Paranoid Trump Haunted by Epstein's Ghost: Michael Wolff | Inside Trump's Head

It's the Epstein files, it's Epstein. There is only one obvious weakness for Donald Trump. One obvious threat. It's Epstein. Michael, it's been too long. Where are we going? It's time for a trip. Where are we going? We are going. inside Donald Trump's head. And again, I just want to know.

that what is missing in so much discussion. and there is so much discussion about Donald Trump, is really getting. and trying to understand the the motivations. of of the strangest person I know. You know, or anyone that we know. has ever known.

Michael Wolff, your blazer blends into the background so much. that it's like you're a strip of blue with a head on top of it. A suit. It's a suit. It's very smart. Very smart. Thank you. A full day. I think, actually, under Pete Hegseth s new rules, you could automatically join. the armed services, should you so desire. You know, I mean, it's a big thing in Trump world. How you dress. And specifically, if you're a man, you have to wear a suit.

I mean, it's actually sort of killing suits in the wider world. because all you put on a suit, you look like somebody who works. in the Trump White House. Well, well, I, I am very interested in his theory that no one in. the military should have a beard unless they work for special services. Does that mean that people in the military who currently have a beard. have to immediately shave it off?

In which case, if they are working undercover, it will become completely obvious? Well, they will shave it because, you know, I mean, he issues. these these dress edicts and people follow them. I mean, they follow them because actually they're. among the most important things in Trump world. How you look. Because it's all casting for television, right? You know, it's it's not only casting for television, it's. casting for a point in time.

I mean, this is what, you know, when, when America was great. and how Americans looked during that time. I mean, that's what goes on in Trump's head. He has a specific vision, and the vision often involves. things that happened decades and decades ago. So Don junior and J.D. Vance both have beards.

Is this a shot across J.D. Vance's power from Pete Hegseth, who clearly wants. to take over from Trump at some point? I mean, they're all now gunning for his job. Correct? Yeah. I don't you know, that that is this this interesting thing. And I always thought that J.D. Vance was trying to actually, actually, position himself as Trump's son.

So therefore, he would look like Trump's sons. And since Trump doesn't like his sons, he might shift his attention and favor to JD. So JD and Pete. Hegseth are arguably in a competition. for Trump's affection, and I'm sympathetic to Pete. Hegseth on the beard front because I don't like beards and I, I don't know if I've ever told you this.

I actually had a phobia of beards when I was younger. It's called Bogner phobia. It's a real thing, and I don't know where it stems from, but. I am also slightly phobic around beards, so I share that with him. And also, Pete Hegseth strikes me as a sort of American doll of a man. He has all the stars and Stripes accessories. He has his pocket chiefs pocket handkerchief, he has his socks, the stars and stripes.

And I do not feel that American Doll would do a beard. Like Ken doesn't have a beard in Barbie and Ken. Yeah. Well, well, actually, beards are, you know, there is a clean cut America, which is Trump's version. And clean cut. America did not have beards. My father, for instance, did not trust men with beards,

or mustaches. He was particularly, mustaches particularly. Well, they're very pornstar mustaches, aren't they? I mean, but Burt Reynolds had a mustache. And, you know, there was that whole naked spread in cosmopolitan, which Hearst always want me to replicate with the modern, a modern male star. And, of course, you know, nobody wanted to do it. There's a first. A picture of me on my first book. from many decades ago in which I have a mustache.

And, oh, my God, we have to find that. In fact, look quite, quite like a porn. star of the of the of the moment. Okay. That's making me feel very uneasy indeed. Weren't you once married to a man with a beard? Well, he has a beard now. He didn't have a beard when I married him. Fair enough. And I think beards are very sort of Covid, right? Everybody. Everybody grew a beard.

I think I should explain to people why I'm fumbling with words this morning. It's because I'm on a lot of painkillers. You are in the studio. I am actually at home because I've had surgery recently. and, mainlining painkillers, which may make me speak strangely. And if I do, you have to indicate you have to do a hand gesture in some way. I think you're in better form this morning, actually. Perhaps it's, Well, maybe it's maybe they're making me more articulate, in which case.

