I Know Why Every Trump Goon Gets Humiliated: Wolff | Inside Trump's Head

I want to say this very slowly and very emphatically. Everybody in Trump world gets screwed. He needs to humiliate people. So in the Pam Bondi issue, I mean, she barely knew she was going. Then he does it publicly. Then he, You know, it's it's it's it's your your to blame. Get out. You're humiliated.

You will not make it to the end. You will not come out of this with your dignity. Actually, you will not come out of this alive. They will suffer for their relationship to Donald Trump. That's it. Michael. Joanna, we have crawled to the end of the week. I feel as if I am stopping on the Strait of Hormuz. and can't get through the bottleneck, because I just don't understand.

what's going on at this point. Or a bobbing is better than being sunk. in the Strait of Hormuz, which you would probably be. through the only. Well, I where do we begin? I mean, there's so much going on. Who would you rather be, Pam Bondi, Kristi Noem or Pete Hegseth? Well, I actually. I want to make a broader point, which I think has which as a well known point, but perhaps has gotten lost here, which is that.

everybody I'm going to I'm going to say. this very slowly and very emphatically, everybody in Trump world gets screwed. Yeah, 100%. Everybody who we are looking at now, who seems not on the firing line. It doesn't matter. They are going to get screwed. So just to give a, you know, a context,

you know, the Pam Bondi thing, okay, Pam, you know, it's not unusual for a cabinet. secretary to be, to be pushed out. And that happens in. usually quite a prescribed, formal, courteous way. I mean, unless you've, you've. you've done something terrible or you're them. or been involved in a scandal or, or whatever, but if you're. if you're just no longer the person the president wants in that job,

they, they, they make an arrangement, they tell you you have X amount of days. There's a certain kind of of, of pretense. that you're leaving on your, on, on your own terms. And it's all. these are people who are going to work to, you know, everybody's in this club here. and, and they, they accommodate they accommodate everybody. There's no reason not to there's no, there's no.

there's no, there's no downside in being courteous. except when you're Donald Trump. Everybody who gets fired. Everybody who gets removed, even if they've done been involved in no scandal, done nothing. Nothing. Nothing specifically that is that is egregious or against the policies. and, and and and practices.

of the administration gets is taken down. They are the ones blamed. He needs to humiliate people. So in the Pam Bondi issue, I mean, she barely knew she was going then he does it publicly, then he, you know, it's it's it's it's your your to blame. Get out your humiliated. Right. So total humiliation.

I just have to point out Michael, we've been doing this for almost 100 episodes. And when we start the books in your bookcase behind you. And for those listening and not watching this on YouTube, Michael, sits in front of a glorious. bookshelf, the sort of bookshelf that is in HBO shows about academics. and when we start it, the books will sort of organized. And now even the books themselves seem to be leaning to one side,

and there are gaps, and it just looks like the bookcase itself is weary of this world. But no, no, I'm going to push back. It's a bookcase of people who read books, unlike your own bookcase, who is just static there. And I'm sure you've never touched one of those, those those books, actually, they're not even real books that you have there. So you need real books. They're totally real books. And that actually, this is my little nook where I record the podcast from on. This has to do one more day. Okay?

And my other bookcase is over there with there are, I can assure you, there are piles of books, and I do occasionally pick them up. But you're right about his offensive defensive. At any rate, welcome to a bookcase in which books come in and out. and a at a, at a free click at a clip, I think. Yeah, it's a clip. Anyway, it's just funny because it looks like some of them are just leaning. wearily against each other, as this administration goes on.

But of course, you're right. The humiliation is part of it. And apparently he told Pam Bondi in the Beast. as they were driving to the Supreme Court, she had hoped to hang on for longer. And he was like, no, this is it. You're dumb. We have to we have to let you go. And perhaps he was, you know, on a coming down of the. high of firing Kristi Noem. But anyway, Pam Bondi is gone. And now there is a sort of bake off for for the job. Totally. And we should get to that.

But I just want to make this other point, and it's a point. I am extending to the rest of the administration. You will be humiliated. You will not make it to the end. You will not come out of this with your dignity. Actually, you will not come out of this alive. So it doesn't matter who you are. And we can go down the list here. Just begin to check them off. They will be. They will suffer for their relationship to Donald Trump.

That's it. And you'll have your security clearance revoked. You'll have your security staff revoked. You will be out there on your own, and it will be hard to get a job. Do you think that Pam Bondi I mean, that was sort of dual messaging coming out. On the one hand, Pam Bondi is thrilled because she's got an exciting new job. in the private sector. And yet we know that she was still pleading for her job. with Trump and thought she had longer to go. So is her exciting job in the private sector.

