This Is Why Trump’s Dark Fantasies are Crumbling | The Daily Beast Podcast

You don't get cognitive. tests unless the doctor thinks you've got a problem with your cognition. Okay, we've got that as evidence, but we've also got evidence of the behavior. You're talking about 52 truths. Social posts over the weekend. He is a disturbed, sick lunatic who holds. the most powerful job in the world and is at a stage of his existence where, because he's a narcissist, the only thing he cares about himself. And if every single one of us ceased to exist,

he wouldn't care because the world is him. This guy has got some dark fantasies. I'm Joanna Coles, this is the Daily Beast podcast. Who else do we talk to on a Monday? But David Rothkopf and what a lot we have to talk about Trump's. manic posting spree over the weekend. What's happening in Iran? He says we're about to have a deal. The Iranians are saying, not so fast. No we're not. Is he having to take his name off the Trump Kennedy Center?

Yes or no? The court says yes. His interior secretary says, not so fast. What's going on? So much. Greg Bovino remember him running Ice operations in Minneapolis. Then he was dispatched to California, and now he's popped up in Portugal, where he's attacking Susie Wales, Donald Trump's chief of staff, and asking for his old job back with his new boss, who's running. the Department of Homeland Security, Marc Wayne Mullin. Does it get any madder?

Maybe because there's the triumphal arch going up and the reflecting pool, which is reflecting nothing but the chaos of Trump's America. So press the subscription button. We're independent media. We appreciate your support. And that's how you display it for us. Thank you. And let's get straight into it with the all. knowing, the all wise David Rothkopf. David Rothkopf. Way to start the week. Trump is saying Iran wants a deal.

Iran has just said they don't want to deal. because of what Israel is doing in Lebanon. And Trump is moaning. He's complaining. He's whining that the Republicans aren't backing his war in Iran. What is going on? 52 posts on Saturdays. Frenzy of social media posts on Truth Social. He's obviously trying to keep the business going. because we know the business of Truth Social is not doing very well. And meanwhile, you live in DC or you live on the edges of D.C.

you've spent a lot of your life there, and now you're living in a demolition site. What's happening? What's happening? David Rothkopf makes sense of it. Oh, yeah. Okay, let's start out with those. 1 million things, and I'll try to find a pattern inside of all of them. Look, the pattern inside of all of them is that Trump always lies. He always destroys things. And he tries to cover up his destruction with his lies. But the reality is it's just not working for him anymore. And it's got him in a real quandary with the case of Iran.

He started a war that he shouldn't have started, and the result is that I. Think your dog is agreeing with us. Is that grizzly okay? I invited him into the room so he can join the conversation. Well, he he obviously agrees with you, which is good. He's intelligent. The good news is, if you're not available on Monday, we'll just do it with. With grizzly. Yeah. Joanna and Grizzly show. I look forward to that. Look, there's a lot of things going on, but the reality is. that they're all connected by one thing, which is the failures.

and the meltdown of Donald Trump on Iran. We shouldn't have started this war. He can't figure out how to finish it. And, you know, on a daily basis, his assertions that the Iranians have got a solution cooking. and they really want a solution, just aren't coming to pass. And that's why in the middle of the night, over the weekend, he's whining, oh my God, it's so hard for me to do my job when everybody says, you know, solve this problem. Well, of course nobody would be saying that if he hadn't.

for weeks and weeks and weeks said, oh, they want a deal. It's almost done. It's done. We're going to announce it any minute. He's the one who's created the misleading expectations. He's the one who's created the war. But you know the bad news for everybody there. There is no easy answer to this one. This is going to be an open wound, and it is going to stay an open wound. And then, you know, to cut to your second point, that's what Washington looks like right now.

It looks like an open wound. Look at the white House. You've got an octagon going up which is destroying the South Lawn. He's destroyed the east wing of the white House. He's destroyed the Rose garden at the white House. Cross the street from the white House, and there's the reflecting pool. He's turned it into a kiddy pool. You know, he's you know, he's painted it blue. I'm not sure it's going to reflect anything anymore. He's spending $5 million painting four horses. gold with 23.5 carat gold.