But Pete hugs us. Pulled together all the top journals to basically put them in a room. and tell them he wanted them to embrace their warrior status. The the politically correct culture of the military is now over. And they, he didn't want trans, I think, in the military. And he definitely doesn't want beards, which seem like. So you could have senton in each arm. And yes. I mean, let's go on to the more alarming aspect of this.

and the alarming aspects of this is that, once the, the, the constitutional structure. is basically says that that civilian authority is in control. of the military because because we didn't trust people in the military. I mean, the military, they were very narrow, focused. They did not have the, the, the worldly and intellectual depth to,

to see the full picture. Now we have a kind of reversal here in which the in which the military. and or in and throughout the military there or the, the higher ranks, there's, there is nearly universal skepticism of, of the, of the of, of the, of the people in charge, that is to say, the executive branch in the white House.

So it's a it's a reversal. The military is are the reasonable people. and the civilian authorities are the whack jobs. So to what extent is this because both Access and Donald Trump. and this is going to sound like. trite question, but I don't mean it like that, have been exposed to two. very impressive displays of military pomp and circumstance once, most recently in Shanghai, with XI in charge, and that remarkable.

display of the Chinese military with all sorts of weapons. And then, of course, harking back to, the past. But the British military, which, you know, the, the Brits. can no longer do very many things, but they can put on a good military parade. Well, I don't know. I mean, I think more, more immediately you have the Haig Smith problem. He is trying to, to, project his authority, which he does not normally,

I mean, does not naturally have. and, and I think throughout the, throughout the, the, the Pentagon, there is a real sense that. that peak Haig Smith is a joke. And he knows that and he's, I'm trying to do something to overcome that. And I think that there is a lot of pressure on him from, from Trump to, you know, be a man.

And so his version of being a man is to command. all the generals to appear in one place. Which actually. strikes me as a, as a kind of major security concern. Totally. That's exactly what I thought. Security concern. And also at a time when they're threatening to fire people. if there's a government shutdown, an enormous waste of money. I mean, this is literally an air, and any normal company,

including Fox, where he used to work as a, as a weekend host, would have sent out a memo saying, hey, guys, no beards from Monday. Yeah. I mean, this is it's. I can't even begin to think. what what would be the operational purpose of this? I mean, this is, even the PR. purpose seems seems pretty vague. I mean, it's all about Pete Hegseth, and then it's interesting.

So Pete Hegseth called this this meeting to reject his authority. But then, but then Trump elbowed his way in there, thereby diminishing Pete Hegseth authority. Right. And then he came in and he said, oh, I've never heard a run so quiet. I e Pete hasn't done anything to sort of. rally the troops here, literally rally the troops. And then he went off on his.

We've about various things, but saying you can laugh. if you want, you don't have to laugh. But it. sounded like he feels uncomfortable in a room full of generals, too, because a from his first term in office, he didn't trust the generals around him. because they were undermining his more ludicrous thoughts. But also, he spent many years avoiding doing national service. And, you know, the nickname President Bone Spurs. Yeah. Well, a whole generation of of of people,

including yours truly, avoid that. But, Yeah. Did you also have bone spurs? No, but I have a, I have, I have flat feet. Well, flat feet I think is a real reason not to join the military, isn't it? Whereas bone spurs and. It's not a real reason. Oh, it's not a real reason. Okay. All right. Well, you and Trump have something in common. that you both wanted to avoid active warfare. Well, we both wanted to avoid actually, more specifically Vietnam,

you might recall. Quite so. So I'm not quite sure where to go with this. This is an unexpected curveball in the middle of inside, Trump said. But if we go back to inside Trump's head because you weren't. addressing a roomful of military. because you haven't run for president, though. perhaps you should, because you certainly have one qualification. I think he felt uneasy there. Yeah. No, no, I mean, I think it's a it's a I mean, aren't on Trump's. from Trump's side getting along with the generals has been, fraught.

and and it's fraught for for a couple of, a couple of curious reasons. I mean, being a general has changed. In other words, he would probably Trump would have been much more comfortable. with the generals of the of the 50s and 60s, the, you know, the bomb. them back into the Stone age generation of generals. But but since then, generals have become,

kind of high level technocrats. Right. Sort of McKinsey consultants. Exactly. And, and, you know, they they all have been they all have gone to. graduate school, extensive training. They are they function like McKinsey consultants. They they do PowerPoint. I have sat in a room on, on several occasions with Trump.

when generals come in to make a or military people come in to make. presentations and it's all PowerPoint and Trump doesn't last for 90s. Well, and I'm very sympathetic to that because I wouldn't last either. So it turns out in this podcast, you and I, revealing. that we have quite a lot in common with Trump. You had flat feet in the voyage of going to Vietnam, and I don't like PowerPoints. In fact, the minute someone puts a PowerPoint up, I, I just panic.