Pam Bondi Associates A little shingle that she'll be. Yeah, I'm sure, I'm sure she has. Yeah, I'm sure she has no job in the private sector. That's that's that's totally. Yeah. That's bogus. Here's a real problem most of us have to reckon with at some point. Your personal data like your home address, your phone number, even your sexual orientation and religious beliefs. are likely online right now being sold to the highest bidder.

But fear not. You do have agency within Cockney. In Cockney automatically hunts down your personal info. and removes it from hundreds of data brokers. They can't profit off you if they can't find you, and if you find your info on a specific site that isn't already covered, you can send in Cockney a link and a dedicated privacy expert. will handle the removal for you. So what are you waiting for?

Reduce your risk of identity theft and try in Cockney. and stop those annoying spam calls in their tracks. Acts now to get an exclusive 60% off with an annual in Cockney plan. Just go to in cockney.com/beast or click the link in the episode description box. I wonder how many people that are out there. who's been approached by Trump to join his cabinet who've said no.

because people say, oh, you can't resist it. You know that it's the call to power. You have to go and serve your country. And I just think, why on earth would anyone want to go and serve? You know, I mean, a very good question. I mean, that I've puzzled, been puzzling about for years and years. But the other reverse side of that is that. is that he's constantly offering jobs to everyone. So actually, actually, you don't know. if you've been offered a job.

Because because, well, he did he just he just offered me a job. Is that real or will I ever hear from him again? Was that just, It was just that just. Was he just blowing smoke? Did he. Does he even realize what he what the implications of what he has said? I mean, it's off a hey, why don't you be the attorney general? You you would look and then it's like, Okay. I have to say, I can't remember if I've ever told you this.

I was actually offered a job in the Trump one administration, right at the very beginning of the Trump had won the election. And I think they, as you pointed out, was actually in fire and fury. He was as surprised as anybody couldn't quite believe it. It was incredulous that he'd won the election. But there was a moment when Ivanka was going to run the East Wing. because it didn't look like Melania wanted to, so she wanted someone to go. to, and run her office and, approached me and asked me if I would like to go.

And I knew Ivanka. We talked during the campaign. You know, she was a woman about time at town. At the time, I was editing Cosmo, I think. And, it was one of those really bizarre requests, and I thought I couldn't possibly go and work for Donald Trump. And I wasn't quite sure what to do. So I called a few people and everybody was like, absolutely not. He's a really bad guy. You would be nuts to go and work for him. But I was sort of I had it at the back of my head.

and I thought, I'll take, I'll sleep on it. And then that evening he came out and said 5 million illegals. had voted for Hillary Clinton. I just thought, I can't possibly go and do this side. I called and said, no, no, I'm sorry. It's not the right time for me. Good luck, blah, blah, blah. And then about two weeks later, they called me back and said, are you absolutely sure you don't want to come? It's going to be really interesting. The East Wing is going to be reinvented. The office of the First Lady anchor is going to be, reinvented. And I said no. And so I've always been puzzled why people can't say no.

And I've often had arguments with people who say, oh my goodness, if the president calls, you must go. You are being called to serve your country. And you think, actually or not. And I know now, I know I would have come out. utterly slimed, completely outmaneuvered, because I don't have that level. of sort of Machiavellian, abilities. to, to deal with someone like that. But it was an interesting it was an interesting moment for me, actually.

No. Well, I think actually the, the, the answer to why people take this job. is because they can't get any other job. I mean, I mean, I don't know if that is that. Is that strictly true? It's certainly true in the case of Pete Hegseth. Yeah, it is, it is. I mean, if you go down the list of, of of people here, why or why. or why is this a cabinet of utter mediocrity is actually mediocrities.

is, is I was going to say mediocrity is full of them. Yes. A cabinet. of complete nobodies and failures and, and and the reason is they don't have other opportunities. I mean, this is this is it they you have to be. grateful for, for, for, for being offered this job, which is also becomes an adjunct adjunct to what? He demands this incredible loyalty. So not only why would you take this job, but.

why would you be so abject and on your belly? Because you you you need the job. I suppose that you realize as well, the more objects and the more loyal people. are to him, the more he treats them with disdain and despises them. And it's a weird. I mean, it's his own weird psyche that we're all caught up in at the moment, but I just it's just. so, yeah, when it's so naked to see.

But people need a job. I mean, there's a bottom line there. Everybody needs a job. And, and and in your own mind, I can't get a job. My career is stalled. I have nowhere to go. Now. The white House is offering me a job. And so you get fooled into. into taking that without calling me up. so that I can remind you that you will be humiliated in the end. There's no way out. There is no way out of this.

