Why Trump’s ‘Bimbofication’ Scandal Will Haunt Him | The Daily Beast Podcast

What Trump has got to worry about and why bimbo ification is not going away. is that the Democrats are going to are almost certainly going to win the midterms. the moment they get in January next year, they can start issuing subpoenas. They can start demanding every bit of paper. They can hold people in front to ask questions. And they are making very clear. that questions that one of the big areas questions are. that they're going to be asking about is what was Kristi Noem. up to at the Department of Homeland Security? What was Corey Lewandowski up to it? The Department of Homeland Security.

And they are going to start asking about what background checks were done, what happened to them, and crucially, who knew? I think it's said who is hanging over this affair. I'm Joanna Coles, this is the Daily Beast podcast, and I think this might be the culmination. of the worst week in Trump's second administration. We have the war and his very halfhearted war speech. We have the firing of Pam Bondi.

We have the stopping of the East Wing. on his bull run that he wants to dominate the white House. We have him stalking out of Scotus. after his judges, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch tore through his solicitor general's. position on tearing down the 14th amendment. And of course, we had Christine Holmes husband's.

special corner, shall we say, his bespoke interests. On OnlyFans with the learning a new word in our vocabulary, all our vocabularies and bimbo ification, who better to discuss this with? And I want to know if he agrees with me that this is Trump's worst week. Then our executive editor, the renowned tabloid editor. Hugh Daugherty, who I have priced out of the newsroom. to make him talk us through what an incredible week this has been.

But before we get into it, can I just remind you we are independent media, which is why we're allowed to get under the skin of Caroline Levitt. And we'll tell you more about that later in the show. But feel free and we appreciate your support. If you smash the subscribe button wherever you're listening to this podcast. and also subscribe to The Daily Beast, it's almost impossible. to stay on top of this flooding of the zone, which, as we know,

Trump and his goons do deliberately. It was always the Steve Bannon plan that you just flood the well, we are trying to mop up the zone and we really appreciate your support. And also we all need to stay on top of what actually is going on out there. But now, Hugh, let's get into it. Hugh, is this. the worst week of the second administration for Trump?

I don't think there's any doubt about that. Joanna. Oh, the worst week so far. I think we can say. Oh, so far you're predicting more terrible lies ahead. I think, it's almost impossible sitting here on Friday morning. We've just had that. An F-15 strike Eagle has been downed over Iran by Iranian fire. There is no doubt that this is getting worse. But let's just rewind and go through some of the chaos that we had this week, and I. I can't even cover it all because we don't have the time.

This week alone, Lindsey Graham, his close ally, was pictured at Disneyland, at a Disney World in Florida. Despite the government being shut down. Well, and despite Lindsey Graham being a huge advocate for the war in Iraq. Yes. Something where you would think he would need to. at least be looking as if he's taking it seriously for his own constituents. Yes. And I think that speaks to a lot of people's. concern that this has not been taken seriously.

And he was wandering around Disney World with a Little Mermaid. toy, a bubble maker, a bubble maker. I wonder if he was going home to blow bubbles while he did go home. and he posted to South Carolina, where he posted a picture of himself. with a shotgun saying that. That's right, shooting clays. But just to get back to the Trump and DC chaos. this week alone, his ballroom got struck, got put on hold by a Bush appointed judge who was scathing, who said that Donald Trump.

is not the owner of the white House, that he is the steward of the white House. That was bad. He went to his favorite place, the Trump Kennedy Center. It's really called the Kennedy Center, but obviously he's tried to rebrand, warned his name on to the wall, and he's closing it on July the 4th. But he went there for the premiere of Chicago and he got booed. Oh, I'm just doing sound effects. Oh, it was sound effects. The white House edited a version so you could barely hear the booing,

but the reality was he was booed. And I think the audience, when they bought the tickets didn't know he was going, but they were told there would be a special guest. I'm sure they hope this is going to be some kind of musical star. And in fact, it turned out to be the president was a music fan booed. He. Then the next day he went to the Supreme Court. and he got much worse, I think, than being booed. First of all, he didn't get acknowledged by these justices, all nine of them. They showed who was the boss. They didn't say, good morning, Mr. President.

