The DSR Network

On the DSR Daily for Tuesday, we discuss the resignation of the Labor Secretary, JD Vance back en route to Islamabad for ceasefire talks, a critical special election in Virginia, and more. 

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On Monday, Donald Trump exploded in telling tirades. In one, he raged that he (just he) is winning the war “BY A LOT” and bizarrely stressed that “I’m in charge!” In another, he emphasized that he feels “under no pressure whatsoever” to reach a deal with Iran. Why is Trump so fearful of appearing to lose control? Well, The Wall Street Journal has a striking new report relating that gas prices and the war recently had the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis “looming large in his mind. He’s “grappling behind the scenes with just how badly things could go wrong.” In short: He fears looking like Jimmy Carter as the midterms approach. Indeed, Politico reports that prices have some Republicans sounding “alarm bells” about this fall. We talked to The Lever’s David Sirota, narrator of the “Master Plan” podcast, whose new season focuses on the hyper-powerful presidency. We discuss Trump’s growing fears that events are slipping from his grasp, how this is rooted paradoxically in his assertion of an imperial presidency, how decades of failure led to this moment, and how Democrats can run against his imperial rule.

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On the DSR Daily for Monday, we break down the latest collapse in peace talks between the US and Iran, the administration rolling out refunds for tariffs, a federal investigation into a supposed conspiracy against Trump, and more.

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Donald Trump just erupted at MAGA allies for opposing his war. In one tirade, he attacked Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and others as “FAKE MAGA.” In another, he slammed them as “Low IQ.” Similarly, his pollster, John McLaughlin, claimed the MAGA base “doesn’t consider” those critics “conservative” anymore. So disagreeing with Trump intrinsically makes you non-MAGA? This reveals Trump believes MAGA is whatever he says it is at any given moment—that Trump and his pollster really do view MAGA as a cult. We’ve written about this dynamic before, but decided it was worth a pod episode. So we talked to New Republic staff writer Perry Bacon, author of a great piece on Trump and the global right. We discuss why Trump’s international and domestic allies are deserting him, how his excommunication of top MAGA figures is shrinking the movement, why Trump believes he can control the minds of his voters, and why all this could hurt GOP chances of holding the Senate. 

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On the DSR Weekly Wrap-up for April 17, we cover the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, the resignation of the acting director of ICE, a big progressive victory in New Jersey, and more. 

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Trump’s numbers are falling rapidly. Every week, headlines highlight Trump and the GOP’s failures, yet polls suggest people are still uneasy about the Democrats. Are the Democrats winning despite themselves? What will the party look like as we head towards the midterm elections? Simon Rosenberg and Tara McGowan join David Rothkopf to take stock of the two parties in 2026 and beyond.

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In today’s episode, George Conway argues that as improbable as it might seem right now, congressional Republicans will ultimately decide they have no choice but to remove Donald Trump from office before his term ends. Conway, the former GOP lawyer-turned-Trump-critic, is running for Congress as a Democrat. One of his ads is a montage of all the horrors that Trump has unleashed, followed by Conway’s promise to be a different kind of Congressman in response. In our conversation, Conway explains why he thinks Republicans will eventually decide Trump has to go and talks about how he’ll push for impeachment immediately if elected. Conway also lays out an accountability agenda that includes impeaching many cabinet officials, criminal referrals for high-level Trump administration officials, and extensive other reforms designed to prevent anything like this from ever happening again. 

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The lunatics are truly running the asylum formerly known as the White House. Sadly, a man who collects raccoon genitalia running the HHS isn’t even the craziest of the bunch. Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf are back to try and navigate the insanity of this Trump’s self-imposed Iran quagmire and the levels of nuttiness in Trumpworld. 

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On the DSR Daily for Thursday, we cover the latest bizarre story about RFK Jr., the Trump admin moving to erase convictions for January 6 rioters, Hegseth’s threats to restart combat operations in Iran, and more. 

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Donald Trump’s war on Pope Leo is worsening. JD Vance warned that the Pope, who condemned Trump’s war on religious grounds, should “be careful” in his theology. Mike Johnson dismissed the Pope’s criticisms by bizarrely invoking Just War Doctrine, which Trump and Pete Hegseth are serially violating. All this reveals Trump to be demanding that his leading sycophants (even devoutly religious ones) place him above the Pope—and indeed that they recognize no higher allegiance than to the president. Meanwhile, The New York Times has an epic piece on his mental decline, which reports that many ex-allies are sounding the alarm, from Marjorie Taylor Greene to numerous top first-term advisers. We talked to former national security official Olivia Troye, who just announced a run for Congress. She recounts what she witnessed first-hand about Trump’s unfitness, why his enablers are much worse this time around, and how his madness is now impacting Americans’ everyday lives. 