He is, you know, trying to rename everything after himself. Although on Friday we did of the good news. that a judge said he can't rename the Kennedy Center after himself. And once again, and I think, you know, this is an interesting thing that you may want to talk about. It is that Trump's response to being told by the court. that he can't call the Kennedy Center, the Trump. Kennedy Center was to say, okay, I'm washing my hands of it. Well, and then did you see Doug Bergen, the secretary of the interior, say,

not so fast. We may be able to leave his name on there. Well, you know, his cabinet entirely, you know, depends on their jobs, you know, based on whether or not that they can. soothe his out of control ego. But the the the thing that I think is more interesting in all of this. is that Trump is, is throwing up his hands.

You know, he's he's walking away from things. If he could walk away from Iran tomorrow, he'd walk away from Iran tomorrow. If, you know he's. walking away from the Kennedy Center, he's walking away from the Republican Party, because there are people in the Republican Party who don't like him. because he is destroyed the economy and he's ruining their chances of reelection. And, you know, it's it's what he's done throughout his life. He walks away from his wives. He walks away from his girlfriend's.

He walks away from his family. He walks away from his bills. He walks away from his business partners. He this is what he has done. Donald Trump leaves. You know. At the interesting thing is that he. I mean, the consequences of him bombing Iran are huge. The ripple effect across the world. This is not one of those confected fires where he plays both arsonist. and firefighter because the fire continues to burn.

and will burn bigger as more and more of the world, I mean proper countries with people, with leaders who are also answerable. to their own electorates have to manage the increased price of oil. and frankly, the lack of availability of oil. If you hold up 20% of the world's energy, of course, there is a ripple effect and he can't just leave. Well, no, of course that's the problem. The problem is that throughout Donald Trump's adult life, when he screwed things.

up, the knock on effects haven't been that great, whether it is marriage or his businesses. You know. I just want to read part of the Truth Social, because I'm conscious that a lot of people who watch and listen to our. conversations probably don't spend as much time on Truth Social. as you and I do, though this is the reason to to read The Daily Beast. I ran into someone the other day who said, I can't bear to read True Social, but I love reading The Daily Beast. because I know you'll give me a digest of what madness he's putting out there.

But he says Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the USA and those that are with us. But don't the dumb oh, craps. And we'll come on to that in a minute. And various seemingly unpatriotic Republicans understand. that it is much tougher for me to properly do my job and negotiate. When political hacks keep negatively chirping at levels never seen before. over and over again, that I should move faster. or move slower, or go to war, or not go to war or whatever.

Just sit back and relax. It will all work out well in the end. It always does. Really. DJT it doesn't always. It doesn't always work out in the end. Of course it doesn't. But the baby is in his cradle and he's crying, you know, and that's what he is doing. And you know he. Feels it's unfair. Note that he says at levels previously unseen, like he has, no one has ever. been criticized as much as Donald Trump is being criticized.

Now, no president has ever felt the pressure that Donald Trump feels now, not during World War two, not during World War one. Abraham Lincoln facing the Civil War. There was nowhere near the pressure that he feels now with, you know, his various problems. You know, it's it's ludicrous. It's sad. And mostly it is a kind of cry for help because he doesn't have a way out here. Well, he also doesn't seem to have I mean, he obviously has his cabinet.

of sycophants, but he also doesn't have anybody around him, it seems, who can take the phone away from him in the middle of the night, or who can say, it's all going to be fine, just get a couple of hours sleep. Or who can just say, why are you posting out your sort of innermost anxieties? Because what we see here, it's such an interesting insight. He thinks he's being, I don't know, strong. or going on the attack or playing offense, but in fact, what it seems to be.

is an insight into a man who is in a full panic spiral. Yeah, but it's like drivers in the new Jersey Turnpike who, you know, get angry at the cars going around them, and they shout and yell. and they think that that makes them strong, but actually they're impotent to the flow of things around them. And that is, you know, that's Donald Trump. He thinks louder is stronger. He thinks angrier is stronger. He thinks a volume of statements from him is a sign of strength.

