The Daily Beast Podcast

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TEASER: Mueller Deputy: This Is Where the Special Counsel Came Up Short Nov 01, 2020

Show notes

Hindsight is always 2020, and in this case, Andrew Weissman is pretty sure where Mueller and team came up short. He was part of the team that investigated Enron. He personally promoted former FBI attorney Lisa Page and served as Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s deputy during the Russian collusion hearings. He wrote a book about the experience, but came on the newest members-only episode of The New Abnormal to share that insight with co-host Molly Jong-Fast. When it came down to it, “we didn't have sufficient proof that people in the Trump campaign were trained not to accept anything from foreigners,” says Weissman. Also, “I think we should have said whether we thought he obstructed justice or not. I didn't think we should have used very hard to understand double negatives.” Then there’s the four-eyed elephant in the room named Bill Barr, who Weissman says no one from his team anticipated “undermining the rule of law.” But it didn’t take them long in their investigation to figure out that was what was happening. Speaking of which, Weissman predicts a lot more “harm” to the justice system if Trump is re-elected for another four years. And if Trump isn’t? It won’t be gumdrops and roses just yet. Weissman has an unnerving prediction for what Trump will do if he loses. Plus! He breaks down how he got to this place and has some action items to make sure it never happens again.

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Sharon Stone Worries Trump’s COVID Vaccine Won’t Be ‘Safe’ Oct 31, 2020

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Sharon Stone doesn’t trust Trump one bit. In this members-only episode of The New Abnormal podcast, the actress sits down with host Molly Jong-Fast to chat about abortion, the #MeToo movement, voting, and the pandemic. Growing up, Stone attributes her involvement in politics to her father. "He was really believed that people of all races, colors, creeds, gender identities should have the same rights and privileges. And it was a very, very strong attitude in our family," Stone said. The two also spoke about her thoughts on the election, and all the things she’s doing to help get out the vote. “I had the great pleasure of moderating a zoom fundraiser. I worked with a good friend of mine and we organized a grassroots voting campaign called Vote Proud to get people out to vote who are in the LGBTQ community. Anything and everything that I possibly can do to get people out to vote," she said. Stone then touches on Trump's response to the pandemic. We’ll just say this: Don’t expect her to be first in line to get a vaccine if he’s still the president. and says there’s no way a vaccine is safe right now and touches on her work with infectious disease expert Dr. Fauci. "We do not have a clear path to a safe vaccine yet at all," she says, adding in her thoughts on Dr. Anthony Fauci and what she really thinks of the president: “He does not respect himself and others."

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Chill the Fuck Out. This Isn’t Another 2016, and Here’s Why Oct 30, 2020

Show notes

Molly Jong-Fast, like many of us, is nervous about the election. Sure, the polls look pretty decent for Biden; they looked good for Hillary, right? Not exactly, Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report tells Molly. In the last couple of weeks of the last campaign, there was so much attention on those freakin’ emails. “You could see the race tightening. Hillary went from up 11... and then in the very last NBC poll, she was up four points, with 16% undecided,” Walter recalls on the latest episode of The New Abnormal. This time, though, the pandemic is the focus. And Trump has basically surrendered to the virus. “Now Biden's up, nine, 10 points with very few people undecided and very few people thinking they're going to vote third party. So it's just, it's a different environment. Biden's a different kind of candidate. And Donald Trump is the president at a time when we're in the middle of a crisis that the majority of Americans don't think he's handled well.” Then! Sen. Sherrod Brown talks about whether Biden has a shot in increasingly-Red Ohio. Plus! Rick Wilson debuts the Lincoln Project Time Machine! MAGA junkies chase the Dragon of Cray! Jared Kushner attempts to outsmart a sack of hair! Steve Bannon gets ready to punch out license plates instead of lies! And Eric Trump takes a delightful trip to Frog Dick, Alabama!

On election day The New Abnormal is going to do what we always do and talk about what's happening with the election and you can listen in if you Join Beast Inside today where you'll gain access to an exclusive Zoom version of our podcast where you can ask your own questions. We’ll help you stomach the last moments—or so we hope—of the longest, weirdest, crappiest presidential campaign in modern history. Join Beast Inside today and then join us on election day when we pull back the curtain, New Abnormal-style.To hear this along with the rest of our upcoming bonus episodes head to newabnormal.thedailybeast.com. That's newabnormal.thedailybeast.com.

