Trump goes FULL PANIC amid BRUTAL news

I'm joined now by the co-host of. PodSaveAmerica, Dan Pfeiffer. Dan, thanks for joining me. Thanks for having. me, Brian. So, we are watching the Iran war. continue to play itself out. Most. recently, there was a high-profile. resignation from the Trump. administration citing Donald Trump's. engagement in this Iran war. We're also. watching gas prices surge across the. country. We're watching issues with the. Strait of Hormuz where Donald Trump. seems to be begging other countries to. help him. So, as we watch this whole. process play out, is there any upside. for Donald Trump as he continues to. engage in this thing?

Not that I can see. And really, it's. hard to fathom a scenario where that. could happen. Even if this were to wrap. up in the next couple of weeks or days, damage has already been done to Trump. politically. Damage has been done to the. United States economically. Gas prices. have spiked. That has created a glut in. the oil market that's going to linger. for a while. But, it's also just the in. two ways it hurts Trump politically. One. is. he looks like a for doing this. No. one understands why he did it. It. violates the principle of no forever.

wars that he. claimed to run on in 2024. And it's the. second high-profile action he's taken to. raise prices for people undermining the. other central premise of his. presidential campaign. I think real. damage has been done here no matter what. happens. Why do you think Trump engaged. in it? He's an idiot. I think he I mean, just. there's no I think But, usually you can. ascribe some even even misguided uh. Yeah, if you're if you want to try to. play armchair psychologist, I think it. would go something like this.

After Venezuela, he thought the United. States could do this on the cheap, quick. and easy. It would be fast. And I think. somewhere in the back of his mind, he. has this image of like as he thinks. about his legacy, he's not thinking. about what helps keep Mike Johnson. speaker or keep John Thune majority. leader. He thinks about what gets Donald. Trump etched into, you know, Mount. Rushmore or whatever else. And I think. he has this vision where it's. in his head where it's like, I. you know, did regime change in Venezuela, I did. regime change in Iran, I did regime.

change in Cuba. And the last two he. believes are historically important. because they have been. long-term problems and long-term. adversaries of the United States. And he. didn't think it through. I mean, there's. a I mean, he's not the first person to. think that regime change in Iran is a. good idea. People have been talking. about this, thinking about it, planning. it, about the possibility of a war with. Iran since 1979. And the reason why no. one has done it is the consequences. are tremendous because of. the the type of regime that Iran has,

how big a country it is, and most. notably the Strait of Hormuz. They have. this leverage point over the rest of the. world that is very hard to unstick. And. so, he kind of stumbled ass-backwards. into it. There's also the fact that. Trump doesn't seem to ever have enough. of an attention span to stick with. anything for more than a few days. And. so, I'm curious because now we're. watching Iran start to. bomb their neighbors and bomb embassies. and this thing really start to unravel. and get a little bit out of control. Do. you think that this is going to be. something where Trump can just kind of. back off, focus on the next shiny thing,

and be able to let go in a way that. that's kind of clean and neat? Or do you. think that we've already, you know, passed the Rubicon here and and this. thing has has taken a life of its own? It's That's a great question and I'm not. certainly not enough of an expert on. Iran in the Middle East to know. I He. cannot change the subject, move on to. something else as long as. the Iranians are firing drones and. missiles at other countries in the. region. And because that disrupts travel, that.

disrupts oil, that disrupts trade, that. disrupts the global economy. And he. certainly can't do it while the Strait. of Hormuz is still blocked. If even it or even if it's somewhat open. and the and the flow of traffic. continues but at a greatly reduced rate, that continues to keep gas prices up. Americans [snorts] aren't paying a ton. of attention to what's happening every. minute of the day in this in this war, but they are going to pay attention to. gas prices. Yeah. They're going to pay. Food prices are going to go up. Most of. the world's fertilizer comes through the. strait. If diesel prices are the highest.

they've been I think either at least. since the pandemic if not ever. I think the second time in history. diesel prices have been this high. And. that leads to greater cost distribution. costs for food which leads to higher. prices for Americans. And so as long as. that's in place it doesn't matter what. Trump focuses on people are going to be. pissed about it. On the messaging front, Trump has been kind of leaning on this. this Hail Mary narrative which is. this is a small price to pay, temporary. pain, and the most important thing is. that we don't have a nuclear armed Iran.

