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Michael Wolff

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1

So I went back to the people I speak to the White House to revisit this, and they kind of traced the development of this idea.

The midterm elections are November third, twenty twenty six, and he was starting to say, if we lose, we could be finished, finished, finished.

He would go on to cite the problems that they were having, which are our jobs.

Their jobs aren't growing.

And in fact, I mean there was just just a piece that came a report that came out their jobs are now growing.

This is the slowest job growth period in basically twenty years.

Speaker 2

Michael Joanna, Okay, today we are going to start with a shout out to a correspondent that we have called Garfried.

Garfried, if you are watching or listening, I want to thank you, because what other people may not realize is that with every episode Garfried writes us a limerick.

I'm going to read you one of the limericks.

Speaker 1

We don't know Garfried's first name.

We don't know if Garfried is a man or a woman.

Speaker 2

We have no idea, and I am although to know.

No, we don't have to know.

In fact, it might be better just not to know, and Garfred might not have a chosen gender.

Garfreed may just be in the free, but of course there once was a realm in a spin where lies were no longer a sin Wolf with Coles explain how shameless refrain makes nonsense, the way you can win.

Speaker 1

Thoughts brilliant.

Speaker 2

Well, what I love is that, everybody.

Speaker 1

That's the thing about.

Speaker 2

A Limerick brilliant.

Okay, And then there was another one.

There once was a preys in late stage who'd lose every thought on the page while Miller and Vance with Rubio's lamps drove extremes as the midterms engaged.

Anyway, Garfried, I'm deeming you the podcast's Limerick laureate.

And what I love is that thank you.

Speaker 1

I mean, it really is there.

Speaker 2

These are these are good thesese are good, they're engaging, and then other people comment on them and say good like the one you did last week better, So, Garfried, thank you.

You've got a big audience and also big audience engagement around Milania.

How do we you can come Lania's movie?

Speaker 1

You could come on the podcast, Garfried, and you could you could do live.

Speaker 2

Limericks, live limericks.

Okay, that's like one of those people that you know does that God Life painting.

So a lot of pushback on the idea that we should go and see the movie because we would be giving money to Milania.

So various people have suggested, okus, seventy of the back end of the back and she's already got it up.

Speaker 1

Forty forty million, seventy the back end ten million for each of the corporate sponsorships.

Speaker 2

She sells, okay, and we need to know what the corporate sponsorships are because we should name and shame.

Speaker 1

Probably.

Yeah, well, I suppose there'll be a I mean I think all you get it'll.

Speaker 2

Be a role of credit.

Speaker 1

That's all you get.

You get thanks to.

Speaker 2

All these brands sponsoring me.

But several people have written in saying, actually, what you should do is go to the movie theater, buy a ticket for another film, and then when you're in the movie theater, divert to Millennia so that she doesn't get the data that you've gone and they don't collect the ticket money because you paid for something else.

Speaker 1

Do you go to the movies?

Speaker 2

Are you asking me as a yeah, it's just love going to the movies.

There are a few movies I really want.

Speaker 1

No, do you go to the movies in a theater.

When was the last time you went to a theater?

Speaker 2

Well, I saw Hamnert in a theater.

I live very near the Angelica or the Angelika I don't pronouncing Angelica downtown, yes, which I've.

Speaker 1

Lived there and there too.

It's just really super depressing theater.

Well, exactly, And is it people in it look depressing?

The movies are depressing.

Speaker 2

The Well, the movie is a foreign the movies of foreign Yeah, it's I agree that the screen I have at home is almost as big as the screen in the And I have a pretty modest television at home because my sons are always pointing out when they visit they can't watch sports on there because it's forty four inches as opposed to seventy five or whatever the rest of you have.

But I do go to this occasionally, not very often.

I saw a terrible movie there called After the Hunt with Julia Roberts, which was very depressing.

Speaker 1

Oh, well, that's what everyone's talking about, so I can skip that.

Speaker 2

What are you talking about?

Speaker 1

I can skip seeing After the Hunt?

Speaker 2

Nobody's talking about it.

Speaker 1

Everybody, isn't it that's a big Oscar movie, is it?

Yeah?

Speaker 2

I find that incredible.

I found it.

I've found it super super annoying.

Anyway, I love Julia Robertson it and I liked Julia Robertson, I like and Garfield.

Yeah, I'm wrong.

Speaker 1

That's the there's the other one, which is after the something.

I don't know.

This is what we know about movies.

Nobody knows anything about movies.

Speaker 2

Nobody but I can talk to you.

You know what's gone right off which I'm really disappointed by Landman season two, Taylor Sheridan.

Listen up.

The women in season two of land Man are I'm almost embarrassed to watch the show now.

I devoured season one, thought it was brilliant.

The women in season two are so bad.

They's so cliched.

It's embarrassing.

It's like that all strange maga women.

It's really depressing.

I don't know what happened to you, Taylor Sheridan.

I love the first of Landman.

I could watch Billy Bob forever.

This is disappointing.

Speaker 1

Well, I'm in the second season of I'm probably I'm caught up on land Man.

Speaker 2

Oh you're in it, so you're watching it too?

Well, don't you agree with me?

You probably like the women.

Speaker 3

Because actually it's Billy Bob is so good that it covers for everything else, and so whenever anything else is whatever.

Speaker 1

I mean, there's several plot lines there.

You just kind of kind of, you know, do social media when those are on, and then he comes on again and it's riveting.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I agree, I agree.

He's so watchable.

Anyway, Garfried, thank you for your limericks.

Speaker 1

I mean, the Sun and that has some relationship.

Speaker 2

That'sn't working either.

That's not working either, and then the Sun miraculously hits oil, but then it all goes wrong whatever.

Speaker 1

Terrible.

Speaker 2

Yeah, and Demi Moore is wasted because she's such a good actress and she's not doing her best work there.

