What Happens if the U.S. Defaults?

The David Frum Show

The Atlantic

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of “The David Frum Show,” The Atlantic’s David Frum opens with his reaction to recent reporting surrounding the Trump family’s “patriotic,” Trump-branded cellphones. David explains how this is yet another instance of the most powerful sowing doubt about the fairness of American business and destroying confidence in the ideals of American enterprise. Then, David is joined by Lloyd Blankfein, a former chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, for a wide-ranging conversation about the current state of the American economy. They discuss Blankfein’s new memoir, “Streetwise”; the expanding American debt; the American people’s faith in the economy; and the challenges that lie ahead. Sign up for David Frum’s newsletter alert. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Atlantic has debuted a first of its kind collaboration with the Seaborne cruise line to bring great minds on board their luxury ships.
0:07.6	Join us for a 12-day voyage with the Atlantic.
0:10.6	Discover this sailing from Montreal to Boston and more at seaborne.com. Hello, and welcome to the David From Show.
0:29.7	My guest this week will be Lloyd Blanfein, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs.
0:34.5	We, as an experiment, recorded the program face-to-face in New York City, and I'm speaking to you,
0:39.7	as you will see, not from my usual set, but from the Atlantic offices in New York City.
0:44.4	Because we will be discussing, at some length, Lloyd Blank-Find's memoir, Streetwise,
0:48.2	there will be no other book segment this week. Instead, I'll open with some preliminary
0:52.8	thoughts about American business and American government
0:55.7	as it relates to the conversation I had with Lloyd Blankfein.
0:59.5	Last year, the Trump Organization licensed a Florida company to sell a Trump-branded mobile phone.
1:05.9	The promised phone would be encased in gold and carry an American flag on the back.
1:12.3	The sellers advertised that the phone would be proudly made in the United States of America, a patriotic alternative
1:17.2	to Apple phones and Samsung phones. Some 590,000 Trump believers reported to have paid $100 each
1:24.7	to secure their Trump phones, according to the International Business
1:27.6	Times. Things rapidly went wrong. The phone delivery date was push back and push back and
1:33.8	push back again, from the original late summer 2025 to December 2025, then to 2026. The made-in-USA
1:41.8	commitment vanished from company promotional materials.
1:45.1	One reporter from 404 media noticed recurring charges from the company on his credit card statements.
1:51.3	In April, 26, the Trump phone company updated its terms and conditions.
1:56.0	The $100 deposit was now redefined as a conditional opportunity, meaning not a binding sales contract.
2:04.7	$59 million was collected from trusting Trump supporters. Will they ever receive anything in return?
	...

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