Generals Tell Truth About How Trump Endangers U.S.

The Daily Beast Podcast

The Daily Beast

News & Politics

4.6 • 7.9K Ratings

🗓️ 30 December 2025

⏱️ 111 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Joanna Coles dives into Trump’s troubled relationship with the U.S. military, unpacking disastrous parades, loyalty tests, and pep rallies that left generals cringing. With insights from Michael Wolff, David Rothkopf, and top retired brass, we reveal how strategy was sidelined for spectacle—and what it means for the country. Retired generals and lawmakers weigh in on the risks Trump’s style posed to U.S. readiness. We also get an inside look at Pete Hegseth and the chaos behind the scenes.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Joanna Coles. This is The Daily Beast podcast and in today's episode, we're going to look back on our coverage of Donald Trump and the military. Over the past year, the Daily Beast podcast has been unpacking every jaw-dropping moment of Trump's attempts to wield power, charm generals and change the nature of the most powerful
0:22.3	fighting force in history. We've brought in former generals who've lived it, they've studied it,
0:28.3	and they know the military's values that Donald Trump is attempting to subvert.
0:33.6	Author Michael Wolf, the man who decodes Trump's every misstep, walks us through the $45 million
0:40.1	military birthday parade that ended in a low-budget cosplay nightmare.
0:45.5	And why Trump was furious at his own defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.
0:50.3	The Daily Beast's must-read columnist, David Rothkoff, exposes the full truth behind Trump and Pete Hegseth PEP rally for generals and admirals.
1:00.0	And why the authoritarian impulses we're seeing aren't just alarming, they're already reshaping our world order.
1:09.0	Retired lieutenant General Mark Hurtling pulls no punches about what
1:13.4	top brass were really thinking during Trump's rambling speech in front of the military brass in
1:19.1	Quantico and the risks they pose to US readiness. Senator Alyssa Slotkin and retired Major General
1:26.6	Paul Eaton weigh in on the chaos,
1:29.3	the loyalty tests and the battlefield myths that have replaced strategy.
1:34.9	And we even get a front row take on Pete Hegesoth himself,
1:38.8	and why the mooch thinks he squandered his shot at running for president.
1:43.4	So stay with us.
1:44.8	You're about to get the inside story from the people who know it best,
1:48.6	and it's as shocking as it is essential.
1:54.0	Michael, so much to discuss, as always.
1:57.8	And you're in Cannes.
2:00.5	I'm in Cannes. I wish I were there.
2:02.6	No, you don't wish you were here.
	...

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