The Excerpt podcast: Donald Trump and Joe Biden cruise to victory on Super Tuesday

On Wednesday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden won overwhelmingly on Super Tuesday. USA TODAY White House Correspondent Francesca Chambers puts the results in context. California and North Carolina voters also made other decisions at the polls Tuesday. Bitcoin hits a record high. USA TODAY Newsletter Writer Nicole Fallert talks through the implications of America's first over-the-counter birth control pill. Find The Daily Briefing newsletter here.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.  This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

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Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson. And today is Wednesday, March 6th 2024. This is The Excerpt. Today, Trump and Biden cruise on Super Tuesday. What happens next? Plus Bitcoin hits a record high. And we look at the implications of the first over the counter birth control pill in the US.

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Super Tuesday is in the books. 15 states held both Democratic and Republican primaries yesterday. Iowa, which held its Republican caucus in January, held its first ever Democratic mail-in caucus, which President Joe Biden won. Echoing his success all day. He swept the day's primaries and drew close to 90% of the vote in most states. In a statement he said, "Every Democrat, Republican, and independent who believes in a free and fair America, this is our moment, this is our fight. Together we will win." Former President Donald Trump had a big night. He won 12 out of 13 states that had been called by 11:00 PM Eastern Time. And he did so across distinct regions, bringing in delegates with victories in California, Texas, North Carolina, and Virginia. He was the only candidate between him, Biden and Challenger Nikki Haley to speak on the night.

Donald Trump:

And now we have a very divided country. We have a country that a political person uses weaponization against his political opponent.

Taylor Wilson:

As for Haley, her campaign did not address her future in the GOP race. But in a statement, her national spokesperson said, "There remains a large block of Republican primary voters who are expressing deep concerns about Donald Trump. That is not the unity our party needs for success."

We'll put Super Tuesday results in context and take a look at what might happen next. I caught up with USA Today White House correspondent Francesca Chambers. Francesca, thanks for hopping on.

Francesca Chambers:

It's always good to be with you, Taylor.

Taylor Wilson:

So Francesca, we know the vote went overwhelmingly for the two incumbents, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. And former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley's underdog bid for the Republican nomination is now really at a crossroads. You're in Charleston, South Carolina, near where Haley is. What are you hearing at this point?

Francesca Chambers:

Well, we didn't hear much, Taylor, because Nikki Haley didn't have any public events. So watching the returns, we're told that she was with her staff, keeping an eye on things. And look, she didn't walk away empty-handed. She did win the state of Vermont, making it the second contest this cycle that she's won. But as she herself has repeatedly said in these other states that the 30% that she's getting isn't 50%. And Donald Trump is racking up delegates fast.

Taylor Wilson:

And North Carolina, a critical swing state held its primary yesterday. Francesca, what did learn here?

Francesca Chambers:

Taylor, North Carolina was one of the states that we were closely watching because it is a battleground state in the presidential election to see how Donald Trump did there against Nikki Haley. Now at first glance you might say, "Okay, he got roughly 75% of the vote. Not too bad." Nikki Haley getting a little over 22% of the vote there. But look, a big problem for him is what we're seeing in these exit polls where 78% of her voters in North Carolina are saying that they might not vote who the Republican nominee is. They are not committing to that. Just 21% of her voters in North Carolina said that they would support the GOP nominee. And she has also been dodging this question. She won't say whether or not she will endorse Trump if she drops out of this race.

Taylor Wilson:

So on the Democratic side, Francesca, in Michigan's Democratic primary last week, over 100,000 voters cast their ballots as uncommitted. That was more than 13% of the total votes cast. And these were cast primarily by the Arab American community there, protesting President Biden's support of Israel. Meanwhile, eight Super Tuesday states had an uncommitted or similarly worded option on the Democratic ballot. Francesca, did we see groups outside of Arab Americans register their disapproval of Biden yesterday?

Francesca Chambers:

So it's notably not as high as it was in Michigan, like you were noting. The percentages in some of these states are looking like they could be higher than what you saw in Michigan, but certainly not the 100,000 votes. But it is a way that Democrats and other Arab Americans who are upset with Biden are showing their displeasure with the sitting president over his Israel policy right now. And certainly when you look ahead to the general election, it's something that the Biden campaign and the White House are keeping an eye on. And you've seen Biden Administration officials as well as campaign officials going to these states, going to these communities and holding listening sessions with these voters.

Taylor Wilson:

Alabama also held its primaries yesterday. This is a state whose Supreme Court issued a controversial ruling just a couple of weeks ago that an embryo has all the rights of a child. What does this conversation look like going forward, Francesca, at the polls?

Francesca Chambers:

So Taylor, a very strong majority of American support keeping IVF legal for women. And indeed you've heard former President Donald Trump also support that position, as well as President Joe Biden. But what Democrats are arguing in the White House in particular is that it was the reversal of Roe versus Wade and the conservative justices on the Supreme Court who played a hand in that who were appointed by Donald Trump, who led to the situation where you even had a state like Alabama where this even came into play. So an argument that the White House has been making, and I would expect that you'll continue to hear them make heading into the general election, is about why Roe versus Wade needs to be codified. There needs to be new legislation at the federal level. But we're also seeing lawmakers introduce legislation to protect IVF. So it's not totally clear yet what kind of a factor it could have on the general election, but it's certainly within the realm of the arguments that Democrats have been making about reproductive rights.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. And Francesca, you mentioned Donald Trump. What does yesterday's vote broadly mean for him going forward?

Francesca Chambers:

Yeah, so he doesn't have enough delegates to secure the GOP nomination yet, but he is well on his way there. His team had projected that he could wrap up the nomination as early as March 12th, at the latest March 19th. And the way that Super Tuesday played out for them, that still seems to be the case. Haley did okay in some areas, but she certainly didn't have the 40% wins or more that she had had earlier on in the race, and now she has some difficult decisions that she's going to have to make about the future of her candidacy.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. USA Today White House correspondent Francesca Chambers. Always with some great insight for us. Thanks, Francesca.

