Krugman: Trump Screwed Himself Badly on Iran—and May Not Even Know It

THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent

The New Republic

News, Politics

4.4 • 800 Ratings

🗓️ 29 April 2026

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In today’s episode, economist Paul Krugman lays out an expansive case that Donald Trump holds a losing hand in the war with Iran. Krugman argues that Trump can’t seem to admit that the Strait of Hormuz problem has cornered him. Krugman also details why the situation could get worse, if Iran continues holding out and constraints on oil supply drive the global economy into recession. As Krugman puts it, this will keep getting uglier for Trump until he “swallows his pride” and accepts that he doesn’t hold the cards. This builds on the piece Krugman posted on his Substack arguing that time is on Iran’s side. Gas prices just hit a new high, and Republicans quietly fear their midterm prospects are darkening due to what Trump has unleashed. Krugman takes us through these dynamics, notes that Trump is obsessing over his ballroom in search of a win, and explains why this all could tailspin further for the GOP. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Every Tuesday, we talk security with security now.
0:03.1	Hi, this is Leo Loport, inviting you to join me and Steve Gibson this Thursday,
0:08.0	where we get the latest on this new Mythos model, this cybersecurity AI that's rocking the security world
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0:34.6	or wherever you get your podcast.
0:36.6	Join us, won't you? This is the Daily Blast from the New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.
0:54.4	I'm your host, Greg Sargent.
1:04.4	This week, Donald Trump rejected a proposal from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
1:10.5	This offer would have set aside questions about Iran's nuclear program for now.
1:15.6	That may be why Trump rejected it.
1:18.6	But there's another possible reason.
1:20.6	Accepting that deal wouldn't make him look as if he's winning.
1:24.6	Yet this comes as gas and oil prices continue to rise, which isn't making
1:29.6	Trump look like a winner either. And partly because of that, Republicans are privately
1:34.4	warning that their prospects in the midterms look increasingly dire. So what now for Trump?
1:41.5	Paul Krugman has a great new piece on his substack arguing that Trump simply does not
1:46.1	have the cards in the Iran situation, even though he may not know it. So we're talking with
	...

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