Monumental Sign Trump Is Running Scared: Rothkopf | The Daily Beast Podcast

And I'm going to give you just a little tiny, incy wincy bit of hope. Last week they appointed a head of the CDC. Who is a woman who actually is a public health professional. Erica was actually a former deputy. surgeon general who is respected in the field. And who is a woman of color, who is the least Trumpy nomination. they've made anywhere and is a good pick. To me, that's a sign that they're running scared.

I'm John Nichols, this is the Daily Beast podcast, and there is full panic in the white House at one point, apparently, according to a new story in the Wall Street Journal, Trump was. led out of the Situation Room because he couldn't be there. He was screaming so much. Obviously, under pressure, Susie Wiles is having an offsite today to reassure. Republican candidates and Republican. congresspeople that there is a future. Well, is there a future and Cash Patel?

Well, David Rothkopf has been talking to his sources at the FBI. and in the intelligence community, and he will be giving us further details. What the hell is going on with this current cabinet? So no time to waste. And just a reminder, before we get into it with David Rothkopf, you can join. the Daily Beast community as a friend of the beast. You get a discount on the subscription to our website. You also get early and exclusive. content, video content, so it's really worth doing.

And it's a real way to support independent media. so we can bring you the conversations that we do. David Rothkopf So let us help. Help. It's Monday. It's Monday. You should be full of energy and excited. It's a new week, new exciting things. Good news happening all over across America. So Susie Wiles is having an off site today. for frustrated Republicans.

What can they have to talk about? What can they have to talk about? Oh wait, the war, tariffs, ice, everything. The Epstein files losing the midterms. David. What's happening? I know you've been speaking to your insider sources. at the intelligence agencies, and you've got more information on cache. Put it out. I'm so excited to to talk about him. Should we, however, kick off with should we kick off with the war.

in the cargo ship that we've just blown a hole in their engine room? What? Look, I mean, we can kick off wherever you want. You want to kick off with the offsite? I mean, because she's having an offsite, and it's a little bit like that meme of the dog sitting in the room. surrounded by fires saying, you know, everything's fine. because you know that. that's that's basically where they're going to end up. She's going to be like, okay, we've got this under control. And anybody who's, you know, sentient. and has not completely, you know,

so sold, you know, for all of their kind of perceptive powers, realizes that, everything, everything, as you said, is going wrong. The war is going wrong. The economy is going wrong. Political polling is going wrong. The stories of each one of the members of this clown car. cabinet are just going absolutely crazy, as we'll talk about later. Trump himself is going nuts.

I thought the most interesting story of the whole weekend, actually, was the story in the Wall Street Journal where they said. when they were trying to rescue the so the, the flier in Iran, the soldier that to be the man who'd been shot down. When you say flier I, I think the technical term is. Wait, what? The flier. What is the for fliers. Yeah, that's fliers I have a pilot's license to.

Well. Oh, you do all right. And you'll call the flier? We mostly call the fliers. License you and Lauren Sanchez. Oh my God. Yeah, yeah. You see all my Botox and my, someone someone sent me a note today saying she looks practically amphibious. No, she. That's very cruel. And we should not be commenting on the appearance of women. That's a choice she's making. She's an adult woman. We should be supportive. But so true.

Let's. Let's go to the airmen. To to the, flier who was being rescued. and the president, the commander in chief was not allowed in the room. by the generals who were overseeing this sensitive operation. because they or the people close to Trump thought he would go nuts, because he had apparently spent the whole day. screaming that this was going to be like Jimmy Carter.

and Desert One, and it was a disaster, and it would look bad for him. Not, of course, caring much about the airmen. Right? Well, don't look great for them. And I didn't know what I would. You know, the guy was, like, scrambling for his life. Right. But but the point is, Trump is so unfit. to serve as commander in chief that they're not even letting him. in the room at the most sensitive moments because they know he's nuts.

And that's going to be the underlying theme of, you know, Suzy. while like, how do we get for two and a half more years. with a president who's gone completely bonkers every single day? Well, and so, you know, she'll be like, oh, yeah, we've got this all under control. Don't worry about a thing. But of course, that's all they could do is worry. that the war right now. is a disapproved of by two thirds of Americans. And the other one third either didn't understand the question or they're right.

They didn't understand the question. Well, we still don't know. As John Bolton pointed out over the weekend, why we're credible source. Well, but but at least he's been in the room with Trump and his. his descriptions of what it's like being in the situation room with Trump. A fascinating because he said he hated it. He felt very uncomfortable because the room was full. of people who knew more than he did. He'd never been in a room where a president felt looked.

as if he was feeling more uncomfortable, which I thought was a it's a, you know, that Trump is feeling uncomfortable. and obviously he's freaking out because this war isn't. what he thought it was going to be, which is year in and year out like. they got in Venezuela. Well, look, I mean, I've talked to a lot of people. who've been in the room with Trump and they've had the same feeling. Anytime he thinks there is an expert who might actually. contradict him, he gets uncomfortable.

