I Know How Melania Found Trump's Creepy BFF: Wolff

Summary

The Daily Beast Podcast – Episode Summary
Episode: I Know How Melania Found Trump's Creepy BFF: Wolff
Date: May 22, 2026
Host: Joanna Coles
Guest: Michael Wolff

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the strange resurgence of Brett Ratner, exiled Hollywood director, who has now become a key figure in Donald Trump’s inner circle and is directing "Melania the Movie." Joanna Coles and Michael Wolff examine the bizarre political and personal alliances forming around Trump as his presidency appears to unravel. Central to the discussion is Trump’s creation of a $1.8 billion slush fund, his deepening political crises, and the unsettling fusion of politics, celebrity, and personal gain.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Brett Ratner’s Hollywood Comeback & New Friendship with Trump

• Melania the Movie has revived Ratner’s career after his #MeToo exile ([00:00], [44:11]).
• Ratner is now Trump’s “new best friend,” traveling with him and sharing prominent moments, notably in China ([04:17]).
• Trump’s affinity for controversial figures—such as Ratner and formerly Jeffrey Epstein—is discussed, emphasizing recurring patterns in Trump’s friendships ([36:21]).
• Ratner’s fascination with Melania: Joanna speculates, “I wonder if Brett Ratner had a crush on Melania. When I was watching the movie, I thought that's what it felt like. Lingering pictures of Melania smoldering. It felt like he was sort of enamored of her. And they have that in common. They have Melania in common.” ([00:20], [37:01])

2. Trump’s $1.8 Billion Slush Fund: Self-Protection and Corruption

• Trump sets up a massive slush fund for personal gain and protection, coinciding with plummeting approval ratings and increasing scandals ([04:17], [10:47]).
• The fund is described as a “transparent, naked grab,” with Wolff calling the maneuver “almost so illegal that no one...has ever thought that anyone might do this” ([15:08]).
• Immunity granted from the IRS and DOJ for Trump and his associates for past tax infractions ([13:04]).
• The panel links this to classic political corruption and authoritarian maneuvering, drawing analogies to Watergate and Putin’s tactics ([16:48], [32:41]).

3. Trump’s Political Troubles: Is He Looting the Joint Account?

• Wolff: “He’s at the point where...he recognizes that he ought to get what he can while the getting is still good” ([10:47]).
• Trump blames everyone around him for current failures, resulting in frequent reshuffling of allies (“security blankets”) and a shrinking inner circle ([05:00], [06:36]).
• The fund pays out to January 6th defendants, drawing legal challenges from former Capitol police ([17:28]).

4. White House Decisions, Legal Manipulation, and the DOJ

• Trump’s ability to sue the federal government—which he heads—and set favorable settlements for himself is uniquely egregious ([11:47]).
• Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is depicted as doing Trump’s bidding for a promotion ([13:28]).
• Mass resignations from legal staff signal internal resistance ([14:55]).

5. Foreign Policy Drama: Distractions on Iran, China, and Cuba

• The failed Iran operation is a “distraction” to cover up policy disasters, with Trump repeating past playbooks in Cuba and Venezuela ([22:17], [24:50]).
• Discussion of the strategy to use regime change as both policy and PR, and the link to Melania’s “surface-level” propaganda film ([23:44]).

6. Trump’s Party Control and Texas Senate Race

• Trump supports divisive and scandal-plagued candidates, focusing on loyalty over electability ([25:11], [28:55]).
• His backings in Texas risk alienating moderates and potentially losing a Republican stronghold ([29:43]).
• Joanna: “There’s something about his larger-than-life-ness they respond to...there’s no evidence whatsoever that he’s going to be good or get anything done for the people of Texas” ([28:10]).

