These Are All the Signs Trump's Grip is Slipping

The Daily Beast Podcast

The Daily Beast

News

4.6 • 8.4K Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

David Rothkopf joins Hugh Dougherty to discuss the acceleration of Trump losing his grip on power. Rothkopf, a veteran foreign-policy analyst, details how key Republicans—from Marjorie Taylor Greene to Marco Rubio—are quietly defying Trump, exposing fractures in a party long held in thrall. They trace the personal and political signs that the former president is obsessed with legacy and self-aggrandizement—from renaming institutions to fixating on minor details—revealing a man increasingly out of step with reality. Together, they lay bare a central question: Can Trump’s inner circle survive a leader whose past is eclipsing any vision of the future? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Donald Trump is at the end of his story.
0:02.6	This is not a person whose biography is about their future.
0:06.3	It's about their past.
0:07.9	And everybody can see that in Washington.
0:10.8	Republicans are making fun of Trump.
0:13.5	Behind the scenes, they are saying he's not up to it.
0:17.3	He's crazy.
0:18.5	He literally cannot pass an object without thinking it should be named for him.
0:25.5	Welcome to the Daily Beast podcast. I'm Hugh Doherty. I'm executive editor. I'm keeping the seat
0:30.4	warm for Joanna Coles, who is currently pow-wowing with the world's power elite in the Middle East,
0:36.7	but she will be back.
0:37.8	She'll be talking to Michael Wolfe about what is going on inside Trump's head later this week.
0:44.5	Thank you to everybody who commented on our interview with Senator Lisa Slotkin and Major General Paul Eaton.
0:52.1	It was an amazing insight into what's in the mind of the national security people
0:56.8	as they deal with Pete Hexeth.
0:58.7	But we have somebody who's even better qualified than that here today.
1:03.3	Joining us in the studio, we are honoured to have David Rothkoff.
1:08.5	David Rothkoff is our incomparable columnist.
1:11.3	I'm claiming you first for the Daily Beast, David.
1:13.3	That's fine. I'm happy to be.
1:14.7	Perhaps more importantly, you, well, I think the Trump lot would say you are the deep state, right?
1:21.8	You run the Deep State podcast network.
	...

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