And Michael just reminding people where are we going to be on January the twenty first.

Speaker 1

We are going to be at the ninety second Street y on ninety second Street and Lexington Avenue.

It's at eight pm.

It turns out it's like.

Speaker 2

A proper theatrical production.

Yet first, eat first.

I'm going to eat first.

Yeah, no, jeez, only protein.

Speaker 1

You just invited me for dinner afterwards.

I'm too that's too late.

Www.

Ninety two ny dot Org and Joanna and I will be live on stage.

We'd love to see you there and take questions.

And I think I think we're on stage for ninety minutes trom Epstein.

Speaker 2

And if you can't come to New York or you are one of our many viewers in Australia or England, you can join virtually.

They're selling virtual tickets now, which is great.

So we're excited to be joined by as big an audience as we possibly can be.

I did want to talk briefly about a fascinating report in the Daily Mail that says barn the six foot twelve son of the president seven ft nine son of the president, is having elocution lessons.

A.

Speaker 1

What are elocution lessons?

B Who has them?

I haven't heard of anyone having them since.

Speaker 2

Well, lots of people have elocution lessons in it, lots of people.

Lots of people in England have them.

It's a big English thing to try and help you speak received pronunciation.

But it used to be less soon I see, well.

Speaker 1

No one in America has elocution lessons, although now people can say write in and say no everyone.

Speaker 2

Yeah, write in and tell us if you've had an elocution lesson.

Speaker 1

Say I should have elocution lessons, which I feel that might be true.

Speaker 2

No, you don't need elocution because.

Speaker 1

Listening to myself on these things, it's so I'm so nasal.

Speaker 2

That is the first time you've admitted you listen to yourself.

Well, I think you go to sleep listening to yourself.

Don't you just put the podcast on and drift away?

Speaker 1

No?

More and more I become a las unavoidable even to myself.

Speaker 2

You're not going to have elocution lessons, Well, now I'm going to consider it.

I wonder who the kind of voice is that is most representative of the American voice.

Now, if you're an elocution teacher, who are you reaching up to?

Is it Joe Rogan or Michael wolf or Michael Wolfe or Tony Decoppel.

Speaker 1

I have no idea what Tony Dicoppel sounds like.

Nor would I recognize Tony Decoppl if I passed him on the street.

Speaker 2

But he would recognize you.

Speaker 1

And does anyone know who Tony Decopyl is?

Speaker 2

But Baron is having elocution lessons, and I guess it's because his mother has I have incomprehensible accent.

No one understand what I say.

And do you remember the video of him when he was little and he danced around going I love him, my thought, gase, my thort, gaise.

So I think maybe his accent has stayed with him, which is why we never hear him.

Can you tell me what Baron's voice sounds like?

He is the silent Baron?

Speaker 1

Oh well, in his defense, what is the guy eighteen?

Speaker 2

Think he's nineteen?

Speaker 1

Even so this is this is a lot of pressure on a nineteen year.

Speaker 2

Old, Olivia Rodrigo.

There are lots of nineteen year olds out there having a great time.

Speaker 1

Well, there are stars.

Speaker 2

Well, I'm just saying I can't remember hearing Baron speak.

And according to the Daily Mail, he's having elocution lessons.

And I think it's because he spent so much time with his mother, who has a very strong accent, and possibly his grandfather, Victor Knaves, who presumably also has a very strong accent, and who looks like a mini version of Donald Trump.

Speaker 1

Can we confirm this.

Speaker 2

No, of course, not even in the Daily Mouse.

It was in the Daily Mouse, possibly completely untrue, but I did think it was interesting and I want to talk about so much to discuss this week, but.

Speaker 1

But we can go as long as we're feeding off Baron rumors.

Let's start one.

Okay, go On, or at least I have a question.

So Baron went to you know, you know there there was all that drama about where Baron was going to college, and it turned out that he was going to unexpectedly to n YU.

So but now they've they've made this kind of kind of sort of announcement, not exactly announcement that he was going to to the n YU campus in Washington.

Suddenly news to everyone that n YU had a campus in Washington.

But also going into the crypto business, maybe there is an n YU campus in Washington.

Speaker 2

So if anybody knows, is there an MYU campus in Washington?

Speaker 1

Has anyone seen Baron Trump On?

This miss invisible camp right.

Speaker 2

The interesting thing about Baron is he is, because he's so tall, like a basketball player, impossible to miss.

Anyway, people have missed him and we don't know where he is in.

Speaker 1

The In the early days in twenty seventeen, when they just got into the White House and then Steve Bannon had this idea that it should they should do a photo op with the President and his son, Baron golfing together, and Bannon said, you know, because all if your father golfs, you golf, it's just it just it's just what is for everyone.

And so that was proposed to Trump.

He said no.

Speaker 2

He said no because he thought Baron would be able to hit the ball.

Speaker 1

Further, I mean Bannon's feeling was that that father and son didn't spend.

Speaker 2

A lot of time together, Okay, which would also explain why he's having elocution lessons.

Anyway, another thing I noticed this week.

Speaker 1

Because you mean because his father speaks so well.

Speaker 2

Well, his father does speak in an American accent.

Tucker Carlson, standing at the back of the oil executive meeting, has lost a lot of weight.

I think he's on a GLP one.

Speaker 1

Well, curiously, I mean, I've known Tucker for quite a long while, like twenty five years, and I've watched him put on all that weight.

So it's like it's like an arc here.

Speaker 2

So do you think I think that GLP one's become quite obsessive for people.

People I know who are on them get very excited about being on them.

And obviously it's transformation if you lose as much weight as he has lost.

And also as much weight as Pam Bondi has lost.

I think she's lost fifty pounds.

I was looking at pictures of her.

Speaker 1

And said, could could that possibly?