He walked in Stockton and had to just sit. like a normal member of the public, surrounded by his own aides. And this was for the birth, right? He's this trying to overturn. the 14th amendment, which guarantees that anybody born here. gets automatically American citizenship unless they're the child of a diplomat. And this theory has animated him through his throughout this, the second administration, it's been pushed aggressively by Stephen Miller. He went in front of nine justices, three of whom he has appointed.

So Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh, two of whom are dyed in the wool conservatives who have made their. their sympathy to him, very, very clear. Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas and Justice Roberts, who is a Bush appointee who has given Trump a lot of victories. He was his lawyers were torn apart. So this is John Sour. John Sour, this is strange sounding. Who's got a voice like RF? He has an RFC junior voice.

And he was torn apart, particularly by Neil Gorsuch, particularly by John. Roberts. It's clear to Supreme Court observers that this was a very bad day. Trump left. He stood up, he turned around, and he stormed out. as the ACLU attorney was speaking, which again, is a is a horrible breach of the sort of etiquette. You and I have both reported from court, John, and you know. that it's a place where respect is shown to a judge. There are nine of the justices here. He showed no respect.

The justices, he went home, he tweeted. He posted on Truth Social about them. The next morning, he posted kangaroo court. The chaos of that can't be undersold. Well, but that wasn't even it for the D. Well, and also, let's just remind people he was the first sitting president. to go and hear oral arguments at the Supreme Court, which, again, is a very theatrical sort of performative act by him. And at this point, it's hard to think he's doing anything. than the other than performing the acts of being a president.

in a sort of television drama that's running in his head. Every president beforehand who has been to. the Supreme Court has been there to show respect for the institution. They have signed visitor books. Barack Obama did that. They have gone and had lunch with the justices, and they have even sat and watched oral arguments in cases. that don't concern them to show their interest and respect. Trump wasn't doing any of that. He was there to try to intimidate the justices and a case.

that he really, really fears he is going to lose and lose badly. But but of course, he's going to lose it. It's been enshrined in it's enshrined in the Constitution. It's been practiced law for the last 150 years. So it's almost like he's setting himself up. for failure, except that it's clearly not even a dog whistle. It's a blatant whistle to people who are racist. Yes. He went back to the white House. He had a gathering behind closed doors of them to mark Easter.

Bit early for Easter, but he is not going to be in the white House for Easter itself. You'll be at Palm Beach, we hope, going to church without going to church. Well, I'll probably be hanging out at some sort of Republican fundraiser. at Mar-A-Lago, I suspect so. And then I say, Lord, we have fundraiser tonight. That's, Melania a mild bit. I will be in New York. You have a good fundraiser without me. But this, this this, gathering of religious of, religious supporters also went off the rails. because it was not supposed to be open to the public.

The white House accidentally published the video and it showed. some really remarkable, I think, is, one way to put it, outpourings of, crazy, religious utterances comparing, comparing Trump during Holy. Week, the holiest time of the Christian calendar, to Jesus Christ. Well, and we shouldn't forget that, actually, he started off the week. with the Pope in Rome scolding. yes for his insanely aggressive.

prayers and inverted commas, hoping that American bombs. would fall upon Iran and kill people underneath and Godspeed. And it was this incredibly aggressive perversion of what a prayer should be, I think. And the Pope, Leo, an American pope, grew up in Chicago, called him out somewhere. Yeah. And this, this whole performance. He then addressed the nation in a speech that he did not appear either prepared for. or coherent in his arguments, and it was intended his briefs.

His aides had briefed that it was going to calm, calm the markets and bring down the price of oil. The price of oil was going up on a ticker like that. as he spoke, and it has gone up and up since then. It's around $110 a barrel. When he spoke, it was 100. It's now up 110. Gas prices fall, so there's a lot of chaos there. The biggest one we can. We just have a moment on the speech. He looks to me like like we know he loves nothing better than to talk,

to talk and talk and talk in in that regard, we're quite similar and, he looked reluctant to be there. I thought, I mean, if you think about him. at the state of the Union speech, an hour and 47 minutes, he was just yakking away. You could see him roaring off the teleprompter. to start shouting out to the crowd. There wasn't really a crowd there, although I know there were people. at the white House who applauded him the minute he'd finished. But you felt like he was phoning it in.

