The Excerpt podcast: Trump tries to juggle 2024 campaign, sweeping criminal trials

On Tuesday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: Former President Donald Trump got some good news Monday, when the Supreme Court ruled he can remain on the Colorado ballot. But that's just the tip of his upcoming legal issues. USA TODAY National Political Correspondent David Jackson reports. Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg pleads guilty to perjury. Half of Americans who applied for loans in the past two years were turned down. USA TODAY National Correspondent Trevor Hughes explains how a new satellite will track methane emissions. Jason Kelce retires after 13 seasons in the NFL. It's Super Tuesday.

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. Today is Tuesday, March 5th, 2024. This is The Excerpt.

Today, what's next for Trump On his legal calendar. Plus, Allen Weisselberg pleads guilty. And, a new satellite aims to track methane emissions.

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The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Colorado cannot use an anti insurrectionist provision of the Constitution to kick former President Donald Trump off the ballot. It was a major moment for Trump who posted on Truth Social that the decision was a "big win" for America. For more on that and Trump's upcoming legal calendar as he continues to campaign, I spoke with USA Today National Political Correspondent David Jackson. David, thanks for making the time today.

David Jackson:

Hey, thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

So David, let's just start with the news of the week. What did the Supreme Court decide yesterday and how significant is this for Donald Trump on Super Tuesday, today, and beyond?

David Jackson:

Oh, very significant. Basically, the Supreme Court said that states cannot keep Trump off the ballot because of the insurrection clause of the US Constitution. Colorado had done just that and the Supreme Court basically slapped it down, and this ruling will also affect similar efforts in places like Maine and Illinois to keep Trump off the ballot. So basically, it means he'll be on the ballot in all 50 states. It's something that was expected, but I'm sure it's quite a relief for Trump.

Taylor Wilson:

And David, across the board at this point, how is Trump balancing the dynamic between the campaign trail and his legal issues? This has really been an ongoing conversation we've been having here on the show and everyone has been having in recent months.

David Jackson:

Well, with difficulty. We have the Super Tuesday primaries in more than 15 states, yet in the past 10 days, Trump has had exactly two of his major campaign rallies, one in North Carolina, one in Virginia. And they were both on the same day. They were Saturday. He also visited the border on Thursday, so Texas is a super Tuesday state. So I guess that was a political event. But other than that, he's been mostly behind closed doors, busy raising money and talking to lawyers and others who are involved in all of these lawsuits and criminal trials that he has pending against him.

Taylor Wilson:

You know, David, Trump has to figure out how to pay more than half a billion dollars in damages across his civil bank fraud trial and two defamation trials. How is he doing on money at this point? Is this having any effect on his campaign?

David Jackson:

Very much so. Preparing for these trials and dealing with the civil lawsuits against him, it's been a gigantic time suck for him. And one of the biggest strains on him has been the effort to try to get the money to cover his legal expenses and the fact that he's been assessed more than half a billion dollars in damages in some of these civil trials. So he's not that liquid. So he's having a little bit of trouble coming up with the money. And one of the things he's working on is a plant to sell his Truth Social website that would net him, I'm told, 3 to $4 billion that would cover some of his legal liabilities, but that deal hasn't gone through yet. So to answer your question, it's very difficult. He's having enough trouble raising campaign money to keep up with President Joe Biden, the Democrats, but he also has to raise even more money in order to cover some of his legal expenses.

Taylor Wilson:

And when it comes to the legal issues, David, how does his base feel at this point, and what about moderates? What's the latest feeling from these groups?

David Jackson:

Oh, the base has been with him. And in fact, the school of thought out there, that the indictments really helped Trump secure the Republican presidential nomination. A lot of his base were offended and upset by the indictments, so there's been a rallying around facts. So there's been tons of Republican voters who are still with Trump despite all of these indictments. They feel like it's a plot against him. Now, there's been some drainage from moderate voters and independents and minor Republicans. Those are the folks who have been voting for Nikki Haley and all of these primaries. Now, it's not a particularly large number, it's only like 10 or 20%. But in the close election, 10 or 20% of the Republican vote, if it stays home or goes with Biden, that could definitely cripple Trump's general election campaign.

Taylor Wilson:

So we expect a hush money trial to come up later this month. Refresh us about the stakes there, David, and what else is on the upcoming calendar for Trump.

David Jackson:

Well, it looks like it'll be the first of the criminal trials that come up against Trump. He's been trying to delay all four of his criminal trials, but he's had less success with this New York case that involves hush money. And basically, it's a complicated case at its root. Trump is accused of paying hush money to some women to keep them quiet right before the 2016 election. Prosecutors are alleging that this amounts to an illegal campaign contribution, that Trump broke campaign finance laws by making these payments. It's a state case even though it involves federal election laws, so that a lot of complexity about it. And it's generally considered the most minor of the criminal charges against Trump, but it looks like that's going to be the first one that's going to be tried.

Taylor Wilson:

David Jackson covers national politics for USA Today. Thank you, David.

David Jackson:

Thank you.

