“Well, I didn't see that coming” has been a somewhat common refrain on Capitol Hill this week as President-elect Donald Trump announces his picks to lead his forthcoming administration.

Trump has built his brand on breaking the mold of politics and continues the trend with his Cabinet appointments. 

Not every choice has been a surprise. Susie Wiles has long been on Trump’s short list to be his chief of staff, given her years of loyalty to the president and her success in managing Trump’s reelection campaign. Wiles will make history as the first female chief of a president's staff. 

And Tom Homan’s experience in Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, coupled with his positive relationship with Trump, made him an obvious choice for “border czar.”

But some of Trump’s picks were unexpected, though not necessarily in a bad way.

On this week's edition of "Problematic Women," Hannah-Claire Brimelow joins the show to discuss Trump's Cabinet picks and why some are so surprising. We also fact-check some recent abortion claims.

Enjoy the show!

Donald Trump is now president-elect again. The polls predicted a close race with Kamala Harris, and many Americans believed the winner would not be called for multiple days.

 Instead, Trump won a historic victory that became clear shortly after midnight. The 2024 presidential election was filled with surprises, historic firsts, and political shifts.  

 Trump is only the second president in U.S. history to win two nonconsecutive terms. Democrat Grover Cleveland served as president from 1885-1889 but lost reelection to Benjamin Harrison. He went on to run again, win, and serve as president from 1893-1897.

 Trump, however, becomes the first Republican president to be elected to nonconsecutive terms.  

 Early Wednesday morning, Americans not only learned that Trump had won the electoral vote but the popular vote, which eluded him in 2016 and 2020. A Republican has not won the popular vote since George W. Bush did it in 2004.  

 The political Left may be likely to remind Americans that Trump is the first convicted felon to win the presidency. At age 78, Trump also becomes the oldest president to be elected.  

 Trump’s victory also represents a historic shift away from the traditional Republican Party. Endorsements and support from figures such as entrepreneur Elon Musk, activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and comedian-podcaster Joe Rogan apparently attracted voters to Trump who otherwise might have chosen to back another candidate, or not vote at all.

 Although Musk, Kennedy, Rogan, and Trump himself promote many conservative policies, they are a far cry from the Republican Party of 50 or 60 years ago.  

 On this week’s episode of “Problematic Women,” we discuss the historic nature of the 2024 presidential election and reflect on the biggest moments of the campaign season.  

American voters are casting their ballots with only five days left until Election Day. On this spooky edition of Problematic Women, we reflect on the 2024 Presidential campaign highlights and the final few days of the Harris and Trump campaigns. Will this election be a trick or treat? That’s for all you problematic women to decide!

Kamala Harris’ campaign appears to have only one strategy to earn female votes, according to author and conservative social media influencer Isabel Brown. 

“To the elected left today, I think women equal votes for abortion,” Brown says, adding, they see you as "a dollar sign associated with the abortion industry.” 

While Democrats' strategy to win female voters this election cycle is laser focused on abortion, the political left is working hard to appeal to men after spending the better part of two decades demonizing masculinity. 

In an effort to brush claims of “toxic masculinity” under the rug, Harris and her running mate Tim Walz have discussed their ownership of guns and released a campaign ad with men bragging about eating “carburetors for breakfast” and cooking “steak rare.” 

The Harris campaign’s effort to appeal to male voters is likely driven, at least in part, by data showing that Gen Z male voters are increasingly leaning politically right. 

“Gen Z men, namely 17-year-olds, seniors in high school right now, are politically the most conservative they've been in America in 50 years,” according to Brown. 

According to an Axios report on a recent Harvard Youth Poll, 26% of men ages 18-24 identify as conservative, which is five points higher than men ages 25 to 29.

While Gen Z women skew heavily to the left, even outlets like The New York Times are acknowledging that some young men “feel that rapidly changing gender roles have left them behind socially and economically” and “see former President Donald J. Trump as a champion of traditional manhood.”

With less than two weeks until the 2024 presidential election, the battle for the Gen Z vote is likely already settled. 

Brown joins "Problematic Women" to discuss the role the abortion issue is playing in this election, and how Democrats have isolated young male voters. 

Also on today’s show, we dig into concerns over the damaging effects of various forms of birth control, and Brown shares her own story of how “the pill” changed her life for years. 

Kids are not running for public office, enacting laws, litigating policy, or even voting, and yet children often bear the weightiest consequences for the bad policies adults implement. 

“I get angry when kids are victimized because adults refuse to do the right thing,” says Katy Faust, the founder and president of the pro-children advocacy organization Them Before Us. “It's an injustice at the individual level and at the national level.”

If protecting the well-being of children were the first priority of adults in public policy-related decisions, all of society would benefit, Faust contends. Sadly, adults have repeatedly chosen to place their own gratification in marriage, family formation, economic policies, border politics, and so on, ahead of the interests of kids. 

“Adult-centric policy,” Faust says, is policy that gratifies “adults in the immediate, but then kids have to pay the price.”

Take, for example, the issue of marriage. For decades now, phrases like “kids are resilient,” and “children just need love” have been used to justify adult decisions to divorce, cohabit with a partner, or marry a same-sex partner. In reality, these nice phrases are nothing more than permission slips for adult desires to override the interests of children, she says. 

“Unfortunately, when you see that transformation away from a child-centric understanding of marriage toward an adult-centric understanding of marriage, children are victimized,” she says.

In vitro fertilization has recently taken center stage as a major issue in the 2024 presidential election with both Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump declaring their fervent support for the practice. Yet neither candidate acknowledges that thousands of embryos that were created through IVF, and that are fully capable of life, will be put into a freezer and “often don’t come out,” Faust says. 