And it's not. But it has brought him companionship. Because I was reading in The Daily Beast and he's now got an aide, which you guys referred to as a blond aide who follows him around. on the golf course to try and help him get the word out on these things. Yes. So that's very interesting. And I think it was the 26th time he played golf this year. So he's playing once a week when we're at war, when the East Wing. is being demolished, when the reflecting pool is dried and there's no water in it,

and it's reflecting nothing other than incompetence in D.C. when ice is running around trying to round people up, when there are riots in new Jersey outside ice centers. Know when you were talking. about his girlfriend or whatever she is that is falling around on the court. We haven't had a positive idea of the blond that he was sitting with. in the on the golf cart, have we? I don't, I don't I don't think that we have. there's some rumors that there is a particular aide that he is.

close to, but that's not fan the flames of those rumors. when there's important substantive matters that you know. that are associated with all of this, which is Donald Trump is on the run. If Donald Trump had not signed up for a four year job, he would be on vacation. Now, he would be gone. Because this he does not like it. when his chickens come home to roost, right? His whole thing in life is here's a scam.

Want to buy some kind of bullshit? And then people go, yeah, okay, I'll buy the bullshit. And then he's like, oh my God, it's bullshit. I'm going to get out of this thing and move on to the next scam. And he can't do it here. He's stuck in the white House. And so that's why we have this serial demolition. of the white House, of the government, of the Constitution, of the Global Order, because all he's doing is lashing out. He's taking all the toys in his crib, and he's throwing. them at the rest of the world because he doesn't know what to do.

Well. The and and his efforts to celebrate 250 years of America. and his own birthday, starting with the UFC fight. And we can see the octagonal beginnings. of the UFC staging on the South Lawn of the white House. UFC ain't. going to pull out, but it turns out that a lot of the artists. that were being recruited to celebrate his whatever.

the 250 years, I guess, and they've been sort of recruited under the claim. that this was a state fair and it would be a joyous celebration of music. It turns out they discovered that. essentially it's a sort of the most magarey of concert. So they're all pulling out. because they don't want to be associated with one political side or another. And then, of course, Trump has gotten furious. And I just am going to read another of his Truth. Social post or part of it, I understand I understand. artists are getting the yips they're having to do.

with their performance on Wednesday. So I'm thinking about bringing the number one attraction. Eddie, where in the world the man who gets much bigger audience that Elvis. It is prime. And he does so without a guitar. The man who loves our country, both at any one else. And the man who sub says the greatest president in history, the Goat Donald J. Trump to take the place of these highly paid third rate artists. I mean, if they're third rate artists, why was he asking him the way?

Right? He told us that they were going to be the greatest artists in the world. Now he's referring himself to himself as the greatest president ever. And the man who attracts more people than than Elvis in his prime. I should have worn my Elvis t shirt. I have a beautiful Elvis t shirt with his mugshot on it from when he was arrested. Well, that's another part of Trump's wave celebrating the 250th, right? He wants to put his mug shot, his literal. mug shot on a $250 bill. You know, and and if you look at these things, there's a pattern here.

Donald Trump is giving something to the United States on the 250th. anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. that none of us ever wanted. But it's his big present, and his big present is what? Well, take everything you've just described added up. And the president's humiliation. What we're getting is humiliation from top to bottom, a UFC match. That's pretty humiliating, the fact that no one wants to go to it, and he actually has to get members of the military to go.