And so what do you make of that message? People do not think Iran should have a. nuclear weapon. They also don't think. that Iran was on the cusp of having such. a weapon. Yeah. And Trump made Maybe. it's possible that if he had spent. months like the Bush administration did. in 2002 2003 to sell a war, to explain. the threat, to lay out the consequences, he might have been able to get at least. some people to be willing to pay higher. gas prices in service of that larger.

purpose. He never did that. The guy gave. the longest State of the Union in. history and barely touched on Iran in. that speech. He did not try to convince. people of this. And you can't do it ex. post facto, right? You can't say you. know cuz it's it's just like you and I. follow stuff closely. We knew for weeks. that a war with Iran was very possible. could happen at any moment. We knew the. day that the last negotiation was. scheduled. Most Americans had no idea. They truly woke up Saturday morning. that one fateful Saturday morning and we.

were at war with Iran. They had no. context, no reason, no explanation. Even. if they had watched the President of the. United States give that speech at the. State of the Union which they probably. didn't, they still wouldn't have That. wouldn't have helped explain that we. were about to go to war with Iran. I. mean it really was a no context no war. cuz he didn't try to sell it to anyone. You know, usually Trump has a pretty. good handle on how to control the media, um a pretty good handle on the issues. that he can continue hammering. Gas. prices was one of them. I mean, he's. been taking victory laps on gas prices.

pretty much every day of his presidency. And so, the part that I don't understand. is how could he engage in this. recognizing that the biggest. you know, uh um weapon that Iran could. could wield against us is closing the. Strait of Hormuz or or mining the strait. and that that would inevitably send gas. prices higher. How is nobody there. around him or or Trump himself there to. say, "Hey, if this is the one thing that. we pride ourselves on being able to do, this is going to imperil that and so we.

should avoid doing it.". It seems like some people told that to. him, right? There are reports that Dan. Cain, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. of Staff, made that point to him and. Trump dismissed the idea that Iran would. actually close the strait. He did not He. really did not do the homework, not. understand the threat. And in war, you. have to worry about the worst possible. consequence, right? You prepare for the. best but you prepare for the worst but. you hope for the best. And he simply. just prepared for the best and hoped for. the best and this is how we ended up. where we are. It's not just Trump who seems to be ang-.

like trying to find some political angle. here. We also have J.D. Vance now. figuring out his footing. He was, of. course, um this avowed anti-war um. opponent before he got into office. There's a ton of footage and sound from. him over the course of the last few. years basically denigrating the idea of. going into another war in the Middle. East saying that if Kamala was elected, she would, you know, she would be the. reason uh that this war would pop off. Um and and yet the New York Times also.

reported that J.D. Vance was in the room. saying that, you know, if Trump is going. to do this, he needs to go bigger um and. go faster. And so, you know, he's got. his fingerprints all over this. I'm. curious what you make of the Politico. piece that was obviously placed by his. either either J.D. Vance himself or. somebody on his team saying that he was. like the lone skeptic against against. this war. in Iran. And so and so like the way I. read that is is it's pretty obvious that. he's trying to position himself for 2028. seeing the writing on the wall and.

recognizing how unpopular this thing. already is. But just curious for your. reaction to to kind of this this angling. by J.D. Vance. I think it is pretty. unsubtle and politically and pretty. politically maladroit to do go about. this way. Look, J.D. Vance is the. overwhelming overwhelmingly likely next. Republican nominee. Sitting vice. presidents almost always get the. nomination. There is no example in. modern history of them not getting it. You basically have to go to prison like. Spiro Agnew in order to avoid being the. nominee. Um. Now, there is one big thing that could.

get in in J.D. Vance's way. And that is. if J- if Trump turns on him. And so he he gets. like I just my like if not the J.D. Vance is asking me for advice not that I. would give him advice, but he is in for. a penny, in for a pound with Trump. There is no path for him which is he's. like he differs himself from Trump. Because there're going to be other. candidates who don't have the problem of. having been his vice president and at. his side during all the un-terrible. things that Trump did who can be the.

anti-Trump in the Republican Party if. that's what voters want. And the odds. are they probably don't, but if that's. what they want, he's never going to be. that person. So. like it's just it's he is he just really. is kind of an awkward doofus and this is. just him and he is so ambitious that he. can't like see straight. And so this is. him like he should not be trying to. distance himself from the president. 3 years from the Republican nomination, right? Like this is when people be. voting 3 years from now for that. And so. it's just it's very it is it's very J.D. Vance which is the guy who thinks he can.

be. never Trump one day, the most pro-Trump. person the next day, most loyal vice president in one day, differ with him on the war the next day. Like it does it just it makes him look. calculating and um sort of what everyone. hates about politics, which is his. probably his biggest vulnerability in a. in a presidential election in 2028. You. know, most of these people seem to have. gotten away with um seem to be able to. get away with anything that that. political gravity doesn't exist so long. as you're near Trump. We obviously saw. that that bubble pierced when it came to.