Faust, the author of a number of books—including her latest, “Pro-Child Politics: Why Every Cultural, Economic, and National Issue Is a Matter of Justice for Children”—joins “Problematic Women” to discuss the ways political agendas consistently harm children in the name of adult gratification. 

he vast majority of America’s meat supply comes from four major companies, leaving little room in the market for smaller farms to compete. JBS Foods, National Beef Packing Co., Tyson Foods, and Cargill combined hold 85% of the market, leading to the closing of thousands of family farms. 

“Any time something is consolidated … you're going to deal with more issues, like cleanliness, with health issues for animals, because now you're cramming them into smaller spaces. You're just worrying about quantity over quality,” says Brooke Ence, co-founder of From The Farm. 

Growing up in a family of farmers and ranchers, Ence says, she became troubled as she watched family-owned farms and ranches forced to close their doors, and Americans become sicker eating food that is mass produced. 

In response to what Ence calls the centralization of America’s food production system, Ence, an entrepreneur, social media influencer, and former famed CrossFit athlete, together with A.J. Richards founded From The Farm, a company aiming to connect Americans directly to small farmers and ranchers across America. 

The goal of From The Farm is to create “a parallel economy, where producers can now have a direct line … to people around the country who are looking for healthy food,” Ence says. “We help a customer shake the hand that feeds them.” 

From The Farm's website allows Americans to find local farms near them where they can purchase goods directly and allows farmers and ranchers to advertise to consumers. The company is fully operational, but it's still building out its platform and seeking additional farmers to join the platform and for investors to take part in creating that “parallel economy.” 

Ence sits down with the hosts of the “Problematic Women” podcast to discuss the issues in America’s supply chain. She also shares her own story of becoming a top CrossFit athlete, a passion that has opened many doors for her, including having a role in the superhero film “Wonder Woman.”

From the Farm: https://fromthefarm.org/

Fund the Mission: https://wefunder.com/fromthefarm

Follow on IG: https://www.instagram.com/fromthefarmus/

Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FromTheFarmUSA

Follow Brooke: https://www.instagram.com/brookeence/?hl=en

With only 34 days until the 2024 presidential election, vice presidential candidates Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance faced off on the debate stage Tuesday night. 

CBS hosted the vice presidential debate in New York City, and "CBS Evening News" anchor Norah O'Donnell and "Face the Nation" chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan moderated. 

Walz, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris’ running mate, and Vance, Republican Donald Trump’s running mate, are both relatively new to the political limelight. Walz was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006. After serving half a dozen terms in the House, Walz was elected Minnesota governor in 2018. Vance won his Senate election in 2022 after his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” became a New York Times bestseller. 

On this week’s edition of Problematic Women, we discuss the biggest moments form the vice presidential candidate debate. Plus, Yael Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, joins the show to discuss Iran’s attack on Israel and how the one year anniversary of Oct. 7 will be remembered in Israel.

Relevant Links

Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/

Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription

Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcasts

Sign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda

After Elon Musk shared a deep fake Kamala Harris campaign ad, California Gov. Gavin Newsom took action to crack down on the AI technology.

Should there be limits and restrictions on deep fake usage? How far is too far? And would restrictions violate the first amendment? We discussed with tech policy expert Kara Frederick on this week’s edition of Problematic Women.

Relevant Links

Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/

Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription

Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcasts

Sign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda

Less than a week after Vice President Kamala Harris claimed that “it’s up to the American people to stop him” at the presidential debate, the Secret Service thwarted a second assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach.

Ryan Wesley Routh faces two gun charges, but Americans are blaming politicians and major news outlets for pushing the overheated rhetoric that encouraged this behavior. The Left likewise raised concerns about dangerous rhetoric from Trump after he accused Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, of eating cats and dogs.

Moments after the end of the first presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, Taylor Swift issued her endorsement.

“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election,” Swift wrote in a post on Instagram. “I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos,” Swift added, signing the post “Childless Cat Lady,” a clear dig at Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate.

Are we surprised? No. Swift has made her political leanings clear, much to the disappointment of some of her fans. In fact, Swift may have clearer political views on some issues than the candidate she endorsed.

Asked why she had changed policy positions on issues like fracking, a buy-back program for assault weapons, and decriminalizing the border, Harris either could not, or would not answer during Tuesday night’s ABC debate.

“I know you say that your values have not changed, so then why have so many of your policy positions changed?,” ABC’s Linsey Davis asked Harris.

“So, my values have not changed,” Harris began. “I’m going to discuss ever one, at least ever point that you’ve made,” she said, before going on to say she would not ban fracking, and then discussing her views on the economy and protecting the vulnerable, social security, and medicare.

“My values have not changed,” Harris said again, without addressing her change is policy on the border or assault weapons.

Trump spent much of the ABC debate on the defensive, appearing to take the bait in nearly every trap Harris laid for him, from his father’s success as a businessman to the size of his campaign rallies.

On this week's edition of Problematic Women, Reagan Reese, White House correspondent for the Daily Caller, joins the show for a deep dive post-debate recap of the night’s biggest wins, losses, and memorable moments. Enjoy!

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet in person for the first time Tuesday evening as they face off during the ABC presidential debate. 

Though the second presidential debate of the season for Trump, this will be Harris’ first time going toe to toe with Trump after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race following his disastrous debate performance on June 27. 

The debate, which begins at 9 p.m. EST, is being held at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center. 

The candidates have made their dislike for one another very clear in the weeks leading up to the debate, so, will they be able to maintain a sense of decorum and remain focused on policy issues? How will Harris address the high inflation under the Biden administration? And will Trump discuss his position on abortion? 

Tune into today’s bonus episode of Problematic Women with guest Emily Jashinsky, UnHerd's Washington D.C. Correspondent and host of Undercurrents, as we discuss what to watch for during tonight’s debate.