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The Lincoln Project’s Secret War Plan—Revealed! Oct 27, 2020

Show notes

Rick Wilson and his crew of Republican refugees have been getting in Trump’s head practically since the day they got together. But over the weekend, the psychological combat hit a new peak, when Jared and Ivanka sent one of daddy’s lawyers after the Lincoln Project over a billboard they put in Times Square. And Rick, for one, was loving it. “A big part of our operations has been from the beginning to disrupt the leadership of the Trump campaign and to cause Donald Trump himself to poop his diaper and to cause these people to lose their minds. [Now we’ve] pinn[ed] down Jared and Ivanka Thursday and Friday of last week, and distract[ed] Donald Trump,” Rick explains to Molly Jong-Fast on the latest episode of The New Abnormal. “So it's the eve of battle. And two of the generals of Trump's army have now been paralyzed. They have thought of nothing else for the last several days… You drag off resources, attention, time, focus from what they should be fighting and you make them fight the battles you want them to fight. Think of me as kind of like a redneck Sun-Tzu.” Then! Molly has an incredibly powerful interview with Dr. Rick Bright, the vaccine expert turned whistleblower. He was in charge of a massive federal effort to develop medical countermeasures to biological threats. But he couldn’t stand by while Team Trump pushed a bogus treatment for COVID-19. “I had to decide at that moment to be complicit and be part of a government that would put people's lives at risk—or to step out,” he tells Molly, choking up. “I still get emotional about it because I still remember that day of stepping out and how impactful it was on me, knowing that it was going to change my life. You just know they're gonna come after you. So you have to decide, is it worth it? And to me, it was absolutely worth it.” Plus! Will Trump’s wig come off in a toilet? Where’s the real power in American politics? (Hint: not in D.C.) Why did Team Trump want to inject Santa? And how in the name of Gotham City did Bane get on this podcast?

Want more? Become a Beast Inside member to enjoy a limited-run series of bonus interviews from The New Abnormal. Guests include Cory Booker, Jim Acosta, and more. Head to newabnormal.thedailybeast.com to join now.

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TEASER: Preet Bharara: There Could Be An ‘Avalanche of Revelations' If Trump Loses Oct 26, 2020

Show notes

Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York, joins “The New Abnormal” host Molly Jong-Fast to chat about the last presidential debate, the story leading up to his resignation, and why there could be an "avalanche" of new revelations if President Donald Trump loses the election.

Bharara said that the presidential debate was "relatively normal," but that's no thanks to Trump or his opponent Joe Biden. "The person I credit most for that as most people do is Kristen Welker," he said.

Jong-Fast then reminds Bharara of one of his proudest moments from 2016: Not calling Trump back. He details the incident and why he doesn't regret his decision for a second.

"It is a good thing for public servants not to so badly cling to their job… that you won't do the right thing," he said.

Next, Jong-Fast and Bharara chat about the impact of the election outcome and what will happen if Trump loses.

"My guess is there is going to be a cascade of people who are going to write books for a lot of money, or good citizens who are going to blow the whistle on all sorts of things… that we don't know about yet," he said.

Adding, "I also think the potential for bad conduct and bad activity during the transition, if Trump definitively loses, is going to be very high. It's going to be very difficult for either Congress or some prosecution authorities to ignore what could very well be an avalanche of revelations after January 20, about this president and the conduct of the people in this administration."

Lastly, they discuss how someone with Trump's background could never get a national security clearance, Bharara's book Doing Justice, plus more!

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Preet Bharara: There Could Be An ‘Avalanche of Revelations' If Trump Loses Oct 25, 2020

Show notes

Jong-Fast then reminds Bharara of one of his proudest moments from 2016: Not calling Trump back. He details the incident and why he doesn't regret his decision for a second.

"It is a good thing for public servants not to so badly cling to their job… that you won't do the right thing," he said.

Next, Jong-Fast and Bharara chat about the impact of the election outcome and what will happen if Trump loses.

Lastly, they discuss how someone with Trump's background could never get a national security clearance, Bharara's book Doing Justice, plus more!

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Final Debate Just Proves Trump ‘Can Lie in Different Gears’ Oct 23, 2020

Show notes

On a special episode of The New Abnormal responding to the final presidential debate Molly Jong-Fast and Rick Wilson are joined by GOP political consultant Mike Madrid, Daily Beast senior editor Tim Teeman and Gary Peters, the Senator from Michigan, who is here to outline the fight against voter intimidation at the polls.

Molly was aghast at Trump’s almost normal debate performance. “It’s almost worse when Trump tries to be normal than when Trump is just insane,” she said. “When he acts like a normal president… then you have constantly fact check him in a way that you don’t when he’s just huffing and puffing and screaming.”

Madrid, a veteran Republican pollster now working with the Lincoln Project, said Trump’s relative calm on stage means he can’t be counted out of the race yet. “If he had just blown his top and set his hair on fire and started stomping on his feet, then we’d be like, OK, it’s done,” he said. “He can lie in different gears.”

