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This podcast will take you on a smart, direct, sometimes scary, sometimes profane, sometimes hilarious tour of the inner workings of American power and of the impact of our leaders and their policies on our standing in the world. Hosted by noted author and commentator David Rothkopf and featuring regulars Rosa Brooks of Georgetown Law School, Kori Schake of AEI, and Ed Luce of the Financial Times, the program will be the lively, smart dinner table conversation on the big issues of the day that you wish you were having...without the calories. Sometimes special guests will join the conversation and always the emphasis will be on providing the unvarnished perspectives others shy away from. Deep State Radio is the insider perspective on American national security and foreign policy that you can't find anywhere else.
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2894 Episodes
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On the DSR Daily for Wednesday, we cover European allies preparing for potential US military action in Greenland, child care funds being frozen in five Democratic-led states, the Wyoming Supreme Court striking down the state’s abortion bans, and more.
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1Last year, Senator Mark Kelly and five other Democrats posted a video with a stark message: Military service members and officials are not obliged to carry out illegal orders. This infuriated Donald Trump, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reprehensibly bringing disciplinary action against him as a retired Navy man. But this is backfiring: Kelly has now offered a striking new response in a second video, and it’s powerful stuff. Kelly speaks emotionally about his family’s commitment to the military and to the country, and absolutely humiliates Trump over his disregard for military service and disdain free speech. Indeed, the attack on Kelly is likely to fail and will continue making Trump look worse. We talked to legal expert Leah Litman, author of the book Lawless, about the Supreme Court. She walks us through the legal ins-and-outs of this dispute, explains why the case against Kelly represents its own abuse of the process, and reflects on how this saga captures Trumpworld’s deeper contempt for public service.
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On the DSR Daily for Tuesday, we break down Maduro’s not guilty plea in New York, draft agreements for security guarantees for Ukraine, Tim Walz not seeking reelection for Minnesota governor, and more.
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President Trump just unleashed a wild rant on Truth Social, accusing media figures of deliberately ignoring good news about his worsening tariff disaster because they “hate and disrespect our country.” He added that the tariffs have made us “FAR STRONGER AND MORE RESPECTED THAN EVER BEFORE.” What caught our eye is how this shows Trump running everything, no matter how trivial, through a “strong” versus “weak” frame. He’s vowing to seize Venezuela’s oil after his invasion; he’s threatening many other countries with military action; and he’s even menacing Greenland, a NATO ally. Yet a new poll finds surprisingly low support for his action against Venezuela on multiple fronts. We talked to international relations expert Nicholas Grossman, who argues that Trump has it all backwards: All these blustering fits and threats are a sign of Trump’s personal and political weakness and also are weakening our country’s international standing. We discuss whether that bad poll suggests an opening for Democrats to seize the strong/weak frame from him.
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On the DSR Daily for Monday, we discuss the arrival of Nicolas Maduro in New York, Trump’s threats against Greenland, the impending construction of the ‘Triumphal Arch’ in DC, and more.
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After American forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and brought him to the United States, almost no Republicans spoke out in dissent. But Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene did speak out. In an extended rant, she accused Trump of breaking his promise to avoid military adventurism. She sharply questioned Trump’s commitment to fighting “narco-terrorists.” And she even said straight out that this is a naked bid to take Venezuela’s oil. With other MAGA figures questioning Trump’s interventionism, all this wrecks any sense that Trump’s version of MAGA stands for anything. We talked to Norm Eisen, the publisher of The Contrarian and co-founder of the Democracy Defenders Fund, who has been talking about the invasion as an example of international corruption, just as Greene has. He explains how Greene laid bare MAGA’s corrupt core, why Trump’s illegal invasion is so damaging to international law, and what can be done to try to bring some accountability.
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Original Air Date 3/13/25
We are currently on the verge of a government shutdown. It’s clear that Donald Trump and his cronies are trying to get away with something, and the cult in the Republican Party is all for it. Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf are here to ask: What the hell is going on? Is there any way to avoid a government closure? Are the Democrats showing any signs of resistance? And is there anything at all to be optimistic about? Tune in to hear all this and more.
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Original air date: October 6, 2025
Things are not okay in the White House. Numerous new national polls show President Trump and the GOP taking far more blame for the government shutdown than Democrats. One polling analyst flatly declared that the gap has reached double digits. Meanwhile, at a media briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt twice lost her temper under tough questioning. Notably, what angered her was the spectacle of reporters punching holes in the leading White House arguments in the shutdown standoff. Why is this happening, given that many pundits predicted Democrats are in the weaker position? We talked to Salon’s Amanda Marcotte, a sharp observer of MAGA follies. She explains why the Trump-GOP talking points are failing, why Democrats have fresh incentives to hold firm, and what all this reveals about the deepening fissures in the Trump coalition.
