Epstein Files Frenzy and Court Losses Fuel Trump’s Collapse
Shrinking Trump
Really American Media
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 September 2025
⏱️ 102 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
One of your favorite psychologists, Harry Segal, is back to describe and interpret Trump’s strange behaviors this week, from his tone-deaf response to the Epstein-Maxwell victims to his mysterious medical symptoms. Since John Gartner is on assignment, Ahmed Baba, columnist, journalist, and frequent pundit on cable news, sits in as Harry’s guest co-host. (Check out his bestselling Substack newsletter: AhmedBaba.News.) And be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts:
They dive straight into Trump’s two recent court defeats—one over tariffs, another over immigration restrictions—and ask why he keeps dragging outdated laws back into the spotlight. Rather than solving real problems, these lawsuits feel like rehearsals for the next manufactured crisis, with each loss chipping away at his claims of unchecked authority.
They turn next to ICE raids and Trump’s fiery rhetoric about cities like Chicago. When Governor J.B. Pritzker publicly rebuked the suggestion of federal troops on Illinois soil, Baba unpacks the political calculations and racial undertones driving that showdown. It becomes clear this tug-of-war isn’t just about policy; it’s about how power is flexed when constitutional guardrails start feeling optional.
The episode also confronts Trump’s lingering ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Survivors and advocates are demanding the release of Epstein’s files, yet Trump brushed the whole scandal off as a hoax—an impulsive reaction that only deepens doubts about his judgment. With approval ratings sagging, Siegel and Baba trace how these knee-jerk defenses betray deeper cognitive strains, calling into question Trump’s ability to respond thoughtfully under pressure.
Through it all, Shrinking Trump never loses sight of its mission: to spotlight the mind games at work and equip us for the battles ahead. By naming the psychological warning signs—whether it’s crisis-manufacturing lawsuits or off-the-cuff dismissals of serious allegations—we reclaim a degree of clarity in a chaotic political landscape. Listening here isn’t just about critique; it’s about shoring up our own defenses and reminding ourselves why democratic norms matter.
Catch this episode of Shrinking Trump on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you tune in. You’ll walk away not just with a sharper take on Trump’s latest maneuvers, but with the language to call out authoritarian playbooks the moment they emerge.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Dr. Harry Siegel. |
| 0:02.4 | And I'm Ahmed Baba. |
| 0:04.8 | And welcome to this session of shrinking Trump. |
| 0:08.9 | Our show has been dedicated to looking at the politics and the psychopathology of Donald |
| 0:15.2 | Trump, how it affects his functioning, how it affects his decisions. |
| 0:20.2 | And we've been looking at him from really two |
| 0:22.6 | perspectives. First, from his malignant narcissism, that is a severe narcissistic personality |
| 0:30.6 | disorder, which results in Trump's lack of empathy for others, his compulsive lying, his criminal behavior. |
| 0:40.1 | But more recently in the past few years, John Gartner, who's really known for beginning |
| 0:48.2 | the movement duty to warn, has been talking about Trump's incipient dementia. |
| 0:55.0 | That is, we're starting to see some of the early signs of cognitive dissolution on Trump's part. |
| 1:03.1 | So we've been noting that and chronicling it and also talking about the news of the week |
| 1:07.9 | and we've been doing it. |
| 1:09.4 | This is our 60th episode. |
| 1:12.6 | But this week is the first time we have a guest co-host, which is very exciting. |
| 1:19.6 | And it's because John is on assignment. He's been doing some work for the show and needed a week off. And so, Ahmed |
| 1:28.7 | Baba, who is the founder of the best-selling substack newsletter, Ahmed Baba News. He's also |
| 1:36.5 | has been a columnist at the Independent. He also was really an expert on Project 2025 and was |
| 1:43.3 | warning all of us during the election about |
| 1:45.5 | what Trump might do if he won. |
| 1:48.3 | And he's been doing all those things, right, Ahmed? |
| 1:50.8 | Oh, you sure. |
... |
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