Right. Here's here's allergic to people who do not immediately fall. to their knees in front of him and say, oh my God, you're incredible. I've never seen a red tie that long. And you know, John Bolton is absolutely right about that. Although he's wrong about most things. You know, John Bolton is a really bad guy, who one of the most senior people in our state Department. who later went on to be senior person in other jobs, once said to me,

what most people in the government worry about somebody stabbing you in the back, John Bolton will stab you in the chest. You know, he's just super combative. But having said and and by the way, he also thinks that. what Trump should do during this war is double down. He's actually been. saying Trump should, you know, go harder at the Iranians. So well, here's. what he's always maintained that America should take Iran out as a state, right. And get rid of the leadership. What he is perceptive on is what it's like watching Trump having.

to make difficult decisions and be around people, as you say, who are experts. And his point is that Trump hasn't explained the war. So so we got we we referenced him because you said. a third of the people either haven't don't understand. the question or they're lying about their disapproval of the war. And he said they just haven't sold the war to anybody. Nobody understands what we're in. How are they going to sell the war, John?

What are they going to do, say, yes, we should be illegally attacking. this country of 92 million people. That has a 7000 year old civilization. When what? Every single time we've tried to do this for the past 60 years in Vietnam. or in Afghanistan or in Iraq, we have failed. to produce the change that we seek because our military is not designed. for it, and our people don't have the political will to say, yeah, we'll just go on and do this forever until the other side gives up.

But what John Bolton is missing out here. is that we don't have the tools. to achieve the goals he wants to achieve. He's got animus, but he doesn't have any idea. how to manifest it into a constructive strategy. Trump doesn't either. Trump isn't you know, I mean, Bolton's given this a thousand times more thought than Trump. But the Iranians are leaning back. and they're going, okay, guys, bring it. Well, don't have tools. You want to you want to sink a cargo ship, as you said,

what is sinking or shooting a cargo ship in the engine room, Dave? Well, first of all, it's not a real big flex, right? Because it's a cargo ship. It's not firing back. Secondly, it's not really full of anything. Contraband. It's just a gesture. But what does it do? It pushes up the price of oil. We saw that. It pushes down the markets. We've seen that. And every time the price of oil goes up and the markets go down, who wins?

Iran wins because Iran puts more pressure on Trump. Because Trump wants out of this thing. He does not want to look bad. And, you know, it's goes back to his thing with the fire airmen. He doesn't want to have egg on his face at the end of all of this. And the Iranians know all they have to do is lean back. and Trump will self-inflicted wounds until the cows come home. And that's that works for them. Well, what's fascinating, as well as he can't stop himself, so is truth.

So shelling like mad, he's saying, oh, I'm sending everybody for talks in Islamabad. And then the Iranians say, well, well, we're not going to go. So where does that put him? I mean, it's the most remarkable. I can't think of a president. who has communicated like this before. and given the enemy so much ammunition. Well, that's because other. presidents communicate and Trump improvises.

He he does free association. His he he literally is sitting there with a megaphone to the outside world, untruths and anything that crosses his freaking mind goes out to the world. He does it. So for it. Does it support his agenda? No. Does it help him? Is he strategic? Does he keep quiet when he's supposed to keep quiet? No. Does he alienate his allies or give ammunition to his enemies? Yes. You know, he is a mess.

And I you know, I think that, you know, we we are we have these big discussions. and, you know, their panel. shows on Sunday mornings and senators and everybody gets together. and they look very grave and they go, well, I think in Iran. you know, this reminds me of the Suez crisis of 1956. But but the reality is the president's out of his fricking mind. His brain is porridge. And, you know, everybody's working around him trying to figure out. how to make him look like a president and not scream at them.

And to sort of clean up on aisle Trump. And that's this whole administration. And that's what, that's what that's what Suzy Wiles is doing right now. Clean up on aisle I love it. Clean up on. Oh Trump I know, I mean, people. must be going in to talk to her just so panicked. And no matter how many slices of melon they put out in the corporate. entertaining, which is, is obligatory when you have, an off.

site, you know, horrid pieces of fruit that nobody wants to eat. But you do because you say bored. And then there's always some sort of blueberries dotted around, I think. I think you're I think you're confessing from your scenes. From your own life. Yeah, totally, totally from many off sites, which, you know, you always wanted to actually run away from the off site. But I wouldn't want to be Susie Wiles today, trying to calm a pack of Republicans who are worried that they're going. to be run over in the midterms.

Well, can I tell you one of the things she's going to say to them? And I actually I believe this is true. She's going to tell them where it's going to be over some. That's the main thing everybody wants to hear. And Trump needs to have it over soon. And, you know, the. the problem is because the Iranians know he needs to have it over Syria. And because he has no credibility they're playing it. But here's what's going to happen. They're going to do a deal. And the deal is going to look a little bit like this.

