Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at https://shopify.com/dailybeast with promo code dailybeast #ad Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles unpack how Trump’s bluster toward Iran—threatening to “destroy a civilization”—collapsed into a rushed two-week ceasefire that insiders say effectively handed leverage to Tehran, especially over the Strait of Hormuz. As tankers stall and global markets wobble, the episode reveals a White House in panic mode: JD Vance, Marco Rubio, and others are scrambling to distance themselves from a war gone wrong, leaking, positioning, and “plotting” to protect their own futures as the political fallout accelerates. With Iran tightening its grip on global shipping, Trump boxed into a corner he can’t escalate out of, and his inner circle quietly preparing escape routes, Wolff and Coles map the infighting, blame-shifting, and raw survival instincts driving a presidency at what they argue is its most dangerous breaking point. 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.