chinese espionage" that is "highly addictive" and "especially popular with teenage girls."

"The ties between TikTok and the Chinese government are not loose, and they are not coincidental," the document reads.

John Ratcliffe, the former US director of national intelligence, is Trump's pick for CIA director. Ratcliffe, also an author of Project 2025, told Fox News in 2022 that he thinks TikTok is a "national security threat."

Govs. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, Trump's pick for interior secretary, and Kristi Noem of South Dakota, the president-elect's choice for Homeland Security secretary, both previously banned the app from state-owned devices.

TikTok has denied accusations that it influences content inside the United States or is addictive to children.

A spokesperson for TikTok told Business Insider that the TikTok ban law was "conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people."

"The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans' right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," the spokesperson said.

• Trump has proposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada, China, and Mexico.
• Trump said he doesn't "believe" the tariffs would cause price increases at home.
• But, he told Kristen Welker on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, "I can't guarantee anything."

President-elect Donald Trump, in an NBC News interview that aired on Sunday, said he doesn't "believe" his tariff proposal will raise consumer prices for American families but stopped short of making a promise.

"I can't guarantee anything," Trump told "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker in his first major network television interview since the November general election. "I can't guarantee tomorrow."

Trump then said that before the COVID-19 pandemic, he placed tariffs "on a lot of different countries."

"We took in hundreds of billions of dollars and we had no inflation," the president-elect told Welker. "In fact, when I handed it over, they didn't have inflation for a year and a half."

Trump in November floated 25% tariffs on imports from Canada, China, and Mexico, the top three trading partners of the United States. The president-elect has criticized what he says is the free flow of drugs and illegal migrants into the United States from the three countries.

Late last month, Trump also threatened economic sanctions against the BRICS group, a bloc of nine emerging market countries. He said he would institute "100% tariffs" if they sought to "move away" from the US dollar.

Trump, while on NBC, reiterated that he's a "big believer in tariffs" — calling them "beautiful" — and said the United States is subsidizing Canada and Mexico.

"If we're going to subsidize them, let them become a state," the president-elect said. "We're subsidizing Mexico, and we're subsidizing Canada, and we're subsidizing many countries all over the world. And all I want to do is have a level, fast, but fair playing field."

Late last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada traveled to Mar-a-Lago to dine with Trump after his tariff threats. Trudeau later said he had an "excellent conversation" with the president-elect.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also described her recent conversation with Trump as "excellent," stating that the two discussed her country's plans for migration.

The economy was a top issue for voters in the November election, with Trump defeating Vice President Kamala Harris largely due to dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden's handling of inflation. Harris sought to define her economic plan — zeroing in on price gouging and tackling housing affordability — but she could not reverse Trump's advantage on the issue.

Across the United States, Trump cut into traditional Democratic advantages with working-class voters and minority groups, with many siding with him at the ballot box over his focus on inflation.

• The Harris campaign has $1.8 million cash after spending over $1 billion in the 2024 race.
• Harris continually raked in money during her 107-day presidential campaign against Donald Trump.
• But Harris could not overcome the headwinds against her party, coming up short in the swing states.

After President Joe Biden stepped aside as the Democratic nominee last summer, the party felt an enormous jolt of energy as Vice President Kamala Harris embarked on a 107-day presidential campaign against Donald Trump.

Throughout her campaign, Harris raised more than $1 billion, a stunning figure that mirrored the quick rise of her campaign.

But Trump, now the president-elect, defeated Harris in the general election, with the vice president coming up short in the swing states.

New federal filings show that the Harris campaign had $1.8 million remaining in the bank after spending over $1 billion against Trump in the presidential race.

In the filings, the Harris campaign also reported that it had no debts.

The filings reveal the pace of spending for the Harris campaign, which began with heightened enthusiasm from Democrats and major donors who had grown despondent over Biden's chances after a disastrous debate against Trump raised questions about his ability to mount a robust reelection campaign.

From October 17 through November 25, which included some of the most frenzied stretches of the campaign through the postelection period, Harris raised $160 million and spent over $270 million. The Trump campaign raked in nearly $87 million during that same period and spent $113 million, the president-elect's campaign filings indicated.

Harris held large rallies in swing states like Georgia and Pennsylvania throughout her campaign, especially in the immediate weeks leading up to the election. And despite the vice president's financial advantage over Trump, she had to boost her profile to an electorate that had long expected Biden to be the nominee and was uncertain about her positions on various issues — from tackling inflation to her approach to foreign policy.

The new FEC report also seemingly puts to rest any talk that the Harris campaign is heavily in debt, a notion that the campaign rejected last month when it told The New York Times that "there will be no debt" on the filings.

But in the weeks since the general election, Democrats have still received fundraising appeals from the Harris operation. The "Harris Fight Fund" is the postelection operation of the general election "Harris Victory Fund" and is touted as a way to help provide accountability for the Trump administration.

The Democratic National Committee's newest filings revealed that it had over $47 million in cash on hand, while its rival, the Republican National Committee, had nearly $43 million in the bank.

Business Insider reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.

• Biden wants to help Ukraine before he leaves office.
• Jake Sullivan told ABC News that Biden aims to help Ukraine "strengthen' its position.
• President-elect Trump has been skeptical of the level of US aid sent to Ukraine.

National security advisor Jake Sullivan on Sunday said President Joe Biden was doing what he could to "strengthen" Ukraine's position as the commander-in-chief prepares to leave office in just under two months.

Sullivan made the remarks on ABC's "This Week," telling chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl that Biden aims to continue advancing his foreign policy objectives — which includes cease-fire discussions between Israel and Hamas — even as President-elect Donald Trump is set to be sworn back into office on January 20.