Francesca Chambers:

Thanks.

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Taylor Wilson:

We didn't just watch presidential primaries play out yesterday. There was also a major Senate primary in California. Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff and former baseball star and Republican Steve Garvey will face off in November after securing the most votes in the state's Senate race yesterday. California voters will get the chance to fill the same seat twice. When Senator Dianne Feinstein died in September last year, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Laphonza Butler to the seat until November. But that would leave two more months in that term to do the job, meaning there's a special election for someone to serve the remainder of Feinstein's term. In addition, California voters must decide who will carry the torch for the next full six year term beginning in January. And in North Carolina, the state's Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, will face Republican Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson in the state's election for governor. You can read more from Super Tuesday on usatoday.com.

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Bitcoin hit a record high yesterday as a roller coaster continues for the world's largest digital currency. The price briefly crossed $69,000 beating, its previous high in 2021. That's according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal, which cited data from the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index. Bitcoin's price has risen dramatically over the past year, fueled by regulatory approval for exchange traded funds in the digital currency. For years, everyday investors who wanted to trade digital currencies had to go to crypto exchanges, which put some people off who may not have been familiar. That changed in January when federal regulators voted that ordinary American investors can buy and sell spot Bitcoin ETFs in the same way they trade stocks. That opened up Bitcoin investing to a larger portion of the American public.

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The first over-the-counter birth control pill in the US will soon be made available. I spoke with USA Today reporter and newsletter writer Nicole Fallert to learn more. Nicole, so good having you on The Excerpt today.

Nicole Fallert:

Yeah. Happy to be here.

Taylor Wilson:

So Nicole, let's just start with the basics here at the top. What is Opill?

Nicole Fallert:

Opill is the first ever oral contraceptive pill available in stores and online without a prescription in the US. The pill was initially approved in July by the Food and Drug Administration and it's 98% effective at preventing pregnancy.

Taylor Wilson:

So Nicole, what do reproductive rights advocates say about this pill?

Nicole Fallert:

I spoke with a number of experts since the news of the pill reaching shelves in stores and online and unanimously reproductive rights advocates said that the arrival of this pill is a historic, massive move forward for access to quality reproductive healthcare in the US. The first birth control pill went to market over 50 years ago. So this represents decades of work to bring oral contraception, one of the most commonly used forms of contraception, to even more Americans.

While reproductive rights advocates really celebrated this move, there were definite concerns that were raised in the drug maker's announcement of the pill coming to shelves and online. And I think one area of critique is that the price might not necessarily be accessible for all people. The drug maker is working on a cost assistance program that is supposed to come in upcoming weeks to help applicants quickly get help paying for the medication. But some of the experts I spoke with were concerned that the price would be difficult to manage for people who don't have insurance or an expendable income to even pay $20 at a time. The drug is also supposed to go to major retailers across the nation, but it's not clear yet what that means for people where major stores aren't located, if they live in a rural area or if a harder to reach area.

Taylor Wilson:

So yesterday was Super Tuesday. Nicole, how does the election fit in here as a backdrop to this conversation?

Nicole Fallert:

Well, people didn't necessarily vote yesterday on birth control access. What we did see was candidates who have chosen to prioritize reproductive health as something that they would protect and that they value. So the Biden Administration has been vocal on reproductive health as being a key value of the campaign. Whereas Trump has been relatively tight-lipped in his campaign, coming across as relatively moderate actually in terms of abortion rights. I think time will tell as we head into the rest of 2024, where Americans will be putting their support. But it's clear from the IVF ruling just mere weeks ago, just how treacherous these topics will be for Republicans as they attempt to display support for reproductive health and really acknowledge that this is something motivating voters to the polls.

Taylor Wilson:

So Nicole, for folks thinking about their decisions around reproductive health, how can people decide if this pill is right for them?

Nicole Fallert:

While this pill might be a great option for some people, it might not be preferred for others. And one thing to keep in mind is that the Opill is a progestin-only pill. So that only contains one hormone that's called progestin. There are other types of birth control pill that have a combination of progestin and estrogen. And while both of them are effective in preventing pregnancy, the doctor that I spoke with said it's important to consider a few things. First is preexisting health conditions. You have breast cancer or an undiagnosed irregular bleeding condition. It's usually best not to use a progestin-only option and consult your doctor.

If you're someone who also likes to have a regular period, I would consider that in deciding to go on Opill because of the fact that the progestin-only factor in Opill means that sometimes people can have random bleeding or spotting. And finally, are you someone who's really consistent? A progestin pill means that it needs to be taken every day within the same time window. And that works for a lot of people, but if you're someone whose lifestyle, medical needs or overall scenario doesn't quite fit into that, it's probably a good idea for you to think about a different option that doesn't need a regimen.

Taylor Wilson:

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer for USA Today. Thank you, Nicole.

Nicole Fallert:

Thank you, Taylor.

Taylor Wilson:

You can sign up to get the Daily Briefing every morning in your inbox. Just go to usatoday.com and look for newsletters. We also have a link in today's show notes.

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50 years ago, a historic case of reverse discrimination was decided against the white Louisiana factory workers who filed it. Why are conservatives still focused on overturning it? Stay tuned today at 4:00 PM Eastern Time when my colleague Dana Taylor talks with USA Today's Senior Reporter Jessica Guynn about this landmark Supreme Court decision on employment and race conscious affirmative action. You can find the episode right here on this feed.

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And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your pods, and if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson. Back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from USA Today.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Excerpt podcast: Trump, Biden cruise to victory on Super Tuesday