I suppose this was not this was not a Trump. This was not a it was certainly a Trump speech. It repeated the same sort of patter about you've never. the best you've ever seen, things you've never seen before. What's that? We are all very familiar with? What it lacked was any of that sort of energy that he used to have and, that it appeared to be a man. He was gripping that, that lectern, for dear life. And interestingly, we didn't see any pictures of him.

afterwards circulating among those people who were brought in to clap for him. Meaning what? Well, at the white House, you would expect video and photos, because this is a white house that lives on social media, and yet there was none. I think his appearance, he wrote the light. Either the lighting was dreadful or he was pallid. And I know that there's been, the the camera was provided by Fox News, and we are told that people. in other broadcasters who receive that pool feed were concerned.

that the lighting levels were wrong and had to adjust them themselves. in their control room. Well, it's interesting because his hair looked purple. It's lost the usual yellow sort of color, as one of our commentators pointed out, looked like moldy. Hey, that that moldy hair color had gone and it seemed translucent. And this, I think, sums up he seemed devoid of his usual energy. And, this is not, you know, I'm not being pure anti-Trump and saying this. One of the things about him has that he has a sort of insane energy.

We know that. And it it appeals to his base. It angers his those who are critical of him. But it wasn't there. Yeah, like the pilots from the F-15 that's been down missing in action. Well, it's it's missing in action. But what we now know was that he had just fired Pam Bondi in. in a really strange, you might say, callous, certainly brutal way for her. He summoned her to ride to the Supreme Court with him.

And being in the beast is an honor. It's an honor that he has extended to some people. Vladimir Putin, notoriously, who probably bugged it. I'm sure he was sitting there sort of putting a little kind of microchip. under the chair going, yes, Mr. President, I lo but he he summoned Pam Bondi to go to the Supreme Court. You would think that's an honor. The attorney general. is going to Supreme Court, something attorney generals don't do much. They're going to the president. Never been done in history. They get to ride down Pennsylvania Avenue in the beast.

It's not an honor. He turns to her and he fires her. And it's such a moment from The Apprentice. It's such a moment from the spinoff series, which is The president. And yet she was then summoned to applaud him. for his speech because he wants to humiliate everybody. And she's been particularly craven. I mean, they're all craven to him. It's hard to imagine which one is more craven. Do you remember when she unfurled that huge. sort of banner of him outside the Justice? Yes.

So for anybody who works at the Justice Department, it's not the US. Justice Department. It feels like Trump's Justice Department. And we're seeing more of that, the chaos unfolding, because we don't really know why she was fired. Well, we can guess. We can guess. It's just been useful to go after all the people. he wants to personally prosecute, or she's gone after him. in a way that the it's just been ineffective. because largely what he's trying to do is illegal and weak. But what we do know. is that he has appointed his own personal lawyer, as he has described,

Todd Blanch is going to be interim technically is acting attorney general. when she leaves, but she's not leaving for a month. But she's also already left Washington and gone back to Florida. It's a crazy and chaotic scene. We don't know if she's actually going to do anything for the next month. Can I make a suggestion? I think that they should put in as attorney general Lindsay Halligan, Lindsay Halligan, who failed to bring the prosecution. against James Comey because she wasn't allowed to be appointed.

because she couldn't even fill out the forms properly. So I think she would be great. She got fabulous. She got better hair then. Pam, we know that Trump likes her. We know that he loves these women who all look the same. Lindsay Halligan for AG. I think we should start a campaign. Well, someone has already started a campaign. Not for Lindsay Halligan. Olina Haba. has posted oh Michael Brady morning. That well has been posting pictures of herself with Donald Trump. saying it's an always an honor.

You can't take that any other way. than a very, very public campaign to get that attorney general job. Well, on Jeanine Pirro also wants it. And Todd Blanch is said to have, put a silent knife in the back of Pam Bondi. and Pam Bondi supposed to already have a job in the private sector. So this weird sort of dual messaging going on. On the one hand, she's leaving. because she's got an amazing opportunity in the private sector, which I think might just be Pam Bondi Associates. and a little shingle outside doing mortgages, wills,

whatever else, pardons, doing pardons, the pardoned economy. She can make a lot of money. Pam. That's your next move. The pardoned economy. Check out Liz. Oh, yeah, the lawyer for that. So. And yet. she was supposedly trying to cling on to. Yes, she was taking to state or begging to stay to summer. And I just to go back to this theme of chaos. We we haven't seen that in the second term of people. There are only two people who know what Pam Bondi and Donald Trump exchanged.

in the back of the beast, and somebody spoke. Well, just as long as it wasn't bodily fluids, we can think we can be safe. That was a very brief journey. You say that. But then Trump threw out a bit of a strange line. when he was tortilla press gaggle. And so you can ask me anything. You can ask me about sex. Why did no one and nobody asks what is wrong with these reporters? I would have had my hand up. But you know what I would have said?