Well, and look what happened to Mike pence. I mean, Mike pence humiliated throughout his four years as vice. president and as vice president. And then at the end, there were calls to hang Mike pence. I mean, just a remarkable story that. You're right. So who would you rather be this week, Kristi Noem or Pam Bondi? Pam Bondi fired Kristi Noem, a husband has turned out to be Luneng. Mike and Kelly, who I know we don't like, but I'm just mentioning her.

Had a theory this week that Kristi Noem put out the story herself. about her husband learning. Well, I have no basis in that, in in that theory, but I like it. Well why not? Well, why not one? I guess because she won't know. Empathy. Yeah, I suppose Kristi Noem is is just one more of these characters. who it's impossible to understand. what game is, is that that she believes.

that she's playing to have her entire face. remade in the Donald Trump image, her relationship. with Corey Lewandowski, who is not a nice guy. I mean, who is, I mean, anyone who would have a relationship with Corey. Lewandowski, you would have to ask what is going on here. Oh, and, do you think that now that now that she's leaving. the Trump orbit, she's going to de maga?

What happens to the lips? Go down to the breast, go down. Does the hair get shorter. Because when she's. No no no no no. Quite the opposite. Which is another effect of of of this. It's not as if any of these people say, you know, okay, you know, that was a bad situation. I shouldn't have gotten myself into it. And Donald Trump is a really a prick. And, I'm out of here.

Close that chapter. They don't do that. They hang out on the on the sidelines, trying to reinforce their McGuinness. in the hope that they will be called back once again. And they often are. Yeah. I get Corey Lewandowski in point of fact. So Corey Lewandowski has been in the Trump. orbit since,

well, certainly since Trump was like, well, either late 2015 or early 2016, I can't quite remember. And. and he has been how many times? One, two, three, four, I think maybe as many as four times thrown out and called back. And he's just is there. That's that's his reason. for being to wait for the call to come back. And, so, I mean, he has no other life and, and and he has.

I mean, first thing he has, I mean, I mean, Corey Lewandowski, when he came into the Trump, into the Trump orbit was a nobody, third, fourth rate, Republican political consultant of no, of no consequence whatsoever. And in fact, the measure of that would be that he went to work for Donald Trump. in 2015 or 2016 or early 2016, when there was no possibility. that Donald Trump was going to be anything more than a joke.

So Corey Lewandowski agreed to go work. for a joke, because he had no other. Or, you know what? What else you needed? He needed a job. And, and there and there he has stayed on the. in this in this not not moving outside of this orbit and all. Michael, how does he get paid? Does he get paid for introductions to Donald Trump? I mean, I'm always fascinated by how these people make a living.

Yeah. I mean, everybody is is on the, yeah. Is on the grift in some in some way you're being paid. and there's all a myriad ways to be paid. for your own proximity to this administration. Okay. I might just say my cast has popped up. Again, lots of comments about the cat and some comments that you said that. you didn't think I was an animal person, and then inquiries about whether or not.

you had a pet. Michael, do you have a pet? No, I hate pets. Not interested in pets at all. Well, let me let me in in my in my defense. for the pet lovers, I have had many pets. I have just passed that point in my life where I am. I want anything to do with pets. I think if you had a pet you would have a tortoise. But it was spent six of them six months of the year. It's sweet, but, you know, I, I mean, I have many children,

so I know you have many more children. You've got a ten year old and a five year old. God bless you. So, it's all good. Anyway, so the. Well, what's Kristi name going to do? Does she go back to South Dakota? Does she set up a DC so she. No. Yeah. They never go back. If now they never go back to South Dakota. So yeah. No, I'm sure she's set up in Washington and I'm sure she maintains, you know, remember, the executive branch is.

it's central. I mean, I've sort of seen how how this this work, even if you are thrown out your your, you're still enmeshed in this. What what would what would what is it like to support network? Well, it's not so much as support that seems more more reasonable. than than it is. You know, it's is enormous numbers of people.

who have had this same experience and continue to have this experience. and continue to have relationships with other people who have this experience. And so it's like a, a. it's like an ecosystem of dysfunction. that everybody is plugged into and getting paid for. I mean, because this is, you know, the moving this government in, even.

in, in increments is worth. an enormous amounts of money to so many people. Right. And I wonder, is Kristi Noem called Pam Bondi and said, you know, hey, girl, let's get Martini's and discuss it, or whether or not. they have no connection. I mean, I'm just sort of fascinated in, in the sort of collegiality of it. or lack of collegiality because they all seem paranoid. and as you're always saying, they actually all hate each other.

because they're, well, they are competitive. And that's an that doesn't mean you can't you can't, you can't have a martini with someone you hate. Good point. Well, it'd be interesting to see Christie Gnome's physical development. and if perhaps, like Kimberly Guilfoyle, who we remember. was once married to Gavin Newsom and and looked very, Francisco natural. And we were constantly running pictures of what she used to look like. Kimberly Guilfoyle, who was once Kimberly Guilfoyle.