Speaker 2

It's possibly truefty.

Speaker 1

Pounds a lot of pounds.

I mean that means she.

Speaker 2

Was really rainy, is tiny, So.

Speaker 1

What she did she used to be large.

Speaker 2

Well, if you look at her face, her face was really round and it's now incredibly angular and sharp.

She's clearly on them or she's so incredibly stressed.

I mean, fifty pounds you takej.

Speaker 1

You take fifty pounds off your face, it's all right.

Speaker 2

Thirty pounds.

She may have lost that, but she's definitely lost weight.

And when I checked it out on chat GPT, the the sense was, the summary of it was that they thought chat GPT thought she'd lost fifty pounds.

She certainly lost a lot of weight.

Speaker 1

Well, I mean, there's there's a couple of things going on here.

I mean, you may lose weight just by by working for Donald Trump, for.

Speaker 2

Sure, but that hasn't happened to Stephen Chum.

Granted there was that fascinating picture.

I'm just going back to the interview that the New York Times did where they had five people surrounding him, but apparently only four reporters, so I don't know who the other person was.

Maybe it was the photographer.

And then on the sofa was Stephen Chewing sort of sitting hunted so.

Speaker 1

That you were afraid the sofa was gonna tilt till over.

Speaker 2

Yeah.

And Trump had said to him, you need to be on a fat drug, right, I remember him saying totally, although Trump has said that about himself too.

Speaker 1

And Trump goes on almost anyone who is overweight in the Trump in the Trump circle.

And let's remember that Trump himself is overweight, but anyone he goes on at great length about their weight.

You know.

There there was off the cuff remarks that were somebody record ordered and passed me during one of the fundraisers at John Paulson's house in Palm.

Speaker 2

Beach, the fifty million dollar fundraiser.

Speaker 1

Yes, yes, and Trump is Trump's off the cuff remarks are, of course, like forty five minutes worth of off the cuff remarks, but a good part of it is about one of the people who is overweight.

Like we can't say that word anymore, so we say the word chubby.

Now, now we all say chubby, and then he goes on to talk about so and so who is who is chubby, very very chubby, and that has caused him a lot of chubby problems.

Speaker 2

Well, what was he referring to?

There was a moment during the endless meeting with the oil executives, which we must debrief on because it was so fascinating, where he sick.

He singles out Harold Ham, Harold Ham and says, you know, you're a great guy.

You can just put a straw in the ground and find oil.

And then he says, but you have other problems.

And I was like, what is he talking about?

What are the problems?

And we never come back to it.

I was hoping that that little note that little Marco passed to the President would be about I don't.

Speaker 1

I don't know, but he and Harold Ham are very.

Speaker 2

Close, they are, so what what is his problem?

Speaker 1

I don't know.

Well, let's see.

Speaker 2

It was slightly sinister the way he said it, like I know you have a problem and I need you to.

Speaker 1

It's often when he does that a reference to women problems or wife wives, because wives problem.

He's got a wives problem.

Speaker 2

He's got a wife, he's got to I don't.

Speaker 1

Know if he does.

I don't know if Harold Ham does or not.

Speaker 2

We have no idea.

Speaker 1

How we are very very attentive to that.

He's very attentive to to men and their wives and believe that Harold Ham has a younger wife.

Although, as one of one of the Trump people said to me, Trump is always pointing out when a man has a younger wife.

But many of these men now are so old that they're wife that their younger wives actually are now quite old, of perfectly respectable age.

Speaker 2

Well, hasn't he pointed out that you have a younger wife?

And he's also said your wife is hot?

She is, Yes, she's also very nice and very smart.

I would like to add, but Pambondi, I'm concernedful because she's lost a ton of weight.

Speaker 1

Well let's go, you know, you know to the specific and you know, pan Bondi is now under the gun and the Wall Street Journal just had a piece basically saying that she's very close to being fired.

Speaker 2

Right, it's got one leg out the door by.

Speaker 1

And it's an interesting thing.

I mean, I mean, Pam Bondy is the attorney general.

But Trump has this relationship with almost anybody who is his lawyer, and he regards Pam Bondi not as the government's lawyer or the nation's lawyer, but as his lawyer.

And in those relationship they always they always come to tears because he expects lawyers as though this is what a lawyer as though a lawyer is a magician, to solve all his problems and get him all the things that he wants.

And this is going back to Roy Cohen, his lawyer, who who at least in his own mind, he builds up into a magician.

Roy can do anything, solve any problem, vanquish any enemy.

So in the case of Pam Bondi and all his other lawyers, when they don't do that, then he gets incredibly frustrated and blames it on them.

Now, this is interesting because in this Justice department, the Pam Bondie Justice Department has absolutely he has brought to heal like no other president in durn history has done.

So.

She has really gone out of her way to give him everything that he wants, things that she should not have, and things that that that the justice system writ large is not going to accommodate.

But she's there trying to give him these things, giving him these things, and yet it's not enough.

Speaker 2

Well, it's also not entirely working because the efforts excuse me, the efforts to indict James Comey went wrong.

The efforts to indict James went wrong, both thrown out because of the misappointment of your friend Lindsay Halligan.

Speaker 1

Well, that's that's what I'm I'm I'm saying here that the justice that the justice system in general is, thank goodness, larger than just the Justice Department.

But even within that context, she's willing to do anything.

Matter.

Speaker 2

No, it's entirely his fault that it hasn't worked out, and it must be very frustrating and stressful.

Speaker 1

Except except, and it's a very important character note, nothing is ever his fault.

Now, That is almost That is one of the elemental things to understand about Donald Trump and about Donald Trump's politics.

It is never his fault.

He is not He is not psychologically or temperamentally able to admit fall.

And this is what everybody around him says.

It's it's kind of stable steaks in working for Donald Trump.

