The Commentary Magazine Podcast

Episode: Trump Warns Hamas

Date: October 15, 2025
Host: John Podhoretz
Guests: Abe Greenwald (Executive Editor), Eliana Johnson (Washington Free Beacon, Guest)

Overview of the Episode

This episode centers on the breakthrough deal between Israel and Hamas, the U.S. role (especially President Trump’s), reactions and consequences in the region and U.S. politics, and media coverage—including related culture-wars topics. The hosts reflect on Trump’s unexpected hawkishness post-deal, Hamas’s brutal suppression of dissent, the rapidly shifting politics and media narratives surrounding Gaza, and amusingly, a viral Trump Time magazine cover. The latter half covers New York’s mayoral politics and CAIR’s possible funding of Hamas.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Gaza Deal: Realities & Rhetoric

• Trump’s Unanticipated Approach:

  • Trump, after brokering a deal that saw hostages released and Israeli military gains preserved, forcefully warned Hamas:

    “They will disarm. And if they don't disarm, we will disarm them. And it'll happen quickly and perhaps violently, but they will disarm.”
    — John quoting Trump (06:30)

  • The panel is struck by Trump’s use of “we,” implying a U.S. security guarantee for Israel, expanding the American role even beyond existing agreements.

• Deviation From "Happy Talk":

  • Unlike Trump’s prior tendencies to minimize or gloss over incomplete foreign deals, he instead issues a public threat—suggesting application of lessons from the deal elsewhere, namely with Russia and Ukraine.

    “If he believes that what he's done here is a huge success, it makes sense that he would try to apply its lessons elsewhere in the world. And this is the elsewhere.”
    — John (08:51)

2. Hamas Post-Deal: Atrocities and Media Silence

• Hamas’s Brutality against Gazans:

  • After the ceasefire, Hamas executed alleged collaborators—events documented via cell video but ignored by mainstream Western media.

    “No media coverage of this and also no outcry about this from any of the people who have been accusing Israel of carrying out a genocide for the past year.”
    — Eliana (09:29)

• Hypocrisy of "Ceasefire Now" Activists:

  • The panel argues that “Ceasefire Now” was only ever about humiliating Israel, not saving Palestinian lives—since Hamas’s violence against Gazans evoked little response.

    “…their aim, which was the humiliation of Israel at the very least, has not been achieved.”
    — John (12:38)

• Disbelief in Hamas's Atrocities:

  • Many on the Western left dismissed accounts of Hamas’s brutality as Israeli propaganda—now faced with incontrovertible evidence they ignore.

    “Now they got, one day after the ceasefire, immediate proof that it wasn't. And they don't know what to do with that.”
    — Abe (13:41)

3. Legacy, Credit, and Policy Lessons

• The "Trump War Doctrine":

  • Referencing Aaron McClain’s Free Press piece, John notes the lesson that restoration of deterrence and victory in actual war, not infinite diplomacy, led to the breakthrough:

    “Donald Trump gave war a chance and it worked.”
    — John, citing McClain (15:25)

• Biden Administration’s Attempted Credit-Taking:

  • The administration tries to claim the deal as a continuation of groundwork they laid. The hosts compare it to Carter’s last-minute claims on the Iran hostage crisis—viewing it as chutzpah.

    “It’s got the chutzpah dick nature of somebody in the Carter administration on the day of Reagan’s inauguration when the hostages came out of Iran…”
    — John (26:53)

4. Media, Perception, and the “Closed Loop”

• Liberal Media and the Democrats:
  • The hosts argue the Biden team buys into—rather than resists—the narratives and “propaganda campaigns” of The New York Times and Washington Post regarding Israel, famine claims, and more.

    “There was a perfect closed loop when it comes to… Democrats and liberal opinion journalists on Israel.” — Abe (32:15)

5. Trump’s Time Magazine Cover: Vanity & Viral Color

• Trump praised a “relatively good” Time cover story, but roasted the unflattering cover photo:

  “They disappeared my hair and then had something floating on top of my head that looked like a floating crown, but an extremely small one. Really weird… This picture is horrible. He’s totally right.”
  — Eliana (34:23)

  • The hosts agree Trump’s public griping overshadowed the image:

    “He’s smart to take it on this way because his comment now becomes the story as opposed to the picture being the story.”
    — Abe (37:18)

6. Political Mood & Presence

• Trump is described as energized and in high spirits—enjoying his greatest week as president and radiating confidence in contrast to Biden’s dourness.