But where is she now? Utterly disappeared. Oh, she's in that room. She's having a great time. She's the ambassador. Yes. To Greece. Well, I'm sure she's getting ready for the summer. What? She'll spending lots of time on the on the beach. Or perhaps she's stamping people's lives as if, you know. Of course we don't. We don't know if she's having a great time, and she may having this Greece may be a bitter pill for her. Remember, she really thought that she was going to be a future First lady. of the United States, either either married to.

Gavin Newsom or married to, dancing in your undies. Donald Trump Junior is now apparently getting married to Bettina Anderson, the girlfriend that he left Kimberly Guilfoyle for. They were planning to get married in the ballroom at the white House. But of course, the ballroom. Well, that's been stopped for now. So I think the Tina apparently is having her shower at Mar-A-Lago,

but they're trying to figure out where to have the wedding, and they may have to have it in the white House. So I'm enthused by the fact that if they do get married in the white House, they'll have to sort of shoot it with the East wing cut out of the picture, because it will still be a demolition site, because we know Judge. Leon stops the ballroom from going ahead this week. Will anybody stop Alcatraz from being reopened? What do you think about that story? Donald Trump has asked for $150 million to reopen. Alcatraz and put bad guys back in there.

Well, I think this is extraordinary. And I think it it as it prompts a couple of questions. The, the first question is this Donald Trump's. keen and and and acute perception of, of where Alcatraz exists. in the mental firmament of. at least a year of a remaining a can't be couple of generations.

It's been so long. But at least a generation of Americans, his generation of of Americans, and so his call to do that. is somehow ties in with law and order, somehow. ties in with, with making America great again. All of these things. and and it's possible that that is what is on his mind. And by the way, this will never happen. So this is wholly symbolic or is it something else?

Is it that Donald Trump and I would probably go with. this is Donald Trump a complete moron? And and I think that that is. that is it I mean, there's no way Alcatraz has been out of business for 63 years. It's an important tourist site in San Francisco. The rebuilding of it would cost an immense amount of amount of money.

It didn't particularly work when it when it was in business, which is why they got got rid of it was way. too expensive to maintain among among among other reasons. So he's talking about this just because it came into his head. Alcatraz. Well, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Remember Alcatraz? That would be a good idea. Oh, yeah. Well, that's an impression of Donald Trump, Michael. It's an impression of a moron. And, and I want to I want to.

and I think that's important not to not to distinguish Donald Trump. for being Donald Trump even as a moron, but to just, put him in the camp of all morons. He's a stupid guy, which is always under misunderstood, misinterpreted, or, something, something that you can't, you can't come to terms with. on a specific level that the president of the United States is.

And because he has protested this, I think we can say that. it is probably true, a real low IQ guy. I mean, he has no idea. I mean, it just is. Alcatraz, stuck in his head from a movie he saw long ago. And, and that's a good idea. That's a good idea. We need good ideas around here. What's a good idea? How about reopening Alcatraz? I mean, it's it is. I think it's small. And then that I think Trump's fear is ending up in jail.

And what is the jail that would most haunt him because of his age? Because he's 79 and he's got, as we are, constantly chronicling in the Daily Beast, cankles and and nasty bruising. and a horrid rash at the back of his neck, I think Alcatraz is the place. that he conjures up when he thinks what would it like to be put in prison. for various misdeeds if if I were to be found guilty of them? So I actually think it's a sort of.

Freudian projection of his. Well, that that may be true, but just because it's. a Freudian projection does not mean he's not a moron. No, no, no, of course not. Of course not. But I'm just saying, I think that's why Alcatraz looms large. Because it's actually the very thing that he's afraid of. And, and and remember, it did have a place in the movies, in the movies of a certain time. And he falls back on that, you know, he's the 79 year old man. whose formative years were the 1950s and 1960s.

And that's where he is. He doesn't really much move off of that period in time. Yeah, Alcatraz is his equivalent to his fantasy lawyer is it makes sense. You get saying when he was, you know, in and out of court in New York, before he was reelected. All right. So Peter says the thing, I think I just want to emphasize this and go. that this is let's reopen. Alcatraz hasn't been opened.

