The Glaring Epstein Files Issue Trump Can’t Escape | The Daily Beast Podcast

Need help with Medicare? Call Chapter at 913-308-6257 or visit https://askchapter.org/dailybeast David Rothkopf joins Joanna Coles for a blistering, wide-ranging conversation about a presidency defined by vulgarity, fear, and damage—starting with Rothkopf’s searing argument that Donald Trump is the ugliest expression of American power yet. From the White House’s gilded excesses and the planned hollowing-out of the Kennedy Center, to the Melania “bribe-umentary,” its Epstein-adjacent fallout, and the mounting contradictions exposed in the Epstein files themselves, the episode tracks how taste, corruption, and impunity collide. Rothkopf, The Daily Beast’s unmissable columnist and founder of the DSR Network, dig into the murkier questions Trump can’t outrun—from Howard Lutnick’s shifting Epstein story to why so many powerful figures are suddenly caught in bald-faced lies—while also unpacking the strange Tulsi Gabbard whistleblower saga, Trump’s renewed fixation on “stolen” elections, and the quiet groundwork being laid to destabilize 2026. 00:00 - Trump’s Second Term Chaos Begins 03:39 - Monuments, Spectacle, and Authoritarian Theater 07:26 - The Trump–Melania Marriage on Film 10:29 - Melania as Product, Not Partner 13:08 - Ad Break: Medicare and Chapter 14:24 - Trump’s Immigration Mythology 15:35 - A Presidency With No Agenda 18:01 - Violence, Optics, and State Power 21:09 - Epstein Files and What’s Being Hidden 24:49 - Power, Fear, and Corruption 28:16 - Tulsi Gabbard and the Intelligence State 31:52 - Whistleblowers and the End of Transparency 34:56 - Flooding the Zone With Lies 38:23 - Authoritarianism and Public Resistance 41:18 - Democrats, MAGA Collapse, and Opportunity 45:12 - Rothkopf’s Verdict on Trump 46:25 - Click 'Join' and get perks of Daily Beast YouTube Membership #podcast #trump #news 📖 Title: The Glaring Epstein Files Issue Trump Can’t Escape 👂 Podcast: The Daily Beast Podcast 📺 Episode: 647 🎧 Format: Full Podcast 📅 Date: February 2, 2026 👨‍💼 Guest: David Rotkhkopf 🎙️ Host: Joanna Coles *Chapter: Chapter and its affiliates are not connected with or endorsed by any government entity or the federal Medicare program. Chapter Advisory, LLC represents Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and PFFS organizations and stand alone prescription drug plans that have a Medicare contract. Enrollment depends on the plan’s contract renewal. While we have a database of every Medicare plan nationwide and can help you to search among all plans, we have contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, we do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 50 organizations which offer 18,160 products nationwide. We search and recommend all plans, even those we don’t directly offer. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-Medicare, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options. *Average potential savings are based on realized premium, co-pay, and out of pocket savings estimates self-reported by consumers that worked with Chapter Advisory LLC to enroll in a Medicare Supplement, Medicare Advantage, and/or Part D Prescription Drug Plan. The average is limited to consumers that chose to self-report. Savings information is subject to periodic updates and corrections. There is no guarantee of savings and any savings may vary by policy type, state, or other factors. Subscribe to our new YouTube channel Obsessed: https://youtube.com/@TheObsessedChannel?sub_confirmation=1 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] Subscribe to Obsessed: The Podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://pod.link/1456474041 Subscribe to The Daily Beast Podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://pod.link/1508202790 Subscribe to Inside Trump's Head wherever you get your podcasts: https://pod.link/1767675909 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 Visit our new Beauty website The Looker: https://thelooker.thedailybeast.com/