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Donald Trump has run out of tricks in Iran. The war has not gone the way he had planned, nobody supports it, and now we are basically waiting for him to accept a bad deal and say it’s a good deal. To make a long story short, this war is a catastrophe and nothing is certain. But after Orbán’s defeat in Hungary and Trump’s ever-increasing popularity ahead of the 2026 midterms, could there be hope? Tom Nichols joins Ed Luce, Rosa Brooks, and David Rothkopf to discuss what this war means for our geopolitical future.

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On the DSR Daily, we discuss the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the many failures of JD Vance, the dynamics of the California governor’s race, and more.

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Donald Trump is now raging at a staunch ally, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni. After she sided with the Pope’s criticism of the Iran war, which had infuriated Trump, he unloaded again, ripping her as “unacceptable” and seething that she “doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon.” Trump also called Meloni a coward for refusing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, an analysis by CNN’s Harry Enten finds that Trump’s net approval among noncollege whites—a key part of his base—has nosedived by a shocking 34 points. Trump is also deeply underwater with these voters on something you’d think they would stick with him through: The war and his handling of Iran. It all looks like a new kind of low among this once-loyal constituency. We talked to New Republic senior editor Alex Shephard, who’s been writing well about the politics of this war. We discuss why noncollege whites are abandoning Trump, how Iran is splintering MAGA at home and abroad, and the challenges JD Vance will face as heir to this fracturing movement. 

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On the DSR Daily for Tuesday, we break down Trump’s continuing feud with the Pope, the resignations of Tony Gonzales and Eric Swalwell, a potential resumption of Iran peace talks, and more.

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Donald Trump is furious at Pope Leo. After the Pope sharply criticized the war on Iran, Trump exploded in a wild Truth Social rant, slamming the Pope as “WEAK on crime” and clueless about the Iranian nuclear threat. Trump then posted an image of himself as Jesus, which he took down after MAGA figures lashed out at him. Trump then angrily insisted he had no idea that image was religious, and seethed some more over the Pope’s criticism. In today’s episode, Robert Jones, the president of the Public Religion Research Institute, makes a fascinating point: The Pope’s criticism of his war appears calibrated in a way that could stir concern about his war in local churches at a grassroots level. That’s a hidden problem for Trump, says Jones, author of several books about religion and the American right. He explains why Trump’s spin will make this worse among religious voters, why all this will resonate more deeply with Catholics than with Trump’s Evangelical base, and why Catholics are a point of real vulnerability for him. 

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The ceasefire with Iran and subsequent peace talks have taken a predictably disastrous turn. JD Vance has utterly failed as a negotiator. Trump has returned to his maximalist aggression and threatens to blockade the Strait of Hormuz. It’s clear that America, and the world, are in danger. Joe Cirincione and Jon Wolfsthal join David Rothkopf to take a look at what makes the President’s latest moves so perilous and why a fundamental change in the way we perceive our democracy is needed to right the ship. 

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On the DSR Daily for Monday, we discuss the promised blockade of Iran beginning today, Trump’s bizarre beef with Pope Leo, a massive defeat for Viktor Orban, and more. 

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Donald Trump’s Truth Social feed can get awfully revealing. He just unleashed numerous posts that open a new window on the man and his presidency: the transactionalism; the amorality; and the utter, buffoonish incompetence. In one, he attacked his MAGA allies in a way that displayed his utter lack of any principles. In several others, he revealed that he simply has no grasp whatsoever of the situation he faces with Iran’s Strait of Hormuz. All of which raises a question: How do we make sense of the fact that this man is president? We talked to political theorist Alan Elrod, who has a good piece arguing that the election of Trump—twice—should prompt deep introspection about what our country has become. We discuss Elrod’s argument that America needs a dose of hard truths about this man and this moment, dissect Trump’s “personalist” presidency, consider whether civic malaise produced our current national crisis, and discuss how to pull out of it.

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On the DSR Weekly Wrap-up for April 10th, we cover Melania’s extremely odd Epstein statements, Vance heading to Islamabad for Iran war negotiations, Trump lashing out at MAGA influencers, and more. 

