The Daily Beast Podcast

Steve Schmidt returns to the Daily Beast Podcast with a blistering warning about Donald Trump’s unraveling grip on power, the Republican Party’s “Shakespearean” collapse into cowardice, and why he believes MAGA is heading toward a political wipeout. In a conversation that ricochets from the Epstein files to the future of American democracy, Schmidt tears into GOP leaders he says have “lashed themselves to the mast,” predicts a brutal reckoning in 2028, and unleashes a stunning critique of John Fetterman, calling the Pennsylvania senator unfit for office after his stroke and accusing Fox News of psychologically manipulating him in public. Schmidt also paints a deeply alarming picture of America’s standing abroad, arguing the U.S. is already losing a hidden war with Iran while Trump drifts toward another dangerous foreign adventure in Cuba, all as gas prices soar and public frustration boils over. Schmidt then turns his fire on Jeff Bezos and the billionaire class he says chose submission over resistance, framing this political era not just as a fight over power, but as a historic test of national character that future generations will study with disbelief.
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Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles unpack a week of chaos inside Trumpworld, beginning with Wolff’s explosive courtroom setback in his legal fight with Melania Trump and delving into what they describe as a justice system warped by Trump’s influence. From a mysterious $1.8 billion “slush fund” settlement and the ongoing culture of intimidation around the media, to Don Jr.’s lavish Bahamas wedding conspicuously missing one major guest—his own father—the episode peels back the dysfunction, rivalries, and raw narcissism driving the Trump family. Wolff and Coles also dissect Tulsi Gabbard’s abrupt exit, Pete Hegseth’s latest foreign policy blunder, Jeff Bezos publicly praising Trump while cashing in on the new political order, and the surreal possibility that former Brexit architect Steve Hilton could become governor of California.
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Joanna Coles and Daily Beast executive editor Hugh Dougherty reunite for a blistering breakdown of what they call the most brazen Trump grift yet: a staggering $1.7 billion taxpayer-funded “victims” fund that could benefit January 6 rioters, MAGA loyalists, and even Trump allies accused of crimes, all while Republican lawmakers panic behind closed doors over the political fallout. They trace the astonishing timeline from Trump’s hidden tax returns to a surreal legal battle in which Trump effectively sued his own government, before unpacking explosive new polling showing his support collapsing amid outrage over Iran, ICE, and mounting corruption allegations. The conversation also veers into the mysterious disappearance of New Jersey Congressman Tom Kean Jr., the turmoil consuming CBS and 60 Minutes after Anderson Cooper’s dramatic exit, and Trump’s late-night obsession with Stephen Colbert as his approval numbers spiral downward.

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Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles trace the unraveling inside Donald Trump’s shrinking inner circle as the president turns to disgraced Hollywood director Brett Ratner as his newest confidant amid collapsing poll numbers, growing political panic, and what Wolff describes as a breathtaking $1.8 billion “slush fund” designed to protect Trump and reward loyalists before the walls close in. From Ratner’s sudden return from Hollywood exile through Melania’s documentary, to Trump’s revenge campaigns against Republicans and increasingly erratic foreign policy moves, the episode follows a White House spiraling deeper into grievance, paranoia, and self-interest. Wolff and Coles unpack Trump’s fixation on loyalty over competence and the surreal cast of characters now surrounding him as longtime allies fall away and new opportunists rush in, creating one of the clearest portraits yet of a presidency operating without restraint or even the pretense of normal politics.
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Dr. John Gartner returns to The Daily Beast Podcast to deliver an urgent, chilling analysis of Donald Trump’s rapidly deteriorating clinical condition as he approaches his 80th birthday. Moving far beyond typical signs of aging, Dr. Gartner details to Daily Beast executive editor Hugh Dougherty the alarming behavioral symptoms pointing toward frontotemporal dementia—including a complete loss of empathy, dangerous disinhibition, and increasingly disorganized thought processes. Dr. Gartner unpacks the psychology behind Trump’s late-night postings, his shocking new delusions of grandeur, and a calculated effort to "groom" the American public for an unthinkable nuclear conflict.
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