  “He is enjoying the hell out of himself… This is the happiest week of his presidency, bar none.”
  — John (38:04)

  • Eliana notes the uniqueness of Trump’s presence:

    “There could not be a more Trump moment than what’s happened this week… It’s hard to imagine another Republican or Democrat… having the presence this guy has had on the world stage.”
    — Eliana (41:29)

7. New York Politics: Zoran Mamdani and Media Adulation (49:00–64:00)

• The Times runs a glowing profile of radical mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani, compared by the panel to “a Taylor Swift fan blog”:

  “…it is like reading a Taylor Swift fan blog. 15,000 words. Like, if he could lick the underside of Zoran Mamdani’s shoe, he would do that.”
  — John (49:10)

• Mamdani’s unwavering Palestine stance is highlighted as his non-negotiable, while his supposed “common ground” rhetoric is seen as media spin.

  “If you are progressive except Palestine, you’re a pro Israel progressive. That is not okay with him. You are not welcome in his coalition.”
  — Eliana (54:08)

• The panel notes the pattern of friendly press coverage lavished on leftwing figures compared to their treatment of right-of-center politicians.

8. CAIR & Hamas: Congressional Calls for Investigation (67:43)

• Elise Stefanik and Tom Cotton have called for an investigation into CAIR’s alleged links to Hamas, citing care’s origins as an unindicted co-conspirator in historic Hamas-linked prosecutions and its leaders’ incitement post–October 7.

  “CAIR has been a voice during the Gaza war. It is a combatant in the Gaza war, either ideologically or maybe more practically.”
  — John (68:55)

• The hosts discuss the historic reluctance of Democratic administrations to scrutinize CAIR due to political sensitivities, and the potential for real legal action under anti-terror funding statutes.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Trump’s Hawkish Turn:

  “They will disarm. And if they don't disarm, we will disarm them. And it'll happen quickly and perhaps violently…”
  — Trump, via John (06:30)

• On the Media’s Hamas Blindspot:

  “No media coverage… as Hamas is unleashing hell over there.”
  — Eliana (09:29)

• On ‘Ceasefire Now’:

  “…Ceasefire now meant Israel loses and doesn’t achieve its objectives.”
  — John (12:38)

• On Biden’s Attempt to Claim Credit:

  “It’s got the chutzpah dick nature of somebody in the Carter administration on the day of Reagan’s inauguration…”
  — John (26:53)

• Trump on His Own Time Cover:

  “The picture may be the worst of all time. They disappeared my hair… like a floating crown…”
  — Trump, via Eliana (34:23)

• On Mamdani’s New York Times Profile:

  “It’s just not that much different from what the New York Times is doing… It is like reading a Taylor Swift fan blog.”
  — John (49:10) “If you are progressive except Palestine, you’re a pro Israel progressive. That is not okay with him…”
  — Eliana (54:08)

• On CAIR's Position:

  “One of the great successful psyops of the last 40 years…”
  — John (68:55)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:32 — Introduction & Episode Theme
• 03:01 — Triumphs from the Deal & Trump's Role
• 06:30 — Trump's Public Warning to Hamas
• 09:29 — Hamas Executes Alleged Collaborators; Media Silence
• 13:23 — “Ceasefire Now” Crowd’s Reaction & Naiveté
• 15:25 — Aaron McClain’s “Trump gave war a chance”
• 21:29 — Biden Administration’s Attempt to Claim Credit
• 32:22 — Media’s Closed Loop with Democrats
• 34:23 — Trump Rips His Own Time Cover
• 38:04 — Trump's Good Mood & Leadership Presence
• 49:00 — The Zoran Mamdani Media Phenomenon
• 54:08 — Mamdani's Non-Negotiable Stance on Israel
• 67:43 — CAIR, Hamas, & Congressional Call for Investigation

Tone & Style

Discussion is animated, witty, occasionally sarcastic, with personal anecdotes, references to Jewish and New York culture, and barbed asides about media and political hypocrisy—true to Commentary’s general voice.

Conclusion

• The episode offers a deep, critical look at rapidly changing geopolitics post-Gaza war, the shifting U.S. role, the frothy and superficial nature of contemporary political media, and the way activism and ideology play out from the White House to city politics.
• Trump’s approach surprises even seasoned critics, and the panel frames events as both vindication and a cause for ongoing vigilance. The episode closes on the need for scrutiny of organizations like CAIR and a note of lighter camaraderie among the hosts right before an ad break.