It hasn't operated in 63 years, didn't work when it did. operate is now an important, tourist attraction in San Francisco. So San Francisco in the state of California. is not going to give this up so easily. And, and, and would would cost infinitely more. to maintain than other prisons. So this is a this is not going to happen. B this should not happen. See, there is no logic to even suggesting.

that we reconsider this proposition. Anyway, that's Donald Trump. Pete Hegseth this week has fired Randi George, who was the chief of staff to the Army. What significance does that have? And there's been a lot of grumbling about Pete Hegseth coming out of the Pentagon. He is very clearly alienating. The, the, the ranking military.

So why would you do that? Well, you know, I mean, actually, they kind of are at war. with these, with these guys, these guys, these guys are. are a different kind of general than they want. Remember the modern hierarchy of of the military is populated. by technocrats, guys who are. would be as home at in McKinsey as they are in the,

in the Pentagon and in the military. They are they are a different. a kind of of elite, I suppose. And these guys are against. anybody who's an elite, because that indicates some kind of merit. Craddick level of achievement. They're good at their jobs. They have they have they're they're they're not just people. who came along and, and, and just just made it up.

They have they have they know what they know. They have learned their craft. Unlike Pete Hegseth, the, the weekend, the co-host of a weekend television show. who's nevertheless brought his warrior ethos to the Pentagon. I say warrior ethos and inverted commas, obviously. And I'm sure there is lots of fury within the Pentagon that he had. instructed his broker at Morgan Stanley, according to a report.

in the Financial Times, to buy into defense manufacturers. and defense contractors before just before the war began. Yeah. You know, I mean, I mean, Hegseth is another. let's just go, you know, you know, the moron ocracy here. Hegseth is not only a lifelong drunk, but also stupid. Back, can we say lifelong drunk? Doesn't he promise that he won't drink on this job?

No. Promises to what he'll do afterwards. But. But wasn't. What about you then? At his confirmation hearing? Yes, but that's clearly ridiculous. How do you go from a lifelong drunk to to stop? I'm going to take this job. I'm not going to drink. Yeah. And again, I think we've said anybody who has. who has seen Pete Hegseth with a, with a martini, please let us know. Well, and also, let's not forget that his own mother wrote a note to him. just saying he was an abuser of women, and he needed to get his act together,

something she later recanted once he got hired by Donald Trump. But she could not have been more critical. And for a mother to write a son, a note. like that must have taken some terrible behavior. Yes. And and I knew, you know, his his boss, the person who hired him at Fox was Roger Ailes, who was somebody, who I've spent a lot of time speaking to, in the past. He is, of course, dead. And, and, Roger.

was, let's see, let's. How can I characterize this? He he was he would get very jolly. when he would talk about about Pete Higgs says stupidity. Really? I mean, the guy went to Princeton. Isn't that's a sign? How did he get into Princeton? If he's like, oh, I don't I have no idea. Within the Trump Trump world, Pete Hegseth was always regarded. as a as a joke because he was so abject in his,

in his in his desire to suck up to Trump. Well, and and he can forget but he refused to let reporters in there. That was that incredible image of all the reporters. leaving the Pentagon, because he had basically kicked them out. They all walked out with their boxes. And then, of course, the judge overruled him and said, no, that's against the First Amendment,

one of the supposed great sacred cows of the MAGA movement. And so now people, and, oh, I just. just add to that this week that he has been. reprimanded by the Pope. Oh, yes. Let us not forget that because of his insanely vicious language. about bombing people, he said that Trump untied. what's great about Donald Trump and being the secretary of defense. under Donald Trump is that Trump unties his hands.

so that they can destroy the enemy as viciously as possible. And of course, you've got the ridiculous named Operation Epic Fury. It's awful because it makes you want to root against them, which means you're rooting against America and you never want to reach against. America. Of course not. But these guys make it very difficult. for the American if the American pope has, taken exception. to the American secretary of defense, I'm letting the pope.

I'm not seeing the pope do it for us. Just let me continue this to say about Pete Hegseth that he will. He's not coming out of this alive. He will be humiliated in this as they all will. But let's just reserve a place right now for Pete, this humiliation, of course. And Trump has already maneuvered to make it clear that this was Pete's idea. Right? He keeps saying, oh, it was. Pete was first to suggest that we go in and bomb Iran and peop.

Pete wants to keep on going. I wasn't sure. You know, I'm happy to reach a settlement that Pete and Dan Kaine raised. And Kaine is leading the military operations. You know, they want to keep on going. They don't want to settle. Pete was disappointed when I suggested we settle. So separating himself from his defense secretary and then. Hegseth trying to throw it. back on Trump by saying, Trump unties our hands. He just says go after them viciously. So they're sort of already beginning to to blame each other,

because we know at some point the reckoning is coming. Well, I think the reckoning is coming very soon. And I think we're, we're, we're at at week. What are we, week six now. Yeah, literally six weeks. Today we woke up and discovered we'd started bombing Iran. And so I think that with. there is a new clarity in which people see that. the war is really only about one thing is win or lose. On the issue of the Strait of Hormuz.