And he's saying he doesn't want fat once. He only wants people who meet certain height and weight standards. So the crowd looks good. But he's papering the house at this ridiculous event. And then he had this series of concerts that literally did a third grade artist. It was the only true thing in what he said it. He had Milli Vanilli as an artist there, and they're like, you know, not even a real group. They had a scandal, and only one of them's around the other groups. Several of the groups,

most of the players who were in those groups are no longer around. And I'm going to defend Martina McBride here and say. Martina McBride is not a third rate. She was by far the most legit person on the list, possibly followed by Florida and Brett. Stevens of Poison third rate Group. You don't have a poison t shirt. I'm pretty willing. To guess. I don't have a poison t shirt. I don't have a Commodores. t shirt either, but I did like their song Easy Like Sunday Morning,

although then someone accused me of saying. that they were a one hit wonder and they had so much more to offer. Well, look, here's the point. It was a bunch of crappy artists, and they then discovered that. they were being used for political purpose and they dropped out. So wherever you look, the ways that Trump is trying to honor the country. on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration. of Independence are blowing up in his face and making us look bad. And that's not counting the substantive things that will be remembered.

this year, including the war in Iran, potential war in Cuba. So, David, I'm going to ask you what what would what should the Democrats do? And don't suggest a 24 over seven reading of Leaves of Grass. I contain multitudes, a wonderful poem, but it doesn't feel like it. It meets the Trumpian nature of how he's grabbed this 250th anniversary. But if you're the Democrats and you're trying to put up an opposition.

at this point, knowing that Congress is basically rolled over on its back. How do you celebrate and show the patriotism of the Democratic Party? By running good candidates and by winning in November? Because, you know, what we want to show on the 250th anniversary. of the signing. of the Declaration of Independence is that we care about the principles. laid out, the Declaration of Independence, that we care about democracy,

that we don't want to have a mad king in charge of our country. You know, in the Declaration of Independence, there are 27 grievances. that are laid out between the colonists of the United, the colonies and King George. And if you go through the list of those 27 grievances, almost all of them are echoed by abuses of Donald Trump. In fact, the ultimate Trump offense.

in light of this anniversary is that he has become King George, while the rest of us, he wants to turn into subjects. And so what the Democrats need to do is to emulate the founders. and to throw off the shackles of a mad king. And the way you do that is you say, well, we're going to nominate James, tell Rico and Texas and the Republicans are going to nominate.

a corrupt, sleazy Trump clone like Ken Paxton. And the Democrats have a shot at winning back Texas. The Democrats have a shot at winning back Maine and Ohio, North Carolina, Alaska, Iowa. The Democrats have a shot at taking over the Senate. If the Democrats could win the Senate and win the House, then they can begin to roll back the corruption, roll back.

the crazy projects, prosecute, investigate, do what's necessary to fix the structural defects. that led us to the point that 250 years. after the colonists threw off the shackles of King George II, we do the same with a guy who's trying to destroy our democracy. That's the the story of the anniversary year. It's not about fireworks, concerts, UFC.

matches, Trump sleazy or tackiness. It's it's that we are in this 250th year, forced to go back to square one and fight over again. for the principles and ideals that the founders. fought for in 1776. It's amazing that they foresaw that this problem could keep recurring,

which is why they tried to put in the boundaries that they did. Are you referred to the madness of King George? What about the madness of Donald Trump? We know he had his first visit in 13 months to Walter Reed, the medical center. He says that he passed the cognitive test. perfectly, absolutely, perfectly, and that his health is absolutely perfect. Yet we can see that it's not actually perfect that he's. entering his ninth decade in two weeks,

and he appears frenzied. He doesn't sleep much. He has a terrible diet. He takes no exercise. We we asked viewers and listeners on the podcast last week. whether or not they thought he would survive the presidency. How how. bad do you think his mental health is? You've studied presidents, you've worked alongside presidents. You know, the stress of the job gets to people. He seems very stressed at the moment with his frenzied.

tweets or truth socials. What do you think about this visit to Walter Reed? Well, look, I'm not a doctor, I do think. I think you could play one for the sake of this podcast. Exactly. My, my my grandfather was a doctor. Excellent. That's enough. That's enough for us. David. I met doctor by. By extension, we know that people normally go once a year. He's going every few months. We know that some of the things that are said in.

the medical report are obviously lies. When they say he's six foot three and 230 pounds, all you have to do is Google what a six foot three, 230 pounds. you know, athlete looks like Trump does not look like that. We know that the assertion that his bruises on his hands. because of handshaking is, is ludicrous. And. you know, we know that Trump's assertion that he is the only guy who's had to go through.

all these cognitive tests and he passed them with flying. colors is silly because you don't get cognitive tests. unless the doctor thinks you've got a problem with your cognition. Okay. So you know, we've got that as evidence, but we've also got. evidence of the behavior you're talking about. 52 Truth social posts over the weekend, including this weird. AI slop that shows him as a god or shows him. as a super soldier with planes flying over his head. So he's going out to conquer the world, right?