Speaker 2

Do you mean table stakes or do you mean stable steaks?

Speaker 1

I mean table steaks, right, I think you meant Trump steaks.

Speaker 2

Yes, all right, table stakes, which have never quite table stakes are like super basic, right, you have to have this to go forward.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I think I think it's gambling, which I don't.

I don't know what that is either, but yes, but it's actually curious an expression that I've picked up from Trump people.

Oh interesting, But at any rate, this is you go into this understanding that he can never be at fault.

There always has to be something else, someone else to blame, some other rationale why something bad has happened.

And and you're in this thing, everything actually is his fault because nothing happens nothing, Everything that happens happens because he wants it to happen.

Right now, everything is at his directive.

Every everything is trying to intuit what he wants.

So he is at fault for everything.

But therefore, but he can never be Never they're not.

There can't be even the slightest suggestion that he is at fault.

Speaker 2

Well, it must be very frustrating to be Pambondi trying to squeeze the Justice Department to your will, your your master's will, and not being able to deliver exactly what he wants.

But in this at the same time you know, half destroying the Justice Department.

And of course he had problems with his first A G.

Jeff Sessions.

Remember Little Jeff who was played by was he played by on SNL?

It was one of the better, better caricatures on SNL.

I want to say it was Melissa McCarthy and then William barr bar who refused to say that the election was stolen.

Speaker 1

Now, now this piece in the Journal which which quotes unnamed people as saying that that that he's beginning to question Pam Bondy And that's what he does.

He calls up people and and and and he says and he says, so what do you think of Pam?

And uh?

And that's that is a sign of of of bad things to come.

Speaker 2

So if he calls you and says that, and your JD vans with Marco Rubier, what do you say?

Are you supposed to are you supposed to understand that he's because he wants you to agree with him that it's.

Speaker 1

What do you think of Pam?

Then he will he will tell you, he will give you a microsecond to respond.

You won't be able to respond in that second because you're you're kind off.

What does he want to hear right, and then he will tell you and then you'll agree with that.

Speaker 2

Okay, okay, So but.

Speaker 1

This also remember this is not the first person.

Remember Pete Hagsith was was was under the gun.

Speaker 2

I think you also predicted that Chelsea Gabbard was going to go.

And she's still there, but she's hidden.

She's just says nothing.

She's slid below the radar.

Speaker 1

But the interesting thing is when you get this, when when this now breaks, somebody picks this up, it becomes a story that then becomes your your the person's defense.

Pam Bondy now cannot be fired because if she were fre fired, he would she would be being fired because the Wall Street Journal said she could would be fired.

And Donald Trump won't do that because it's the journal right well, because anyone he cannot be told what to do.

So Pam BONDI is, we'll lose more weight.

Speaker 2

Okay, Palm Bondie will lose more weight.

Pam, I think it's time you wait.

The other thing you need to do, Pam, and I can say this as a woman, is you need to have your roots done.

I think she is so busy she hasn't had time to go to the hair salon, and if you look at her hair, Initially we all thought she was blonde.

Now it turns out she's actually got very dark hair and it's really growing in.

So I know it's sexist of me.

I'm just saying it's a sign.

Speaker 1

I have no opinion about it, ma'am.

I haven't noticed.

Speaker 2

Actually, well I've noticed.

I hope that we can flash up the picture from the Wall Street Journal which shows that Pam's hair has gone to a sort of ombre.

It starts very dark.

Speaker 1

She had surgery?

Has she been she have a mega look?

Speaker 2

Well, she's always.

Speaker 1

Before and after.

Speaker 2

No, but I'm sure we can show but before and after.

You know what.

Cassandra Gray, who started Violet Gray, which is a very upmarket beauty booty, told me yesterday that the average age for a facelift is thirty seven.

Thirty seven.

First of all, how do people have the money?

And secondly, that does feel early.

I am waiting for my facelift, and wait, I'm saving up the money anywaylift long to have a facelift.

I think we can tell I haven't had a facelift.

I longedi.

Speaker 1

I know somebody.

Actually, I ran into somebody the other day who watches us and said commented only that your skin is so smooth.

Speaker 2

Well that's because we have very good lighting in here.

But I long to have a facelift.

Anyway, we're getting distracted.

It's terrible.

Oh she should come in and do the lighting.

Victoria, come in and do the lighting.

You're very welcome.

Ah.

Okay.

So we've got Pam Bondie struggling.

I think that's fair.

And then, of course we've got everything else going on.

We've got Trump meeting Machado, the actual winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, which I'm concerned he's going to if she's brought it with him.

If she's brought it with her, I'm concerned he's going to grab it.

I'm sure, say it's mine now, but we know it's non transferable.

It's like all those invitations you get on paperless posts.

This invitation is non transferable.

The Nobel Peace Prize is non transferable.

Speaker 1

Remember the Time magazine cover that he created by himself.

Well, this doesn't really matter.

Speaker 2

It doesn't matter.

She's going to bring her prize anyway.

They're meeting on Thursday.

But I know you've been talking to people in the White House, and I want to know what they're telling you.

Speaker 1

You know, I've been talking about about Venezuela, but then also about Greenland, you know, and I think, and I'm certainly one of the people who has said is this has been a kind of developing interest of his, that this is that this is never.

Speaker 2

Going to have happen, and what's the this that we're going to take over and we're going to become acting well, well.

Speaker 1

That yes, that we're going to take over Greenland, because I mean, the first thing, there's no reason for it, because we we we we already have everything we want, we want.

The idea of doing this is so breaks so many conventions in modern international and political life.

Why would you want this?

So But after obvious obviously Venezuela has happened, and then this Greenland thing with Stephen Miller basically saying we're going to go after after Greenland.