Well, we we. we hope that you will not have to send us to war then. Well, I'm not planning to. I'm not planning to. So we've got a government shutdown looming tonight. We're recording this on a Tuesday morning. We've already had Trump do his. We've. And it sounded like he was a little thrown off by the fact. that there was very little response from the generals. They weren't cheering. They were just sitting very quietly listening. And I think not trying to eat anything away.

Let's set the broader scene. They have no idea why they are there. They have been ordered to show up. For what reason? They don't know. So they're sitting there waiting. I suppose they supposed for someone to tell them why. they why they are there, which apparently does not happen. Right? Well, they're there because they tell there's going to be a change in culture. That the. reason Pete Hegseth got rid of senior black.

military officials was because he said. that you can't change the culture and keep leaders of the culture there. So he fired them and that they can't have beards. Bingo. Bingo. Indeed. So they should have just sent out a memo. All right. It's possible I'm repeating myself because of the painkillers, and I want to. I want to assure people it's not dangerous surgery. It was hip surgery. It's mechanical.

It's nothing other than that. But. And Donald Trump has built a whole career on repeating himself. That's true. So maybe I'm doing my. I'm doing a medicated weave. I'm doing a medicated weave. So let us talk about and I don't want to forget Kay Trump's merch. During the. Ryder Cup, the using the white House as a backdrop. And I certainly don't think we've spent enough time discussing the Mar-A-Lago. umbrellas on Jackie Kennedy is now paved over Rose garden.

But let's go to the shutdown because the shutdown will happen and. Of course. Will happen, at 12:00 tonight. And the expectations are that this is going to happen. The Democrats. And let's make no mistake, that it's the Democrats who are going to shut down. the government, that the Democrats, who have scant leverage, in the past eight months of the Trump.

administration, now have the trump card. They can shut it down. And, and it appears that they will do that, not least of all. because they didn't do that in March. when they could have Chuck Schumer punted. And kind of kind of. I think his his explanation would be that this would. that if they shut down the government, then the Trump people could do.

worse things than if they let the government run? But one can hardly imagine that there are even worse things. that they could have done. So, so Chuck Schumer is, is, has been hoisted over that decision. So therefore he definitely has to shut down the government now. And by the way, this is this is in the Senate, that the House has actually actually approved the funding bill.

So it, it is in the Senate. The Republicans need, 60 votes, so they need seven more votes. So they would have to go to the Democrats. The Democrats are not giving them those are withholding those votes. So the government will shut down. So what is going on inside Trump's head over the whole prospects of a shutdown? We've had we had one shutdown before for just over a month in Trump. During Trump, one which everybody seems to have forgotten about.

What what how is he thinking about this? I mean, he's, he's thinking that the that he'll be able. to blame the Democrats for this, that he will come out ahead. And given that these are the Democrats and that they seem un unable, certainly in the past eight. months to have mounted a cogent case that the country might, unify around or even that Democrats might unify around.

He's probably right. And and right now, their rationale is, is a it's a traditional democratic rationale. We want to, what we're told that what? They are demanding that that a certain, certain funding for Obamacare. and Medicare be reinstated.

Which is worthy, of course. But it is not electrifying. So what what would be electrifying? Are they playing this? Right? I mean, they're playing it terribly. They're playing it as as Democrats. They now they have the opportunity that they have. is, is for all eyes to be on them. And so they need a message. What's the message? Why are they doing this? What is the what is the what is the clarifying thought?

And the clarifying thought is not, I'm afraid, health care, no matter how worthy a thought that is, it doesn't, it doesn't cut through. Cut through the, or all of the frustration that so many people, Democrats and Republicans feel.