I would have said, Mr. Trump, what do you think about learning a new phrase. that's come into our language because of Brian? Name Kirk Christie Gnome's husband? Yes. It also in insurance. I mean, Pam, you might want to talk to him about setting out your own shingle. Because Brian has done that. Brian name is done. that always been very. supportive to his wife, but it turns out he's been leaning on the side. He has. And I think we should explain what this means. And I'm going to turn that to you, Joanna.

Well, as the editor of Cosmo, I had never come across Luneng. I'd never come across it. But it turns out there are so many different corners to turn down. In on OnlyFans and brand name had found one. which involves inflating balloons was the no helium. Also, I felt for him this morning. because one of the problems with all those ships floating around. trying to get through the Strait of Hormuz is many of them are carrying helium. And the problem with helium is it basically evaporates.

if it's not kept at the right temperature between 4 and 6 weeks. So there is going to be a helium shortage. Brian. Order now. Order now! So what, Brian Gnome like to do is insert up his t shirt. Who hasn't done this? Admittedly, most of us were 4 or 5 when we did it for loons. and then twiddle with the ties as if they were nipples. And then he like to do pouty faces, you know, like people do, influencers. do on Instagram at the cam girls who he was paying $20 a minute. Yes.

So at a time when affordability is actually the thing. that appears to be working for the Democrats in terms of the election, I think we should focus on Brian name. spending $25,000 over the years. on OnlyFans with his balloons. So, a brilliant reporter, Tom Rackham, spoke to a,

an OnlyFans model. Go camgirl. Right. She goes by the name of good deal love. Of course she does. Stage name. I go by the name Lizzie, I love to, it's an excellent name. But she she spoke about. she said that she had interacted with him and that, yes, he had paid. roughly $20, maybe slightly, maybe as much as $25 every minute. Bit like the price of oil is going up, is like the price of oil. going up as you talk. And all of this is it might be sad.

It's certainly causing people a lot of intrigue, amusement. But she raises a lot of very, very important questions. And that's why this is not going away. Go on. So tell me more. I don't know if it's sad. I mean, and also, none of this would matter were it. not for the fact that he was married to the correct head of homeland. Set. Absolutely. You you want to do your own personal thing? I don't think it's sad if he likes balloons, rubbing balloons, whatever he does with balloons, pops, balloons. Good for him.

But when your wife is in. charge of the safety of every single American. Well, and that's exactly why this is a big scandal that isn't going to go away. It's a it starts with it's what's known as bimbo fication bimbo. ification because he sought out, cam girls who pose as bimbos, hypersexualized. exaggerated physical characteristics. Plus like his handsomeness. And people might see a parallel and he then dressed up accordingly.

in, female exercise shorts, t shirt and the balloons that you've described. So all of that is his business, except that every cabinet secretary. is rigorously checked by the FBI before they are confirmed by the Senate. And that's where this becomes a big question. Don't tell me, was our friend, Mr. Kash Patel, whose eyes are always on stalks?

Was he too busy flying around. in the FBI jet with his country and western girlfriend? Was he too busy to actually pay any attention to the background check? Well, I have to slightly disappoint that. This background check would have been started. just before Kash Patel himself became director of the FBI. So under the Christopher Wray. Right. Christopher, what were you thinking? Or perhaps they found out about it and let it go.

And that's the question we have been we and John, I just want to say we've been here before and Trump won. And that's why this week is Trump won his back and Trump won. The Daily Mail, which broke the story about Brian Norms, learning how winning the Daily Mail broke his story that Rob Porter, who was Donald Trump's staff secretary. and staff secretaries, that's kind of behind the scenes, but very powerful position in the white House. Who controls what paper that president sees and signs.

So it's it's incredibly important as a behind the scenes. in 2018, Rob Porter was staff secretary, and the Daily Mail broke his story. that he had been credibly accused of physically abusing both his ex-wives. So not only did they accuse him, in fact, one of them. had taken out a restraining order against him in court in Virginia. This raised a whole quip, but yet. But he was in the Oval Office. around the most powerful people in America and seeing the most sensitive secrets.

