The Daily Beast Podcast

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles go inside the chaos of Trump’s White House, where a disastrous press secretary debut, a sudden firing, and Susie Wiles’ uncertain future expose a West Wing running on ego, loyalty, and dysfunction. As Trump’s revolving door of female aides keeps spinning, Wolff explains why even his own chief of staff may be on borrowed time. Plus, Elon Musk is pouring another $300 m...

Joanna Coles and Hugh Dougherty reveal the backstabbing, bruising rivalries and spectacular missteps tearing through Trump’s inner circle. As Susie Wiles fights to keep her footing and press secretary Katie Zacharia faces the music, Kristi Noem and Kimberly Guilfoyle bring fresh drama to an already chaotic Washington. With egos colliding and loyalty wearing thin, nobody in Trump’s orbit looks safe...

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles ask whether Susie Wiles is running out of time as Trump reportedly calls around to ask what people think of his chief of staff. Wolff explains why that question can be the kiss of death inside Trump’s White House and predicts what could happen after the midterms. They also take on new press secretary Katie Zacharia’s rocky debut and the questions surrounding her clai...

Eric Deters reveals to Joanna Coles how his friendship with Kimberly Guilfoyle unraveled after, he says, she asked him for $100,000 to pay an American Express bill while awaiting confirmation as ambassador to Greece. The longtime Trump supporter describes the texts he released, the moment Guilfoyle warned that the dispute could cost her the job and an awkward day he spent with her and Don Jr. as t...

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles dig into Kimberly Guilfoyle’s abrupt exit as ambassador to Greece and the leaked messages that preceded it. Why was she pushed out, and what does she know about the Trump family? Wolff argues that her fall exposes a familiar pattern in Trump’s circle: people using power to chase money, status and the next job. They also discuss new White House press secretary Katie Z...

David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles to sound the alarm on Donald Trump’s jaw-dropping betrayal of America, from pumping money into Putin’s war machine to potentially helping fund attacks on U.S. forces. As Trump’s administration embraces authoritarian tactics and threatens a televised execution, Rothkopf explains how the president is torching America’s global standing. Plus, Marco Rubio’s presidenti...

Kurt Andersen and Joanna Coles revisit the Donald Trump that Spy magazine spotted 40 years ago: a blustering New York celebrity who claimed he could master nuclear missiles in an hour and a half. Andersen explains why Trump was a joke then but became president, and why today’s thin-skinned tech billionaires deserve the same sharp scrutiny. They consider what a midterm defeat could do to a presiden...

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles turn their attention to Pete Hegseth, as the Secretary of Defense is facing mounting criticism over the Iran war while quietly positioning himself for a presidential run. They break down his latest State of the Force speech, which Wolff argues was designed to flatter Donald Trump and win over the MAGA base, and Joanna traces Hegseth’s tough-guy rhetoric back to his t...

Joanna Coles and Hugh Dougherty dive into Trump-world’s latest chaos, from Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize humiliation to Pete Hegseth’s chilling talk of live-streaming a military execution. John Ossoff delivers a brutal debate performance as Democrats eye the midterms, while a Texas candidate vanishes from the campaign trail. Plus, Kimberly Guilfoyle is engulfed in a jaw-dropping scandal that could spe...

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles are counting down to the midterms—and the Trump world is already positioning itself for what comes next. Marco Rubio appears to be launching his 2028 presidential campaign with a grandiose pitch to save Western civilization, while Michael predicts Trump and Rubio may need a new “big thing” to distract from the Iran war, impeachment threats, and mounting investigation...

Mary Trump returns to the Daily Beast Podcast to tell Joanna Coles why she believes her uncle is terrified of being seen as a loser as the midterms approach. She traces that fear to the Trump family dynamic she witnessed growing up, then weighs in on his remarks about Los Angeles and San Diego, his fixation on cognitive tests and aspirin, and his relationship with aide Natalie Harp. Mary also reve...

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles examine Donald Trump’s increasingly self-destructive presidency, from his dwindling rally crowds and disastrous political bets to his reckless handling of the war in Iran and increasingly bizarre rhetoric. They draw a remarkable parallel between Trump and disgraced British politician and novelist Jeffrey Archer, another larger-than-life narcissist whose appetite for...