So and my, you know, I'm looking at this and like, I, I, I actually can't for the life of me understand why. they would not pick up the most obvious issue and say, we will close down the government until the Trump White House, white House releases the Epstein files. Brilliant. You just need a symbol.

What is the mission here? And the mission here is we know that there is something wrong. in this government or we we know. that there is something wrong in government in general. Now you have the opportunity to, to use your leverage to, to, to. to make every effort to, to get this government to do.

the one thing that. that people across the political spectrum. believe would shed some. truth on what's going on. It's also the sort of move that you could imagine. Governor Newsome making, but he's not part of the Senate. and he's not part of this shutdown, scenario. He can suggest it. But who within the Senate can you even imagine asking.

that maybe Senator Klobuchar, but. Even that this is this is what the leadership of the Senate. this is Chuck Schumer. So this is a problem. This is a Democratic problem that the Democrats are. are in their in their nature. I, you, you, you know, bureaucrats, people who actually actually. like and thrive in the bureaucracy,

they, they are, they thrive in exactly the thing that, that many, many Americans and, and. and certainly much of the coalition that Trump has built are against. And yet the they, they thrive in making government work. And it's that quiet work of government that allows people to get educated, drive. safely, fly safely, do all the things that actually people want to do.

Yeah. And there's the rub. There's the rub. So predictions on what happens this evening. I, you know, I think that the government is going to they're going to shut down the government. And does that. rebound badly on Trump. Let let's remember his poll numbers are pretty low at the moment. I mean the Democrat poll numbers are also low. So no one is coming well out of this scenario. But because he makes everything about him, his poll numbers are low.

And this doesn't feel like a good moment for him to have a government shutdown. Plus, he may blame it on the Democrats, but everybody knows. the Republicans have got all three branches of government. Yeah. You know, I'm I if I were if I were. Trump I would be worried about this. But Trump doesn't worry about much. And Trump looks looks at this for his. for his own opportunity conflict. Remember Trump's all.

his opportunities always involve conflict. So so right now he will go head to head with the Democrats. And, you know, I mean, he will he's very good at this. The Democrats are very bad at this. Right. And Chuck Schumer versus Trump, you know, the light is going to. I mean, the metaphorical light will focus on Trump because as you say, he's better than this. All right. So the other thing. So when we come back but. But let's get.

let's go to this I mean the Democrats I hope the Democrats are are watching. It's the Epstein files. It's Epstein. If they would have learned anything. There is only one obvious weakness in. for Donald Trump, one obvious threat. It's Epstein. So I you know, I mean, why wouldn't they use that? Yeah, it's the Epstein files. Stupid. That should be the new cry,

the adaptation of James Carville. Yes. It's the economy. Yep. All right, so by the time we get back together, we may well have a government shutdown. Let's also discuss, because since we last saw each other, James Comey. has been indicted or charged by, as you predicted, Lindsey Halligan, a new face on the block, or at least not entirely new because she's been in the background.

It's not new to me. Not only is he, but new to. it turns up any kind of prosecutorial role. So what is it that so gets under Donald Trump's skin about James Comey? Well, you know, this is I mean, this is this is really, you know, the. the story that has run from the beginning, from 2017 through them now. And it's and it's one of those Trump things that he, that he can't let anything.

go. And the Comey, the Comey question and the Comey family. has really haunted him from from the earliest moments. of this administration, even before the administration. I mean, remember, Comey showed up. in his in his office in Trump Tower. before the inauguration to tell him,

cleared the room and then told him about the. the the report of the tape. So. So this was the Steele dossier, which had been put together by, by the Democrats arguing that there was all sort of the Russians. had all sorts of personal information on the on Donald Trump. Exactly. So that was that was his one of his first interactions with James Comey.

Now, one of the other takeaways from that first interaction, which, which would. which he has continually mentioned. over the course now of of, more than eight years, is that. Comey is very tall. So Comey is is six foot eight. Trump, who has almost an.

in a need, a a motivating. need to be the tallest guy in the room, had enormous problems dealing with this. And so when he would on the occasions when he would see Comey, there was always an effort to, to choreograph this. of have having Comey seated. before Trump came into the room of of.

of, of any other way to, to create a, a, to create a situation. so that Trump would not be conscious. in that immediate moment of Comey's. really impressive height. So interesting. And also that became clear when, he was most recently on his state. visit to Windsor Castle in the UK. because Prince William is six foot.

three and towered above Donald Trump. And I think the British tabloid press, knowing this, deliberately. took pictures from an angle where Donald Trump would look smaller. And interestingly, Kate Middleton, Princess Kate, Princess of Wales. also towered above Melania. Melania, I think, says she's six foot. but Kate towered above her, so the two of them were quite diminished. I wonder if Donald Trump is losing height as some of us do in our later years.

