Steve Schmidt returns to the Daily Beast Podcast with a blistering warning about Donald Trump’s unraveling grip on power, the Republican Party’s “Shakespearean” collapse into cowardice, and why he believes MAGA is heading toward a political wipeout. In a conversation that ricochets from the Epstein files to the future of American democracy, Schmidt tears into GOP leaders he says have “lashed themselves to the mast,” predicts a brutal reckoning in 2028, and unleashes a stunning critique of John Fetterman, calling the Pennsylvania senator unfit for office after his stroke and accusing Fox News of psychologically manipulating him in public. Schmidt also paints a deeply alarming picture of America’s standing abroad, arguing the U.S. is already losing a hidden war with Iran while Trump drifts toward another dangerous foreign adventure in Cuba, all as gas prices soar and public frustration boils over. Schmidt then turns his fire on Jeff Bezos and the billionaire class he says chose submission over resistance, framing this political era not just as a fight over power, but as a historic test of national character that future generations will study with disbelief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.