The Iranians will promise. not to produce a nuclear weapon ever. Trump will tout this as a great achievement, although that's been their position forever and was actually their position. in the JCPoA, which was the deal that they struck in 2015 with Obama. He also. Right. And he will also do what Obama did, which is he'll release some of their money. So for not changing the position, they'll get some, money.

Then, in terms of the Strait of Hormuz, they'll say we declare it open, but we're going to have a toll. So before February 27th, it was open. There were no tolls. After February 27th, it'll be open. There'll be tolls. What will happen? Iran will continue to do sort of what they did, but they'll make more money from it. It'll be a terrible deal. It will have cost us 1 or $2 billion a day.

13 US lives so far, 3500 Iranian lives. so far over a thousand lives in, Lebanon so far. And we will end up with nothing. but hell declare victory, and everybody in the GOP will be so happy. It's over. They will declare victory and they will say, okay, let's change the subject. And so everything, everything that Susie Wiles is doing. today is about how do we change the subject. so we can focus on this midterm election where we are going to get our asses.

handed to us because everything's going wrong of the president's nuts. And so that's, you know, I think that's her message is. what is going to be over soon. We'll focus on you. Don't worry about it. Yeah. I mean, it's just it is remarkable. And I was thinking, I mean, today is the day we're recording this on a Monday morning. And I want to come back to whether or not, J.D. Vance is going to Pakistan. But today is the day that people apply for the tariffs.

that turn out to have been illegally taken by the president. Can I can I correct you there? Go ahead. Today is the day corporations apply for getting repaid on the tariffs. Individuals can't get their money back. At least that's the way it's done. Well. So big, big corporations are going to get big checks, which they passed on the cost to you and me a long time ago. But we're not going to get our money back. They're going to get their money back. Well, David, I was thinking more in Romney in terms that corporations are people too.

Corporations? People for me. You know, Joanne, I'm so glad you brought that up, because let me tell you something that most people don't understand. You know, I know your favorite amendment to. the Constitution is the 14th amendment, right? Because that guarantees. everybody equal protection under the law, not to mention birthright citizenship. But let's put that aside for a second. Since that amendment was passed in the wake of the Civil War,

it has been used more times to establish. and guarantee rights to corporations than to people. The the equal protection. under the Law clause of the Constitution has been perverted. to be a means by which corporations get more rights than we do, and because they have more money and spend more money, citizens. United and everything else, they are now super citizens in America. And and they're driving the cart.

And so, you know, I think we need to be a little careful. about our language because we're not getting anything back. No, it's from it's true. We're not. But, David, if you if you actually think about it. from the point of view of corporations employ people. Right. And this has impacted all their employees. It's madness that we impose an import tax, which we call a tariff, which we, the customer, end up paying for. But companies also are impacted by this. This is how people get laid off of companies. Go under. There are 3000 companies at the moment suing the American government.

Imagine the waste of taxpayers money. that goes into fielding all those legal cases, right. You know. Right. Oh hold on, let me finish. Let me finish. I just want to make my small point, which is now the government. that, you know, DOJ's roared through with its stupid chainsaw, has to set up a new website and a ton of people to assess. companies claims for the moneys that they paid, turns out illegally, that Trump wasn't allowed to ask for.

So the whole thing is a chaotic mess, and it's infuriating. You know, I'm on the board of a of a couple of companies. It's absolutely infuriating. to have to divert resources within a company to go after the money. that you are owed, legally owed because the president took illegal action. by imposing random tariffs on countries that he didn't like. I've finished. Now that. you may speak, you may speak.

You're absolutely right. And that's absolutely true. But it's worse than that because the tariffs were not only illegal, they were inflationary and they caused higher prices. They were not only illegal but they blew up. the international trading system and a whole bunch of deals. that we had made over decades and decades and decades, an international. trading system that we led the designer. And so they, they essentially threw a spanner. into the works of how trade works around the world.

They undermined our credibility. They alienated our allies. They were used as a cudgel by the president to advance. his own personal vendetta against different kinds of world leaders. These tariffs have been a disaster, and this is part of the problem. of living in a moment of unparalleled chaos in US history. The golden age of chaos is actually what we're in. The golden Age of chaos. Yep.

That's where we are. And what's the what's the punch line? The punch line is we. we we can't keep it all in our heads. We go, oh the Iran war. Oh the tariffs. Oh RFK Jr in the raccoon penis. Oh my God. They're trying to shut down democracy. They're cutting getting rid of vaccines. They've, you know, denied that climate change is happening in the world. They're attacking Canada. They want to attack Grendel. We know about cytokines.

The Cuban loves Putin. You know, you know and you know, etc., etc., etc.. Bibi Netanyahu's running our foreign policy. Oh my God, how do you keep this all straight. in your mind other than listening to, you know, daily Beast podcast? Well, I was just going to say, how do we keep it straight? We invite David Rothkopf on first thing on a Monday morning. to remind us of the gravity of the situation. Right. So has J.D. Vance gone or not gone to Pakistan? You didn't call me, today.