"We are going to do everything in our power for these 50 days to get Ukraine all the tools we possibly can to strengthen their position on the battlefield so that they'll be stronger at the negotiating table," Sullivan said. "And President Biden directed me to oversee a massive surge in the military equipment that we are delivering to Ukraine so that we have spent every dollar that Congress has appropriated to us by the time that President Biden leaves office."

Last month, Biden greenlighted Ukraine's use of powerful US-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles to strike inside Russia.

Trump has expressed skepticism regarding the level of aid sent to Ukraine, which puts him at odds with Biden, who has been a staunch ally of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the country continues its fight against Russia.

"I've encouraged the Ukrainian team to engage the incoming team as well as to engage all of our allies and partners, because, again, on January 21, the war in Ukraine doesn't just go away," Sullivan told Karl. "Obviously, the new team will have its own policy, its own approach, and I can't speak to that, but what I can do is make sure that we put Ukraine in the best possible position when we hand off the baton."

• Most US House races were called on Election night or in the days after.
• But the contest between GOP Rep. John Duarte and Democrat Adam Gray remains too close to call.
• The outcome will matter in a House narrowly divided along party lines.

Republicans are headed into 2025 in control of the presidency, the Senate, and the House of Representatives.

But there's still one outstanding House race yet to be called. And its outcome could impact President-elect Donald Trump's ability to push through his agenda.

In California's 13th Congressional District — anchored in the state's agriculture-rich Central Valley — former Democratic state Assemblyman Adam Gray leads incumbent GOP Rep. John Duarte by just 227 votes with an estimated 99% of the votes counted.

Gray has 105,083 votes, compared to 104,856 votes for Duarte, according to the California Secretary of State's office. The race is a rematch of their 2022 contest, which saw Duarte ultimately defeat Gray by 564 votes out of nearly 134,000 ballots cast.

Republicans needed 218 seats to control the chamber and have already won 220 seats, while Democrats currently have 214 seats. So, the seat won't affect the balance of power. But in the narrowly divided House, the margins will matter.

Here's a look at why this race has taken so long to call and why its outcome remains significant.

Ballots can arrive after Election Day

While many states won't count ballots that arrive after Election Day, California law allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive up to seven days after the polls close.

Due to the number of competitive US House races in California, a state with over 22 million registered voters, control of the chamber can theoretically rest on the Golden State alone.

Headed into the general election, this was a high probability, especially with Vice President Kamala Harris — a former California state attorney general and US senator — at the top of the ticket.

The 13th District encompasses Merced County, much of Madera County, and parts of Fresno, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus counties. So several jurisdictions play a role in counting the ballots, and election officials must also examine voter signatures and open envelopes.

Gray led in the vote count on Election night, but Duarte then pulled ahead and had been ahead for weeks before Gray regained a razor-thin lead on November 26.

For California voters that need to fix technical errors on their ballots — also known as ballot "curing" — the deadline is December 1.

The GOP will have to run a tight ship

Should Gray emerge as the winner of the race, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana will be faced with a slim 220-215 majority.

That's before the expected departures of Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who Trump selected to be the next US ambassador to the United Nations, and Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida, who Trump selected to be the next national security advisor. Also, the seat of former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida is set to be filled in an April 1 special election.

Johnson doesn't have a lot of room to maneuver as Trump will expect Republicans to greenlight his agenda.

Attempting to push through heavily conservative legislation when more centrist Republicans can potentially pump the brakes on certain bills will make every vote matter.

So, a Gray or Duarte victory could have a considerable impact on Washington over the next two years.

• President-elect Trump has picked Massad Boulos to be his advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.
• Boulos' son, Michael, is married to Donald Trump's youngest daughter, Tiffany Trump.
• The announcement comes as Trump aims to reshape Middle East diplomacy in his second term.

As President-elect Donald Trump continues to craft his second-term agenda, he announced a key advisor on Sunday that could impact his handling of affairs in the Middle East.

By tapping Lebanese American businessman Massad Boulos as his senior advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, Trump is bringing on board a key campaign surrogate whose son Michael is also married to his daughter Tiffany.

The president-elect — who was able to exploit Democratic divisions over the war in Gaza and pry away some Muslim and Arab American voters from Vice President Kamala Harris in the general election — reaffirmed on Sunday that he wants to form "tremendous new coalitions" with Arab Americans.

"Massad is a dealmaker, and an unwavering supporter of PEACE in the Middle East," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "He will be a strong advocate for the United States, and its interests, and I am pleased to have him on our team!"

Trump's selection of Boulos is a signal that he'll seek his own diplomatic imprint in the Middle East, which for over a year has seen the war in Gaza become one of the most devastating and polarizing ongoing conflicts in the world, reverberating in Lebanon, Yemen, and now Syria.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to The Associated Press.

President Joe Biden's handling of the conflict was a significant issue in the US presidential race, with Harris pledging that she and the president were working hard for a cease-fire agreement. But the conflict likely chipped away at Harris' Arab American support, as well as that of some progressive Democrats who had long opposed both the war and American military aid to Israel.

During the 2024 campaign, Boulos traveled throughout Michigan to promote Trump's candidacy among Arab American and Muslim voters, The New York Times reported.

"We don't have to win over everybody," Boulos told the newspaper shortly before the election. "There are some that strongly believe that they wouldn't vote for either of the major candidates. That's fine with us."

Trump went on to flip Michigan, part of the Democratic Party's all-important "blue wall," by a narrow margin — which cut off Harris' clearest path to the White House.

Boulos isn't the only family member who'll have a role in the administration beginning next year.

Trump on Saturday announced that he had selected Charles Kushner, the real estate developer and father of son-in-law Jared Kushner, as his next US ambassador to France.

Ivanka Trump, a senior advisor in Trump's first term, is not expected to be a part of the second administration.