7. Reflections on Authoritarianism & Public Reactions

• Open discussion on the lack of political or legal recourse, and the normalization of corruption ([17:48], [32:17]).
• Limericks from fans capture the surreal nature of current events ([43:08]).
• Joanna and Michael reflect on the unprecedented openness of corruption: “There is no pretense. It doesn't matter. We don't have to consider what other people will think or believe and we don't have to have a rationalization, we don't have to have a reason other than this is what we want to do.” ([39:07])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trump’s New Best Friend:
  • “Brett Ratner, exiled from Hollywood. Melania the movie revives his career. And then Rush Hour four.” – Michael ([00:00])
  • “Brett Ratner is a...straightforward grab-them-by-the-pussy guy...They are the same kind of person.” – Michael ([36:34])
• On the Slush Fund:
  • “This is a grab, a transparent, naked grab. I'm going to get money and I'm going to get protection, and this is all for me. And I'm going to do this in a way that almost anyone...would see as dubious. Actually. Illegal.” – Michael ([15:08])
• On Melania’s Movie:
  • “Melania, the movie, which is all surface. Brett Ratner is a surface director and a very capable...capable of producing a very slick image.” – Michael ([39:07])
• On Political Decay:
  • “We have this new politics in which there is no hidden agenda because it's out in the open...It is sitting in front of your face.” – Michael ([34:56])
• Limerick Highlight:
  • “In the ballroom he dreamed of a crown / While the pollsters kept dragging him down / With Ratner in tow / and Epstein steam below / he went waltzing through slush as he drowned.” – Listener Garfried ([43:08])

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [00:00] – Brett Ratner’s career resurrection via Melania movie
• [04:17] – Trump’s China trip with Ratner; forming of new alliances
• [10:47] – Analysis of Trump’s “slush fund” and legal maneuvering
• [16:48] – Comparisons to Watergate and classic corruption
• [22:17] – Foreign policy disasters; new Cuba playbook
• [25:11] – GOP infighting and Texas Senate primary drama
• [32:17] – Open, pretense-free authoritarian politics
• [36:21] – Recurring theme: Trump’s preference for controversial, predatory friends
• [39:07] – Why Brett Ratner? Melania’s choices and the image factory
• [43:08] – Listener limericks capture the satire and absurdity

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Tone and Style

• The conversation is candid, incisive, and darkly humorous, brimming with insider political analysis and arch observations. Joanna and Michael balance serious critique with dry wit, especially when reflecting on the absurdity and hypocrisy of the Trump era.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode unpacks the surreal Trump-Ratner-Melania triangle, connecting it to a broader pattern of political cronyism, grift, and public brazenness. The discussion threads Trump’s desperate maneuvers for self-preservation through domestic and international crises—underscored by a lack of shame or pretense—and lands on the worrying normalization of authoritarian, self-serving leadership in American politics. The final sentiment: what’s happening now is unprecedented both in its openness and its disregard for democratic norms.

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For listeners who missed the episode, this summary provides the context, color, and critical points to understand the seismic shifts—not just in Trump's world, but in American political culture itself.

Transcript

[Michael]

Brett Ratner exiled from Hollywood. Melania the movie revives his career. And then Rush Hour four. Suddenly, after Melania the movie is picked up by Paramount. So we can say, what has Donald Trump accomplished in office? At the very least, Rush Hour four.

[Joanna]

I wonder if Brett Ratner had a crush on Melania. When I was watching the movie, I thought that's what it felt like. Lingering pictures of Melania smoldering. It felt like he was sort of enamored of her. And they have that in common. They have Melania in common.

[Michael]

I'm not sure that Trump would think of it that way since he doesn't really speak to his wife.

[Joanna]

Michael.

[Michael]

Joanna, it is very nice to see you.

[Joanna]

Well, it's very nice to see you, too. I. Well, the. As you know, regular viewers and listeners will know I've had the last few days off, the last 10 days off, actually, because my mom died on Sunday. And huge thanks to Hugh for holding the fort and everybody who's written to me and also shared their own stories of something that we all go through. And it was remarkably difficult. And I think that I had always been scared I wouldn't be able to step up to the plate and help and do enough. And I'm grateful that I was actually able to. And I'm very grateful for the experience because it was, you know, it just really expands your heart. But I'm extremely glad to be back with colleagues and to. To get to work again. So, big thanks to the production team and big thanks to you, Michael, for holding the fort with Hugh.