Kristi Noem just a couple of weeks ago. Uh she was relegated to some new. position as head of the uh shield of the. Americas replaced by a by Mark Wayne. Mullen. We now have Pam Bondi coming in. um to testify for the oversight. committee and a subpoena was just issued. a formal subpoena was just issued to her. to testify. Do you think that this that. this veneer of protection um thanks to. Donald Trump is is kind of dissipating. now that these people are engaged in all. of their respective scandals, whether.

it's the war in Iran, whether it's uh. gas prices rising, whether it's uh. covering up the Epstein files? Yeah, I think there is something that. has changed, which is Republicans are. looking for some evidence of. independence. And they are necessarily not going to. take that from the president cuz they're. scared of the president, so they're. basically going for the weakest members. of his herd. Right, Kristi Noem is the. least in favor, the most controversial, let's take her out. Pam Bondi's probably. next on that list, go after her. And so. the question isn't like it's not every.

single person that Trump that works for. Trump is going to be at risk, but it if. you were the person that Trump is. unhappy with at at that moment, Republicans will use that as an. opportunity to demonstrate some. independence either to swing voters. or to the base angry about the Epstein. files not being uh released or whatever. else. Do you think that uh that as. that Pam Bondi would ever be at risk of. of getting ousted from her position? The. reason I ask that is because she's there. for one reason, it's because it's. expressly because she won't do the thing. that's causing people to turn on her.

Like she she won't release the files. That's the That's the sole reason that. she's in that spot in the first place. So, I get that that is causing people to. hate her and to lose confidence in her. But But if if not for that, she wouldn't. be in that job. Yeah, so I I don't think. that she is going to be fired and then. replaced with someone who would release. the Epstein files, someone who would. return the Justice Department to its. roots of independence, who would refuse. Trump's orders to prosecute his. political opponents. I think if she were.

to be ousted, it would be for someone. who was a better manager of doing the. things Trump wants, right? Like he's. He's not going to fire her for. mishandling the Epstein files. He's. going to fire her for the fact that she. has tried on multiple occasions to bring. indictments against people he wants to. go to prison and like face-planted in. incredibly embarrassing way. So, if he. can be convinced that there's someone. who will do that job of political. vengeance and corruption better than. her, then he can replace her. Like, I. don't really care if Pam Bondi gets. fired because the person who comes in. is.

most likely as bad as her but slightly. better at her job, right? And so, it's. It's just Same thing like I don't think. Mark Wayne Mullen is going to be. particularly good at. DHS. Like, maybe he'll manage the. department better, but. he's still going to I mean, he's he's. going to be as bad as Kristi Noem but. maybe slightly less clumsy in his. corruption. Yeah. Yeah, which which is. almost almost worse. I mean, it's. exactly Yeah, exactly. >> Um on another messaging front, uh. a message that that the right has. largely coalesced around right now amid. all of this bad news, the one kind of.

sliver silver lining that they've that. they've jumped on is the fact that uh. TSA agents aren't getting paid right now. because of the government shutdown, the. DHS section of the government shutdown, and there are long lines at airports, and they're all coming together. They've. got their marching orders, and they're. saying, um you can you can thank a. Democrat for this. So, what is your. reaction to what we're seeing as, you. know, the the Republicans kind of. coalesce around this messaging? I think. they're going to struggle to make people. specifically blame Democrats. Most.

people have no idea the government issue. the Department of Homeland Security is. shut down. Um they're more I think most. likely to blame the incumbent party. um. and to blame the president. Now, it's. also worth noting that Trump said he's. not signing a single piece of. legislation uh unless the SAVE Act is. passed, which the SAVE Act is not going. to get to his desk. Um. and so basically what he's essentially. saying is that if Democrats were to pass. a if Democrats and Republicans were to. come together and pass a bill to fund. TSA but keep ICE unfunded, he wouldn't. sign that bill. So, the person right now.

