Pod Save America: "J. Edgar Boozer"

Date: April 21, 2026
Hosts: Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor
Special Guest: Ilan Goldenberg (J Street)

Episode Overview

This episode of Pod Save America tackles the chaos and misinformation surrounding Trump’s Iran war “diplomacy,” his attempts to win back the favor of podcaster Joe Rogan with speedy psychedelic approvals, escalating dysfunction in federal personnel (featuring the drama-filled lawsuit of FBI Director Cash Patel), and the intensifying early shadow campaign of 2028 Democratic hopefuls. In the second half, Tommy Vietor speaks with Ilan Goldenberg, Chief Policy Officer at J Street, about the future for pro-Israel progressives and the messy, polarized Israel/Palestine debate playing out among Democrats.

Main Segments & Timestamps

• [02:12] Trump’s “Victory Lap” and Iran Negotiations
• [20:46] Public Opinion on Trump's War & Efforts to Win Back Joe Rogan
• [28:37] Cash Patel, the FBI, and Lawsuit Backlash
• [40:07] 2028 Democratic Contenders—Early Moves and Messaging
• [59:07] Ilan Goldenberg Interview: The Progressive Israel Debate

Trump’s Iran “Victory Lap” and Negotiation Chaos

(02:12–20:46)

Key Discussions and Insights

• Trump prematurely declared victory in negotiations with Iran, posting wild and unsubstantiated claims that were almost immediately contradicted by Iran.
  • “Trump spent Friday counting all of his chickens before they hatched, firing off a series of manic all-caps posts...” – Jon Favreau [02:20]
• As the hosts note, the collapse of talks and ensuing escalation underscores the unreliability and theatrical nature of Trump’s communication:
  • "I think he was just making shit up. He was tweeting out his wishlist of outcomes for talks that had not yet happened..." – Tommy Vietor [05:10]
  • "It's not even tethered to what he's hearing or not. ... It's just bullshit. It's just, it's not even tethered to what he's hearing" – Jon Lovett [08:04]
• They point out fractures and chaos within both the Iranian regime and the Trump admin negotiating team.
  • "Within Iran itself, there's all these reports of an ongoing power struggle..." – Tommy Vietor [05:34]
• J.D. Vance’s unexpected role as a go-between in talks and the spectacle of cruise ships “sneaking” through the Strait of Hormuz provide comic relief.
• Trump’s public “war updates” are compared to emotional therapy or vision boards, detached from reality.
  • “So it's just like he's journaling? ... Sometimes it's therapy, sometimes it's like a vision board.” – Jon Favreau & Jon Lovett [08:31–08:41]

Notable Quotes

• “Trump is willing to lift sanctions, give some money, even though he's not saying that publicly, and release a bunch of frozen assets. Billions of dollars.” – Tommy Vietor [07:15]
• "Every day it's, we won the war. Every single day we won the war or we're going to destroy civilization. That's it." – Jon Favreau [10:17]

Trump, Public Opinion, and Joe Rogan Appeal

(20:46–28:37)

Highlights

• Polls indicate overwhelming public disapproval of Trump’s handling of the war, with strong negative ratings on Iran and cost of living.
• The hosts analyze Trump’s political scramble to win back one-time media allies like Joe Rogan, fast-tracking FDA review of psychedelics (ibogaine) apparently after Rogan sent Trump a text about it.
  • “Joe Rogan texting Trump some medical information and being like, cool, let's do it. That's not a good process...” – Tommy Vietor [23:15]
  • “Just keep posting.” – Jon Favreau [23:44]
• There’s skepticism that Trump’s transactional approach, rewarding friends and donors with policy change, ever results in meaningful action.
  • “He gets the press event about how quickly he can do things, but meanwhile he actually stops paying attention, doesn't really focus on it, doesn't really give a fuck, gets the good headline and never really happens.” – Jon Lovett [24:51]
• Discussion of how Rogan is likely to continue criticizing Trump despite the gesture, and how this “abundance-coded” (move fast/break things) governance has deep systemic risks.

Cash Patel: Dysfunction at the Top of Law Enforcement

(28:37–40:07)

Main Points

• FBI Director Cash Patel sues The Atlantic for a scathing exposé describing him as “erratic, suspicious of others, prone to jumping to conclusions... so drunk so often that his meetings have had to be rescheduled for later in the day.”
• Patel, a former low-level DOJ lawyer drawn into Trump’s inner circle, is ridiculed for treating the job as a “fantasy camp” – focusing on perks, image, and petty feuds rather than national security.
  • “Cash Patel shouldn't have this job to begin with. He's not remotely qualified to be FBI director in the first place.” – Tommy Vietor [30:31]
• The deeper concern is the hollowing out of the FBI and replacement of career professionals with “kooks and cranks,” leaving US law enforcement structurally weaker.
  • “...Through firings and attrition. The FBI has lost a lot of key people... replaced by Trump diehards and people that were part of the election interference operation.” – Jon Lovett [33:20]
• Revelations about Patel’s conduct undermine the credibility of his lawsuit; there’s public evidence of his drinking and unprofessionalism.
  • “Video of him drinking to excess at the fucking Olympics. The whole beer. He chugged the whole beer. We have proof of him flying off half cocked because he posted crazy things...” – Jon Lovett [35:52]
• Recent high-profile resignations among Trump cabinet officials (e.g., Labor Secretary Lori Chavez deraymer) further highlight dysfunction and infighting.

