Why Ailing Trump’s Erratic Ego Has World on Edge | The Daily Beast Podcast

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code BEAST at https://www.oneskin.co/beast #oneskinpod Dr. John Gartner joins Joanna Coles for a bracing deep dive into what he argues are the accelerating signs of cognitive and behavioral decline in Donald Trump—from garbled words and meandering stories to grandiosity, paranoia, and the spectacle of falling asleep at his newly formed Board of Peace. As they dissect Trump’s escalator conspiracy tale, obsession with looks, fixation on naming landmarks after himself, and late-night social media tirades, the conversation widens to the real stakes: nuclear codes, Middle East brinkmanship, the midterms, and what Dr. Gartner calls the dangerous mix of narcissistic injury and unchecked power. With references to Greenland, Gaza, Iran, the Justice Department, and even the shadow of the Epstein files, Coles presses on whether any institutional guardrails still hold—or whether impulse now drives policy. 00:00 - Constitutional Crisis or Cognitive Decline? 04:55 - Frontotemporal Dementia Explained 09:37 - Sundowning, Sleep Cycles & Public Events 14:14 - The Giant Justice Department Portrait & Power Displays 18:29 - Middle-of-the-Night Posts & Disinhibition 23:05 - Board of Peace Spectacle 27:44 - Foreign Policy by Impulse 32:18 - Can Anyone Contain Trump? 36:52 - JD Vance, Marco Rubio & The Succession Bake-Off 41:15 - What Happens If It Gets Worse? #trump #news #podcast 📖 Title: Why Ailing Trump’s Erratic Ego Has World on Edge 👂 Podcast: The Daily Beast Podcast 📺 Episode: 655 🎧 Format: Full Podcast 📅 Date: February 22, 2026 👨‍💼 Guest: Dr. John Gartner 🎙️ Host: Joanna Coles Click here to become an official member of the Daily Beast's YouTube community: https://youtube.com/@TheDailyBeast/join Have a question or comment for us? Send us an email: [email protected] The Daily Beast is committed to accurate, fair, independent, fast, and accountable journalism. We seek the truth and report it honestly, without fear or favor. We ground robust and provocative opinions in fact. Subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@TheDailyBeast?sub_confirmation=1 Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedailybeast Share this video on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/thedailybeast.bsky.social Share this video on X: https://twitter.com/thedailybeast Share this video on Facebook: https://facebook.com/thedailybeast