I mean, he, you know, well, he was he got a dent. And Trump said he'd sent him and then J.D. Vance, his office or someone said, well, J.D. Vance is still here. He hasn't left yet. Well, that's because several people said he was going and leading the delegation. And then the president said, no, he's not going. And, you know, then there was some back and forth. for a while over the weekend, the Pakistanis were like shutting roads. and doing all this super, you know, security stuff because they thought.

maybe Trump was going because but Trump's not going to go there. First of all, I may never go there. But if Trump goes, he would only go if there was a deal that he could then. say, you know, wins him the Nobel Peace Prize, right, for ending war. He start it. But but the I don't know whether JD Vance is going. And I also to be honest with you, I think we all know it will make zero difference. JD Vance is not a negotiator. He doesn't understand what's going on. Neither does Steve.

Wait, Goff neither does Jared Kushner. They don't know anything about nuclear enrichment. They don't know anything about the history of deals with Iran. They don't know anything about most of the secondary issues. that have to do with the Middle East. Their Bolton is right. They'd be better off if if Marco Rubio went and led the delegation. He knows a little bit about this stuff. But Rubio has demonstrated he has absolutely no. character whatsoever and will do whatever Trump wants.

And whatever Trump wants is what makes Trump look good. Whereas typically in a negotiation, what you're trying to do is advance U.S. national interests. And that's the one thing, you know, whoever's negotiating is not going to be advancing U.S. national interests. They're going to be advancing Donald Trump's personal PR agenda. But as interesting as the Wall Street Journal piece over the weekend. that Trump had to be led out of the briefing room because he was just. screaming and shouting too much, and he really couldn't,

handle the heat, as they say. Was a piece in the Atlantic which said that, according to multiple sources, Kash Patel, is drinking on the job, and there was one. particular occasion where they couldn't rouse him and they had to actually, I think, use a battering ram to take down the door. This is not a laughing matter. He has announced that he's going to sue and he needs to sue today. to keep any credibility. So I know you've been talking to people in the intelligence services.

about what they think of him. Do tell. Well, I've been talking to people at the FBI about this and, and, former FBI agents, people who. themselves have been talking to credit FBI agents. And when it comes to Kash Patel, you know, they're. they're kind of three words that come to mind. One is they're disgusted. They're disgusted by his behavior. He is debasing the FBI.

It's a place that has a lot of pride in its reputation. It is one of the most. Or I mean, if you're in the CIA, you think the FBI is. kind of the B-team, that that's a old Washington thing. But the FBI buttoned down. in love with procedure, more military than the military in some respects. And and to have a crazed mess like. Kash Patel has disgusted them. The consequence of that is that he is also despised.

I've never seen an official senior official sitting there. in a big organization like that who. when I talk to people, the response is, I hate this guy. I loathe him, I loathe what he stands for. Well, it's not even clear what he does stand for other. than parading around in an FBI outfit.

I mean, one of the accusations against him is that he closed down the FBI shop. so he could shop in peace on his own, buying all the equipment, which is. It's really odd. I mean, it would be like Bruce Springsteen wearing a Bruce Springsteen. Tour t shirt. I mean, it's just so weird and strangely, a b based a b b I love your t shirt. I was going to come on to your. to your t shirt because that deserves a whole segment on its own. Okay, well well that's fine, but but you know,

I think that, you know, that's right. Because, you know, he's behaving in an erratic way. He has, you know, whenever he's gotten involved in an investigation, remember back in Charlie Kirk and so forth, he's screwed it up. He's made it worse. Well, the accusation there is that he was drunk, which might be one of the reason. That was one one of the accusations. He also flew there and inserted himself into, a criminal investigation process and, and and try and shifted. all the focus to himself in a way, from what should have been done.

He's, you know, flying his girlfriend around on, planes. and giving her a security detail because I think, you know, it makes her feel good or makes him feel good about himself or whatever it is. But that gets us to the third Brit, because he is. just that. People are disgusted by him. They despise him. But I think the most important thing is they think he's dangerous. This is the guy who shut down the, process that the the part of the FBI that was tracking.

Iranian terrorists in the United States right before we attacked Iran. They shut down a lot of the counterintelligence efforts. against the Russians. They have shut down a lot of the efforts targeting. white collar crime in the United States. In order to focus, you know, their efforts. on doing what he has said he's going to do this week.

And that is prosecuting. Trump's enemies in made up cases. Now, those are going to fall apart. in court, but, you know, it's going to fall apart in court before those made up cases. To go back to your very first question, this lawsuit against the Atlantic, because if he files it and I doubt he'll file it, then, he will do what. he has done with other lawsuits, even his file that will be filed. My friend Olivia Troye, who's, you know, a former, Trump official is now running for Congress in Virginia.