[Michael]

Yeah. No, I mean, we've all been. Well, we know what you've been going through, and virtually everyone in some way will experience it. And here we are. Yeah.

[Joanna]

And, you know, she was 95, so she had the life she wanted to live. And it was three weeks and two days from diagnosis to her dying. So in a sense, it was a very fast, dramatic sort of ending for us and obviously for her. But I'm glad that it didn't drag on. Cause when I've read a lot of messages from people, people have been dealing with the really onerous task of caring for people with big diseases. And it's so stressful and hard for people. So enormous thanks to people for sharing their stories. Yeah.

[Michael]

I know in my family, it went on for the better part of two years. So this is, In some. Some version of. This is an experience which everybody has. And I think probably everybody does look forward to thinking that they can't handle it, or at least in some level of high denial about it. But it comes.

[Joanna]

It does come. It does come. And I'm grateful to my sister, too, who the two of us have been there've been some absurd and hilarious moments, too. And to my friends, who've been enormous, enormous support. And also, weirdly, I mean, actually to be in the Yorkshire countryside, which is where my parents live, for spring. I mean, the fields are full of lambs. There are lilacs everywhere, laburnum peonies bursting with fat petals. And, you know, someone who lives in the most urban of environments in New York, it's been great to be in nature. But I'm looking forward to getting back to New York, where I hope we'll be in the studio next Tuesday.

[Michael]

I will see you in New York on Tuesday. But before that, before that, well, since

[Joanna]

we, since I've been gone, Donald Trump has created a $1.8 billion fund for his friends, and he's got a new best friend. I got a note from yesterday, I got a note from a producer friend yesterday who's been at the Cannes Film Festival saying that was with Brett Ratner or saw Brett Ratner showing everybody his photographs of his new best friend, Donald Trump, in China. And as you explained on Tuesday's episode, they've become best buds. The the president has a new best friend, and he, too, is a sexual harasser.

[Michael]

And just to recap that, the and this has been looked on within the White House and people around, around Trump with some both amusement and trepidation, which is to say that Donald Trump kind of is at a point, and I think this is an important moment in the, in the, the long political career of Donald Trump where he really recognizes things are going very, very badly, as badly as that they can possibly go. I mean, we may be talking end of the road badly. And one of the results of that is that he tends to blame everyone around things are going badly. He certainly doesn't accept the blame, put the blame on himself. He blames the people around him, which means that he has no friends. So that is the moment at which Brett Ratner, the Hollywood director of the Rush Hour, A famous sexual predator who was essentially exiled from Hollywood for the past 10 years and only arrives back as the director of Melania, the movie. And now he is the person who Donald Trump is on the phone with on a constant basis, who Donald Trump brought with him to China for no reason that anyone can figure out except that he's the new security blanket.

[Joanna]

He's the new right. He's the new security blanket, of course. And I wonder if he's now inspired to make a kind of Chinese version of Russia. Or maybe he could make an equally hagiographic movie about Xi Jinping or someone else that he's met there. I mean, it's just the whole thing is so bizarre. And of course, if he's blaming everybody, that means that he drops people or people leave him and then he has to keep adding new friends to his call list. I mean, I'm assuming that Brett Ratner has now gone on speed dial and someone else has dropped off.

[Michael]

Yeah, no. When they parted from the China trip, Trump said to Ratner, I have to be able to get in touch with you all types, not words.

[Joanna]

I would think many people want to hear from Donald Trump. Well, and be careful what you wish for. Right.

[Michael]

You know, the person who held that space in the past number of. Certainly, certainly for the past number of years has been Steve Witkoff. But Steve Witkoff is now in the doghouse and being blamed for his inability to come up with a solution in Iran.

[Joanna]

Well, and he hasn't come up with a solution in Ukraine either. Remember when him. When Wyckoff and Jared were both going to talk to Putin?

[Michael]

Of course, of course.