So I went back to the people I speak to the White House to revisit this, and they kind of trace the development of this of this idea, and then it begins with in the fall, well it probably actually begins with the bombing, when the bombing of the Iranian nuclear for facilities.

Speaker 2

Which in the summer, So that was when was that?

Speaker 1

Yes, and summer June Jaal.

Speaker 2

Yeah, it all goes past so quickly, it's all compressed into it.

Speaker 1

But he was delighted by how that worked out, you know, and you know, he kept saying, nobody, no lives lost, no equipment loss.

It's very focused on this idea of equipment and uh.

And it played, and he kept going around saying it really played.

Speaker 2

It played, which is what he loves, right when it plays well.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

And so anyway, this was this in these conversations of that I've that I've been having, they kind of trace this that that they're beginning in the fall.

He started to see that, you know, there was coming coming up to the one year mark in which in which we would then fight.

He would have to fight and the Republicans would have to fight the midterm elections.

So the midterm elections just are are will be our November third, twenty twenty six.

And he was starting to get, you know, starting to feel it and starting to say to say that he was He would say, if we lose, we could be finished, finished, finished.

He is this thing he likes to repeat three.

Speaker 2

Same not Epstein, Epsteins.

Speaker 1

Yeah, exactly, and then he would go on and with some almost self awareness, he would go on to cite the problems that they were having, which are our jobs.

He seems to have been on top of that, their jobs aren't growing and and in fact, i mean there was just just a piece that came a report that came out their jobs are now, you know, growing the slow this is the well was a job growth period in basically twenty years.

And then and then he said, you know, in the Epstein shit jobs, the Epstein shit and then the Ice videos.

He says, these ice videos that everybody is crying.

Speaker 2

Over so interesting, so he has a sense of it.

Also, I'm sure another reason he's annoyed with Pambondi is the Epstein files, Right that must be a source of frustration.

Speaker 1

Yes, yeah, that she has not been able to kill that right well.

Speaker 2

And in fact she's prolonged it and she hasn't brought them up properly, and she said they were on her desk, then she released them.

Then there wasn't anything to release all of it.

It's been a total mess, so being badly handled.

Speaker 1

And then his his health or as he said, the dam saying, I'm fucking Joe Biden's senile.

Speaker 2

I'm Joe Biden.

So so he does have a sense that this is going wrong.

Speaker 1

Yeah, he has a sense that this is growing wrong, that they could lose the House, and then even acknowledging the possibility that they could lose the Senate, which he says, then I'm back in court.

Won't be pretty.

Speaker 2

Interesting.

So what is his plan?

Speaker 1

So then he said in the in this started to happen early in the fall, when this whole kind of conversation started started to go on, and that one year will have one year, So he said, we're gonna have to go for Greenland.

Now, when he said this, everybody regarded this as a joke, just the more of a thing, you know.

And then people who are slightly more worried than that kind of quiz Susie Wiles, and she just just kind of rolled her eyes and kind of refused to even entertain the possibility Greenland.

But then, you know, it was always going back to bomb bombing Iran and how well that worked out.

And then he started to has has started a circle back and and talk about Pete HeiG sith he's got all that spirit.

Speaker 2

Because Pete Hegseth also looked like he was vulnerable after the Washington Post story about him saying just kill the survivors that had been thrown overboard from the boat striper totally.

Speaker 1

So this is an interesting thing that hegsith has come come come back in that Trump has seen this, this stuff the boats or the use of the military as extremely positive.

It's it plays.

Speaker 2

Place, it plays.

And also so you've got Iran, which he thought played, and then you've also got Venezuela, I mean, a remarkable extraction of Madua.

Speaker 1

Well, and that's that's the other thing.

So so he's sort of announced we need something for twenty twenty six, a standout thing for twenty twenty twenty six.

And it has to be a whole new big deal.

He's been going around and saying, and it has to play.

It has to play.

We need something that has to play.

And to understand that that means something that captures all the headlines in all the conversation.

So it doesn't really it's not really about good or bad.

It's about about is anyone thinking about anything else?

No, you just it's his attention is a zero sum game?

Is it on him?

And then they did the Venezuela thing.

In the Venezuela thing, what was, as it's described to me inside the White House is that it really was about getting Maduro.

That was it will take will take him out, and that's it.

And then it was Trump, and we've discussed this before, who suddenly promoted this into an imperial vision that this is we were taking taking over the over the country.

And then followed by Stephen Miller, who was who has now sort of codified this into a sort of policy.

Yeah, into a draconian position.

Speaker 2

How fascinating.

So, Trump, understanding that he was in trouble with the midterms which are in what ten eleven months now, realized he needed something big that played well, like Iran, and that's why they extracted Maduro.

Speaker 1

Right, And so he said, there's there's a line that I that I got from somebody quoting Trump.

We have a big stick.

Nobody knows how we're going to use it.

We're freaking everybody out.

I'm unpredictable.

I might do it, I might not do it.

Nobody knows.

And then this person I was talking to said said, he's pumped.

Speaker 2

He's pumped.

Speaker 1

So the Greenland thing, yes, And and there was another way that they've that that this has been framed.

To me, it's it's you know, the old Para paradigm is superpower against superpower, which which from a foreign policy standpoint, and the way that plays it's, it's, it's, it doesn't.

It's kind of stossis no nobody, nobody, nobody really really moves.

But the Trump paradigm is superpower against people without power.

So therefore he necessarily wins Venezuela.

What are they going to do?

And then it turned out there was a there was a story, a story came out this this week that the entire defensive structure of Venezuela was not turned on.

I mean, they they have not been able to implement it.

They didn't have them, they don't have the footprint.

Speaker 2

They probably switched it off.

Speaker 1

So so this is you're you're you're looking at a series of of foreign adventures in which which are no lose, no lose, no no risk.

