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Why Trump’s Slimy Humiliation Is Driving Him Mad | Inside Trump’s Head

The Daily Beast | June 24, 2026



Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles examine the strange new fixation consuming Donald Trump as the White House grapples with wars abroad, slipping poll numbers, and growing political trouble at home. Drawing on Wolff’s conversations with insiders, they explore why an algae-filled reflecting pool has become the president’s overwhelming obsession, what it may reveal about his state of mind, and why even longtime aides are struggling to explain it. They also unpack Trump’s surprising foreknowledge of Keir Starmer’s resignation, the impossible demands of modern political leadership, and why Volodymyr Zelensky’s resilience is reshaping the war in Ukraine.

00:00 – What’s happening with America?
05:02 – Trump’s Reflecting Pool Obsession Amid Global Crises
09:33 – The Iran Deal Fallout
14:07 – Algae, Distraction, and Questions About Trump’s State of Mind
19:03 – Keir Starmer’s Crisis and Trump’s Connection to UK Politics
23:35 – The Collapse of British Leadership
28:12 – Ranking Political Skills
33:34 – Biden, Leadership Traits, and the Limits of Political Talent
37:36 – Ukraine’s Battlefield Success and Russia’s Growing Weakness
42:37 – Dictators and Political Survival
47:05 – Leadership, Power, and Democratic Institutions

#trump #podcast #news

📖 Title: Why Trump’s Slimy Humiliation Is Driving Him Mad
👂 Podcast: Inside Trump’s Head 
📺 Episode: 129
🎧 Format:  Full Podcast
📅 Date: June 23, 2026
🎙️ Hosts: Joanna Coles, Michael Wolff

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Written by The Daily Beast

Comments

This post currently has 36 comments.

  1. @kewlbabywitch

    June 24, 2026 at 9:49 pm

    Commenters are hating way too hard on Michael. He's a great foil for Joanna and when they butt heads she shows she can hold her own perfectly fine. The world needs all kinds, including cynical assholes. His attitude fits this subject matter exceptionally well. Zero toxic positivity, maximum disdain for everyone and everything (usually totally warranted imo.) He's not charismatic and I don't agree with everything he says but I'm entertained the whole time, which is more than I can say about plenty of other recurring guests. You can tell Joanna is entertained by him too.

  2. @hansen-c4q

    June 24, 2026 at 9:49 pm

    1. Trump is a complete idiot.
    2. He wouldn't even be able to manage a neighborhood with three houses.
    3. By now, there would be a 250-foot triumphal arch and a golden statue of him there.
    4. There would be no water or sewer connections, but that wouldn't matter because no one can afford to live there anymore.

  3. @georgemartin1498

    June 24, 2026 at 9:49 pm

    Thanks to you both! To push back on Michael’s hypothesis about “the job is too much” let’s remember that the last three presidents have been Trump and Biden. I don’t think the job was too much for Obama, Bush or Clinton.

  4. @markmasterson7188

    June 24, 2026 at 9:49 pm

    Joanne Coles let me correct you on a basic fact…Nigel Farage is not a Far Right political figure…You state these incredible inaccuracies with such conviction that I can understand Michael Wolf's obvious frustration with you at times…My advice would be. Stay in your lane and realise your background is fashion magazines and you don't even know about your own country let alone be questioning Lord Wolf who is a native of the land, has a l9ng political journalist career and I'd very intellectual. You are front of shop hostess that we love but know what you don't know and have more g4ace to accept Lord Wolf's deeper knowledge on these subjects. .

  5. @joanneb3935

    June 24, 2026 at 9:49 pm

    I can't believe that Michael called Dr John Gartner a television doctor. OMG. Gartner is much more accomplished than you give him credit for. Check out his bio.

  6. @hanssvoboda

    June 24, 2026 at 9:49 pm

    I know this is all very serious business, but frankly Trump and all of his stupidity just makes me laugh more and more every day. This whole reflecting pool situation Is exactly what he deserves.

  7. @yolowell9564

    June 24, 2026 at 9:49 pm

    Mainer here! 🦞🌲🦞 We are determined to throw Susan Collins out come November. Graham Platner good for Maine. Good for the country. Don’t listen to Michael. We Mainers know we want Graham as our Senator.

  8. @christinaalexakos718

    June 24, 2026 at 9:49 pm

    No offense to Michael but Dr. John Gartner is a well respected clinical psychologist in his field as is Michael in his field.
    To downplay Dr. Gartner’s and several leading mental health experts such as Dr. Bandy Lee, is frustrating. Trump’s serious mental illness and signs of dementia most likely frontal temporal, is very apparent and has bern for quite some time.

  9. @mkse5845

    June 24, 2026 at 9:49 pm

    WHY are seemingly innocuous issues SO important? It is because these issues have overt, subliminal, discipline-specific, and historical symbolic significance — currency — that holds real value to people who are aware of that particular board in the multidimensional chess game. In this instance, the Reflecting Pool could be an aspiring myth-maker's attempted grasp at the Heavens and vainglorious self-characterization (self-definition) via religious symbolism: "as above, so below". This concept is present in many religions, for example:

    Christianity: The concept is heavily echoed in the Lord’s Prayer: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." It is also reflected in the Genesis narrative that humans are created "in the image and likeness" of God.

    Judaism (Kabbalah): The mystical tradition posits that the human body corresponds to the Sefirot (the ten divine attributes of God). Actions taken by humans below can cause shifts or balances in the divine realms above.

    Hinduism: The phrase mirrors the ancient Sanskrit concept of "Yatha pinde tatha brahmande," which translates literally to: "As is the individual body, so is the cosmic body."

    This notion might be a bit esoteric, academic, or nuanced for your platform, but it points to an otherwise indiscernible motive. Since advisors guide many of these actions, simply reducing these actions to incompetence or mental illness removes calculated, self-serving intent from the universe of possible motives and, therefore, reduces the level of culpability, which is a tactical mistake. Accordingly, it is no wonder the left has been unsuccessful at reigning in these outrageous Constitutional affronts, personal indulgences, violations of others, abuses of office, and blatant emoluments.

    Incidentally, quit smacking your lips, ma'am; it is unbecoming and a misplaced meme. Think deeper. I'm not calling you unprincipled or stupid; I don't have to.

  10. @charlenebiggs1620

    June 24, 2026 at 9:49 pm

    Re: next presidential candidate. Canada chose an international central banker as Prime Minister, a man with no previous political background who has accomplished more in a year than the previous 3 PMs combined.

  11. @peggyr2081

    June 24, 2026 at 9:49 pm

    Took Wolff a really long time to get to dementia. Hope Maga finally gets to the same place. Didn‘t take most sane people to get to that place a long long time ago.

  12. @MicheleCT2025

    June 24, 2026 at 9:49 pm

    I do not know how you have patience to have her speak "politics" S×÷t you was your time teachi g her 101 Politics – and NOT a quick learner. Please get special talking heads for political discussions.
    God I don't know how tou can have SO Much Patience to be polite and correct ignorance.

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