[Joanna]

And then Witkoff famously couldn't remember what they talked about. I mean, normally you take in diplomats and experts so that everybody can pass the conversation afterwards. But of course, Wyckoff didn't need to do that because he's a deal guy and he's used to doing deals with downtown Manhattan real estate, which, of course, prepares you to deal with one of the world's most diabolical men, Vladimir Putin.

[Michael]

So let's, at this point, again, this inflection point in the Trump political career and in the second term, when everything is going wrong, he's looking at almost. You can tick down the issues from the economy to ice in immigration to, of course, the war in Iran, to the ballroom to. Everything is giving Trump enormous problems. And he's looking forward. And he is at now the nadir in his favorability ratings, which are falling down, going down. All of the issues that are facing him, from the economy to immigration to healthcare to the ballroom, which he's fixated on, that everybody else is horrified. The entire world is horrified by. To the war in Iran, too, again, and again, just go down the list. Everything is causing him problems. He is now at his polling. His polling just says one thing, which is that obviously the midterms are going to be a catastrophe. He may actually. He may lose the Senate as well. I mean, he. We're almost at the Point of being able to say he will lose. If things keep going as they are, he will lose the Senate and then he will lose the House. Everything. Everything. The bottom will fall out of Trump world. So what is he doing? Let's say he recognizes that in some sense. He recognizes that. What does he do? Well, that brings US to the $1.8 million billion dollars slush fund. He is at the point where I think that he recognizes, and maybe very clearly recognizes that he ought to get what he can while the getting is still good.

[Joanna]

So this is like someone anticipating divorce and. And looting the joint account.

[Michael]

Yeah, no, I think that that's good. Pretty good. So, I mean, let's look at putting these two things as uppermost on his agenda. How much money can he get for himself at this point? And how much protection can he get for himself when the bottom really does fall out? Remember, he's been through this before and was pretty exposed for criminal indictments. Let's remember. So what we do know now with this $1.8 billion slush fund. Slush fund, is that together now you're

[Joanna]

sounding like Trump when he was giving his speech to the Coast Guard, his

[Michael]

commencement speech, but together with that, the irs. We should just step back a moment and say, and acknowledge the fundamental piece of corruption at the bottom of this, which is he has set up a series of decisions in which he is the decider. So he has sued the federal government and he has the power to create a settlement because he basically is the federal government. So he has sued himself and arrived at a favorable outcome. And part of that outcome is that the IRS and the Justice Department have agreed that not to pursue him for any tax infraction that might have occurred in his accounts or in the accounts of his family prior to this decision. So essentially, their whole past history is now they have immunity, tax immunity.

[Joanna]

Right. He has a blank slate. He can start again. I mean, it's so astonishing a decision. And to what extent, Michael, is this Todd Blanche, who we know is acting Attorney General, and he was number two? Is this him auditioning for a job? Is this him tap dancing as fast as he does?

[Michael]

Yeah. No. And I think Trump obviously understands this, that this is a moment when. When he is not going to get any pushback whatsoever from Todd Blanche. Quite the contrary. Todd Blanche is going to be willing to go the extra mile to give Donald Trump what he wants because Todd Blanche is desperate to become the official Attorney General.

[Joanna]

I wonder if Pam Bondi is just so glad that she's out of it now. Although Goodness knows what she's doing. Right. We were told that she was leaving to go into the private sector. She got an exciting opportunity in. And I don't know what it is, other than not being the Attorney General, which is an exciting opportunity at this moment.

[Michael]

Yeah, No, I think if you are the Attorney general, even if you're Trump's Attorney General, there would have been some hesitation pushback, trying some, Some. Some way to try to avoid being the front person for this kind of decision. Todd Blanche doesn't have any opportunity. I mean, it is literally I'm either going to take myself out of the running for Attorney General, I'm going to say no, take myself out of the running here, or I'm going to say yes and continue to hope that I might be the actual Attorney general.

[Joanna]

And we saw that their lawyer, I think his name's Brian Morrison, resigned.

[Michael]

You know, I mean, this is.

