Ben Rhodes: Trump Is Getting a Terrible Deal
From The Bulwark Daily by The Bulwark
April 17, 2026 · 1h 8m
About this episode
Ben Rhodes joins Tim Miller to discuss the implications of Trump's deal with Iran amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions.
The U.S. and Israel started dropping bombs on Iran because the regime, amid mass street protests, appeared to be in a weakened state. But the regime has now ended up with a much stronger hand: It's proven its leverage over the global economy with the Strait of Hormuz, and under Trump's offer, Iran will get a huge infusion of cash to rebuild its ballistic missiles program and fund its proxy terror groups. At the same time, Trump has made the United States look like a rogue state—while spending billions for a deal he could have got without a war. Plus, Israelis are likely not happy, the Gulf states realize America can't protect them from Iran's drones, Cuba is readying to be next, Dems should make clear they are the anti-war party now, Trump is fighting his demons from his first term, and JD has a radical and un-American world view. Ben Rhodes joins Tim Miller for the holiday weekend pod. show notes Ben's podcast, "Pod Save the World" Ben's forthcoming book, "All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches" Tickets for our Bulwark Live shows in San Diego and LA in May: TheBulwark.com/Events Tim's playlist For 30% off your order, head to…
People in this episode
Host: Tim Miller
Guest: Ben Rhodes
Topics covered
- U.S. foreign policy
- Iran
- Trump administration
- Middle East tensions
- war and peace
- political commentary
Keywords
- Trump
- Iran deal
- foreign policy
- Middle East
- ballistic missiles
- proxy terror groups
- U.S. rogue state
- anti-war party
Sponsors
BloodFlow7, ZipRecruiter
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Bulwark, Pod Save the World
Places: Iran, Cuba, Israel, Gulf states
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