This raised a huge question. Was the F did the FBI know? Had the FBI told the white House and what had happened? And those are the same questions. that the Democrats are going to be going after about Christie and Brian. Norm, was there an FBI check done? If there was an FBI check done, what happened next? Was it sent to the white House properly? Was it in-depth enough to catch that. the husband of the would be Homeland Security secretary.

was sending thousands and thousands of dollars to women. who he clearly did not know and could not have vetted, posing in outfits that people might find outrageous. or intriguing, and the possibility that the security service look for. is is he open to blackmail? No. Quite obviously blackmail kind. That doesn't work in the Trump era because you could say anything goes. But what blackmail does work for is stop. is making people do things they don't want to do.

And that's why the FBI look into these backgrounds. The procedure. normally is that these FBI checks are sent to the white House personnel office. And when it was reported back in 2018, FBI said, we did our job. We told them, we told the white House this. We told about three credible allegations of a physical abuse. We warned them three times. And the white House personnel office stalled this and allowed him to enter. It was Rob Porter into office because Trump wanted them. So it's possible that this has happened here as well.

But that and didn't Rob Porter then have an affair with Hope Hicks. who was one is correct. Young women around the Trump orbit? Yes. And this is all very Trump. One is back again because weirdly, Hope Hicks had previously been accused. or alleged of had a relationship with Corey Lewandowski. Corey Lewandowski is now more famous as the alleged author of Christie Norm. Right. And they've been flying around together. He's been helping Christie Nome run the Department of Homeland Security.

He's a sort of strange special adviser, but no particularly official role. And presumably helping her with contracts. where there are alleged stories that he's getting kickbacks already. The inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security is going. to be investigating the Democrats, who right now are in the minority. They don't have subpoena power. They are writing letters demanding details on what Trump has got to worry about. and why Bimbo Fication is not going away, is that the Democrats are going.

to are almost certainly going to win the midterms. The moment they get in January next year. They can start issuing subpoenas. They can start demanding every bit of paper. They can hold people in front to ask questions. And they are making very clear. that questions that one of the big areas of questions are. that they're going to be asking about is, what was Christie Norm. up to at the Department of Homeland Security? What was Corey Lewandowski up to it? The Department of Homeland Security. And they are going to start asking about what background checks were done,

what happened to them, and crucially, who knew? I know and who is hanging over this affair. So bimbo ification is not going away. It's going to haunt Trump this second term. This is going to haunt Trump second. So it feels like one of those sort. of slightly silly, insignificant personal stories. where someone gets humiliated and then we all move on. Yes, but in fact, it has much bigger ramifications. because it shows the government, certainly the FBI with cash.

Patel, not doing his job. No surprise he's not doing his job. We saw him chugging down beer at the Olympics. when he should have been trying to find out. what on earth happened to Savannah Guthrie's mother, who's still missing. And no sign. Although I said that Christopher Wray conducted the initial background check, one thing that was that became clear during the Rob Porter affair was that. the FBI feel they have an ongoing duty. So if they had become aware of something and let's. just put this in context.

Christie, Norm, we assume, goes back to her home in South Dakota, known again for. she lives with her husband and farm when she where she shot the dog. Cricket. Cricket. And as Megan Kelly said, thank goodness cricket didn't live to. see the Luneng vote. But one other dog did because one is in the background. Oh, okay. But cricket, which at least she put up, she went home to South Dakota. when the Homeland Security Secretary travels, she has to be.

it has to be possible to brief her on the nation's most important secrets. And she travels with secure technology. At the. same time, we have somebody who was on a webcam on her laptop. What, as we assume or is mobile, and. talking to cam girls, that's the sort of data. information that foreign spies live to find. And this, you know, raises a whole of question. And we know that the Iranians hacked Kash Patel's phone.

Another piece of bad news. for Trump this week that, well, they hacked his Gmail account, released, you know, six years worth of his personal information. Does do we think, given the access to everything that Kristi Noem has? Oh, had as head of Homeland Security, do we think she knew about well, her husband's doing? I'll just say that she she she issued a statement, saying after this story was published by the Daily Mail.

saying she was blindsided or saying sorry, saying she was devastated. And the family is blindsided now, we have asked, did she know. specifically did she know anything? And every time we've been pointed to this statement and it doesn't take too. much, you know, grammatical interpretation to say. this statement could be interpreted. as saying that she had knew it already.

There may be a distinction between her and the family. She has three grown up children, to two daughters and a son. She has grandchildren. We you know, they have her mother still alive. They have cousins. That's the family. Is she necessarily part of the family in this statement? Unclear. And we have asked that question and we do not have an answer. Well, it's. something that Brian Gnome can do with his grandchildren play with balloons. That's certainly true. But what we do know is that there have been a number of people around D.C.

saying that they had heard. that there was some secret in his life that there was some arrangement, and that she had said things. to the effect that were interpreted as, oh, maybe he was, in fact gay. and not that that's, you know, the same thing as leaning, but it kind of goes in the direction of. there was something known, there was something going on. Did she know that he had a secret life and she didn't know. the details of the secret? All of these are possible, but all of these, that's what the FBI is supposed to warn the white House,

and the white House is supposed to tell the Senate and the Senate, by the way, they confirmed her 13 to 2 in committee. So that means a significant number of Democrats in the committee. and then seven Democrats voted for her at the confirmation, at full confirmation. So so they were they misled us that they want. have known they they obviously didn't they know they absolutely did not know. But this is a really significant question. And that's why this scandal, of all the things that have happened. this week, weirdly, Bimbo Fication actually has a long, long tail.

So Kristi name was fired last month. Yes, Pam Bondi was fired yesterday. We're recording this on Friday morning. Michael Wolf posits that because Susie Wiles. is having medical treatment, she is not as usually engaged. And so she had said to Trump when he took over. in this second administration, okay, we can't have the revolving door.

we had in Trump one. It makes everything look chaotic and unstable. No one can take you seriously. And so amazingly, for the first year at least, we've had complete stability. Nobody's been fired now. We've had two firings in less than a month. Yes. And people big piece in the New York Times this week that are clearly been. planted saying Tulsi Gabbard was on the skids. People think that Kash Patel might be on the skids. Howard Luck, Nick has been rumored as being on the skids. So do you think we're going into a period.

now where we're going to see more firings? Because Trump is really having a bad time. Things are turning against him. And as we know, when he's cornered, he blames everybody else. He lashes out, blames everybody else, changes the narrative. And then there's we all rush round to say, oh my God, Pam Bondi has been fired. Pam Bondi, he's been fired. I mean, all you can say is the past is Prolog. and you can only predict the future from the past. This is what happened in Trump one. People lasted two days.

Anthony Scaramucci 11 day, seven days, 11 days. People briefed against each other, people briefed against again, you know, people briefed against the briefed against themselves sometimes, it was chaos. It was unending chaos. And yes, I. what we know about Trump. is when we're in that cycle, it's impossible for him to get out of. And, you know, people this week compared that. rather cleverly compared that speech, about the Strait of Hormuz is just going to open.

naturally to his. crazy Covid, proclamations. March and April, of 2020. Right. It's just going to go away. We're airtight. It's fine. The similarity and the chaos that then. followed, does appear rather clear. So another bit of bad news for Trump this week has been a judge. putting the brakes on the East wing developments in his bull run,

which is currently set for 90,000ft, which we know will dwarf the current white House. It will be almost three times the size of the current white House. He demolished it during the evening, which is what he does. It operates at night so people woke up to see, you know, the tendrils of the east wing as sledgehammers. were going at this, you know, amazingly romantic and somewhat. sacred part of American history and culture and power.

We know he wants to erect an enormous. Trump ballroom. How much of a blow is this to him? Oh. It's huge. Sunday night he was flying back from Mar-A-Lago after the New York Times, his hometown paper, when he was second to the New York Post, had published a critique of his ballroom that pointed out some really basic things. The portico, the grand staircase leads to nowhere.

Those fake windows in front of the toilets and. Well, that's a relief, isn't it? I don't want anybody watching me if I'm on the toilet in the East Wing. I would rather. I think I want to watch Donald Trump on the toilet in the East Wing. No. And actually, weirdly, some installation artist put a large golden. toilet on the on the National Mall this week, so got some insight, but, but he is taking this so personally. He is. Let's be honest, he's more concerned, is more upset about this. than he has been about what's been going on in Iran.