[Joanna]

Right. The chief lawyer at the DA was just like, I can't handle this. I'm out of here. Appointed by Trump.

[Michael]

This is an egregious moment. And I think everybody. It's so egregious that everybody's kind of struggling to find the language to express this, but there's no other language, that this is a grab, a transparent, naked grab. I'm going to get money and I'm going to get protection, and this is all for me. And I'm going to do this in a way that almost anyone, not almost everyone, would see as dubious. Actually. Illegal. Almost. Almost so illegal that. That. That no one has. Has. No one, no one quite has ever thought that anyone might do this. That the lot that the logic on its face is not only illegal, but it is preposterous. So we're over who would do this, who would sue a situation in which you are both the plaintiff and the judge.

[Joanna]

Well. And that you would appeal, that you would give yourself a slush fund of $1.8 billion. It's so breathtaking. I mean, it really is like the big. That concept of the big lie, that the bigger the lie people, the more likely it is for people to believe it because they can't believe that you would make it up. And that's what this feels like, too, that it's so breathtaking that you can't quite believe it.

[Michael]

So during Watergate, Richard Nixon got in trouble for paying off the Watergate co conspirators. There were six of them, I believe possibly five of them. This is effectively what Trump has now done. Richard Nixon did that in secret, quite in public. Donald Trump has set up a fund in which he will pay the January 6th hooligans, terrorists, whatever we call them, the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol.

[Joanna]

Well, we've got two policemen, former policemen now suing, saying that that's not okay, that they were at the Capitol at the time and that this is completely unconstitutional. So there are various clear pockets of resistance to this. I guess the question is, what on earth is Congress doing?

[Michael]

But nobody knows. There's act actually, you know, and then trying to. People are trying to figure out how, what is the means to resist this, how can it possibly be undone? And it's not clear that it can be undone.

[Joanna]

Well, I'm sure Trump thinks he's got, you know, immunity from SCOTUS for it, too.

[Michael]

Well, he does. But then everyone else, I mean, essentially there is now a legal agreement in place that an agreement made by the IRS and the Justice Department with the President of the United States. Of course, the president of the United States is the one who gets to mandate and approve such an agreement. Anyway, we're beyond the officially beyond the pale.

[Joanna]

I know we really. It's quite extraordinary. And now he's talking about possibly being prime minister of Israel when he leaves. So at least he's got a sort of ending in sight. And perhaps he's got a new job plan for himself because he says he's got 99% approval rating in Israel. Couldn't be lower in the states, but 99% approval rating in Israel. And then of course, there's Cuba.

[Michael]

And do you think. And in that situation, would he convert to Judaism?

[Joanna]

Well, his daughter did. To marry Jared Kushner. Right.

[Michael]

So you think he would to become the prime minister of Israel? Possibly, yes.

[Joanna]

I think he probably already thinks he's of all religions. I mean, he's so expedient. I'm sure he would hold up, you know, the Torah upside down, as he did with the Bible, and pretend to be more familiar with it than he really is. Still, my favorite thing, when he was asked what was his favorite book in the Bible, and he said all of them. All of them. And then which was his favorite testament? Both Testament. I mean, it's insanity, Michael. It's getting worse. It's getting worse.

[Michael]

But it is getting worse. And let's see that in the context of him seeing that everything is going south for him. So what does he do? And it's not going to be, and we have discussed this many times before, it is not going to be Donald Trump. Course, correcting it is going to be Donald Trump doubling Down number one and then number two, trying to figure out where his advantage continues to be. And his advantage is he's the President of the United States. That's a position from which you can. A lot of grift is possible.

[Joanna]

A lot of grift is possible, A lot of damage is possible. And also the other thing that he does is he just creates new dramas. So we now hear from Cuba that they're willing to talk, they want to talk, but they're accusing Trump of just constantly ramping up the sort of warlike rhetoric. I mean, it's possible that he could open a front in Cuba.