Early Moves of 2028 Democratic Contenders

(40:07–59:07)

Ossoff, Buttigieg, Harris, and the Messaging Wars

• Several likely 2028 Democratic hopefuls—Jon Ossoff, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris—are ramping up public appearances and sharpening their political messages.

Jon Ossoff:

• Ossoff delivers a biting anti-corruption speech focused on Trump’s enrichment, the war, and everyday Americans’ struggles:
  • “The First Family's wealth is growing by billions of dollars because they're crooks.” – Jon Ossoff [41:37]
• Hosts praise Ossoff’s tight, crowd-engaging messaging, though nitpick old political tropes like “wars of choice.”
• Ossoff’s ability to indict both sides and issue a “pro-democracy, anti-corruption” call is admired.
  • “There's a lazy, cynical expedience. Politics unmoored from fixed moral principles and incapable of inspiration...” – Jon Lovett [43:16]

Pete Buttigieg:

• Buttigieg focuses on “bridge building” and engaging with opponents outside ideological bubbles.
  • “Step one, I think, try to do it offline as much as possible. ... I always imagine that I'm talking to people like people I grew up with who I disagree with and also actually like.” – Pete Buttigieg [45:19]
• Hosts note Pete’s intellectual grasp but question whether he truly connects beyond savvy debate performances.
  • “In politics, you can't just make an argument for the car. You're making an argument for you as the person selling the car.” – Jon Lovett [49:11]

Kamala Harris:

• Harris’ messaging varies between effective war critiques and awkward, old-school “gas station” consumer protection stunts.
• Hosts urge her to develop a clearer, more authentic forward-looking narrative.
  • “She is at her best when she is doing the prosecution of the administration that she was in the first half of the clip, the gas... it is such a talk about, like, signaling that you are a throwback from a different era of politics.” – Jon Favreau [53:06]
• All agree the 2028 field will need not just critique of Trump but a distinctive, positive Democratic vision.

Interview: Ilan Goldenberg on Progressive Zionism and the Democratic Coalition

(59:07–End)

Debate Context

• Goldenberg, a liberal Zionist and J Street policy leader, weighs in on the party’s internal conflict surrounding Israel, with particular focus on the recent outcry over whether Democrats should even appear on platforms like Hasan Piker’s Twitch channel.
• He disputes the framing of Israel as a “uniquely evil” state but fully acknowledges its “deeply imperfect” democracy and the failures of Netanyahu.
  • “...Israel is intended to be a Jewish democratic state. It was also to be, in its Declaration of Independence, described as a state with equal rights for all of its citizens. That's what the vision of the state was. Now, that's been incredibly imperfect.” – Ilan Goldenberg [60:16]
• Goldenberg calls for a nuanced middle ground: both critical and supportive of Israel, opposed to Hamas and Netanyahu, pragmatic about potential progress.
  • “I can be horrified by the acts of October 7th by Hamas, and I can be horrified by the horrific actions that the Israeli government has perpetrated in Gaza... Criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitism.” [64:03]
• Tommy challenges Goldenberg on whether the “two-state solution” is a fantasy given the current rightward shift in Israeli politics and Netanyahu’s boasting of blocking Palestinian statehood.
• Goldenberg acknowledges the difficulty but maintains that phasing out unconditional US financial support, enforcing accountability via arms sales, and treating Israel as a “normal ally” are the path forward.
  • “They get $4 billion a year from us and have been for years and years and years. ...There’s no reason that they don’t need this financial subsidy for anything anymore... Let’s treat Israel like a normal country.” – Ilan Goldenberg [84:54]
• Both agree the Democratic base has moved far faster on Palestinian rights than elected leaders, raising generational and electoral tensions the party will need to bridge by 2028.

Memorable Moments

• The debate over the use of “apartheid” to describe current Israeli policy, spotlighting B’Tselem’s controversial report:

  • “In 2021, the most prominent Israeli human rights organization in Israel called Israel an apartheid regime.” – Tommy Vietor [77:42]

• Closing thought from Goldenberg:

  • “If you want to ultimately in the United States, build a political coalition that’s actually going to win in 26 and more importantly in 28, I don’t think that most people are where APAC is... there’s just a huge constituency for this very common sense view.” [66:00]

Additional Notable Quotes & Moments

• “He treats the social media as just about what he wants to vent about... It bears absolutely no resemblance to what he's hearing internally.” – Jon Lovett [08:04]
• On political messaging: “Pro-democracy, anti-corruption, here's how corruption at the top has hurt you... Both [Ossoff and Buttigieg] are doing a version of that message.” – Jon Lovett [48:48]

Conclusion

This episode offers a relentless, insightful breakdown of political theater, institutional decay, and Democratic anxieties in the Trump era, while providing a nuanced progressive take on the fraught battle over Israel/Palestine and the Democratic Party’s future. The hosts’ irreverent humor, sharp analysis, and high-profile guest interview give listeners both outrage and clarity on the state of politics in 2026.

For more:

• Listen ad-free and get bonus episodes at Crooked.com/friends
• Follow J Street’s work at jstreet.org or their Substack (“Word on the Street”)