I mean, even the Venezuela thing is I mean, the the Greenland thing is essentially just to threaten stamp his foot, make all of these Europeans somehow rush around and offer things, and so so I mean my guess would be Greenland.

He will get what he wants in Greenland, which will not change anything at all about the situation as it is in Greenland.

Speaker 2

So I spoke to someone.

I was calling some of my European friends yesterday and I spoke to someone in Denmark who said that, So they've got the Danish Foreign Minister or the minister for Greenland and the Greenland minister responsible for Greenland coming to meet Marco Rubio tomorrow, and he's said this is the most important meeting for Denmark since World War Two.

And apparently the two ministers are competing with each other for who shakes Marco Rubio's hand first.

Speaker 1

Now I'm I am sure from their point of view, it's it's how did this The problem is solved by by bending over and doing everything that Trump wants you to do, or once wants wants everything Trump wants you to be seen doing so.

Speaker 2

Does the Danish Prime minister, who's also up for election this year, does she just give up and say here you go?

Because where is the NATO thing?

Because he's not going to invade Greenland, right, there's nothing really to invade.

No, no, just those nice colored hents.

Speaker 1

No, let's let's remember that there are there are two issues in Greenland, the defensive posture of Greenland and being able to use use Greenland as a strategic for its strategic place in the Arctic region in which we have all access to that.

I mean, there's already a treaty in place, we can basically do anything.

And then there is the the Greenland resources mining minerals.

And you know, I mean as I think it's evident that the people in that Greenland would like anybody to come and make investment.

Speaker 2

And you know who should go Extra Cooper should go from Landman and extract it.

Or what about Harold Ham who is able to put a straw in the ground and find oil.

Well, we'll go to the oil guys.

Speaker 1

We should go to the oil guys, because that's another thing.

So so we've done Thisvenezuela thing.

Why are we Why are we invading Venezuela.

You know, there there was there would certainly be a rationale that this is Venezuela is run by terrible people, and and and we.

Speaker 2

Have have well that was still terrible.

Speaker 1

That's the point.

They've had an election, they elected someone else.

Those people were not allowed to assume power.

So certainly the rationale, we're taking this guy out and we're putting in the duly elected people.

I mean, there are problems with that as a foreign policy rationale, but at least it's a it's a it's a reasonable Yeah, there's a logic to it.

So, but we're not doing that quite the opposite, We're leaving the same people in.

So then the rationale.

Speaker 2

We're doubling down, which is something you always say he does.

We're doubling down on someone who is equally bad, if not worse.

Speaker 1

Totally so.

But but then so then the new rationale, the real politic, became we want it for the oil, right.

Speaker 2

To bring in American oil companies.

Speaker 1

Yes, now, I mean this is also a kind of weird inversion.

You know, the US has been accused in many of its foreign foreign adventures of doing it for the oil, and then we always say that's not that's not true, when it probably is true.

But in this case, Trump is out there saying we're doing it for the oil, except that then he's offering the oil to everyone and nobody wants it.

So he has these guys, these oil guys, these American oil guys, come to the White House this week and they kind of look at him, including the excellent people who say the who say who say, well, Venezuela is investible.

Speaker 2

And then he goes, well, we don't want x On investing there anyway, like a kind of five year old.

Speaker 1

So so we've done it for the oil.

Yeah, the real politics.

Let's just rip off every pretense here.

You know, we're tough guys, we want that oil.

And then it turns out no one wants it.

No, no, no, no, not us.

Speaker 2

It's it's so strange, so so Greenland.

You think he's just gonna announce that we've taken or annexed Greenland.

There's nothing that Denmark can do about it.

NATO is not going to go in and fight for Denmark to have the right to.

Speaker 1

Well, I don't think it will.

It will go.

I think I think that the europe and the Danes are going to realize, you know, this is this is not feeling, this is not real, This is just Donald Trump.

This is play acting, this is performative.

Speaker 2

But it may end up costing the premiere in Denmark the election.

I mean, she's gone very popular to much less.

Speaker 1

I'm not up to date on on on Danish politics, but yes, perhaps.

I mean, I mean, I think it is.

It is anybody, anybody who who who capitulates to Donald Trump.

That's not such a good look.

On the other hand, yeah, you know, the the other Trump threats from from tariffs to to military action to taking out the Danish Prime minister.

I don't know she'll be in the same jail as Maduro.

I don't know.

Speaker 2

That's not going to happen to Denmark.

Speaker 1

Well, yeah, you know, never say I'm.

Speaker 2

Looking at my notes here and something's changed.

These are the notes that I wrote down.

Something's changed that she's had to step up her rietoric and nobody in Denmark has the appetite for losing Greenland.

She's caught between a rock and a hard place, nightmare having to negotiate this for her.

Speaker 1

So the election, no, I mean, yeah, I mean, I think it's I mean, Donald Trump makes things difficult for almost everybody, everybody who crosses his path, because remember, he has to win.

Someone has to seem to lose.

He has to win.

That's all that he wants here.

This is this is it.

I win, you lose, even though nothing changes whatsoever.

Speaker 2

So what will Marco Rubio say behind closed doors to the Danish and the Greenland ministers tomorrow when they come for their most important meeting, since I'm sure they haven't even had a meeting at the White House, Denmark for twenty five years.

Speaker 1

I think that he says this is what this is what we need because Trump and his The implication is Trump is a crazy man and he has to be pacified.

So how do we do this?

How do we do this together?

And Rubio is going to have some suggestions.

I think we can see if we get this to fly, and and and I you know, I suspect it is.

We will we will rewrite the the the the defense agreement that we have in place.

Nothing much will be changed in this agreement, but we will rewrite it.

We will do something similar for mineral rights, and then the then the issue and that will not change anything either.

Then the issue will just be one of language.

Trump wants to say, we own it, and that will be the rub for the demos.

And and and Rubio will be working this out.