[Michael]

No, I mean, that is the thing. So what he is doing now, you know, Trump is a, he becomes obsessed with his own successes. And one of those successes, at least in his mind, is Venezuela. And so everything should function like that in Trump's mind. Everything works like that. Now that was a success. Let's do it again. So they tried that. He tried that along with the Israelis in Iran. And that has been a complete failure. But pay no attention. And we will do the same. We will do what we did in Venezuela, in Cuba. And they have just now, I think yesterday indicted Raul Castro's brother, which was the same playbook in Venezuela. We indicted Maduro and then so that we could send in troops to take him out. And yeah, I think it's probably very likely that that is exactly what is going to happen now in Cuba.

[Joanna]

And you think that they would do that, not having resolved Iran? It's not. They can handle more than one at a time.

[Michael]

I would think that they would do it precisely because they have not resolved Iran. Here will be the distraction and here will be the proof. Both the distraction and proof of concept. This works. Yes. Pay no attention to the fact that this did not work in Iran. It works. We just proved this. Venezuela, Cuba, we're on a roll here. Pay no attention to Iran. But it is interesting that this is actually exactly what they had hoped to do in Iran. And this just come out in the last few days, that there is a former president of Iran, Al Medinejan, who everyone has always thought was an absolute crazy person, but who they seem to have had some, some back channel discussions with. And he was, Ahmadinejan, was out of favor with the, with, with the mullahs. So both the Israelis and the US Figured that they could use him to put in place of Khomeini. Once they killed him, which they did quite expeditiously, they could put in their guy, Al Medinajan, exactly as they did In Venezuela.

[Joanna]

Oh, with Dulce Rodriguez.

[Michael]

Yeah. So that's the Trump playbook. And the Trump playbook is again and again, it's just repeat it, repeat it, repeat it. Now, this didn't work because Al Medinejam apparently was under some sort of house arrest. So the Israelis and the U.S. they bombed his guards to be able to free Ahmadinejan, but they also appear to have hit him. So nobody has seen Ahmadinejan since.

[Joanna]

Is he still alive or is he, like Khomeini's son, sort of injured, can't be seen in any kind of way?

[Michael]

Yes, the reports are that he's still alive. And even partly, the reports are that he has repented from his plotting with the US and the Israelis, but no one has seen him. So that plan went awry from the Israeli and US Point of view.

[Joanna]

So the other thing that I found curious is the losing. The Thomas Massie losing and Bill Cassidy losing, and Trump throwing his weight finally behind Ken Paxton against John Cornyn in Texas.

[Michael]

This again is another example of Trump doubling down instead of recalibrating. I'm in trouble. This is not going well. The polls are terrible. We better do something to. Something that makes me look like I am somewhat responsive to my party and to voters and with some amount of hope that we can. We can change our fortunes here. But that's not what Trump does. He does the exact opposite. So in this situation, he is now on his revenge tour, and that would include defeating Bill Cassidy in a primary. Bill Cassidy, of course, is a Republican defeating Thomas Massie in a primary. Thomas Massie is, of course, a Republican and. And supporting Paxton in Texas, so against the sitting incumbent, who is a Republican. So what he has done is not only let's assume all Democrats are already alienated, now we're getting in there, we're alienating Republicans. To what point? The point is that Trump has this control over his party, and that's what he is now falling back on. I have this control. I will put these people who are wholly beholding to me into office. Therefore, I will be. Even if we lose the House of Representatives, maybe we'll still hold on to the Senate. I will have put these people into the Senate who will therefore protect me, without regard for the consequences of the incredible dissatisfaction that is going on in the Senate among Republicans. And also in the case of Paxton, I mean, he has done the one thing that might well ensure, or a one thing that might well ensure the defeat of the Republicans in the Senate. So Paxton is an enormously flawed candidate. You could hardly come up with a more flawed candidate who is, who has faced all kinds of corruption charges, has in fact been impeached and is now being divorced from a wife who is, who is also a political figure in Texas and who is gone, who is quite public about her husband's infidelities and his.

