The Reason Why Trump and His Goons Are Scrambling

Inside Trump's Head

The Daily Beast

News, Society & Culture

4.3 • 696 Ratings

🗓️ 10 April 2026

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at https://shopify.com/dailybeast with promo code dailybeast #ad Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles unpack how Trump’s bluster toward Iran—threatening to “destroy a civilization”—collapsed into a rushed two-week ceasefire that insiders say effectively handed leverage to Tehran, especially over the Strait of Hormuz. As tankers stall and global markets wobble, the episode reveals a White House in panic mode: JD Vance, Marco Rubio, and others are scrambling to distance themselves from a war gone wrong, leaking, positioning, and “plotting” to protect their own futures as the political fallout accelerates. With Iran tightening its grip on global shipping, Trump boxed into a corner he can’t escalate out of, and his inner circle quietly preparing escape routes, Wolff and Coles map the infighting, blame-shifting, and raw survival instincts driving a presidency at what they argue is its most dangerous breaking point. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This person who I was speaking to yesterday described it as, he said, everybody's plotting.
0:08.0	Marco Rubio is plotting.
0:10.0	Haguezeth is plotting.
0:12.0	Jared Kushner is plotting and J.D. Vance is plotting, but J.D. Vance doesn't really know how to plot. Well, and I think they have J.D. Vance saying, I'm against this.
0:24.6	I don't think it's a good idea, but if you want it, Mr. President, I will support you.
0:28.6	And I don't know how he comes out looking loyal because it's going to be clear that he was a source on this.
0:34.6	The only one not trying to retreat is Pete Peggson. Too dumb to know that he has to
0:43.4	retreat. Okay. So after Michael and I recorded today's inside Trump's head, we had sensational breaking news that
0:56.2	Melania Trump has made a long and frankly astonishing statement about Jeffrey Epstein.
1:01.5	It's the first time we've ever heard from her in person about the biggest scandal of
1:07.4	her husband's presidency.
1:09.7	She claims she never met Epstein until the year 2000, said she knew
1:13.6	nothing about his crimes, and even explicitly denied having a relationship with him. So it really is all
1:22.2	quite sensational. And of course, even more sensationally, Michael is actually suing the First Lady himself about Epstein.
1:32.1	We're going to dive into it and analyze every word on our next episode on Saturday.
1:38.4	But don't let the Trump's ability to drive the narrative, divert our attention from what's going on in the straight of Hormuz,
1:47.3	and the peace talks going on in Pakistan led by J.D. Vance. Let's get into it.
1:57.3	And just a reminder before we really get into it, because goodness knows there's a lot of urgency today.
2:03.2	Don't forget to subscribe to The Daily Beast.
2:05.3	We're independent media.
2:06.2	We appreciate your support.
2:07.5	You can smash the subscription button wherever you get your podcast and subscribe to the Daily Beast for up to the moment news on what the hell is going on.
	...

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.