He filed the suit against her. But, you know, you know, for defaming him. But but here's the problem. If there is a lawsuit, there will be discovery. Cash. Patel does not want to sit down under oath and answer questions. from the lawyers for the Atlantic about is he drunk? Has he been drunk. Does he mis allocate funds. Does he use FBI resources for his girlfriend? Where was he on this day? Where was he on that day?

Did he shut this down? Was he incommunicado? Has he been using, insecure devices to communicate, etc.? He doesn't want he doesn't want that to happen because then he has two choices. He lies, commits, Burr Drake goes to jail. or alternatively, he admits bad things. And you know, they could also ask him questions about what did the president approve this? Did the president approve that? And once Trump thanks, Kash Patel is a threat to him. And I suspect I think that's the real big story here.

Once Trump thinks Kash Patel is a threat, Kash Patel is gone. and somebody is going to call him up and say, hey Kash, stand line. You don't want to, you don't want to cross the president. And, you know, he gets made the out of some, you know, foreign board like Christie know to keep him quiet. Another shield. Another shield for the Americans. Well, exact some kind of bullshit like that. will cast Patel survive this.

That was your hidden question. What do you think your answer is? No. I think he does. And I think that. I mean, the piece referenced the fact, which I think we already knew, actually, that Trump had yelled at him after he was, giddily quaffing beer in Italy. at the finals of the men's Olympic hockey game. And he seemed pretty out of control then. And apparently Trump had reamed him out because actually, for all of Trump's issues, he doesn't appear to drink.

He had an older brother who was an alcoholic, and he doesn't. like scenes of people being out of control. with alcohol out of control, in other words, but not not with alcohol. I mean, you would have thought that this would have come up and Kash Patel's. own background check, but perhaps that was just ignored. Well, first of all, they dispense with a lot of background checks. In hiring these people. Secondly, you're absolutely right. Trump hates people who are drunks, including.

in this particular case that you mentioned his brother. And I think Kash Patel's a dead man walking. He he will be out of there and he will be out of there fairly soon. Well, the piece in the Atlantic also opens with the delightful anecdote. that he's trying to get into his computer, and he can't get into it. a little bit like you. this morning trying to get into our link, and you were having technical problems. We all know how frustrating that is. But he then became convinced. that he'd been fired and already taken out of the system.

Whereas you had not been fired, you would just having technical problems. But he's so paranoid already. Reassuring. He's so paranoid already that he's vulnerable to losing his job. It's just that Christie name. turned out to be more vulnerable, and so did Pam Bondi. But clearly he may well be next in line. Yeah. Well, look. And also Trump has a tendency to take it out on women. He's you know, he doesn't like standing up to men. It makes him, you know, uncomfortable because he's a weakling.

He's a is a very little little man. But Cash Patel is as done. I Trump's big problem, and I'm sure Susie Wiles. trying to figure this out is how do you fire Kash Patel? You gotta fire RFK Jr. Who you gotta fire. The Secretary of Labor who's got all sorts of scandals. going on over there, who you gotta fire. And not make it look like the wheels are coming off the bus.

But David, David in other countries, I mean certainly in the UK. they used to do a sort of mid amid. I was going to say mid term, but they used to do a sort of reshuffle. It was called the reshuffle where you would get rid of ministers. You would move ministers into different portfolios. I mean there's no reason why he couldn't do that. What looks terrible is the drip, drip, drip, drip of one firing a month. Well, look, I think you should call Susie well and give her that advice,

but I think the I think the real the reality is, you know, Susie, while was getting credit as chief of staff. for not having the kind of turnover that Trump had in his first term, and for sort of keeping a lid on all of this. But she's just gotten to the point of no return, you know, when. when you've got this article in The Atlantic and you've got Pete. Hegseth and JD Vance in a pissing match with the Pope, and they've cut out. RFK Jr with the raccoon penis story in the new book.

And, you know, I mean, you would have thought somewhere. along the way, maybe the measles epidemic or, you know, you know, getting in trouble with, you know, the scientific community or my favorite, RFK. Jr anecdote is at the time, you said, he's not afraid of germs. because when he was a heroin addict, he snorted coke off of a toilet seat. Right. And and he's like, yeah. Okay. Now going back to work as secretary of health and Human services here after,

you know all that. Anyway, the point is they've got they got to go and Trump. knows they got to go. And Susie Whale knows they've got to go. And a bunch of Republicans running for Congress are like well maybe. that'll distract and maybe it'll look like they've got their act together. And, and and I'm going to give you just. a little tiny, incy wincy bit of hope in that. And that is. last week they appointed ahead of the CDC,

who is a woman who actually is a public health professional. Erica. She was actually a former surgeon, a deputy surgeon general. who is respected in the field and who is a woman of color, who is the least Trumpy nomination they've made anywhere and is a good pick. Anyone knows something? To me, that's a sign that they're running scared that they, you know, they would. They were picking the worst people.

they could to say, hey, we can pick the worst people we can. And now it's blowing up in their face. and they're just saying, oh God, we just don't need the headaches. Let's get a professional in here and stop having these conversations. Of course, they still have the FEMA dude who was transported to the waffle House. and can't stop talking about, well, teleported, not just transported. He was reported, it was teleported to a waffle House. And we're like, you know, here we are. We're like, you know, 35 minutes into this podcast.