[Joanna]

Well, he's a noisy cat candidate, isn't he? I mean, what was interesting when you looked at some of the response to the polls in Texas was that people knew about Ken Paxton, that John Cornyn is one of those sort of old style John Thune type senators who was pretty right wing but actually was relatively quiet. And like Trump, Paxton is noisy. He's not a typical politician. He doesn't speak like a politician. And people find that appealing in some crazy way. I mean, there's no evidence whatsoever that he's going to be good or get anything done for the people of Texas. And yet there's something about his larger than life nets they respond to.

[Michael]

Well, Republicans respond to this. So if we are in an inflection moment again, where people are moving away from, away from Trump, you have an attractive Democratic candidate and you have a Republican candidate who's alien, certainly alienated independents, certainly alienated Democrats and is now in territory that may well alienate more moderate Republicans. You've created a formula in which you could lose in Texas, which is almost impossible.

[Joanna]

Right. And by the Democratic candidate, you mean James Talarico?

[Michael]

Yes.

[Joanna]

Yeah, the young Christian candidate who was a state senator.

[Michael]

Trump doubling down. He will do. I don't care. Yes, I increase the odds significantly increase the odds that we will lose a Senate seat in Texas, but I don't care.

[Joanna]

It's just, it's a remarkable state of affairs right now. It really is. So, Michael, inside Trump's head, does he see Bill Cassidy losing and Thomas Massie losing and even, you know, Stephen Colbert going off the air tonight. We're recording this on Thursday morning. Does he interpret this as victory for him, that he is still winning? So, yes, there's the macro back background that everything is going wrong, but the micro right now is that he's got little victories he can tick off. The retribution thing, by the way, is James Comey going to apply to the slush fund?

[Michael]

We don't know who can apply for the fund? Anyone? Yes, he can. Yes, James Comey could certainly apply. The decisions in the trust fund will be made by a group of people appointed by Todd Blanche. I mean, this is more.

[Joanna]

Wait, you're speechless. The whole thing is inside the.

[Michael]

I'm trying to figure out. And I don't think anyone can quite express how blatant this grab is that there is nothing about this. There is no cover here. There is no rationale. I mean, Todd Blanch, who was questioned about this in front of Congress, I mean, he looked hopeless, and I think he recognized this is a hopeless situation. There is no logic that can be applied to this. How do you. If you're like us or like anybody trying to cover this, what is the language for a grab like this, which has no rationale, no coverage, no logic, no pretense? We're at that kind of authoritarian moment in which you can't put this into the. In the normal language of politics. There is no process you can say this is part of.

[Joanna]

Right. Well, he must think. He must see this as winning, surely.

[Michael]

Yeah. No, I mean, yes. I mean, he has come up. This is the per. This is. This is the situation that he wants, and he's the judge. I can do anything I want. This would be the perfect example. How do you get to do this? Because I can do anything I want.

[Joanna]

It's such a Putin move, isn't it? Do you think he cares about Putin getting the same treatment in China? I mean, it feels like a rinse and repeat visit. The. The. The images of them being greeted seem very similar. Them clapping and. And all the people waving flags. The flags were different, but essentially it was exactly the same state visit. It appeared.

[Michael]

Yeah, I. I mean, I think that he. I think that he probably calculates the China visit was a. Was. Was neutral or a success for him. I mean, it's a success for him because it was a distraction. It was X number of days in which Iran was not occupying the headlines. And then he's in a position to say, I got everything I want. I got everything. We're friends. We're this. It's back to North Korea and repeating that playbook. We're the best of friends. Xi. Great guy. We had great times, I mean, where nothing remotely changed in the calculation between the US And China. And certainly pay no attention to the fact that China was the one issue, the one fundamental issue of Trumpism. And functionally, the MAGA movement, that's gone by the wayside. China is our friend and partner.

[Joanna]

Well, Andy got to have a vacation with his new buddy. I mean, buddy trip. I mean, what did Tim Cook think? I mean, Tim Cook sitting there alongside Brett Ratner. What is he thinking? Is he just thinking, I can't wait to leave this company behind? I had a great time. I've made A ton of money. I can't wait to hand the keys over. I mean, such a bizarre collection of people. And then to throw Brett Ratner in the mix. It's just nuts.