The discombobulated, he called it. Trump is the discombobulated. Yeah, but but you know the guy. You know who does that. Even if you've thought about that, even if you, you know, spent the weekend. coming up with Joanna Coles, the discombobulated as an AI piece of art, you wouldn't. share it with your friends because, you know, they would think you were nuts. And and he doesn't have a filter. And in meetings he doesn't have a filter. And we know that's a sign of dementia. We know that his use of profanity in public place is increasingly as a sign.

of it. We know that his anger at things and his inability to control. his emotions are a sign of it. We know that his behavior is erratic. We know that he's doing irrational things. We know that he's ignoring rational advice. So, look, you don't have to be a psychiatrist to know that this guy. is behaving in an erratic, irrational way for whatever the organic reason is, you don't have to be a doctor to know that this guy is physically unwell.

He can't stand up. When he was standing with XI Jinping, his legs were played in three different directions. He could, you know, he can't walk at the same pace. He can't hold himself up. You know, he only goes short distances. He gives long speeches, and he has to prop himself up on the podium in a way, you know, that that reveals that he is losing it physically. So I don't think there's any doubt about it now. And he's 80.

Should we be surprised? He's, you know, he's had a good life and he should be at Mar a Lago. sitting by the pool, having a mark arena, talking to his friends about things. he used to do. Unfortunately, he is a disturbed, sick lunatic who holds. the most powerful job in the world and is at a stage of his existence where, because he's a narcissist, the only thing he cares about himself. And if every single one of us ceased to exist, he wouldn't care because the world is him.

And that's why, you know? I mean, you know, there are other things we don't talk about. Look at the defense budget, where. there's hundreds of billions of dollars in there for new nuclear weapons. programs, where he wants to have nukes that he can use that are more usable, that, you know, these building, he thinks he can build a golden dome. He thinks he can build a white House bunker where he can be safe. And yet people on the roof can be firing at people down the streets of Washington.

This guy's got some dark fantasies. And in all of those fantasies, the role we play is victim. And that's that's that's scariest shit. Regardless of what the final diagnosis of Donald Trump. is when they, you know, I knew and Michael Wolff go and perform the autopsy. And really finally once and for all, get inside Trump's head. And we discover there's nothing there. Well, Doctor Jonathan Rayner, who.

I believe was actually. Dick Cheney's heart doctor, delivered a fairly damning. synopsis of what he believed was going on with Trump. And to your point, he says that these Moca tests that Trump. is taking the Montreal cognitive assessment tests for mental health. You don't take them unless you're unless you've got some reason to take them. And in fact, he's being monitored. This is not a question of him.

taking the test and passing the test, famously passing the test. I mean, it's you're being monitored because there is a reason. why you are taking it. And as you say, we can see this in plain sight. We see the increasing disinhibition. We see the frenzied tweets, we see the lack of sleep. which contributes to this. And yet people still seem to like him. Well, first of all, the number of people who like him is smaller and smaller. The people around him don't like him that much.

We haven't seen much of his wife with him. I'm sure when he went out to play golf this weekend. I'm sure his son, whose wedding he missed, was not to happy with that. and the use of the president's time. But even among his supporters, politically, he's down at the lowest ratings that he's ever had. And some number of those supporters aren't real supporters. They're just people reflexively answering questions. the way that they have always answered them. Every single one of his initiatives, political initiatives, policy initiatives,

is is kind of opposed by something like two thirds of the American people. at this point, the Republican. Party looks like they're going to have to be devastated. by the results that take place in November. He's hugely unpopular, and I think that contributes to it, because, you know, everything we've talked about here today paints the picture. of a lonely, old, dying, isolated man. who doesn't have friends,