Can we say the following would right?

Speaker 2

So?

Speaker 1

And he will say what this has to look like is Trump has to have the win.

You have to give him the win.

Speaker 2

What Trump wants is to be able to put out on truth social as he did over the weekend, that he is the acting president not only of Venezuela, but the acting president of Venezuela and.

Speaker 1

Greenland something like that.

Speaker 2

Yes, yes, oh yeah, yeah, okay, I love the Exxon guys.

Actually, I thought it was such a good moment in that crazy meeting, and that moment where he wanders over to the door and stares out and you think, oh, he really is a real estate guy, because what he wants to do is actually stare out at the progress of the East wing.

By the way, do they always play Hail to the sheef when there's a meeting like that?

I didn't know if that was a regular thing or not.

Speaker 1

No, it's it's not because I've been in meetings with with with Trump and no, and I'm just actually now, I.

Speaker 2

Mean, it just seems so strange to me that everybody had to stand up.

There was some applause that were playing a hill to the sheaf.

He was pretending it was all sort of fine, but you could I just thought it was a strange moment.

We haven't even mentioned.

And this is pam Bondy again.

Everything is coming back to Pambondy.

The newly thin, stressed, gaunt looking needs roots done.

Pam Bondy Jerom Pale, who I cannot believe, suddenly interrupted my Instagram feed as I was scrolling through looking at the best dressed for the Golden Globes, saying, I'm being charged by the DOJ.

Speaker 1

Extraordinary and this is back this Trump thing.

And there's a there's a quote that I have from a Trump Trump quote and this was not this would would would have come from the first first administration, and it went it says, I have all the power I can fuck over anybody who's been an asshole to me, which I think it says it all moment well.

Speaker 2

But Jerome Powell is not being an asshole to him.

Jerome Powell appears to be doing the job that he was.

Speaker 1

Put don't Trump, but from Trump's Trump's point of view, Trump has a singular focus.

I want interest rates to be lowered.

If interest lates are are lowered, that will help help me hold the House of Representatives during the midterm elections.

I want you to do that.

You're the chairman of the FED.

I'm going to make your life miserable.

I'm gonna fuck you over if you don't give me what I want.

I have the power.

Speaker 2

And doubly ironic that he's going after Jerome Powell for this renovation of one of one of the federal buildings that they got into a kind of scrap about, and Jerome Palell made the mistake of humiliating the president.

I think that's what it comes back to.

And you're always saying doesn't like to be humiliated.

He didn't like the dances that Maduro was doing, poking fun at him, he didn't like Obama poking fun at him at the White House Correspondence ball.

And Powell wasn't poking fun, but he wasn't letting Donald Trump get away with accusing him.

Speaker 1

I think it's anybody who stands in his way, anyone who seems to oppose him, anybody who he interprets as being an asshole to him.

I'm going to fuck you over.

And whether this is, I mean whatever this is.

This is this investigation and possible indictment is going to go nowhere.

It's going to go like you know, it's like the COMI thing.

Speaker 2

Well, they'll probably put Lindsay Halligan.

Speaker 1

I mean, so it is just it's this is not this is not an investigation this is a fuckover.

So and you know, and this is I mean, this is not this is not fun for everyone, This is not fun for for Powell.

This is I mean the cause of enormous stress and anxiety and and then undermines your reputation.

I mean, it's just it's just you're being fucked over.

Speaker 2

You're being fucked over.

Yeah, well it was.

And of course the dollar immediately responded by taking a tumble.

Uh that.

Speaker 1

Now, now there's a but there.

But there's an interesting thing here, an interesting bit of blowback here.

And I think first thing Powell is blowing back on the same basically, the FED is going to fight this.

But then there's another interesting example that's that's going on with Mark Kelly.

So you know, Haig Sith announced that he was going after Mark Kelly.

Speaker 2

For treason rights, sedition, yeah, for.

Speaker 1

Any anyway, for issuing a statement that that that people in the military if if it's an illegal order, they don't have to obey it.

And we have had a back and forth about.

Speaker 2

It, many thousands of comments about that.

Thank you for those comments.

People love Mark Kelly, they see him as a real American hero, and they do not see pe Heath no.

Speaker 1

With without question.

I mean, I mean, I mean Mark Kelly is a hero and is a military guy in the way that Hegsith is a pretend military guy.

So at at any rate, at any rate, heg Sith threatened Kelly, and Kelly is now suing.

Speaker 2

Hegsath taking a leaf out of yours.

Speaker 1

So and it's and it's not dissimilar from what I you know, I got threatened the fuck over from from Milania Trump, and before she could act on this, I acted and suit her.

And this is a similar kind of thing.

And I think I think people are starting to see this that you have to you know, first thing, that these are kind of paper tigers in their in their way, and and and there there is there are tools to oppose these guys.

Speaker 2

What is it?

Is it that line from network?

I'm not going to take it anymore.

It just feels like people are coming back up.

Speaker 1

Well maybe, I mean, I mean, there's I mean, it's enough to do it.

Speaker 2

I get that.

But it's clear it's then.

Speaker 1

And there, and there's there's there's movement, you know, there are congressional Congressional Republicans are now starting to there's something going on in this in this incredibly quiescent group of of of people.

Suddenly suddenly there's there's pushback.

And in the in the House, they've just voted to extend the healthcare subsidies, which he has said, Trump has said he will veto.

Speaker 2

Why would he veto?

That?

That to me is going to be the single biggest issue at the midterms, although goodness knows what could happen between now and then.

But if you're sitting there and your healthcare premium has doubled or tripled, how on earth are you going to vote for the party that brought you the big, beautiful bill which enriches billionaires and leaves you literally unable to pay your healthcare insurance?

How is that possible?

And of course, record numbers of congress people on both the Democrat and the Republican side are stepping down because they don't want to deal with this anymore.