Yeah, well, I think we're all losing height. I was rather alarmed to discover last week I'd lost an inch in height. So I'm sure Donald Trump has. Well, James Comey does not seem to be losing height. So anyway. But but but so the Comey thing. But it's even more complicated than than than just the height. Thank thank goodness. So, and we can get back to Epstein in this. as all things Trump do come back to Epstein.

So, Comey is fired. in, in the spring of, of 2017. because he has pursued the Russia investigation. You know, and again, going back to the irony here that that. that it is James Comey who opened up the Hillary email. investigation a week before the election, helping. to guarantee that Donald Trump would be would be elected.

So Comey gets Trump elected. Then Trump always believed. that he didn't want him to be elected. And, and so therefore began this, this, the Russia investigation, the Russia hoax in Trump terms. Well, and I think you wrote in the Fire and Fury that, James Comey, it never dawned on James Comey that Donald Trump would be elected. In fact, he felt confident coming out in those last days before the election when,

Hillary's emails had been found on Huma Abedin was a computer. that he felt very confident coming out and saying it because he assumed. she was going to win the election, and he didn't want to look like he hadn't. mentioned it because he was two party pre to the Democrats. Right? Yes. It never occurred to anyone that Donald Trump would. Well, at least the both one o Trump. Rival Donald Trump. Donald Trump. So but anyway so he's fired in.

in May 2017, which. then immediately leads to the appointment of Robert Mueller, which then haunts Trump through the, through the, the, the end of his term. But he also believes that Comey coming out of the, the, the FBI has been involved with leaking. Epstein material. This goes to 2019.

So at that point, the Southern District. of New York, which is which is the Justice Department office in Manhattan, has commenced an investigation, separate investigation. of Donald Trump. In July, Jeffrey Epstein is arrested. The senior lawyer in this investigation.

is Maureen Comey, James Comey's daughter. Within Trump circles, there is the belief that Epstein is in fact arrested. to squeeze him for information. about Donald Trump. We don't know what information. that might be, because conveniently, at least for Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein dies shortly thereafter.

At any rate, though, Donald Trump continues. to hold this belief and this grudge and shortly. and this is at the beginning of the summer, shortly after, Pam Bondi announces. that there will be no release of the Epstein files. Maureen Comey is fired. from her job in the in with the Southern District.

And then subsequently, not long after, her father is indicted. So what did you think of his by now? I think everybody's seen his, post. James Comey's post saying, I will not live on my knees. Neither should you. I'm not afraid. You shouldn't be either. Well, you know, I mean, I think I think that, well, from Trump's point of view, he he believes that he's going. to prosecute this guy and he's going to put this guy in jail.

I think that that's highly unlikely. The poetic turn here would be for James. Comey just to declare that he is running for the president of the United States. As as did. Donald Trump when he was facing indictment. Well, it certainly felt very presidential as a statement, the way he came out. and said it didn't end. And also, we know that the reason Lindsey Halligan was put in as the US attorney. of Maryland to, and given the order to prosecute by Donald Trump,

James Comey, was because her predecessor had said there wasn't enough evidence. there was nothing to prosecute him on, and she has no prosecutorial experience. And let's go of it that that that no one in the chain. of in the Justice Department chain of command, he had to, Trump had to attack the attorney general, Pam Bondi, over exactly this issue.

Because it's this is a ridiculous prosecution. Everybody knows it's a ridiculous prosecution. It would never happen in any, in, in, in any world in which. process and ruled and, Donald Trump had to come in, had to break the process here. and did this disregard it had to impose himself, had to order. the prosecution of James Comey. And what's depressing is he's found someone to do it.