who doesn't have solutions to the problems that confront him and can only lash out. in this kind of public, performative, crazy way. And, and you know, that, you know, that's that's that's what should matter to us, right? You know, there's the duck test. If it works like a duck, duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. And, you know, in the case of Trump, if he sounds like a madman and he behaves like a madman,

you know, then I think we can relatively safely assume. that he is not fit to be president of the United States. And that's where we are. And, you know, I talked to Republicans all the time. I talked to senior people in the national security community. I don't think I've talked to anybody who thinks that. Donald Trump is fit for office right now. You know, some people say, well, he'll be done in a couple of years. And some people say when the election comes, he'll be.

his hands will be tied and he'll be able to do less damage. But, but, but nobody thinks that Donald Trump ought to be president right now. They're just sort of hoping to get to the other side in one piece. Do they think that there's any sort of Republican opposition? I mean, we talk constantly about who are there leaders of the Democratic Party. who are going to emerge. But but are there leaders of the Republican Party. or is it now so Trump, that there's no one.

who could try and seize back a kind of more normal party? I mean, excluding the cabinet, sitting around clapping like seals? Well, the cabinet has humiliated themselves. and hopefully they will never have positions of responsibility again. More likely, they'll end up on the board of some hedge fund. and they'll make millions of dollars. But having said that, there are two kinds of. of Republican opposition that that are significant now.

One is a story that just broke over the weekend, and that is. that some of the people that Trump has defeated, John Cornyn, for example, or, you know, some of the people who. have been. mildly critical of him in the past, Thom Tillis. Thomas Massie. Thomas Massie, Susan Collins, Marjorie Taylor Greene is another example. It looks like they're sort of talking to each other, and that there may be a kind of a resistance.

caucus here within the Republican Party to help stop some of Trump's initiatives. And I think they'll focus on the most egregious ones. The slush fund, if it ever gets, gets that far. Courts on Friday seem to have put a stop to it for the moment, or the ballroom. or or some of his craziest initiatives, but so. so those people will be speaking out and that's going to be unusual for us.

We used to, you know, there used to be sort of Rand Paul and Lisa murkowski and that was it. Right. But but the number who are going to speak out is going to increase. And some of them, like Tillis, Cornyn, Massie have nothing to lose. And then you've got people who sub Rosa behind the scenes. are just trying to ride it out but who are not happy. And I put right at the top of that list, John Thune, the Senate majority leader.

who is an institutionalist Republican but who has talked to many people. I know and is like, you know, I think we can stop him on this. I think we can slow this down. I think we can drag our feet. Yeah. He stopped. Like Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House, is like all in. for Trump and thinks Trump has been sent here by God. And there are people in the Senate who are going to make life. harder and harder for Trump going into the 2026 elections, because they know that if they don't,

the loss they suffer will be even greater. I mean, it looks like, you know, in a bunch of sort of traditionally. red states, whether it's, you know, North Carolina. or Georgia or Texas or Alaska. or with red seats like in Maine, despite the soap opera that's going on. there, or in Ohio or in Iowa, they're real shots for Democrats to win. It's fascinating. So one of the other observations, I think, and actually.

you've just sort of highlighted it, is that people. are loyal to Trump until they're not and they leave. And then, by the way, and vice versa, right. Well, of course, one just assumes that he's loyal until he's not. And in fact, he's never actually loyal. But I was thinking of Greg Bovino, who led ice in Minneapolis, was in charge when two American citizens, Alex Preti, the ICU nurse veteran's nurse,

and Rene Nicole got shot. He then got sort of maneuvered with his big green. trenchcoat out of Minneapolis, back to California. He was giving a speech over the weekend at a far right conference in Portugal, and he suddenly attacked Susie Wiles, and he suddenly attacked. Mark Wayne Mullin, especially Mark Wayne Mullin, who, of course, took over from Kristi Noem at the Department of Homeland. Security, saying, listen, Mark, you may have been a plumber in your day because his family's plumbers,

but this ain't how you fix an influx of immigrants. You need me back. Please, please have me back. And by the way, Susie Wiles, what are you doing? You don't know what you're doing. Which struck me as an odd way to get your job back. You don't attack the guy. That's going to be your potential boss. And you don't also go after the, you know, Trump's loyal chief of staff. Might I add, you don't also go to an extreme right wing conference.