That's it. If Donald Trump and he keeps pushing this off, now you solve that problem, you solve that problem. It's your it's your it's your oil. Forgetting the fact that oil is a global commodity. and the prices set by, on, on a, on a global standard. You solve the problem of the Strait of Hormuz, which would mean. which would seem to indicate he has no idea how to solve this problem.

We have spent six weeks bombing Iran, and all we've got for. it is the Strait of Hormuz, which nobody had heard of. Almost nobody had heard of before, before we started bombing. Iran is now in contention. Nobody knows what to do with it. Well, it's, so what it. will be the the winner of this war will be the the. the party or parties who control the Strait of Hormuz.

What we have kind of new. clarity about at the six weeks mark. is that this war will be won or lost, according to who controls the Strait of Hormuz. I mean that that is it. If at the end of the day, the Iranians still control the. the Strait of Hormuz, and no one at this point. seems to have any idea how to get them to not control the Strait of Hormuz.

They win. We lose. Something which Donald Trump doesn't seem to have anticipated. A tool in the planning. Surely, surely, the military planners must have thought about this scenario. I mean, it does seem incredible that we are here. They knew about the Strait of Hormuz. They knew that 20% of the world's oil flows through there, or gets carried through there on enormous cargo ships. How did no one anticipate this?

I can't I can't answer that. It seems. It seems certainly like someone should have anticipated this. Yeah, it's just an incredible situation, but it doesn't it itself. Yeah, but it it now comes down to this one. I mean, it has, you know, so all of these, these issues. that Donald Trump has, has talked about and somehow dismissed and somehow. rationalized, and let's.

let's assume that they are dismissible and rational, sizable. But except for this one, in this one has real. profound consequences to the world. You know, not speculative consequences. Yes. If the were the Iranians to have a nuclear capability. or to be in sight of a nuclear capability, that would be, that would be, not good, but that is still speculative.

How would that have happened? But this is very this is clear. The Iranians now control. a central point of access in the world economy. They can shut it down. Right. And that was not the case before we started bomb. Incorrect. It was not the case, nor nor actually the Iranians. now claim this as Iranian territory. That was not the case before.

So we have just we have we have pushed the Iranians into, into, not only into understanding. and then to executing on the fact that they have this choke point. Okay. So you're now inside Donald Trump's head, where we go three times a week. What is he thinking? Is he thinking, someone else can sort out Strait of Hormuz? I'm bored. I'm moving on.

Is he thinking, who else am I going to fight? Yeah. No, no. Well, yeah. I mean, he's I think I think in terms of the Strait of Hormuz, it's. going to I'm going to blame somebody else. This is not my problem. This is this is the Europeans problem or this is the Chinese problem, or it's somebody else's problem. I'll let them have it without quite being able to. to, fathom, acknowledge or, or or express to himself.

the fact that, you know, the price of oil, our oil may not have to go. through the Straits of Hormuz, but our the cost of our oil is the same. Price is the same as anyone else's oil. And the cost of oil is, of course, the, the, the, the, the central point. that we're that we're that we're now dealing with. Right. So we've got more blowback from Scotus this week for Trump too.

It's really been a very bad week for him. He stalks out of the Supreme Court, which you said was largely performative. But nevertheless, the arguments that he'd put forward to revoke. the 14th amendment, the birthright citizenship, appeared to be. being torn to shreds, by his very own justices. that he had appointed Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. And then we learned that the most conservative.

of the justices, Samuel Alito, was, in fact, hospitalized last month. Samuel Alito is in his 70s, is definitely one of the older justices, which then, I mean, in a sense, this is significant. because he would just it were he to be re hospitalized. And it turns out that he's got some terrible disease. Or were it that he suddenly thought, okay, what am I doing here? I want to enjoy my last few years court free and he decides to resign.

It doesn't really make much difference, does it? Because Trump will just appoint another judge and that will mean. he'll have four justices of the Supreme Court. The the the it's a chokepoint. So the Strait of Hormuz is a choke point. Justice Alito is a choke point. And what that the choke point is. if, Alito.

If a Democrat is elected president. in 2028, the likelihood is that they will Abe. they will be able to replace, Justice Alito. He's 77 years old. You know, there's a there's a there's a good case on that. So the Democrats could claw back a conservative seat. I mean, this is a pill that this actually, I mean, if you think about this, this may be one of the this is the pivotal point, a certainly.

a pivotal, a pivotal point of a of a prospective. Democratic administration, the ability to make that appointment. If Alito, however, leaves the court soon, that would give Trump the ability to make an appointment. You know, that could be a 20, 25 year possible appointment. So, again, a choke point.

