Every weekday, The New Republic’s Greg Sargent brings you a fresh way of thinking about the biggest political stories of the moment, offered up in an entertaining, information-packed conversation with a leading lawmaker, journalist, or newsmaker. We go deep into the stories behind the headlines leading TNR and other news outlets—while making it fun and fast.
Angry Trump Storms Out of On-Air Interview For Unnervingly Dark Reason
21:50
Over the weekend, Donald Trump exploded during an on-air interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker. He called her “crooked” and “stupid” and abruptly ended the interview in a fury. This was ostensibly because she questioned his claims that California’s ongoing vote c...
Trump 250 Rally Takes Humiliating Turn as MAGA Ally Harshly Mocks Him
21:44
Donald Trump is desperately trying to salvage his gala commemorating the United States’s 250th anniversary after many celebrities pulled out. He let out a weird tirade insisting that he is telling them not to come, and also announced a paltry set...
Trump Rages over Iran Setbacks as Leaks Reveal His Seething Obama Envy
19:57
This comes as The New York Times reports that extensive internal war games among military officials established that Iran would react to an attack by closing the Strait of Hormuz—which Trump ignored. And incredibly, officials just leaked to The A...
Trump Mental Decline Exposed as Damning Video Evidence Flummoxes Rubio
25:47
As Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified before a House committee on Wednesday, Representative Ted Lieu questioned him at length about Donald Trump’s mental decline. It was an extraordinary moment. Lieu repeatedly confronted Rubio with damning video of ...
Trump Push to Jail Foes Takes Darker Turn—and GOP Senators Are Rattled
22:12
Donald Trump just named William Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence, replacing the outgoing Tulsi Gabbard. Pulte is best known for abusing his administration position to ransack the mortages of Trump’s enemies for fake pretexts to get them pr...
Trump Rages over Fresh Iran Humiliation as GOP Angst Grows: “Screwed”
22:51
Donald Trump is hitting many new difficulties. On Monday, Iran abandoned talks with the U.S., angering Trump. Speaking to CNBC, he raged that he “couldn’t care less” if the negotiations die, threatened again to blow Iran “to kingdom come,” and seethed that NATO’s re...
Trump Epstein Mess Worsens as MAGA Cracks Up: “He Lame-Ducked Himself”
24:17
Former attorney general Pam Bondi testified behind closed doors Friday about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. She effectively let it be known that Todd Blanche, now acting AG, has been responsible for this debacle, creating a new inquiry for Democrats to pursu...
Trump ICE Standoff in N.J. Takes Darker Turn with Unnerving DHS Threat
23:09
For days, activists have been protesting terrible conditions at an ICE facility in New Jersey. In response, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is now threatening to pull Customs and Border Protection officers from airports in sanctuary cities, which could ...
Trump Blurts Out Surprise Admission about Midterms as GOP Panic Erupts
21:26
“I don’t care about the midterms,” Donald Trump admitted during a monologue about his Iran war. In addition to candidly declaring that he doesn’t care that his policies are badly imperiling his GOP colleagues, Trump also suggested that the GOP nomination of MAGA wha...
Trumpworld Erupts in Fury as Coverage of His Health Takes Brutal Turn
20:05
After Donald Trump attended his physical, he proclaimed his health perfect. Then the White House rapid response team—which leads the charge for Trumpworld—unleashed an extraordinary series of angry attacks on journalists. Their transgression? Reportin...
Trump Tirades Take Unhinged Turn as His Epic Poll Collapse Rattles GOP
16:59
GOP discomfort with Donald Trump is growing. Republicans have effectively blocked taxpayer money for his ballroom, revolted against his corrupt slush fund for insurrectionists, and turned against his war. GOP panic about the his crateri...
Trump Blurts Out Plot to Rig Midterms after Humiliating Fox Poll Hits
21:14
Donald Trump just got hit with an absolutely crushing poll from Fox News. Disapproval of his handling of the economy is at an all time high. His ratings on inflation are staggeringly awful. Historically friendly voter groups—whites, rural Americans, the working clas...
Trump Rages at GOPer in Crazed Tirade as Slush Fund Prompts GOP Revolt
24:19
Republicans are starting to break with Donald Trump’s corrupt $1.8 billion slush fund. Vulnerable House GOPer Brian Fitzpatrick announced that he’s pursuing legislation to block the fund. Other Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, are raisi...
Trump Screws Himself So Badly on Tex. Race that GOPers Visibly Stunned
25:09
Donald Trump just endorsed MAGA nutjob Ken Paxton in the Texas GOP primary for Senate, potentially killing off establishment incumbent Senator John Cornyn. As GOP Senators absorbed this news, reporters described them as “visibly dismayed” and “stone-faced.” Senator ...
Donald Trump has reached a “settlement” with his Justice Department in a $10 billion lawsuit he brought against the IRS. Under it, DOJ will create a new $1.8 billion fund, controlled by Trump, that will dole out payments to allies who have supposedly been victimized...