standing in the way of any sort of deal. on getting the TSA agents paid is Donald. Trump himself. Well, it's also worth. noting that Democrats have tried to do. that. I mean there there was a moment. where Greg Casar and John Cornyn were. both doing doing I guess publicity uh. press conferences. gaggles, whatever you want to call it, at at an airport in Texas and uh and. Greg Casar asked John Cornyn right there. on camera, "We have a standalone bill to. fund TSA. If you say you want to fund. these TSA agents, let's go ahead and do.

it." And and John Cornyn, the first. words out of his mouth were no. Yeah. I mean that is that is ultimately. the promise that Democrats have the more. reasonable position here. Um. and that's the problem for Republicans. The challenge for both parties is people. are not paying attention to this because. we're at war with Iran right now and gas. prices have gone up 40% in the last week. um and that's sort of drowning all of. this out. And finally, I want to talk. about um something that I've seen on on. the left as we're contending with our. own primary elections. Um and that is. the the kind of ever-present issue of.

progressive um or leftist candidates, DSA candidates, versus liberal moderate. candidates and kind of the infighting. that ensues. And we saw a little bit of. it with Talarico and uh and and Crockett. with that race. And it it feels very. much like, you know, for those of us who. were paying attention back during the. the Bernie-Hillary days, it feels like a. redux of of that race. And, you know, we're on on one hand, we have the more. difficult job because the Democratic.

Party is a. a less homogeneous coalition than than. the right is. But, I'm curious, you. know, >> [laughter]. >> as we engage deeper into this process. and tensions continue to escalate and. emotions continue to run higher and. higher, how do you avoid. getting into a position where we just. kind of are at each other's throats and. and these primaries are so bruising that. it fractures the very coalition that it. requires to win? You know, the these primaries are sort. of a little all over the maps. In some.

cases, they are. like truly liberal or leftist or. progressive or DSA verse moderate. Sometimes they are just different. approaches to politics, which is what I. think Texas between Talarico and. Crockett was. They kind of had the exact. same issue positions. It wasn't really. about one was leftist and one was a. moderate. It was just they sort of. disagreed on how politics works. You know, what? Some of it's. generational change, right? Where you. got a lot of candidates who may be more. progressive on some issues, but are. challenge are representing just a. younger set of leadership. You see that. in some of these Illinois primaries that.

are happening on Tuesday night. You see. that in, you know, to a certain extent, that's part of the dynamic in both. Massachusetts and Maine. Where you have. people challenging older incumbent. Democratic senators. Here's my take on it. Like, our party. needs to figure out, you know, what the. we're doing, what the we stand. for, you know, how we go execute. politics and primaries are one way in. which we do that. And I think Texas is. an object lesson because as as bitter as. that primary was online, and it was a. brutal online conversation. And there.

were some, you know, some tough ads. exchanged and some tough commentary on. the trail itself. But, before that. election was. called, both Talarico and Crockett said. they would support the other person and. campaign for them to help beat whoever. the Republican nominee is. And and they. have come together since then. And so, whatever happens between now and when. the primary votes are cast, I'm not. worried about. What I care about is. whether people come together on the back. end. So, you take Maine, right, which is. this increasingly bitter race. If Janet. Mills is the nominee, I fully expect.

Grand Planter to marshal his supporters. to campaign for her to beat Susan. Collins cuz that's the main goal. And if. Planter's a nominee, I expect Janet. Mills, her supporters at the DSCC and. Senator Schumer to do the same thing for. Planter. Like, that's what we That's. what we should expect. I do think that. there is a. Unlike 2016, everyone understands the. threat that we are under. And they are. the urgency of the cause. And so, we. have to We want to get people to come. together. Um And so, these I think the primaries. are healthy. It's They're but they're.

only healthy if there is unity after the. voters have their say, and we all get to. work of defeating the Republicans and. taking back the majority this fall. Well, from your lips to God's ears. Highly recommend for everybody who's. watching and listening right now, if. you're not signed up for Message Box, which is Dan's uh newsletter, it is the. smartest political writing online. I'm. going to put the link right here on the. screen and also in the post description. If you're listening on the podcast, I'll. throw it in the show notes. So, if. you're not yet subscribed, please do. yourself a favor and subscribe. Dan, as. always, I appreciate the time, man. Awesome. Thank you, Brian.

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