Speaker 1

Yeah, no, I mean it's it's the government of what.

Yeah, it's they've gotten.

I mean, the Obamacare issue has always been a intractable one for the Republicans.

Speaker 2

Oh yeah, yeah, Michael Wolf, what a lot going on, all right?

So we do have more questions for the very lawsuit that you just referenced for Milania.

Okay, here is a question from Kelly Nevard seventy four to sixty four.

Could Wolf ask Milania did her and Donald have an open relationship or did she know he was having extramarital affairs?

And has she ever had an affair?

Does that become relevant?

Speaker 1

Yeah, I mean, I'm not sure.

Let me take that under advice.

Speaker 2

Okay, we'll take that under advisement.

Here's a good question from Norma gene Rahn.

Where is Milania registered to vote?

Did she vote absent last year when she was in Florida?

If so, and her address is NYC, then that would be it.

Speaker 1

Yeah, but that's not she did vote in Florida.

Speaker 2

She did vote.

Speaker 1

Just because you vote in Florida does not mean that that under the law, that that's where you are are.

The law would determine that you're actually domiciled.

Speaker 2

Okay, Well, here's another good question from Sashita nine.

Here's another good question from Sashita three nine zero zero.

I would like Michael to ask Millania how she travels between New York City and DC?

Is that on Air Force one?

At taxpayer expense?

Does she handle first Lady business from New York do she and Donald?

I think some of these come from Europe?

Do she and Donald file separate taxes?

Since her primary residence is in NYC and his is the White House?

All good questions, all good questions.

Question for Wolfe's Millania case, will he be subpoenaring Marlon Maples to find out why she told Sandra Coleman to protect her fourteen year old daughter, who was a model from all Trump's friends, I e.

The men at the Mari Largo model party.

Speaker 1

I think we're not allowed.

I'm not allowed to say who we're discussing.

Speaker 2

Okay, well it's a good question.

But yes, Well that's from Victoria O'Connor.

Very good question, Victoria.

All right, we've covered quite a lot of ground this morning.

Well, don't look blankly.

You can't remember anything you've said.

You cannot remember any of it.

Speaker 1

Nothing.

Speaker 2

Big day for Denmark tomorrow with Marco Rubio.

Big.

Speaker 1

Continue to cover more and more ground.

I'll just go on indefinitely.

Speaker 2

All right, Well, I'm just up summing the weak ahead of us.

We've got the Denmark meeting with Marco Rubio tomorrow where the Danish and the Greenlandic ministers of fighting over who should shake his hand first.

I think it should be Greenland because it's smaller and it's really about them.

And then we've got Machado, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, coming in to meet Trump at the White House on Thursday.

And then when is the President of Columbia coming.

He was supposed to be coming this week too.

He's packing them in.

He's a big meeting.

No.

I think they had a phone call when The New York Times was there, which we weren't allowed to hear, but I think he seemed delighted that he'd been invited to Washington instead of extracted ignominiously like our friend Madua.

Speaker 1

Yeah, and I think we just have to see this in in this this is where we're in this new imperial phase, which is remember this used to be the White House, no more Foreign Wars White House, right, and we were we were we were going to America ourself from from all of these conflicts.

So but now we're in in the the imperial Trump is in appealing.

It's very appealing to him.

He feels that it plays and especially in Imperial Trump, that doesn't put anything at risk.

So it's a it's a I mean totally I mean I think, I think from from a foreign policy point of view, it's entirely novel way to see the world.

Yeah.

Speaker 2

Well, I thought your conversations with people in the White House very interesting.

And for those who want to, well, you can either listen to this podcast again or you can read it on Michael subsnac.

Speaker 1

How Tales of our Time.

Speaker 2

Tales of our Time.

Indeed, if you have been, thank you for joining us.

Please leave your comments.

We really really love them.

I love having a sense of our audience.

It's so much fun.

Speaker 1

Garfried And if anyone else is going to come up with its limericks, limericks.

Speaker 2

Limericks poems, I am big pentameter.

I can read them out.

Okay, we grew up speaking in I am bic pentameter.

And we want your ideas for how do we handle the Millennia documentary and the theatrical role like anyway, we appreciate your suggestions.

Don't forget to sign up for the Daily Beast B Beast Tier membership, which gives you extra content and dinner with Michael every Friday.

Don't forget be Beast, and Michael is now going to read out all our B Beast Tier members and their names growing list.

Speaker 1

I'm going to pronounce their names the way I want to pronounce their names all.

Speaker 2

Right, and you can write in and tell us if he got it right or not.

Speaker 1

Are we ready?

Speaker 2

We are ready for the role of the names.

The role called.

Speaker 1

Ivett Johnson Me thinks Betsy O'Farrell Mills and Lynn's Shelley belly Well Shelby would be Shellby Max.

Speaker 2

It's not that easy to read out all the name Max quibbet cubit, Max cubit, Max cubit.

Max wrote in to say we got his name wrong.

Speaker 1

David Sherry, Thomas More, Maria Voltayne, d Qger Watts, Seine Lund, Seine Lund, Okay, John h Overrocker, deb K, O'strander, Sandra Clark travels with Carl Andrew Beaver, Capeinator, Harry Clark, Dawn McCarthy, Daniel dog Lover, m Griner, d Stone, Fluvia, Orlando Herbie, Andrew Mellor, Mellor.

Speaker 2

Mellor, Andrew Mella from the Ribel Valley.

Speaker 1

Tatnall, val Love, Francesco, Will Hutchinson, Andrea Hodel, Bocock, d C.

Sharon Shipley, Connie Rutherford, Karen White, and Heidi Riley, thank you all very.

Speaker 2

Well read, and thank you to our production team Devon Rogerino, Ryan Murray, Rachel Passer, and Heather Pasaro.

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