The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg on the Long-Term Consequences of Trump 2.0

On with Kara Swisher

New York Magazine

News Commentary, News, Society & Culture

4.2 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 2 June 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jeffrey Goldberg has been a thorn in President Donald Trump’s side since the real-estate developer–turned reality-show host first ran for office in 2016. Back then — ten months before he took over as editor-in-chief of The Atlantic — Goldberg wrote a piece headlined “A Brief Exercise Meant to Illuminate the Prejudices of Donald Trump.” The magazine has continued its unsparing criticism of Trump ever since, and Goldberg’s recent Signalgate story was just the latest in a series of blockbuster scoops that have nominally embarrassed the president. On Friday, Goldberg sat down with Kara for an on-stage interview at the WBUR Festival in Boston. They discussed Trump’s corruption, the unserious people staffing his administration (as well as with the very serious Russell Vought, a Project 2025 architect who heads the OMB), the Democratic Party’s travails, and the state of the news media. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, everyone from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:14.5	This is On with Kara Swisher, and I'm Kara Swisher.
0:17.6	My guest today is Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, and I interviewed him
0:22.6	live on stage at the WBUR Festival in Boston. Goldberg was the reporter behind Signalgate,
0:29.3	and despite Mike Waltz's assurances that he didn't know him and couldn't pick him out of a lineup,
0:33.7	it's not the first time Goldberg has published a story that embarrass President Trump.
0:43.6	In 2020, he broke the story that Trump had called American troops who died in war, suckers, and losers.
0:49.1	And the Atlantic has been warning about Trump's authoritarian tendencies since at least 2017.
0:55.2	I think he's done a lot as editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, making it incredibly relevant in Washington today and holding people's feet to the fire and demanding accountability.
1:00.0	It's really tough to do if you're a huge publication. It is not a huge publication, and it's
1:04.8	really punching well above its weight. Our expert question comes from Chris Crabs, the former
1:09.9	director of the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency, who recently had his security clearance stripped by the Trump administration in what seems like a clear case of retribution.
1:21.8	So stick around.
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2:22.1	Did you know that 93% of organizations have experienced an identity-related breach in the last year?
	...

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