that is populated by Nazis and anti-immigration folks. and white supremacists and fit right in because you're a Nazi, white supremacist person. I mean, you know, this guy is horrible. You know, that big green trench coat. you're talking about looked like SS trench coats for a reason. He chose that, you know, he has chosen Nazi imagery. He is, you know, he is a loon of a loon. And you know, when you find yourself.

to the right. of Mark Wayne Mullen, you know, you you're you're you're in a different solar system. In a different solar system. Yes. And, and and that's, you know, that's where Bovino is. He's not going to get his job back. But what he may get is a podcast because everybody gets a fucking. podcast in America. No, no, there's nothing wrong with podcasting, David. You say that as the founder of Deep State Radio, which I urge people to listen.

To, I've been podcasting, but I'm one of these kind of, you know, podcasters who doesn't get rich podcasting. I'm not one of these sort of people. who also has an only fans and makes $82 million and has nine houses. There are a. Lot of wait a minute, wait a minute. We once had to do a podcast with you from a Porsche dealership. because you were running out of time trying to buy a new car. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm the only. One paying liberal. And I'm the only. I'm the only American with a midlife crisis and a sports car.

Okay, but but but my point is not that. My point is that there is a market for Nazi lunatics. And a lot of them have podcasts and a lot of them, you know, have substance. And a lot of them are out there making money, being right wing lunatics, because there are people who will fund that and sponsor it and so forth. And I think this is just no, your audience, I think Bovino is out there. and he's saying I, you know, there are people out here.

love me, and I can be a spokesperson because I'm famous and he's. just trying to monetize it. And, you know, that's how that's America. That's the American way right now. Right? That's the American way right now. So he's not really trying to get his job back. He's just trying to hustle for someone to finance the podcast. Well, it's a podcast or it's a book or it's a speaking series. Or it could be a series of trench coats. It could be the Greg Bovino line of trench coats made by Hugo Boss, the people who made the uniforms for the Nazis.

I don't think Hugo Boss want to be reminded of that, just as Mercedes don't want to be reminded. They were the official car, weren't they? Yeah, or Porsche, for that matter. But let's not dwell on that. Let's not dwell on that. All right. So, David, the other story that we ran over the weekend, which I found fascinating by Anna Nemtsov, was about Putin's. health, that he, like Trump, is obviously getting older. He's in his 70s. He's not quite as old as Trump,

but also beginning to struggle occasionally with his words. Side note aren't we all? But he was caught slurring. He was caught slurring. And when they released the official video of a talk he'd had with some some troops, they'd. corrected it so that you couldn't tell he'd been slurring. What are you hearing from your your friends, who I know. spend a lot of time thinking and learning about Russia and talking to.

to Russians about Putin's health, which has been the cause of sort of, you know, do you remember. there was a whole sort of moment where people said he had Parkinson's. Then they said he had cancer. Then he, too had that sort of telltale, weird bruising that that Trump. And also was sort of swollen and he looked like he was on some kind of steroids. And, you know, then there's, you know, it looks like sometimes they send out. a body double for him and, you know, it doesn't look healthy. You know, I think there's a bigger story under all of this.

And and the bigger story, it relates to what we were saying about Trump. And it relates to your Debbie. Harry T-shirt, and it relates to a bunch of other things. That is, there is a generational change going on in the world right now. And as we've talked about here in the next election in the United States. in 2028, it'll be the first election in which the majority of voters were born. Since 1990, they will be millennials. And Gen X and the boomers are aging out of their jobs.

