How Trump's 'Stupid' Move Backfired on Him

The Daily Beast Podcast

The Daily Beast

News

4.6 • 8.4K Ratings

🗓️ 6 June 2026

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ben Rhodes, former Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama, speaks with Joanna Coles about why he believes Donald Trump is repeating the mistakes the Obama administration spent years trying to avoid, from Iran and the Strait of Hormuz to the unraveling of decades of American diplomacy. Drawing on his firsthand role in the Iran nuclear negotiations and the reopening of relations with Cuba, Rhodes explains how complex deals are actually made, why expertise matters in moments of crisis, and what happens when governments ignore it. He also reflects on Trump's transformation of the White House, the growing influence of tech billionaires, the future of Democratic leadership, and the deeper battle over America's identity that inspired his new book, All We Say. Rhodes offers a rare insider's view of diplomacy, power, and the long-term consequences of decisions that could reshape the global order for years to come. Recover smarter with Lifepro—get $20 OFF the Waver Vibration Plate and free shipping at https://lifeprofitness.com with code DAILYBEAST at checkout. #ad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:52.3	.
0:53.3	Obama's foreign policy of which you were heavily involved was sort of loosely defined as don't do stupid.
1:00.9	Is what Trump's doing in Iran's stupid.
1:04.3	Yes.
1:05.0	I mean, in fact, it's like precisely what Obama had in mind when he said that.
1:09.7	You know, they've gotten rid of all of the USAID,
1:11.8	they've attacked their own intelligence community. I was never in a war game in which the first
1:16.5	thing the Iranians did wasn't to close the straight-of-hormuz. The cost of getting rid of all that
1:21.2	expertise for so many years, all this is converging in this one event because he is reckless enough to listen to
1:29.3	Netanyahu and think, if I do this, I'll collapse the Iranian regime and be a hero, and incompetent
1:34.6	enough to not have had experts who are like, hey, they'd close the straight of our movies
	...

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