David Rothkopf speaks with Joanna Coles about Trump’s increasingly chaotic presidency as the midterms loom, from his bizarre claim that he has an IQ of 1,775 to the growing threat of election interference and Elon Musk’s renewed influence. They examine Pete Hegseth’s alarming vision for the Pentagon, the rise of autonomous weapons and the billions flowing to Trump allies, before looking ahead to t...

#ad See if your SSN is for sale right now. My sponsor Cloaked will tell you for free in 2 seconds here: https://cloaked.com/dailybeast ✅ Keisha Lance Bottoms joins Joanna Coles on The Daily Beast Podcast to take on the billionaire she calls a Donald Trump wannabe—and explain why his $100 million investment in Georgia’s governor’s race hasn’t put her behind in the polls. The former Atlanta mayor s...

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles reveal the fears they believe drive Donald Trump—from being exposed as unintelligent and unable to absorb information to his dread of rejection, ridicule, loneliness, and losing the spotlight. Wolff recounts the extraordinary efforts allegedly made to keep Trump’s academic records hidden, explains why ordinary conversation can leave him vulnerable, and describes a pr...

#ad See if your SSN is for sale right now. My sponsor Cloaked will tell you for free in 2 seconds here: https://cloaked.com/dailybeast ✅ Joanna Coles and Daily Beast executive editor Hugh Dougherty take on a week of Trump-fueled chaos, from the president fawning over White House aide Margo Martin in front of Natalie Harp to his motorcade roaring through Texas at nearly 100 mph. They reveal why Tr...

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles take a revealing look inside Donald Trump’s world of flunkies, fear and humiliation, where cabinet officials, billionaires and tech titans learn how far they have to bend to stay in his good graces. They examine why figures like Marco Rubio, J.D. Vance and Pete Hegseth have accepted radically different versions of the same bargain, and how Trump’s unpredictable mix o...

Adam Mockler joins Joanna Coles on the Daily Beast Podcast to break down the chaos consuming Donald Trump’s Republican Party, from Ken Paxton blaming Trump for wrecking his Senate campaign to the spectacular Jack Smith hearing blunder that left GOP senators scrambling. Mockler reveals what really happened before and after his explosive CNN clash with Scott Jennings, explains why Trump’s costly war...

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles dig into what Donald Trump’s political future looks like as the midterms approach, from Republicans increasingly distancing themselves from Trump to his apparent determination to double down rather than retreat. They examine Trump’s taxpayer-funded campaign ad, the Texas Senate race, and the growing fight over AI data centers before turning to the darker story of Jef...

The Daily Beast's Chief Global Affairs Columnist predicts what is about to happen to Donald Trump: A bubble-bursting moment when he gets confronted with reality. He tells Joanna Coles about what we can all learn from the moment Trump got heckled on a golf course on Sunday, and what to take out of what the president betrayed on a hot mic at the same event. #ad For a limited time, get 60% off your f...

Anand Giridharadas returns to the Daily Beast Podcast to discuss his new book, Man in the Mirror, and the three years he spent reporting on the fatal subway encounter between Jordan Neely and Daniel Penny. Giridharadas takes Joanna Coles inside a story that became a national Rorschach test, exploring race, homelessness, mental illness, public safety, fear, dehumanization, and the difficulty of mak...

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles take a closer look at Donald Trump’s encounter with Xi Jinping and what China may have learned from a president they see as unusually susceptible to flattery, especially when it comes to the delicate question of Taiwan. They also dissect Melania Trump’s new women’s network, the growing role of billionaires around the White House, and the extraordinary rise of Kimberl...

Joanna Coles and Hugh Dougherty dig into Donald Trump’s extraordinary welcome for Chinese President Xi Jinping, from the red-carpet spectacle and lavish state dinner to the tensions over Taiwan, Iran, and China’s support for Tehran. They examine what Xi’s carefully chosen language of the “Thucydides Trap” reveals about the increasingly complicated U.S.-China relationship, and why the White House’s...

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles unpack Trump’s latest threats to “annihilate” Iran, including the bizarre White House effort to find him a new word after “obliterate” apparently lost its punch. They discuss Trump’s UN week showdown with world leaders, Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House, Melania Trump’s new women’s initiative, and RFK Jr.’s extraordinary $4 million book deal. They also examine th...

Luke Harding, author of the new book Betrayal: Trump, Putin and The New Age of Conquest, speaks with Joanna Coles about the decades-long relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, and the Russian intelligence operation that Harding argues helped cultivate Trump as a potential target for influence. Harding traces Trump’s early connections to Moscow, the murky financial dealings that foll...