Trump Rages Wildly at Journo—and Accidentally Exposes Big Iran Blunder
25:15
Donald Trump desperately wants the world to recognize his world-historical defeat of Iran. In an extended tirade, Trump raged wildly at a New York Times reporter, insisting his victory is absolute. He claimed the Times is failing, accusing the jo...
Trump’s GOP Allies Admit He’s Toxic as New Poll Stuns Analyst: “Scary”
23:40
NBC News reports that some vulnerable Republicans are privately worried about use of the slogan “MAGA majority” to describe the GOP effort to hold the House. Why? Because the term “MAGA” puts Trump “front and center,” as NBC puts it. That’s quite an admission of Tru...
Trump Iran Tirade Visibly Rattles GOPers as Leaks Expose New Blunders
21:00
The fallout continues from Donald Trump’s startling rant admitting that he isn’t concerned with how the Iran war is impacting Americans’ finances. On Wednesday, JD Vance, Mike Johnson, and numerous other Republicans struggled to spin away the dam...
Trump’s Rage Boils Over at Journos as Inflation Data Takes Brutal Turn
23:15
Donald Trump just got hit by crushing new inflation data: Consumer prices rose at their fastest rate in several years. Importantly, Trump’s war with Iran is a big driver of it, and he can’t find a way out. Meanwhile, a new CNN poll shows his standing on the eco...
Trump Sunsetting Visibly Worsens as Aides Go Full Cult All Around Him
22:06
We’ve noticed a jarring disconnect. Even as Donald Trump’s mental decline visibly worsens, his aides’ cultlike praise for him is proportionately growing. To wit: A top spokesperson offered a bizarre rationalization for his deranged new “proposal” to turn Venezuela i...
Trump Blurts Out Vile Plot to Rig Midterms as Crushing New Poll Hits
23:09
After the Virginia supreme court blocked the Democratic redistricting plan, which would have netted Democrats four more House seats, Donald Trump celebrated. He called the ruling a “huge win” over a “horrible gerrymander.” But Trump himself has ordered many GOP stat...
Trumpworld Unnerved as Damning Leaks Expose His Worst War Blunders Yet
20:28
Officials have leaked word to The Washington Post that they believe Iran can survive Donald Trump’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz for three to four months without experiencing severe economic pain. Also, Iran has kept far more of its missiles and drones...
Trump’s Rage at Pope Backfires as Poll Reveals He’s Losing Fight Badly
21:35
Donald Trump has been raging at Pope Leo’s criticism of the Iran war for weeks, and he just unleashed his most vile attack yet. Trump accused the Pope of “endangering a lot of Catholics” by advocating for peace. Yet a new Washington Post pol...
Trump Ballroom Saga Takes Brutal Turn for GOP as Midterm Panic Worsens
21:32
Donald Trump hasn’t thought this one through. Politico reports that Republicans are grappling with rising “anxiety” about the midterms. A key reason: Trump’s obsession with his ballroom and other pet projects is muddying the GOP economic message. That’s bad enough. ...
Trump Has No Clue What His Supreme Court Is About to Unleash
21:05
Last week, the Supreme Court gutted protections against racial gerrymandering, and Donald Trump is already urging Republicans to capitalize on it. We recently wrote that Trump has no idea what this will unleash, and that’s the topic of today’s episode. Indeed, ...
Trump Blurts Out Damning Admission of War Blunders as GOP Angst Grows
18:58
Donald Trump has declared the war “terminated,” but he’s still rejecting Iran’s peace proposals while again threatening it with massive war crimes. And in an interview, Trump declared that he would never have approved an offer that was made to Ir...
Fiasco for Trump as Leaked GOP Memo Warns of Epic Midterm Bloodbath
24:39
Public polls are showing that Democrats now have the advantage over Republicans on the economy, a milestone. Strikingly, Politico reports that a newly-leaked memo from a GOP-aligned group actually confirms the same thing. The memo warns that the group’s in...
Trump’s Rage at Jim Comey Backfires as Case Against Him Goes Off Rails
24:31
Donald Trump’s use of state power to persecute his enemies is escalating. The Justice Department indicted James Comey for allegedly threatening Trump with a social media post of seashells spelling “86 47.” Officials are also threatening to punish more...
Krugman: Trump Screwed Himself Badly on Iran—and May Not Even Know It
28:42
In today’s episode, economist Paul Krugman lays out an expansive case that Donald Trump holds a losing hand in the war with Iran. Krugman argues that Trump can’t seem to admit that the Strait of Hormuz problem has cornered him. Krugman also details why the situation...
Trump Press Sec Goes Full MAGA Cult in Crazed, Angry Tirades at Media
24:31
Republicans are blaming Democratic rhetoric for inciting the alleged assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. To that end, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt unleashed tirades at journalists that were soaked in MAGA derangement. One...
