Trump Blocked: Slush Fund & Kennedy Center

Stay Tuned with Preet

Vox Media Podcast Network

News, Society & Culture, Politics, Government

4.8 • 32.4K Ratings

🗓️ 2 June 2026

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A federal judge has blocked Trump’s efforts to add his own name to the Kennedy Center, a performing arts institution that honors the legacy of President John F. Kennedy. In this excerpt from the Insider podcast, Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance break down the court’s legal reasoning and larger takeaways from this development. In the full Insider episode, they cover: – Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund, and a federal court decision that effectively reopens Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS; and – Reports that the Justice Department is investigating E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of sexual assault and won two defamation lawsuits against him, for allegedly committing perjury. To support the show and gain access to full Insider episodes, become a member at cafe.com/insider or staytuned.substack.com/subscribe. CAFE Insiders click HERE to listen to the full analysis. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. This podcast is brought to you by CAFE and Vox Media Podcast Network. Executive Producer: Tamara Sepper; Supervising Producer: Jake Kaplan; Associate Producer: Claudia Hernández; Senior Audio Producer: Matthew Billy; CAFE Team: Celine Rohr, Nat Weiner, Jennifer Indig, and Liana Greenway. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey folks, Preet here.
0:03.8	Joyce Vance and I are out with a new episode of The Insider podcast.
0:07.1	This week, we discussed new reporting that President Trump might abandon his $1.776 billion
0:14.2	DOJ anti-weaponization fund after two legal setbacks.
0:19.8	Then we break down a judge's order blocking Trump from adding his own name to the Kennedy Center.
0:25.3	And finally, we turn to reports that the Justice Department is investigating E. Jean Carroll,
0:30.6	who accused Trump of sexual assault and won two defamation lawsuits against him.
0:36.1	Listen to the full conversation now in the Insider feed.
0:39.5	And if you're not yet a member, we hope you'll join to help support our work
0:43.2	and get access to exclusive subscriber benefits.
0:46.7	Head to cafe.com slash insider or stay tuned.substack.com.
0:52.5	Now, enjoy a free excerpt from our conversation.
1:00.4	What is the thing that the courts did, or a court did on Friday, that drew the most
1:06.9	ire from Donald Trump? You know, it's such an irony, right?
1:10.1	The removal of his name from the
1:12.1	Kennedy Center. His favorite vanity case, yeah. That's the thing that got him the most, the most
1:18.4	upset when it's the most frivolous of all things. Before we talk about the Kennedy Center,
1:24.5	the legal issue, can we, can I make an aesthetic cultural point for a moment?
1:29.8	Yeah.
1:30.8	And because whatever you think of his legal approach
1:34.4	or illegal approach or unconstitutional approach,
1:37.4	what I find astonishing is aesthetically the grotesqueness
	...

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