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Original Air Date: 7/3/25
Before we grab a hotdog and head out to the 4th of July fireworks, we have to reflect on the current state of our country and ask ourselves, "is this really what the Founding Fathers would have wanted?" David Rothkopf and Norm Ornstein discuss the significance of Independence Day, reflecting on the founding fathers and the current political landscape. They explore the challenges facing democracy today, including corruption, the impact of policies on everyday lives, the role of young voters in shaping the future and more.
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Original air date: July 2, 2025
The Senate just passed its version of President Trump’s big budget bill, which will cut $1 trillion from Medicaid to fund huge tax cuts for the rich. In a series of angry tweets, Vice President JD Vance downplayed the Medicaid cuts while saying what really matters is the bill’s massive funding for ICE and migrant detention. It was a revealing moment: Vance basically told MAGA voters not to think too much about their pending loss of health care via Medicaid cuts; instead they should focus on how many migrants the bill will end up jailing and deporting. That scam is integral to getting the Medicaid cuts passed in the first place. But what will voters think? We talked to Kristen Crowell, who is campaigning against the bill for the advocacy group Fair Share America. She explains how Trump voters and other constituencies are reacting to the bill in many communities with anger and fear; why the public is not receptive right now to typical GOP attacks on the safety net; and whether this can be converted into midterm gains for Democrats.
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Original Air Date: 6/13/25
In case you missed it, things are still not great here in the United States. Thankfully, we have Ed Luce joining David Rothkopf to break down this administration’s current actions. What does the militarization of law enforcement mean for civil liberties? How are governors like Gavin Newsom stepping up? Find out right here.
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Original air date: July 30, 2025
You’ve probably heard that President Trump and the European Union have reached a big trade deal. This is being widely portrayed as a “win” for Trump and a big humiliation for the EU. But it’s not at all clear what we gain as a country from this deal. Surely the phrase “Trump won” has to mean more than, “Trump gets to claim a personal victory and the media is required to play along,” right? We talked to economist Paul Krugman, who has a great new piece on his Substack casting a lot of much-needed skepticism on the deal. Krugman explains in extensive detail what a sham it is: He argues that Europe’s concessions are fake, that the deal won’t spur a lot more manufacturing in the U.S., and that its burden will fall heavily on MAGA, making it a “scam on his voters.” Krugman also discusses why the media seems incapable of reporting clearly and accurately on the magnitude of Trump’s incompetence and delusions.
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Original Air Date: 6/25/25
When it comes to foreign policy news this week, our cup runneth over. Between the confusing narratives surround the US strikes on Iran and a strangely successful NATO summit in The Hague, the administration has had its hands full. Thankfully, David Rothkopf is joined by Gen. Doug Lute, Marc Polymeropoulos, Kori Schake, and Rosa Brooks to make sense of the news and help us understand what comes next.
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Original air date: September 17, 2025
President Trump seems even more angry at the media than usual. His lawyers just filed a lawsuit against The New York Times that First Amendment lawyers are dismissing as a total joke. The suit, however, is also chock full of angry rants that appeared dictated by Trump himself. And he announced it with a Truth Social tirade that boiled with fury. Meanwhile, Trump himself snapped directly at reporters in strange ways, hitting one with a bizarre threat and engaging in a bizarre dominance display over the other. This comes as a new poll from the Economist reveals shockingly low support for Trump among independents, a key metric for gauging political strength—or weakness. We talked to Paul Waldman, who recently argued on his Substack, The Cross Section, that Trump’s powers of persuasion are failing him. We discuss how Trump both despises and relies on the media, the real reasons for his mounting anger, and how it’s all revealing big cracks in his authoritarian project.
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Original Air Date 4/2/25
It’s Liberation Day in America according to the administration, but what exactly are we being liberated from? The police state is growing, democratic institutions are being eroded, and we’re about to enter a destructive era of tariffs. What’s not to love? Rosa Brooks and Ed Luce join David Rothkopf to break down the latest.
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Original air date: October 14, 2025
President Trump’s allies are suddenly raging over the October 18th “No Kings” protests. MAGA Mike Johnson and MAGA-fied Representative Steve Scalise are angrily sliming expected attendees as America-haters, antifa, Marxists, and terrorists. Other GOP figures have done the same, with one hinting that the National Guard should crack down on them. This unanimity of messaging about terrorists means it’s all almost certainly being coordinated by Stephen Miller. Yet it’s backfiring: Democrats and rally organizers are using it to galvanize attendance, which will likely succeed. Robert De Niro amplified the call to turn out, inspiring more anger on Fox News. Indeed, the GOP demonization of legitimate protests itself ratifies the “No Kings” message. We talked to Jill Lawrence, who writes well for The Bulwark on Trump’s hatred of blue America. We discuss why large legitimate protests infuriate Trump-MAGA, why the correct response to their smears is to turn out in force, and why that’s likely to happen.
