Why Trump’s Hegseth Problem Exposes His Fatal Flaw

Why Trump’s Hegseth Problem Exposes His Fatal Flaw

From The Daily Beast Podcast by The Daily Beast, Joanna Coles

September 4, 2026 · 1h 1m · Season 1 · Episode 160

About this episode

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles discuss Donald Trump's power dynamics and the implications for American leadership and the upcoming midterms.

Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles look at Donald Trump’s long-standing appetite for power, from his determination to get around courts and regulations to the possibility that he could use his enormous political war chest to maintain influence long after leaving office. They examine the growing crisis around Pete Hegseth, why Trump appears threatened by competence, and how the war with Iran is exposing deeper failures in American leadership. They also trace the economic risks tied to tariffs, interest rates and the massive AI boom, before turning to the increasingly volatile 2026 midterms, dark money, mail-in voting and the presence of U.S. Marshals at polling places. #ad Download SAILY's app and use code beast at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase! For further details go to https://saily.com/beast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Joanna Coles

Guest: Michael Wolff

Topics covered

  • Trump's leadership style
  • political influence
  • Iran crisis
  • economic risks
  • 2026 midterms
  • dark money
  • voting issues

Keywords

  • Trump
  • Hegseth
  • Iran
  • economy
  • midterms
  • dark money
  • voting
  • political influence
  • tariffs
  • AI boom

Sponsors

SAILY

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. Marshals

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