And I just wanted to make sure I quoted him correctly. Even after the judge, Richard Leon, is a Bush appointee, nobody thinks that he is in any way liberal. And he was scathing about this project. He said that Donald Trump is not the owner of the white House. He is a steward. And that that hits directly everything that Trump says about the white House, everything he has torn up, he says it's because it's his.

And here we have a rock ribbed conservative saying, no, you are the steward. You are the steward for the American people. And for future first future presidents and future first families. And Trump ranted on Truth Social more than once. He also found some of his favorite reporters to talk to. The talk about just about Iran, in fact, about the ballroom. He managed a minute on Iran and then went straight on to the ballroom. And the thing that has really upset him is that the judge said.

Congress has to approve these things, and that's how our system works. And Trump unleashed his all caps. The judge said, we have to get congressional approval. He is wrong. I can't do Trump's accent. I can't do an American accent because I'm people. I'm Scottish, but I certainly don't want to do a Trump accent. Congressional approval has never been given on anything in these circumstances, big or small, having to do with construction at the white House. In this case, even less so because the ballroom. has been built with private donations nor federal taxpayer money.

Now, none of that is true. Barack Obama put a new, new fence around the white House. It's spent years getting approval, and eventually it was approved by Congress. And there are plenty of other examples. But he is taking this so personally. It's a thing that really that's what's driving him. He's obsessed by well, and also I know he's not a man. This seems to think into the future at all. But he has mentioned or referenced will he go to heaven. And so one assumes that the legacy he wants to leave is this enormous.

Trump Ballroom that dominates the rest of the white House. Now, if this is held up as a as anybody who's had to deal with the new York City. Buildings Department knows, it can take years to get even the smallest thing passed. So there's a possibility, isn't there, that this could get held up through the midterms. And then if the Democrats win, even the House of Representatives, never mind the Senate, which may or may not be on the cards right now,

this could get. stopped and he'll be living in, a rubble site. He'll be living in a work site, possibly until he leaves office. Yes, that's a really real possibility. We've seen pictures. It's it's basically it's like there's a lot of mud and some building materials. Right. And a couple of sort of bulldozers. Yes. And he the judge gave him slightly generously, I think gave gave a two week stay on his order.

So that meant that they could keep doing whatever they were doing it, in the East Wing at that point. They could keep doing it for the next two weeks so that he can appeal. Nobody thinks there is any realistic prospect. that a group of federal judges in DC are going to overturn this ruling. Even Trump judges have to face up to the initial ruling. being a very conservative judge saying, it's. not us, Donald, that's very likely to be over here. Over upheld. This could go all the way to Supreme Court.

In the meantime, what's going to be he's not allowed to keep building. or demolishing whichever whichever he happens to be at. And while there have been some people magazine, just defy them. Just do it. It's all very well for him to say keep building. But plenty of people who would be doing the building and the contracting go well. Hold on a minute. If I'm not allowed to do this, can people come after me after Donald Trump's gone? People don't defy court orders, right? Right. And I think the judge I think Farrah Thomas and wrote the piece for us,

one of our reporters and our team down in DC, and she counted 19 exclamation points in Judge. Leon's report, which shows how passionate he felt about it. And clearly, the white House itself is a remarkable, iconic building for America. It's not a palace. It's not Buckingham Palace, which, as we know, sits in the middle of London. There's a huge, pompous, more up to it. It's about the royal family, you know, it's about power.

It's about exuding power and the humility and the modesty of the white House. is supposed to be the thing. that keeps presidential power in check to right, keeps ego in check. And yet we know with Donald Trump that there are there is no way, apparently, to keep his ego in check other than court orders. One of the one of the the the the critics. of this scheme, who spoke to a New York Times piece that Trump was so triggered. by, pointed out that the ballroom would be in the way of the very clear view. that Pierre Rong Feng had designed when he designed Washington, D.C.,

so that the Capitol and the white House look directly at each other. Right. And instead, with this ballroom. in the way and the symbolism of, I don't want to see the capital, I don't care, I don't need to worry about the capital. And that's exactly what the system. was set up, that the framers set up a system. And Pierre Rong Feng brought in an architectural vision of it. to say, you are co-equal, you have to live with each other. You have to accommodate each other.

