The Daily Beast Podcast

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Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles examine the looming post-Trump power vacuum, mapping out a chaotic and deeply personal succession battle as Donald Trump edges toward lame-duck status and a Republican party already turning on itself. From a flailing JD Vance to an ill-fitting Marco Rubio, a wildcard Tucker Carlson, and the unpredictable rise of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., they unpack a Republican field defined less by ideology than by ego, media power, and proximity to Trump himself. As rival factions circle, alliances fracture, and even loyalists like Marjorie Taylor Greene begin to reposition, Wolff reveals a darker dynamic driving it all: Trump may ultimately sabotage any successor to preserve his own dominance, setting the stage for a brutal, zero-sum fight for the MAGA base where loyalty is fleeting, ambition is naked, and the future of the party hinges on who can survive Trump—while still needing him.
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David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles as the White House hits messy overdrive, trying to contain war abroad and chaos at home. From an Iran conflict Trump reportedly can’t manage to illegal tariffs sparking corporate backlash to a cabinet mired in scandal, including Kash Patel under fire, and Pete Hegseth losing the room, Rothkopf, The Daily Beast’s unmissable columnist, paints a picture of an administration held together by optics, not strategy, and his now showing signs that he's scared about it. With insiders panicking ahead of the midterms and questions mounting about Trump’s fitness and control, they ask: How long can the illusion hold before it all collapses?

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Joanna Coles welcomes back Kurt Andersen to dissect what he argues may be Donald Trump’s most unhinged week yet, from surreal AI depictions casting himself as Jesus to a deepening spiral of contradictions, conspiracies, and political theater that even longtime observers find startling. Drawing on decades of watching Trump up close, Andersen revives his now-infamous “Venn diagram” of lies, ignorance, and instability—warning that the overlap is expanding in real time—while unpacking the bizarre collision of religion, ego, and power now shaping the MAGA movement. The conversation covers the Pope’s unexpectedly deft pushback to the growing discomfort inside Trump’s own coalition, before zeroing in on RFK Jr.’s chaotic tenure, public health fallout, and a trail of denials that mirror Trump’s own reality-warping playbook. As cabinet figures maneuver, allies hedge, and whispers of exits and fractures grow louder, Andersen paints a picture of a political universe edging toward something far more volatile than spectacle.
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Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles summarize a confounding week in Trumpworld with a blunt reality: no one, not even Donald Trump, seems to know what’s happening as a volatile war disrupts global markets and threatens the Strait of Hormuz. Wolff describes Trump ricocheting between declaring victory and hinting at escalation, while figures like JD Vance, Marco Rubio, and Jared Kushner struggle to keep up with a shifting, unclear strategy. As midterms approach, Trump leans on rising markets even as his coalition fractures, clashing with the Pope and drawing pushback from voices like Tucker Carlson.
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Joanna Coles welcomes back psychologist Dr. John Gartner as the conversation takes a chilling turn, with Dr. Gartner arguing that Donald Trump has crossed from grandiosity into full-blown psychosis, pointing to a barrage of erratic late-night posts—including AI images portraying himself as Jesus—as evidence of a manic, delusional spiral unfolding in real time. Dr. Gartner lays out a stark clinical case, connecting sleep disruption, cognitive decline, and escalating “messianic” fantasies to dangerous decision-making on the global stage, from impulsive foreign policy moves to a growing appetite for conflict. What emerges is a portrait of a leader increasingly detached from reality, alienating his own base while doubling down on grandiose claims, as insiders scramble, critics demand cognitive testing, and the stakes climb toward something far more consequential than political controversy.
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