This Is Who Will Be Ailing Trump’s Shadow POTUS | The Daily Beast Podcast

David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles to discuss Trump presidency’s increasingly chaotic—and potentially dangerous—spiral. As Trump retreats further into a bubble of flatterers, key figures around him appear to be pulling away, raising new questions about who is really running the White House. Rothkopf unloads on Trump’s disastrous Iran strategy, arguing that the president has burned through critical U.S. weapons stockpiles and left America dangerously weakened, while Iran now holds the leverage. They also dig into Trump’s escalating attacks on Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, the Republican Party’s increasingly desperate turn toward racism, and the legal battle threatening Trump’s lavish White House ballroom. And as Trump grows more isolated and appears increasingly disengaged, Rothkopf raises a chilling possibility: America could be heading toward another moment in which people behind the scenes—not the president himself—are effectively making the decisions.

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00:00 – Is Trump Secretly Losing Control?
01:08 – Trump’s Bruises and His Increasing Isolation
04:28 – The White House Begins to Fall Apart
06:12 – Trump’s Dangerous Bubble of Yes-Men
09:38 – Susie Wiles Gets Blindsided by Trump
14:20 – Melania Trump Is “Completely Checked Out”
17:43 – Trump’s Coming Irrelevance Could Trigger a Meltdown
21:32 – Trump’s Iran War Is Spiraling Out of Control
25:07 – Trump Burned Through America’s Weapons
29:01 – Will Trump Fire Pete Hegseth?
31:03 – Democrats Are Actually “In Array”
32:47 – Michigan’s Democratic Surprise
36:21 – The Race That Could Humiliate Trump
40:11 – MAGA’s America vs. a Changing Country
41:26 – His Ballroom Faces a Supreme Court Showdown
44:13 – Trump’s Meltdown Is Only Getting Worse
47:13 – Is Someone Else Already Running the Presidency?
50:11 – Democracy Could Be Trump’s Biggest Nightmare

#trump #podcast #news

📖 Title: This Is Who Will Be Ailing Trump’s Shadow POTUS
👂 Podcast: The Daily Beast Podcast
📺 Episode: 748
🎧 Format: Full Podcast
📅 Date: August 10, 2026
👨‍💼 Guest: David Rothkopf
🎙️ Host: Joanna Coles

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Written by The Daily Beast