The Daily Beast Podcast

Why Flailing Trump Will Suffer Crushing Defeat

2026-11-02

Ben Meiselas, co-founder of MeidasTouch, joins Joanna Coles to explain why he thinks Trump and MAGA are headed for a crushing midterm defeat. Watching Trump’s full rallies, Meiselas says, reveals an erratic closing message that short news clips fail to capture. He points to Democratic gains in special elections, then tells the story of how a family group chat with his brothers Brett and Jordi grew into an independent media network. Drawing on their new book, WTF America, Meiselas traces the rise of right-wing media from Roger Ailes to today’s online disinformation campaigns and argues that winning an election alone will not undo their influence. He lays out what he wants Americans to do after the votes are counted.

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No. of episodes

1,308

Latest episode

2026-11-02

Where can you listen?

The Daily Beast Podcast is as wildly exciting, energizing, and entertaining as the topics it covers. Hosted by Joanna Coles, Chief Content Officer of the Daily Beast, each episode delivers the people and politics coverage you need—straight from the Daily Beast newsroom.Conversations have featured voices like John Oliver, Mary Trump, and Governor Gavin Newsom, alongside sharp, incisive takes each week from show regular David Rothkopf.It’s like the best dinner party you’ve ever been to, just without the food.New episodes every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday; early drops on YouTube.If you’re not already a subscriber to The Daily Beast, it’s easy! Just go to thedailybeast.com to sign up.