Now so right now on a, on a strategic. political basis, if there is if the Democrats. are successful in the midterms, that would. Would inhibit. Trump's ability to make an appointment. So, so just so I understand,

the Supreme Court justices. get confirmed by the Senate, correct? They do. Yes. So it would take the Democrats winning the Senate in the midterms. to hold off another conservative judge. Were Alito to decide to resign before before the midterms. would be the only opportunity that Trump might have confidently to replace. Well, yeah, because I mean, judge if if they lose the,

If the Republicans lose the Senate know. then they're I mean, they're then they're going to be screwed on that. But even if they don't lose the Senate, if they whittle that majority, I mean, it's going to become more difficult. And and in remember, during the Obama. administration, the Republicans held up the Obama appointment. So Merrick Garland. Exactly. So, so there's now precedent for that,

and that certainly what the Democrats would, would try to do. So I, you know, yeah, I mean, Alito. has got to go like soon. So, That'll be interesting to see it will. And as we know, we mentioned earlier that Pam Bondi was fired. in the car on the way to the two of them. attending the Supreme Court, and it was the first time that a sitting. president had actually attended oral arguments at the Supreme Court.

And you can only imagine his hulking presence. on the front row of the public gallery, which is where he sat. Although the justices seemed unintimidated. by by him, as far as we could tell. Who replaces Pam Bondi? At the moment, it's our friend Todd Blanch, who's. the interim attorney general. And I say our friend because we spent some time, reading through the transcripts of his famous interview.

with Ghislaine Maxwell in Tallahassee last summer, before she was swiftly moved. after praising the president. and claiming that she'd never seen any untoward behavior with Donald Trump. and Jeffrey Epstein. And she was whisked off to Camp Bryan in Texas, where she has a much nicer life. and hopefully she has an emotional support puppy. Which I know you wouldn't need because you're not a pet guy. But, I think if you were in jail, it's probably quite helpful to have one. So Todd Blunt, do we think he is is.

And I'm also told he may have put the last knife. into Pam Bundy's chest or back. Possibly. But he's up for contention, as is apparently another Fox News host. Jeanine Pirro. Yeah, I think that that's just, you know, you put out Jeanine Pirro name. because that makes anybody else, sound better.

That is not going to happen. Not in a million years. Are you are you how do you know? How do you know? I mean, even more bizarre things have happened. We didn't think that Pete Hegseth would be made secretary of defense. Is it more absurd to think of Jeanine. Pirro sitting astride the Trump Justice Department? I mean, I own husband went to jail for tax evasion. Trump would probably, like, laughed. No. Well, I can say that I you know, I, have I have I told you about my,

my evening at the Hay Adams Hotel in which, Jeanine Pirro got as drunk. as anyone I have ever seen get drunk. I mean, a drunk kind of situation in which I was like, what? What am I going to do? What am I going to do with her? Was it just the two of you having a drink at. How were you having a drink with Jeanine Pirro? No, it was one other person. And it was the three of us.

And with the other person, I was like, what? What are we going to do? What do you do? I mean, this was so, I mean, she was, you know, she she couldn't move. And, I mean, eventually this was handled, and the other person actually at least knew knew where she had to go. And she was kind of loaded into a car, but, but. Oh, my God.

Okay, so Jeanine Pirro would have to swear off drinking for the job, one hopes. But anyway, I think the politics of this, of this, of the attorney general are as follows. Todd. Blanch is very close to Boris Epstein. Boris Epstein is the president's. fundamental legal advisor. That he is the person behind the curtain in in that Trump way.

He doesn't work for, for the, the executive branch. So he is he's in a position of being able to profit off. of this incredible influence and maintain this, this, this, this influence. So he's as influential as if he were, say, for instance, the attorney general, but, but has the freedom of, of being outside of the executive branch,

but he is the go to person. What do I do? Who do I appoint? Okay. That's a question that that, that that Trump will turn to Boris Epstein. And he will and he will do this. partly because Boris is always on the phone with Trump constantly. So Boris has played Trump kind of masterfully over, over. quite a number of years.

And he has done this by being always on the phone. with the president, with Trump. And, I mean, during the campaign, that was sort of a joke in the end. In the end. And he's and he's, he's also, a person who's gifted at saying. exactly what Trump wants to, hear. So it and during the campaign, he would, Boris would call.

and I mean, he would called to call Trump ten times a day, 15 times a day. Without almost without limit. And then and, and Trump would then make fun of him. He will hold up the phone. Boris and let's say Boris Epstein. But his name was spelled wrong. And and he said, oh, it's, it's, it's it's Boris. He's going to he's going to tell me he's calling to tell me how great it is. And what a what a political advantage it is that I've been indicted again.

