365: Mad Men with Dr. Trita Parsi
Politics War Room with James Carville & Al Hunt
Politicon
4.6 • 3.8K Ratings
🗓️ 16 April 2026
⏱️ 60 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
James and Al sound the alarm over Trump’s deteriorating mental state, and explain the challenges it poses for JD Vance and the effects it will have on the upcoming election. Then, they analyze the political dynamics at play in the California gubernatorial election, and welcome Dr. Trita Parsi to examine the aftermath of the Iran war. They discuss the reasons the Iranian regime was able to repel the attack, the need to revisit sanctions to weaken the regime and empower civil society, what the future looks like for Israel and the Gulf states, and the potential for shifting alliances.
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Get More From This Week’s Guest:
Dr. Trita Parsi: Twitter | Website | Quincy Institute For Responsible Statecraft | Author
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to Politics War Room with James Carvel and I am Al Hunt. This week our guest |
| 0:15.5 | is the co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute and an expert on Iran, Trita Parsi. |
| 0:23.8 | Remember, we love taking your questions, so write to PoliticsWilroom at gmail.com for next week's |
| 0:29.8 | show. |
| 0:30.3 | Now, we're going to get to as many as we can, but please don't forget to tell us where you're |
| 0:34.3 | from. |
| 0:34.9 | You also can get text updates about what's next for |
| 0:37.6 | Politicon and Politics World Room by signing up at Politicon.com. Tell your friends about us |
| 0:43.6 | and remind them to subscribe on Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast. And please |
| 0:49.5 | check out the links to our sponsors, Mint Mobile and Three Day Blinds and our episode show notes. We thank you for |
| 0:56.9 | supporting these sponsors. It really helps make this podcast happen. James, there's several things we |
| 1:04.3 | know about Trump. He loves to lash out and hurt people, and his administration is like the mafia. |
| 1:09.4 | They command total loyalty or else. |
| 1:12.1 | This week, after threatening to obliterate the entire Iranian civilization, |
| 1:17.1 | attacking one of his rare European allies, |
| 1:20.9 | his Italian Prime Minister Maloney, |
| 1:23.3 | and continuing an assault on Pope Leo, the first American Pope, |
| 1:28.3 | he went on a truth-social binge throughout the night, |
| 1:32.5 | much of it making little sense. |
| 1:35.3 | All this is best explained by a Peter Baker article in the New York Times. |
| 1:40.7 | Basically, Trump is a guy playing on the mental edge. |
| 1:44.1 | It's a powerful and really important piece. |
... |
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