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AI should serve us, yet that’s not always the approach that experts take. There’s been a lot of talk about AI fueling economic displacement, but what about AI that’s a partner instead of a replacement for us? Dr. Angela Aristidou joins David Rothkopf to cut through the theoretical explore why real-world deployment of AI can improve workflow and augment human relationships rather than eliminating them. 

This material is distributed by TRG Advisory Services, LLC on behalf of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the U.S.. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

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Donald Trump has been raging at Marjorie Taylor Greene a lot lately. Why? Because improbably, Greene has emerged as a very effective critic of the president. In a striking CNN interview, Greene unloaded, declaring bluntly that Trump is mentally unfit for the presidency, that the people around Trump should rein him in, and that he’s catastrophically failing. This is a watershed moment: Trump’s disastrous Iran war, and his threat to obliterate Iranian civilization, are pushing some in MAGA to look past him. We talked to Salon’s Amanda Marcotte, author of a good piece arguing that the Iran debacle is a new kind of problem for Trump. We discuss why JD Vance won’t be able to escape its taint, why Trump’s threat of genocide is a breaking point for so many Americans, and why Greene’s criticism of Trump breaks surprising new ground. (After we recorded, Trump exploded in fury yet again at Greene and other critics.) 

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Corruption, dark money, and dangerous leadership - three elements that have characterized the Trump administration. We are governed by a maniac and his corrupt cronies, such as Howard Lutnick. Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf are back to discuss the rampant corruption within the current administration, the degradation of integrity within our public institutions, and the mess of Trump’s war in Iran.

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On the DSR Daily for Thursday, we break down the already tenuous ceasefire with Iran, Trump’s increasingly harsh words for NATO, Pam Bondi’s lack of testimony at an upcoming Epstein Files committee hearing, and more. 

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The fragile ceasefire with Iran is not silencing the mounting questions about Donald Trump’s threat to wipe out Iranian civilization. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt lost her temper under hard questioning on the topic. One reporter sharply grilled her, causing her to dissemble and snap angrily. She then kept ranting, suggesting absurdly that it was “insulting” to be even asked about this matter. This comes as some Trump’s allies are sharply questioning his Iran deal: Laura Loomer lamented that “we didn’t really get anything.” Mark Levin fretted that Iran is “still surviving,” and said: “I don’t trust the enemy...what’s going to be different this time?” Senator Lindsey Graham made his skepticism of the deal very clear. Many other MAGA figures attacked his threat. We talked to Georgetown national security expert Rosa Brooks. She explains why Leavitt’s spin is so vile, why MAGA is right that the deal is a disaster for Trump (but for the wrong reasons), and why we should still fear worse horrors to come.

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Trump’s two-week ceasefire with Iran, reached Tuesday evening after his threats to destroy the entire country over the Strait of Hormuz, has already begun to unravel. Does anybody truly know what Trump’s goals actually are? What does his erratic behavior mean for the US’s geopolitical standing? Lieutenant General Mark Hertling joins David Rothkopf to discuss the ceasefire, America’s actions in the Middle East, and his new book, If I Don't Return: A Father's Wartime Journal, about his experiences during Operation Desert Storm.

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On the DSR Daily for Wednesday, we discuss the two-week ceasefire with Iran, Democratic victories in Wisconsin and Georgia, Israel continuing to hammer Lebanon, and more. 

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Donald Trump’s deranged threat to obliterate Iranian civilization entirely has prompted powerful pushback from some former MAGA allies. Some are suggesting it’s time to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him, including Alex Jones, Anthony Scaramucci, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who tweeted that “he has gone insane.” Tucker Carlson called on military officials not to follow illegal orders to attack civilian infrastructure. After we recorded, Trump temporarily postponed the assault. But the conversation about his unfitness has been reopened. We talked to Jennifer Rubin, editor-in-chief of The Contrarian and author of a good piece on Trump’s vow of genocide. We discuss the gravity of Trump’s war-crime threats, the cowardice of Republicans who keep enabling this madman, and how we can keep the removal talk alive.

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The President grows more reckless in Iran with each day. With the threats to end the “whole civilization” of Iran, Trump’s impulse to commit heinous war crimes seems to be growing. California Representative Ted Lieu, who has been leading the charge to rein in our renegade president, joins David Rothkopf to share what Congress can do to stop the conflict, why more MAGA republicans need to step up, and why what Trump is doing is simply batshit crazy. 

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