Why Desperate Trump Can’t Spin This Failure

Inside Trump's Head

The Daily Beast

News, Society & Culture

4.3 • 696 Ratings

🗓️ 17 May 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Michael Wolff and Daily Beast executive editor Hugh Dougherty unpack Trump’s bruising return from China, where the man who built his political identity around confronting Beijing now finds himself accused of capitulation, spinning shaky victories while China emerges stronger than ever. Wolff gets inside Trump’s mindset as mounting crises close in at once: a worsening Iran conflict with no clear exit, rising inflation and gas prices, ICE raids fueling backlash inside and outside MAGA, explosive questions about Trump family business dealings, and a White House culture driven by grift, loyalty tests, and surreal characters like Natalie Harp shadowing the president with a portable printer full of praise. From Trump Mobile phones reportedly made in China to Kash Patel scandals and billion-dollar settlement controversies, the episode maps out an administration trapped between performance and collapse while Trump searches for a way to declare victory in situations even his closest allies can’t explain away. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Changes in sexual performance are more common than most people realise, and support doesn't need
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0:21.8	dot UK slash podcast to learn more. China was the point of Trump's political enterprise.
0:28.6	China was responsible for all of the problems in America. This was Trump's central issue.
0:35.6	Was the central issue in 2016, remained the central issue when he came back
0:40.9	into office. So, but in 10 years of the Trump era, we have only seen China become more
0:51.1	powerful economically, politically, and in their military.
0:57.0	That's what Trump has accomplished.
1:01.0	He probably does understand, man, these Chinese, this has been a lot more difficult than I thought it would be.
1:07.0	We're really kind of screwed here.
1:10.0	Here we are. would be. We're really kind of screwed here.
1:15.6	Here we are, Hugh.
1:23.6	Michael. I'm Michael Wolfe, and I am here with Hugh Dockerdie, who is filling in before Joanna Coles. And I am privileged to be with you, Michael.
1:26.6	How are you this morning?
1:28.8	I'm very well. The sun is shining. I don't have a Trump mobile phone, so, you know, something
1:35.3	I think we're going to talk about. And I don't have access to $1.7 billion in government funds,
1:41.3	but otherwise it's great. Trump is back from China.
1:44.9	He is.
1:45.8	Lucky him.
1:46.9	Although I think he would probably rather still be in China.
	...

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