And and you see how it shows up in Trump and you see how it shows up in Putin. BP Netanyahu is another member of this generation. who has been ill and who looks kind of, you know, kind of under the weather some of the time and increasingly. feeble. Somehow she Jinping, has avoided this. But, you know, he's 70 and he's he's also going to go. that the generation of leaders who gave us the shit show.

we've got right now is going to be ushered off the stage, not necessarily by the people, but by Father Time. And I think, you know, what is going to be troubling. is the period between now and then when they struggle. to remain relevant, when the ones who have unchecked powers. struggle to put off that change,

and Putin and Trump are right at the top of that list. Bibi Netanyahu is also near the top of that list. I think Narendra modi in India is near the top of that list. One of the things that we've got to deal with in our. in, in, in the next 5 to 10 years is, is. the the. denial of the. progress of time by baby boomers who are in charge. and to the extent to which they are not willing.

and not embracing the handover to next generation parent. Frankly, we saw this with Joe Biden as well. There will be issues now in case of Trump. You know, those issues may be wars. In the case of Putin, those issues may be wars. And that makes it particularly dangerous. But it's it's happening everywhere in our society. And, you know, some people are handling it well.

I saw Debbie Harry singing the other day in some video. and she's, what, 75 years old and she's still got. Just forever young. David Debbie Harry is forever young. Yeah. No, I'm with you. But but you know or. But we saw Paul's Paul McCartney on Saturday Night Live two weeks ago. And he couldn't carry a tune. It's all one, you know. It's all. It's the big story of our time. Say goodbye to the boomers. Say goodbye to the boomers.

Well, David Rothkopf, you've got unchecked power on this podcast to say whatever you like and do. You do. And I think you're right about the sort of that sense. that people get older and they're like, well, if not now, when? What have I got to lose? You know, all my life has been building up to this moment. I was just talking to a wealthy friend the other day who said, what am I saving. my money for? I'm now going to start spending it. And they were buying all sorts of wild things. But I'm sure there is a sense, as you get to that stage of.

this is the moment, because I haven't done it before. and that's what feels might be fueling Donald Trump. But as I say, you have unchecked power on this podcast, David Rothkopf. so use it wisely. And my friend, I think you do bring us great wisdom from the people. that you talk to and the sitting in your marvelous house with your Porsche. in the drive on in Washington, D.C.. You've never seen my house. You don't know what it is. And to be fair, I've been invited and I wasn't able to come. because I had personal intervention.

But I'm dying. To come. You were washing your hair, but I. I look, you know, cup covers it. You'll see that we live a normal, humble existence out here on the edge of Washington, D.C.. But I spent a lot of my time in Washington, D.C., and I got to tell you. this, this thing that I'm talking about here, this generational shift, it's the big story at every level. Who are the policy influencers? Who are the political advisors?

What are the tools they're using politically in this country? Are they next generation? Are they clinging to using things like TV or are they embracing new media? Every place I go, there is this struggle, and the question is whether. the transition can be smooth or whether the transition reeks of desperation. And with Trump, it reeks of desperation. And that's something we should all be worried about. God willing, we will see you next Monday. Thank you for sharing your insights and your wisdom with The Daily Beast.

Thank you. It's a great pleasure to be part of the Daily Beast. Johanna. Well, and I want to recommend your column. We've got a column coming in today. I think your columns are excellent. They generate lots of comments and they're always provocative. Prophetic, wise wisdom from David Rothkopf there. Please leave your comments on what you think about the conversation. I didn't like the idea that Martina McBride. is dismissed as a third rate artist.

She's not. And how smart of them to pull out of a concert, having been lured in under the premise that it was a national state. fair, when in fact, it's really a mega celebration. And what do you think about the triumphal arch? Is it America's arch? Is it Trump's arch? Should there be an arch blocking the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington Cemetery? What do you think? Is this just DC on the move? Is it just the changing times? And often when you're in the middle of those times, you can't see.

that actually the arch will be something to celebrate in the future. Or is it a vanity erection by our current president? Right. And let us know. David Rothkopf, thank you once more. And a big thank you to our production team, John Romero, Ryan Murray, Rachel Pasa, Heather Passaro and Neil Rosenhaus. 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.