And it's like, oh yeah, there's also the dude at FEMA. It was teleported to a waffle House. after the secretary of, Health and Human Services. cut the penis off of a raccoon, after the Vice president. of the United States started lecturing the pope about theology. after Pete Hegseth released battle plans on his telephone. I mean, it's like, oh, my God, truly. Well, Golden Age of Chaos. I loved your column on RFK junior.

cutting off the penis of the raccoon that he'd found at the side of the road. Well, I think I love my way. Please say that. I say that again. I love the way that you said raccoon. Oh, raccoon. It's like the Straits of Hormuz. Two new words that have come leaping. Well, I guess that raccoon is not new, but two words. that have suddenly become prominent in the last week. And apparently I asked Isabelle Vincent, the, author of the book on RFK Jr, what what he did with it, and she said. he thought he put it in the freezer, and I could only think about the nanny,

you know, coming home after school one day, trying to manage all four children and thinking, what are we going to have for supper tonight? And rooting around in the freezer and thinking, well, I could roast this. and perhaps that would add some flavor. What's let's forget what's what's for dinner tonight? That. Oh, Vienna sausages, kids. I think that would. It wouldn't be big enough to to, I imagine. Well, that's why I said Vienna sausages. Okay. Very, very small. Well, clearly it wouldn't be enough to feed a family of four.

But I do think that people are very concerned. they can't get vaccinations. And it seems clear that Erica Schwartz, who they brought in to run. the CDC, is actually a doctor who believes in vaccines. So I can't even believe we say that because it. it's such a remarkable thing to say. But here we are with 2026, and we need someone at the CDC. who believes in vaccines. Well, I mean, you know, think about it this way. So here you have RFK Jr driving down the road in a van with his kids,

and he goes, oh, I'm going to pull over. There's a raccoon there. Hey kids, I'm going to cut the penis off the raccoon. Isn't that interesting a family activity. And then I'm going to bring it home and we can study it later. Won't that be fun? Kids and the kids are in the back going, I can't wait until I get to college, right? Because they know anybody. Now that this is nuts. But here's the weird thing. This is the third roadkill story. we have for RFK junior, right? RFK Jr took the dead baby bear and put it in Central Park.

He took the head. He cut off a head of a whale and tied it to his car. This guy's fucking. And and we knew he was a heroin addict, right? It's so it's not just, you know, oh, he's doing all these crazy things. As secretary of Health and Human Services, he does them. And there's always something crazier. He did. I mean, I'm sure we have more. I'm sure we haven't got to half the crazy yet. But the craziest thing he did was actually managed to persuade Donald Trump.

to give him the Health and Human Services portfolio that well, but that. Right. And and honestly, that was the punchline of my piece. Oh, the punchline of my piece was, you know, we've got all this. craziness happening every single day, each of the stories we just talked about. But the real problem is that the president of the United States. is oblivious to this stuff, and he is acting crazier every day.

in ways that have terrified the people around him. See the Wall Street Journal story. about the military, and he is growing more erratic. He is, you know, he is. He can't control himself. He uses bad language all the time in public. He can't stay focused on on a conversation for any period of time. He doesn't remember people's names. He snaps his fingers to have reporters pulled out of his his press briefings. He is going deeper and deeper into the abyss of mental illness.

every single day, and that overshadows. the nuttiness of everybody else by a lot. Because Donald Trump. is the sole individual. capable of launching the over 5000 nuclear. warheads in the American arsenal at his whim. Do you think at that point, though, the four minutes, four minutes. after he gives the order, not some long process?

Four minutes after he gives the order, the missiles are out of their silos, and this man is losing his mind in front of our very eyes. And, you know, people are not taking. his growing mental illness seriously. It out. So the other thing, I think that. when you have someone like that in charge, everybody is paranoid, right? They're paranoid because he is behaving like a dictator.

And it is that thing. And I think you've mentioned it once, you know, don't be the first person to stop clapping Stalin. So all the people around Donald Trump are feeling anxious. We've talked about, Kash Patel, what are you hearing about Pete Hegseth? Because he's now in a battle with the army secretary. He fired the army chief of staff, a four star general,

Randy George, because he thought he was leaking about him. He thinks the army secretary is leaking about him, too. Which is always that sign of great paranoia. But the army secretary is apparently a great friend of JD Vance. They went to Yale Law School together, so he's somehow protected. What are you hearing from your sources? What I've heard is, again, the feedback from senior military officers, former military officers, people close to the Pentagon, reporters in the Pentagon.