But Rick is not convinced that Trump did enough to turn it around. “My theory of the case going in was that Trump needed an absolute knockout, absolutely needed to slaughter Joe Biden on that stage tonight. And I don’t think he got there. I don’t think he even got close to getting there,” he said.

Away from the debate stage, Tim Teeman joined the gang to discuss the Trump campaign’s last gasp “gaslighting” effort to court LGBTQ voters by claiming Trump had been an ally all along. “I don't know about Donald Trump’s personal bigotry, but it doesn’t matter if he’s a bigot personally or not,” he said. “He’s advancing a course of bigotry for his own ends. And that honestly makes him just as dangerous as the bigot with a pair of keys in their fist, ready to punch you in the face on the street.”

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Sacha Baron Cohen on Borat, Trump and Risking His Life for Comedy Oct 21, 2020

Show notes

Comedy legend Sacha Baron Cohen goes deep on all of the crazy things that happened during the filming of his Showtime series ‘Who Is America?’—including truly incredible stories about his interactions with Sarah Palin, O.J. Simpson, Ben Carson and more. He also talks about interviewing Donald Trump as Ali G. and reveals some big secrets behind his classic film ‘Borat.’This episode was recorded in front live audience as part of the SAG Conversations series at the SAG-Aftra Foundation in Los Angeles on May 21, 2019.Follow @SachaBaronCohen and @mattwilstein on Twitter and @lastlaughpod on Instagram.

Highlights from this episode and others at The Daily Beast.

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Does Rudy Giuliani Have an Ounce of Pride Left? Oct 20, 2020

Show notes

Rick Wilson spent years working for Rudy Giuliani. He used to look up to his boss, the mayor. These days, he can barely look down without spitting. “The worst possible Greek tragedy doesn't encompass the fall of Rudy, from calamity to clown show to complete moral and physical collapse,” Rick tells co-host Molly Jong-Fast on the latest episode of The New Abnormal. “The fact that Trump views him and uses him as this hatchet man, his delivery boy for these absurd attacks… You know, there's a part of me that like, ‘Do you have no fucking pride left? You only get trotted out for the shit jobs like these. You only get brought out and hosed off once every few months when Donald Trump has to do something disgusting.’” Caroline Giuliani, Rudy’s daughter, isn’t happy with the decisions he’s made, either. That’s why she recently announced that she’s voting for Joe Biden. “I felt like I had an obligation just because it's, it's just so bad. We're in such a crisis,” she tells Molly. “I want to be on record as being on the right side of history. I also felt like people feel so alone right now. I've had such a great reaction from so many people just saying, ‘Thank you... You articulated things I've been feeling.’ And it just made me feel a little less alone.” Then! Alabama Sen. Doug Jones talks about why his opponent, Tommy Tuberville, is even worse than Roy Moore, the last guy he beat.

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Town Hall Sh*tshow Was a Truth Window into Trump Oct 16, 2020

Show notes

On the night of the duelling townhalls, Molly Jong-Fast and Rick Wilson recorded a special episode of The New Abnormal as a desperate Trump delivered a wild performance that virtually served as an ad for Joe Biden. Two guests join the show to sum up the state of American politics right now with Jay Michaelson, legal affairs columnist at The Daily Beast, Rabbi and editor at 10% Happier, on hand to run down the latest from the Amy Coney Barrett hearings. And audience favorite Hank Gilbert, who is running for the Texas first congressional district against Republican Louie Gohmert, is back to share the unprecedented election buzz he says he is seeing in Texas. Gilbert says he can’t believe it took so long but Texans have finally realized that “this narcissistic bastard” is bad for America and they’re ready to vote him out. “People are excited. I’ve never seen this type of atmosphere before,” he said.

Trump seemed to be doing his best to show viewers himself that he was not fit to be president during the NBC townhall, says Rick. “You had Trump with one leg on the ground, leaning over, hunched over, glaring at Savannah Guthrie like he was a mad man, like he was about to flee the scene of a crime. And you had Joe Biden sitting in the chair, legs crossed, hands gesturing, talking smoothly and calmly.” “When he wouldn’t answer the QAnon question, all I could think was, ‘Does Joe Biden need to report this like an in-kind contribution?’ This was fucking crazy,” Rick said. “This shitshow was a truth window into Trump.” He had, at least, managed to directly criticize white supremacy after failing to do so at the presidential debate, which just confused Molly: “Wouldn't it be more of a no brainer to disavow QAnon—the Democrats eat children—than white supremacy? His supporters are already racist.”

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