I Know How Trump Will Make Things Uglier: Wolff

Inside Trump's Head

The Daily Beast

News, Society & Culture

4.3 • 696 Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2026

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles to dissect a White House in visible disarray, tracing a week where Donald Trump basks in the glow of a royal visit he barely understands while King Charles III delivers a devastatingly elegant rebuke—uniting Congress, charming the room, and exposing a stark contrast in leadership that may linger through the midterms. Wolff argues Trump misses the insult entirely, even as his administration spirals: looming firings, a farcical indictment of James Comey, a ballooning Hormuz crisis choking global oil markets, and a wildly unpopular White House ballroom project that feels like a metaphor for overreach. As Trump doubles down—on vengeance, on war, on spectacle—the question isn’t whether the warning signs are visible, but whether he’s capable of seeing them at all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by Expedia and Visit Scotland.
0:04.6	Start your story in Scotland.
0:06.9	Experience the pool of wide, untamed landscapes and fresh cuisine that feels rooted in place.
0:13.6	Discover castles steeped in legend.
0:16.6	And feel the genuine warmth from locals you meet in a place that will stay with you long after
0:22.3	you leave. Start planning your own Scottish holiday today at Expedia.co.uk slash visit Scotland.
0:30.1	I wonder if he knows how badly things are going for him. And I think that he is beginning to get an
0:38.6	inkling of that so then the question is how does he respond what does he do we
0:44.2	know he doesn't course correct so he doubles down so I think that things are
0:48.8	about to get if possible even uglier.
0:56.6	Michael.
0:59.7	Joanna, how are things in Yorkshire?
1:03.2	Well, I have to say it's really nice to see you.
1:08.8	It's very nice to see you in touch base with my New York life, my American life.
1:16.1	And I just, listen, I mentioned on our last podcast, I was in Yorkshire, in my childhood home, actually, because one of my parents is ailing fast.
1:19.2	My mum is ailing fast.
1:20.5	And I was so moved and grateful for all the messages from our regular viewers and listeners, many of whom
1:31.2	have either gone through this themselves or are going through it. I was shocked at the number of
1:36.4	people who are trying to cobble together care for an elder parent. And so it just felt
1:42.8	incredibly moving actually to hear from people. And it reminded
1:47.6	me of the piece you had written in New York Magazine, I want to say about 15, 20 years ago, which
1:53.0	had... Yeah, no, I think it was, it is 15 years ago. And it's a piece, this was a piece about
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Daily Beast, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Daily Beast and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.