Is that the level of contempt for Hegseth is off the chart? That virtually nobody respects Hegseth. They you know, they're in the military. They're trained to respect the office, to follow the chain. of command, to do their duty. And they're doing that. But they're an increasing number. And, you know, this Wall Street Journal story is a good example of that. But there are others put people, you know, pushing back on the attacks on boats in the Caribbean.

and the commander of South Comm ultimately being forced out. because he pushed back on it, the army chief of staff pushing back. These are all signs and they're very unusual developments. And these are all signs that the military is sort of had, had it with, Hegseth. And, they're starting to stand up to him on a, on a, on a regular basis. And, and honestly, that started even back, remember, during the Quantico thing.

where he said, we're going to have no more fatties in the military, no more beards and stuff. And he had summoned all these people from all around the world to give them. what amounted to a high school football team pep talk. And it was demeaning and debasing for them. And it was a waste of money, and they knew it. So I, you know, he within the building. is easily the most despised, secretary of defense ever. The question is. how long he lasts and when Trump can get rid of him.

And, you know, it was one thing to fire the army chief of staff. in the middle of a war that I mean, that's extraordinary. You don't do that typically. I think it is unlikely that Trump will fire Hegseth. in the middle of this Iran conflict, simply because it would look so terrible. And also because Hegseth is one of the few people who's out there. defending the president's decisions with regard to this war.

The question is whether Hegseth is real purpose. Isn't that, and that. he still hasn't fulfilled his real purpose? And that that is the willingness to deploy troops. in American cities during an election. And he has already shown he is willing to deploy the National Guard into U.S. cities. And I think that's the reason he was hired, because. first time around, people like General Milley,

and, General Mattis. said no when Trump suggested doing that. And so I you know, if Trump sees the election. as an existential threat, that he's going to get a piece, that he's. going to get convicted, or that it's the end of his relevance. as a president and thus as a man and thus as a human. And he thinks Hegseth is a useful tool in achieving that, because he will actually do the dirty deed with regard to disrupting the elections.

Then he says, you know, might have some value, might remain around, but I would be very, very surprised if Pete Hegseth. is the secretary of defense in January of 2027. So my question for me is now or later. So maybe actually what they're talking about, Susie was is off site is. can we send troops in to American cities to try.

and make sure that we win the election? Well, they may not be talking about that. There. Certainly. You know, there is this woman in the Justice Department is now pushing. the state of Michigan to give up their voter rolls. They've gotten two other states to do at there, a bunch of other states that are pushing back. There is no reason for them to have the voter rolls. The federal government does not have, a role to play in election management. The only reason to get the voter rolls is to intimidate voters into not voting,

and possibly to help the, immigration efforts of DHS. Also, inappropriate use of voter rolls. But that is a sign, just like Tulsi Gabbard, you know, going down to, to Georgia to help with the same kind of attack, a task, that manipulating the elections, doing everything. they could to put their thumb on the scales is a top priority. And I think you're right. I mean, I think, you know, what is our election strategy.

is something they're talking about a lot. And what they mean by strategy is how can we cheat and get away with it? Well, and also, I'm sure that Trump was mindful. of what happened to Viktor Orban in Hungary, despite JD Vance. having gone out and lent his shoulder to the wheel. of, of Orban's campaign. And you could sit. you could think that perhaps Trump was looking at it and thinking, well, why didn't they just fudge the election and and looking back on.

to looking back on January the 6th, it all makes a bit more sense now. Well, I mean, it always made sense to people who knew Trump was willing to cheat. It always made sense if you thought during the 2016. election cycle, he actually was reaching out to the Russians. and and the Russians were helping him cheat. The problem is this. And Orban ran into the problem. It's easy to cheat a little.

It's easy to move the needle a little. It's hard to move it a lot. And what Orban came up against was the highest voter turnout. in Hungarian history. 75% voter turnout in a landslide against him, and all the sort of little levers he had in place didn't work. We've seen that before in Mexico. The, the, the, the pre the main party there controlled Mexico for 75 years. And they did it by little manipulation of these elections.

And then Vicente Fox ran and he won by more. than the 2 to 3% margin that the pre knew they could fix. And so you know and that's the thing that I mean the whole secret. to the 2026 elections in the US in the 2028 elections. is that those people who oppose Trump have got to go out. They've got to vote. They've got to get their friends to vote. They've got to be active, they've got to donate, and they've got to make it a wave election. Because if it is not a wave election, if it is a close to election,

then Trump will drag it into court. He will find a few places where to shore pressure points. He will get certain people disqualified, certain of his judges. will do what they're supposed to do. And the result of the election being thrown into chaos like that will be, you know, the possibility, that they could change the result. It can't be close. If there is. One message Americans got to take away.

is if you think Trump is dangerous and he's nuts and he is dangerous. If you think Trump is dangerous, he's got to lose by a lot, has got to lose by a lot, or they will steal it. Well, and the Democrats have to put up candidates. that people want to leave their homes for, instead of. just sitting on the couch and thinking, well, I'm going to sit it out. Yeah. Well, I you know, that's exactly right. And, and I, you know, I think when you look at candidates,

it can't be a candidate who says I'm a change candidate. who doesn't look like change or who doesn't feel like change. It can't be a candidate who looks like change but doesn't sound like change. You know, Kamala Harris would have been. a very different kind of president from anyone we ever had. But she made the mistake of sounding too much. like Joe Biden, too much like the establishment you've actually got. Can't you got to have candidates who appear to be the change. you want to see?