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Taylor Wilson:

Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, pleaded guilty to perjury yesterday for lying at former President Donald Trump's civil fraud trial. Prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office had accused Weisselberg of lying under oath when he answered questions in a deposition in May and at an October trial about allegations that Trump lied about his wealth on financial statements given to banks and insurance companies. Weisselberg will be sentenced to five months in jail according to the judge with sentencing formally set for next month. The perjury conviction could serve as a warning to other witnesses in Bragg's trial against Trump on criminal charges of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to women. That trial is set to begin on March 25th, and Trump has pleaded not guilty.

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Half of Americans who applied for loans in the past two years were turned down. That's according to a new survey from the personal finance site bankrate.com. The findings come as banks have been tightening rules for lending money to consumers. Banks have tightened credit in response to the Federal Reserve's aggressive campaign to raise interest rates as the Fed battled inflation. Between March of 2022 and July of 2023, the Fed lifted its benchmark rate from essentially zero to over 5%, a generational high. Inflation reached a 40-year-high in 2022.

Tighter credit comes as more Americans are relying on borrowed funds to get by. Bankrate reported in another recent survey that around half of credit card holders carry a balance from month to month up from 39% in 2021. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.

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A new satellite launched yesterday that will name and shame large scale polluters while tracking methane gas emissions. I caught up with USA Today National Correspondent Trevor Hughes to learn more. Hello, Trevor.

Trevor Hughes:

Hey, good to be here.

Taylor Wilson:

So Trevor, let's just start with this. What is this methane-related satellite?

Trevor Hughes:

This is a satellite that will measure methane emissions from oil and gas wells, from landfills, even from the proverbial cow farts that people tend to get upset about. Methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas, and this satellite will help measure exactly where it's being emitted around the world.

Taylor Wilson:

How much does this cost and who's paying for it?

Trevor Hughes:

That's what's interesting about this. This is an $88 million project, but it's being funded by donors to the Environmental Defense Fund, which is a big environmental nonprofit. They are worldwide environmental nonprofit. This is not a government. Now, they do have some partners from universities and from New Zealand itself. But primarily, this is a nonprofit that is funding this research.

Taylor Wilson:

So specifically Trevor, what is the satellite's role as it pertains to methane and the climate? And also just for folks who are not aware of methane, why is it such a big part of the conversation around climate solutions?

Trevor Hughes:

Most people these days have sort of heard and understood that carbon emissions are very bad for the climate in terms of causing climate change. They trap heat in the earth. Methane is actually much worse than that. And methane comes in part from burning natural gas or drilling for natural gas and it just leaks out and enters the atmosphere and then traps heat in our atmosphere and making the planet warmer. So this effort will be to track exactly how much methane is being emitted anywhere in the world based on a series of snapshots every single day. And then the environmental groups can go to governments, can go to these industries and say, "Hey, you're releasing a lot of pollution at this very specific location. Let's figure out how to address that."

Taylor Wilson:

So Trevor, how is this different from other satellites that track methane emissions?

Trevor Hughes:

Many other satellites can see a methane emissions, but the resolution is just not that good. Think of this as a really good pair of binoculars, but it's a good pair of binoculars that's circling the globe I think maybe 15 times a day. And so it can look all over the world very accurately with no regard for national boundaries. Because that's another part, is that here in the United States we're committed to reducing greenhouse gas submissions, but there are other parts of the world that are actively hostile to scientists trying to measure those things. This satellite will allow them to skip over those international boundaries and really get true picture of what's happening.

Taylor Wilson:

So the satellite has now been launched. What happens next and what's the end goal for all this data?

Trevor Hughes:

I got to watch the satellite launch into space. It's really a fabulous thing to watch this, a powerful explosion and rocketing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 off the coast of California. And so, over the next couple of weeks and months, the scientists who are running this will get the communications up, get the solar panels up, and then start taking measurements. And then this data will be given away for free to anyone who wants it.

Taylor Wilson:

Fascinating stuff as always. Trevor Hughes is a national correspondent with USA Today. Thank you, Trevor.

Trevor Hughes:

You bet. Glad to be here.

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Taylor Wilson:

Jason Kelce is retiring. The six time all pro NFL Center held a news conference yesterday to announce the news that had largely been expected since the Philadelphia Eagles season ended in January. He leaves the league after 13 seasons, all with the Eagles. Kelce made seven pro bowls, and his career was marked by dependability and consistency. While fighting back tears at his press conference, Kelce said, "I've been asked many times why did I choose football, what drew me to the game, and I've never had an answer that gets it right. The best way I can explain it is what draws you to your favorite song, your favorite book. It's what it makes you feel. The seriousness of it, the intensity of it. Stepping on the field was the most alive and free I have ever felt."

At the tail end of his career, Jason Kelce had become something of a social media sensation while attending Kansas City Chiefs playoff games to watch his brother Travis Kelce play. During a game in Buffalo, Jason went shirtless and shoved beers from a suite all alongside Taylor Swift. You can read more about the offensive lineman's career at USA Today Sports.

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And today is Super Tuesday when more than a dozen states and territories will hold their primary elections. Big questions remain over the future of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley's campaign in the GOP primary and what's next for front runner Donald Trump. Today we'll also decide which two candidates in a heated California senate race will advance to the general election. You can stay up on all the latest throughout the day on usatoday.com. And be sure to tune into The Excerpt tomorrow for a full roundup.

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Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio. 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 tries to juggle campaign, criminal trials