Neither of you is actually in charge. And this is such a poisoned chalice for any architects involved with. it, as it is indeed for any architect who's worked already once gone. So yes, first one just went, and then the second one was forced to give. a long interview in the New York Times recently to sort link twice, exactly reinforce the fact that he's taking ownership of this, this project. Shalom, Barry. Mass, who we've been calling out. I mean, he should be ashamed of himself for doing this.

This is not one of those things you want to do as an architect. Everyone will remember this. Well, everybody. remember it, even if it's not erected, which we've got to say is a possibility. Right? Well, certainly at the moment. And we assume that any Democrat that runs for office is going to come in. on a promise. of getting rid of the ballroom, however, or repurposing it entirely. Right? I mean, I can't help thinking it's also a fascinating. sort of comment on his wife's commitment to her role. as first lady, because it's always been traditionally.

the office of the first lady, the East Wing. And yet he just went in one evening and trashed the entire place. And he rarely talks about Melania, and he has joked that she was very upset. about the noise. This is obviously a. and, that, that how often she actually there. Yeah. I was going to say. we don't think she's upset about the noise because she's living in New York. Anyway, we discovered that we are selves are getting under. You were talking rooms in the white House.

Rooms? Go on. Well, it seems the Daily Beast doesn't have room in the white House necessarily. Although we are in the West Wing Theater, Tom is in and is regularly. in, in the white House reporting from it brilliantly. But apparently we are actually living somewhere kind of more intimate. Caroline Levitz head Caroline Levitz had. we've taken up residence in Caroline Levitz machine gunned. Had a machine gun. Lipps is what Trump calls her, of course, but it turns out this week.

that she was on a panel talking about the pressure of her job. and how wonderful it was to see her children when she gets home. She must be the only working parent that goes home and finds that. looking after toddlers is more relaxing than her actual job. But it turned out that she singled us out. Can we play the tape home to a beautiful baby and children. who are just happy to see you, no matter what it is the most refreshing, beautiful thing and it gives you the best perspective on life.

Like nothing else matters except for that. Who cares what The Daily Beast wrote today? You know, like who? Who cares what the headlines are like? I have an amazing son who just wants to be loved and play truck. You know? Who cares? Caroline. Love it. Voters care. Voters care, voters care. Well, what doesn't go into care? And it's your headlines that get under. That's every bit of work that everybody at the Daily Beast does. All I can say is, first of all, if you do not subscribe to Daily Beast,

you've got to see what it is that is obsessing Caroline Leavitt. You can subscribe at WW dot the Daily beast.com I'm Caroline. Get in touch. I know you're regularly in touch. Of course I Caroline and her well Caroline's associates. are always in touch about they call us glue sniffers. Crackheads. Bags of shit, pieces of shit. Lying sacks of shit. Rampant TDs.

They've called our brilliant columnist, David Rothkopf. He looks like a cop and a loser. But we will put that aside. Caroline, get you a free subscription. Oh, because you need to keep up. I am told that Caroline is also. potentially up for the job, as is also Steven Chung. Her, I think number two. Well, does he have a separate have separate jobs? And it's in traditional white houses. Steven Chung would have been Caroline's boss.

But this is not a traditional white House. Well, and I think unclear who's the boss there. Right. And Donald Trump loves what Caroline looks like. And it has to be said she's remarkably effective at doing her job. the way she stands up there and just spouts untruth. After untruth is quite astonishing. And he's right. Those lips are like little machine guns spitting out bullets. Well, we are here to report on the bullets, and, I think we do so fairly and accurately and, enjoyably. Well, it's good to know that we're under Caroline livered skin,

and that the only way she can relax from our relentless onslaught. with your headlines and us trying to stay on top of what this. government is doing, trying to flood the zone, is to go home. and play with her children. That's true. And, it's a very wholesome. And it's better than learning. Well, here we've got work to do. We've got to get back out there. Let's get back out there. We have, oh, we have our morning meeting. Joanna. Thank you for having me. Oh, we'll be back next week.

Yes, we'll do a regular live stream. Yep. A regular, a regular podcast slash live stream, depending on what's going on. To keep everybody informed. But thank you. If you have been for joining us, don't forget to leave us your comments. Tell us what your favorite part of the conversation was. How do you feel about Caroline Leavitt and her machine gun lips? Don't forget. Subscribe to The Daily Beast. We are independent media, which is why we can get under Caroline. Leave it skin and we appreciate your support.

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