Barack Obama was a candidate like that. Donald Trump was a candidate like that. Zora Mamdani is a candidate like that. But they don't have to say, hey, I'm different. They appear to be different, that you believe they're different. And if they then say, as a Democrat, I'm going to stand up, I'm going to fight. And you believe they will be effective. And that's the other hard part of this, then you're going to get a result, like Peter Machado did in Hungary, because he said, look, I'm for a few things.

I'm for Europe, I'm for NATO, I'm for democracy, and I'm anti-corruption, and I'm going to hold these guys accountable. It was a simple message. People believed him. And he was a candidate like that. And that's, that's that's what Democrats ought to be looking for right now. Right. Where is Peter Magyar in the US? All right, David, well, we will monitor the situation or monitor. the situation in Hungary and how fast he moves on the corruption front.

And we will monitor who is emerging. as a Democratic candidate over the next year or so. And of course, we'll be monitoring cash. Patel. Where is his lawsuit and how long do we think he'll be in the job? I'm sure there are a lot of people on calcium Poly Market right now. betting against him. Yeah. If you're and probably market. And of course we are not in the business of providing investment advice.

So don't listen to it for that purpose. But if you're at Poly Market, bet that there will be. some kind of papered over solution for this war sooner rather than later. Bet cash Patel is a short timer. And bet that Donald. Trump's mental capacity will continue to diminish. Okay, you can take this straight to the betting office, straight. to the betting office. And you could. But what about my T-shirt? I had this man. I love your T-shirt. David. You might have to stand up a bit, because your name is.

It's excellent. Beast. Well, you are a beast, David. You're a beast for the Daily Beast. Every Monday evening, we will be bringing your opinions to the beast audience. These aren't opinions. These are facts. Well, they are. What is the. There should be a word, a sort of fact in in. It's a fact in here. It's a fact. Onion. Yeah. It's a it's a night. Sounds like a snack and a snack. Yes. Look at layer upon layer.

David. Layer. We just peeling back the left. This is to me, the launch pad of my week is talking to you. That gets me going. And, and provides it. provides the energy I need to get away all the way to the weekend. I hope it does for everybody else. I hope it does too. All right. Send us your comments, people. We love to read them. A lot of people out there, David, are very fond of you. and excited to hear from you about that. Let me with let me add one thing then, because.

last week I try to be right about everything I just said. Fact I was wrong about something last week and I feel bad about it. But we were talking about vice presidents. and did anybody ever replace a vice president mid term? And I said something to the effect of yeah, well what about, you know, Nelson Rockefeller in the middle of Nixon's term. of course, Nelson Rockefeller was not the vice presidents the next. And he was a vice president to Gerald Ford. Gerald Ford was the vice president to Nixon,

who replaced Spiro Agnew in the Nixon administration. And, and I you know, if we're going to have a reputation for facts. here, I want to make sure that when we make a mistake, we correct. Yeah. Well, and also what was interesting. was how many people wrote in to to let us know, because people don't want. a podcast with mistakes and we want to correct our mistakes. So if we've made more today, you can let us know. Although I don't think we've made any mistakes. judging the character of Cash Patel or indeed Pete Hegseth,

do you want to take back anything you said about either of them, Dave? No, I actually held back today, but I know I think we want to try to be right, as of course, I mean, they're going to, you know, right now. we're kind of like Ivory soap used to be 99 and 44, 100% pure. Okay, well, if we've made mistakes, feel free to point them out. We're always happy to correct them. And we love reading your comments. My I've got several favorite parts of this conversation. David, your rant about the president's mental health,

I think is a really important one. And, so two. is what people say about Cash Patel, that they're disgusted by him. He's despised. And more importantly than either of those, he's dangerous. Anyway, a note to start the week on. And David, we'll look forward to seeing you next Monday any time. I really love it and I enjoy the conversation, so I'll see you next week. Great. And don't forget beast.

Beast. I love talking to David Rothkopf. He makes me feel sane in an insane world. Tell us what you think. Don't forget to fill in the comments with your thoughts. and your observations, and who you would like to see. Replace Kash Patel at the FBI. And just a reminder, please press the subscription button. We love your support. It's the reason we can bring you these independent and frankly, fearless. conversations about the off the wall ness of this government.

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