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Original Air Date: 10/1/25
Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth held a part-pep rally, part-declaration of war on the U.S. Constitution in Quantico on Tuesday. Former Lieutenant Generals Doug Lute and Mark Hertling join David Rothkopf and Ed Luce to discuss Trump’s speech in Quantico, America’s security posture under this administration, and more.
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Original air date: September 5, 2025
At a Senate hearing on Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. got massacred by harsh questioning from Democrats and Republicans. They called out his anti-vax views and condemned his decapitation of our public health system. But Matt Gertz of Media Matters noticed something funny: Fox News’ coverage bent over backward to portray him as pro-vaccine, as someone working to make vaccines available to Americans, not trying to restrict them. We think that reveals just how shaky President Trump’s political position has become amid RFK’s reign of destruction. Fox accidentally demonstrated just how deeply split Republicans are over this ongoing anti-vax fiasco—and how desperate Trump’s propagandists are to cover up the truth about it. In this segment, Gertz relates more of the evasions he saw on Fox, explains how Fox is struggling to navigate many conflicting currents inside MAGA, and predicts RFK’s lunacy is hurtling us toward a much bigger reckoning.
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Original Air Date: 6/9/25
Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to California is not just about immigration and Los Angeles - it is a damning step in his long-lasting effort to to exploit and deploy the U.S. military to act as his own personal police force. Miles Taylor, former DHS Chief of Staff who endured persecution for his criticisms of the Trump administration, joins Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf to discuss the disastrous implications of Los Angeles and explain why “people should be more worried about this than anything they’ve seen so far in the second Trump administration.” Tune in here.
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Original air date: November 17, 2025
Anxiety is rising among President Trump’s staunchest allies that he’s politically lost his way. The New York Times reports that his advisers fear he’s alienating key voters in his own coalition. And CNN reports that some Republicans are openly warning the White House that the GOP is in trouble in the midterm elections. Meanwhile, Trump just erupted in a furious new tirade about the Jeffrey Epstein fiasco. In it, he ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Epstein’s ties to Democrats. Bondi immediately did his bidding. That Trump has now formally turned the Justice Department loose in this way shows his anger over Epstein has hit new highs. Some Republicans say all these things are related: Trump is so consumed with Epstein that he’s letting everything else go to hell. So we talked to analyst Michael Cohen, who has a good new piece on Trump’s doldrums on his Truth and Consequences Substack. He explains why Epstein is undoing Trump, how the MAGA coalition is fracturing, how deeper structural factors are working against him, and how it will all impact the midterms.
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good job Donny.... could be I (GOD) will let ya get in to HEAVEN after all ... now all ya got to do is increase the ssdi by another 2.8 percent and ya could be mine... as in up there in HEAVEN... ok Donny my boy .. get on about it.... talk at ya later.. (GOD).... 😊😊😊😊
old man lost his marbles .... hey Jorgensen....
oh fuck man can't wait to see how bannon defends this .....
is it just me or trump is literally fucking everything up ,?
you are absolute morons.
Ukraine is America's war. Stop your b.s. the USA provoked this war through Nato expansion
so now AI is the messiah? Or the devil?
this is sickening. the holocaust is happening on Gaza and you ignore it. shame, total shame on all of you.
forget Trump's "base", because he doesn't give a damn about them. Or anyone because he can't run again he doesn't need them. now it's just about him and his "gut".
know this cause its true.... FEAR PARALYSES YOU DURING BATTLE.... BUT WHITE HOT RAGE WINS THAT BATTLE.... It is way better to be angry then scared.... scared gets you killed.... dont let anybody tell you that you're scared.... they're trying to weaken you.... don't trust anybody who tells you that you're scared.... be suspicious of everyone who tells you that you're scared.... you aint scared of nothing.... you're pissed off beyond description.... never scared... fuck fear....
instead of saying something scares you.... say.... something makes me extremely angry.... replace the word scared with angry.... you will feel much better....
what is this about?
I want to meet Grizzly..
canada.... ohh the lake life.... i cant wait.... go get em mr. president.... go get em....
starving under some bridge not an option just so the rich can get richer... take it any which way you like what i mean....
Democrats should vote in favor of Trump and Republican policy to expose all flaws in their rhetoric and agenda. All those Republican business owners who voted for Trump should deal with the consequences of their voting behaviour by losing their lowly paid migrant workforce. Time to pay people an honest wage for dangerous work like construction stop exploiting the migrant population, Accept them as immigrants, offer them citizenship.
shits bout to get real fucky... fuckers.... fuck offs are comin.... fuck you.... 😊😊😊😊
Trump has reviewed to me personally of his good intention of bringing eternal lasting peace solution in the middle. I believe he had the technical mechanism to solve the problem and bring lasting peace and prosperity I the Middle East
Americans voted for him to do what they wanted,and he is doing just that by assembling men who would help him revive the economy and American standing in the world
only dumb ass old people take trump seriously...