And Lindsey Halligan, who. I mean, Lindsey Halligan, I mean, less doesn't really exist. She's not really a figure in this. She's she she's just a stick figure. She's just put in there. She's just just a face. She's not doing anything. She's not doing any thinking. She's not doing any analysis. She's not really doing any even legal work on this. And that was her function, by the way, as, as a lawyer, as one of Trump's personal lawyers during the campaign,

she was not given any legal responsibilities at all. She was just there to be in his entourage to support the, I may not have the, I may not have the best legal team, but I have the hardest, says Donald Trump proudly. During, amidst his extensive legal woes.

Well, and she is doing a lot of blow drying. She is doing a lot of blow drying. I will say she has very impressive hair. And it's that Miss Universe hair that Melania has that Margot Martin has, Ivanka has a version of it, and, Hope Hicks had it. Natalie Harp has a slightly thinner version of it. But Lindsey Halligan has great her. Yeah. And she was a miss Colorado runner up, I believe.

And to be a beauty contestant in Donald Trump's. world is a, is is a high resume point. High rise. You may point. She's got a law degree. I'm assuming. We're assuming. We're assuming I know I. was like, Pam Bondi is law degree, which is from zero is pointing out. the fifth law school in Florida, the fifth law school in Florida. So, I mean, I barely feel we've scratched the surface.

We've got hex and the warrior culture. He seems to be also using it, I would say, as a get fit scheme. Every time we see him, he's running around, he's doing burpees, he's. jumping about. I know lots of people within the Pentagon are fed up. that he's got pictures of him and his wife everywhere, which. also seems, peculiar. We've got the government shutdown looming. We've got the prosecution of James Comey looming.

We haven't discussed Kai Trump's much opportunity, Ryder Cup, she suddenly pops up with Katy, new t shirt line. Any thoughts? Have you ordered any. We don't know where it's made yet. I I'm going to leave that one to you. Okay? I am going to order. I'm going to order one of Kai's shirt. And are you going to wear it? I'm going to wear it on the podcast if it ever comes, because I want people to know where it's made. Is it made in China? Is it made in India?

I hope it's made in America. And then I think a final point before we wrap today. and my pain killers wear out is the Trump Library. The Trump Library. The Trump Library, which because he collected some more money. from YouTube this week. So yeah. So the there was a piece in the Wall Street Journal, I believe, which, which did the round up. So Trump has has collected in total.

$80 million from suing media organizations. Okay. And this is ten months it. And so there's probably a lot more to come. And the most recent was YouTube, which I think paid him around 25 million. for having taken him off the platform after January the 6th. And so, and I think is that the YouTube settlement. goes some of it goes to the library, one of the settlements. Well, I think the ABC one definitely went to the library,

and the library seems to be a catchall for payments coming in right. And this is effectively payments to him. He controls all of this, all of this, this money. So the library is and is a is just an adjunct to, to Trump, lifestyle and business. And then there was a, there was a piece in The New York Times saying. that it looked like governor DeSantis, to complete his ritual humiliation by Donald Trump, is about to give.

Donald Trump a very valuable building that has been segued out of, the University of Miami, I think, or the University of Miami Dade, to give to Trump a free for his library. So I have a library story, a Trump Library story. So, in the, in 20 the spring of 2021, I went down to Mar-A-Lago to have dinner with,

with with Trump and with Melania. How this came to pass. is is a story for another. Another occasion. Well, and we should remember, you've already written. three critical books about him at this point. Yes, I actually I was then on the verge of writing the third. Okay. So you continue. But you've written Fire and Fury in the siege, right? But, he had been apprized that I was writing this the third and then.

And that's where I got my invitation. So at any rate, I went down and had a long beat before our dinner. We had we sat in the Mar-A-Lago, lobby, which is where he generally conducted much of his business. And, with people passing by and, you know, country club goers. And he kind of jumps up and, and and he's also as he talks to you, he's kind of the host, you know, hope you have a good day. Hope you have a good dinner.

Or he sees a mother and daughter and says. and says and says, and this happened. certainly two times as I sat there with, with with him, he said, so your sisters right. And at any rate, at any rate. So we're, we're talking and then, and he's telling me. the election is stolen and all, all of that. And then I ask him about the, you know, remember, he's out of office.

