THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent

Donald Trump’s case for invading Iran took a big blow Tuesday when top counterterrorism official Joe Kent resigned. Though Kent is a crazed extremist with vile views, his letter directly undermined the core rationale Trump has offered for his war and made big news in doing so. This comes as MAGA figures are splitting badly over the conflict. Some (Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson) are raging that the United States is doing Israel’s bidding, and others (Ben Shapiro) are denouncing them for blaming Israel for the war, and their battle has grown truly vicious. We talked to Emily Horne, a former National Security Council official under Joe Biden who also worked at the State Department and writes the Spin Class Substack. She explains what Kent might know about the weaknesses of Trump’s case for war, why that case is collapsing, and how the deepening MAGA fractures suggest the bottom is falling out under Trump’s adventure.

Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the weekend, Donald Trump unleashed two crazed tirades at the media over Iran. In one, he angrily accused news organizations of rooting for the United States to “lose the war.” In another, he openly urged his Federal Communications Commission chair to employ state power against media outlets that displease him. And in a weird rant to reporters, he angrily rebuked other countries for refusing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. All this comes as a New York Times expose reveals shocking details about Trump’s failings: In internal conversations, he appeared disconnected from basic realities about the strait and unable to grasp why his alienating of our allies is working against him. He also apparently got badly played by Benjamin Netanyahu. We talked to international relations expert Molly McKew, author of a good piece on the stakes of the moment. She explains how Trump’s treatment of allies is backfiring on him, why Trump might attempt a domestic press crackdown, and what to expect next in the war. 

Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans are reportedly “incensed” at Donald Trump for pushing them to pass voter suppression measures when they don’t have the votes for it. Yet he’s raging at them over this almost daily, openly declaring that making voting harder is the only way to salvage the midterms. Republicans want to focus on the economy, but Trump won’t let them, and Politico now reports that worsening GOP losses in state-level races has them very worried about the elections. One operatives says: “I’m ringing the alarm.” We talked to Tara McGowan, a former Democratic strategist and publisher of the progressive news site Courier. She explains why Trump’s demand for voter suppression has the GOP in a trap, why his bad economy, widely hated deportations and war-of-choice in Iran are worsening GOP chances, and why Democratic energy on the ground will likely remain supercharged through the fall.

Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump has been all over the place on the global oil shock created by his war amid Iran’s closing of the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier this week he angrily claimed that the price hikes are a small price to pay for world peace, adding: “ONLY FOOLS WOULD DISAGREE!” But on Thursday he offered some bizarre new spin, claiming that the U.S. “is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.” The idea that “we” all benefit prompted intense criticism and underscores his chaotic approach to this fiasco. Meanwhile, CNN reports that Trump officials have started to “panic” and are in a state of “alarm” about the situation, even as its global impact is rapidly worsening. We talked to international relations expert Nicholas Grossman, who’s been arguing that the Iran saga is catching Trump off guard. We discuss why the oil shock’s consequences are so dramatic, how this all reveals the limits to Trump’s bullying powers, and what it all says about MAGA’s tendency to underestimate resistance to its designs.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For Donald Trump, the news is getting worse on his war against Iran. The New York Times reports that the Trump team badly miscalculated Iran’s response to the American invasion, leading to a developing energy fiasco. The Times also reports that some officials are pessimistic about the lack of any real strategy to end the war, adding this: “They have been careful not to express that directly to the president, who has repeatedly declared that the military operation is a complete success.” Their fear of telling Trump the truth about our fix is highly unnerving. We’re also learning that the United States was likely responsible for bombing the Iranian elementary school. We talked to Columbia political scientist Elizabeth Saunders, author of a new piece on this whole mess. We discuss Iran’s closing of the Strait of Hormuz, why Trump can’t easily end the war even if he wants to, what it means that officials are leaking dismay about the war’s direction, and what likely lies ahead. 

Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices