The Daily Beast Podcast I Know What Chaos Trump Is Plotting Next: Wolff
21 snips
Mar 25, 2026 
Michael Wolff, author and journalist known for books on media and politics, offers first-person anecdotes and sharp commentary on Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. He explores how cultivated chaos serves political advantage. He dissects shifting Iran postures, secret backchannels, theatrical power plays, and the role of image and election narratives in modern political drama.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Trump Uses Election Chaos As Political Insurance
- Donald Trump benefits from casting the U.S. election system as broken to create a perpetual narrative that validates his losses.
- Michael Wolff explains this tactic makes any defeat explainable as fraud and keeps Trump in a savior role for his base.
Whiplash In Trump’s Iran Strategy
- Trump’s foreign-policy posturing around Iran shifts rapidly and incoherently, changing from threats to claims of negotiations within hours.
- Wolff points out no clear negotiation counterpart exists and backchannels leave officials unsure who speaks for Iran.
Trump Appears To Believe His Own Fraud Claims
- To sustain the narrative that 2020 was stolen, Trump appears to genuinely believe the fraudulent numbers he cites, not merely perform them.
- Wolff recounts sitting with Trump as he reiterated invented vote tallies and delighted in them.