I ask him about his plans for presidential library. And and he looks at me. There's, I mean, he pauses, which he doesn't often do. And he looked at me with kind of horror. Because clearly, the suggestion of a presidential library. is that you are you are out of office and you will stay out of office. Which is in part good news. So the fact that he's talking about a presidential library now,

I think is a fair indication that he's looking forward to, to being out of office and not having a third term. So, silver. Linings. But we will cling to that store of hope. But so anyway, he's looking at me like like I've said. some, some, some terrible thing about a presidential library. And, and I get, get, get nervous and, and I, and I fumble and I said, you know, you know, a presidential library doesn't have to have, have, have books.

It can be, it can be. And, this comes to me at the library, literally at that moment, I said, it can be like a theme park, a Trump theme park. And he clearly brightened that that idea. And I actually think it's a, it's a, it's a perfect idea. So we, we may see in the Trump presidential library. competition with the other, theme parks in Florida. Well, and also, it would give him a chance.

to bring back all the old favorites that didn't linger around Trump Water. Trump steaks. You could get a certificate from Trump University, you could do a quick. Trump minigolf where you cheat or you don't cheat. Depending on the cards you get, perhaps, what a good idea. And actually, I will say, having been to the Reagan Library, the Reagan Library is a bit of a theme park. because it's got the Air Force one there, which is amazing. And the whole thing, obviously is. their goal is to tell it from that president's point of view.

There's no such thing in the UK. I mean, prime ministers go off and write books. And actually British prime ministers for the most part read books, which I'm. not sure Donald Trump has ever wanted to do, But is capable of doing. You know. Yeah. No, no, I think, I think I think we will look forward. to a presidential theme park, which will have no books, and it will be a moneymaking opportunity for, the Trump brand. Of course it will.

And, of course, you know, interestingly, the Obama library has hit. all sorts of snags that still hasn't the price tag has swollen. It's still not done. The construction company is, I think, suing. part of the, you know, the foundation. It's all a mess. So that's a building these things is not simple. But as we know, oddly, the one thing Donald Trump is able to. do is, is construction. Yes. And we should do the, the Rose garden.

Well, we should do the Rose garden. I mean, I'm fascinated that he's literally put in the same umbrellas. that he has in Mar-A-Lago on Jackie Kennedy Rose lawn, which is paved over. And it now the the ballroom is going to dominate the white House. It's going to be bigger than the white House itself, which is a very clever way of of leaving. his physical presence behind. You know, and you begin to think about this because you do. you do think Donald Trump will leave the white House at some point,

and the damage that he has done. will be undone by a more, more, reasonable minds. But that's probably not true. And the and the ballroom will be, will be, proof of that. It will stand for generations. Yeah. Unless, of course, likes the occasional Trump property.

It gets mold or it starts leaking or it doesn't turn out. to be as well built as it might look from the outside. Richard Nixon paved the pool. Well, that's probably because he didn't want to parade around in a Speedo. Exactly. And there has been no pool sense. Interesting that Donald Trump has never had a beard. Do you think he could grow a beard? He's just. He's not a man you could imagine with a beard.

He's from an age when there weren't beards. In from the from, you know, 50s and through the first half of the 60s. certainly didn't have that was a no beard generation. I'm going to go on to I and see what he would look like. And also he's got a lot going on up here. So he's coming over right? Yeah. I mean, the. he, he's it's the ultimate comb over.

The ultimate comb over. All right. So, Michael, next time I see you, we may be in the middle. We may be at the beginning of a government shutdown. So I hope that doesn't impact the jitney schedule. It's private. We're private. Okay, Michael, I think that's a lot for today. That's a lot for today. It may be the tramadol talking. I've got no sense of whether or not I made any sense whatsoever. But then our president doesn't either, so we have that in common.

I will see you on, Thursday. All right. Michael, do you want to read this out? Do you want to thank people for joining us and remind them they can subscribe. to The Daily Beast or become a member of the Daily Beast community on YouTube. And let's, thank you to Devin, who does something important here. And and, who also does something important. And Jesse, who I've actually never met.

Well, he's sitting right outside the studio, so you can meet him on the way out. And a special shout out to, beast. tier of members Karen White, Heidi Riley, and Connie Rutherford.