So, one of those. kind of weird things in which some Trump might seem. to have some self-awareness, except, of course, that he. that he really likes the fact that Boris is always calling him. and always telling him what he wants to hear. Boris is the person who brought Todd Blanch into the Trump orbit, and Todd has always been Boris's person.

So I would say the likelihood is that, that Todd Blanch is on a fast track to be the attorney general. The problem is that Todd Blanch. has spent most of his life as a Democrat, so that is worrisome, if not alarming to your, hard. core, your hardest core MAGA people. And when you say a Democrat, you mean it was he actively involved.

in the Democratic Party or he's just given money to Democratic candidates? Oh, he's just essentially, you know, a Democrat in his head, as was Trump. I mean, Trump was a Democrat until he decided, having looked. at the Bernie Sanders route and decided, no, I don't want to go left of Bernie. I might as well go right over here. Yeah. I mean, this is all expedience. Yes, yes, of course. But Trump's conversion has been reflected. in the full range of MAGA policies. Todd Blanch is a lawyer.

He's not a I'm not a political person. He doesn't have a. I mean, other other than supporting Trump in the Justice Department. We don't know. I, we don't know. I mean, what's Todd Blanchard says, has Todd Blanchard disavowed abortion? Has he has he disavowed? We don't really know those those things. I'm sure he would disavow them. But, you know, these MAGA guys are suspicious. Rightly suspicious, not least of all because of probably.

because of Donald Trump. But now that doesn't mean that he won't get the job. I think that he probably will get the job. And, and as I say, he's on the fast track. That's an issue. The Democrat having been a Democrat. Well, that's and that's, that's an issue. But they will probably overcome that. And he will probably be the guy. But having said that, he too, if he becomes. the attorney general, will be in turn humiliated.

Michael, well, we are still looking for suggestions of how to celebrate. our 100th episode of Inside Trump's Head, which is the week after next. We started this in August and we thought, well, let's see how long we can go. And in fact, it's only gotten the torrent of news. and the the zone is being. re flooded on a, on an hourly, almost minute by minute basis.

We have some rather good limericks this week. I meant to read them on on Thursday and I forgot, so I thought we would have a couple now. And we're still up for all suggestions in terms of how we should celebrate, celebrate 100th anniversary or perhaps commiserate. Okay. We've got one from Paul Watson this time at 809. Trump isn't much of a reader. He's more of a mouthy mouth breather with so little merit.

How did he inherit his role as our supreme leader? Then we have one from Cold Cream Kitty, which has a very good first line regarding the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says he's going to lose. What about us stuck with this fuss? We're trumped by domestic abuse. I thought that was rather good. And then we have one that's not quite a Limerick. It's not quite a haiku. I'm not quite sure what it is. And it's by someone called Boomer Dragon, Kat,

Michael and Joanna's podcast leaves Trump feeling like an outcast. He humps and he grumps on the Harrumph and even Columbus. But he'll never be able to outlast. So perhaps that means we've. got another 100 episodes to go. If we go the distance. to the end of this administration, I am, they should do that math. But I admit it. Maybe I can't face that.

Actually, we don't need to do the math. I think. Let's just keep trying to monitor them flooding the zone. And I was heartened to hear that, Carolyn Leavitt, who, as we know is the press spokesman at white House, press spokesperson. and also being rumored to lose her job. as Trump loses yet more control of the narrative. Was on a panel this week where she talks about how wonderful it was. to walk in the door and see her children, because her children immediately. grounded her, and she stopped caring about what the rest of the world said.

And she said, she said, when I see my children and I'm grounded. and I'm back at home, I think, who cares what The Daily Beast says? And I thought, well, you know, who cares, Caroline? The voters care, voters care. Actually, people are on to you. and they see you standing up there with your machine gun lips. So I'm very glad that we're living in her head. Well, I'm one would hope the voters care, but I'm never sure that. But but the more important point is that she clearly cares.

We're inside Trump's head and we're under Caroline's skin. If you haven't, please subscribe to the Daily Beast podcast. We just hit 601,000 subscribers with thrilled. Thank you so much. And if you haven't subscribed, do independent media. So we really appreciate your support. So the good news is we have so many beast tier members now. There are too many names to read out and we really appreciate your support.

Thanks to our production team Devin, Roger Reno, Ryan Murray, Rachel Passa, Heather Pizarro, Neil Rosen house.