[Michael]

No, again, it's that thing. What is the language of this? It is completely transparent. No pretense. So how do you do this? Now, you might think that it is easier to express a situation without pretense, that the problem with politics is always that there's pretense. So therefore, you can't. It's very hard to say what's going on, because there are feints here and feints there and hidden agendas and all of the kind of things which give politics a bad name. But suddenly we have this new politics in which there is no hidden agenda because it's out in the open. There is no pretense that it is anything but. It is. There is no convoluted logic to justify it. It's. There. It is sitting in front of your face. Brett Ratner is sitting next to you. The person, this predator who is. Me too. Who is the sleazebut recognized far and wide as the sleaze ball, One of the sleaze balls. One of the biggest sleaze balls in the sleaziest industry on earth. And here he is, the President's best friend.

[Joanna]

But there's such consistency here, because we know Jeffrey Epstein was his best friend. Right. This is who Donald Trump likes hanging out with. He hung out with Jeffrey Epstein for 15 years. He's replaced him with Brett Ratner.

[Michael]

Yeah. And Brett Ratner is a. Is a, you know, is a totally straightforward grab them by the pussy guy. So there is. Yes, they are very comfortable. I mean, this is. There's no coincidence why they. Why they. Why they became friends, why they instantly bonded. They are. They are the same kind of person. Grabbed them by the pussy guys. Hollywood. Love the Hollywood thing.

[Joanna]

And I wonder if Brett Ratner had a crush on Melania. When I was watching the movie, I thought that's what it felt like. Lingering pictures of Melania smoldering. Cause she doesn't say very much other than her husband is unifajer and that she was approving the plans that someone else had already made for. For the inauguration. But it felt like he was sort of enamored of her. And they have that in common. They have Melania in common.

[Michael]

Yeah. I'm not exactly sure how you. I'm not sure that Trump would think of it that way since he doesn't really speak to his wife. So I think I mean, I don't. That seems complicated. And actually when this was, the background of this was explained to me, it was very clear that Trump had nothing to do with selecting Ratner to make Melania the movie. And Trump was completely outside of that.

[Joanna]

So we need to find out why Melania chose him or why Amazon chose Brett Ratner to do this. This. It's very odd because she could have, as the first lady, frankly, have had a pick of a lot of people who could have done this.

[Michael]

Apparently the guy who has become Melania's sort of main advisor, chief of staff, marketing guru, COO of Melania Enterprises, a guy by the name of Mark Beckman, who has been involved in fashion things before, was apparently new Brett Ratner. And that was the connection.

[Joanna]

But can you imagine any other first lady's office approving Brett Ratner? I mean, I'm not saying that Steven Spielberg would have done it, but there are so many directors that could have done this.

[Michael]

Go back to this, this point, which is that there is no pretense. It doesn't matter. We don't have to consider what other people will think or believe and we don't have to have a rationalization, we don't have to have a reason other than this is what we want to do. And Brett Ratner, you know, I mean, Brett Ratner is a, especially for that kind of thing. Melania, the movie, which is all surface. Brett Ratner is a surface director and a very capable. A capable director capable of producing a very, very slick image. So I think from Melania's point of view, what she wanted, this probably works. Although having said that, the movie is totally ridiculous and preposterous and I can't think of it having any other audience except Melania herself.

[Joanna]

Well, I think by the end of it, he developed a sort of fascination with Melania. The more I think about it, and now I think that Trump has sort of made him his best friend. I think that's what's going on there. It's weird. It's just weird. Anyway, what's happening with your own case with Melania? Where are we on that? I think we need an update. I need an update.

[Michael]

Yeah, no, and we should probably spend some time. It's locked in federal court. I mean, this is what we're, you know, it is. The interesting thing is, so it is before a federal judge who has to make certain key procedural decisions before anything else can move forward is she's now had this, this case for coming on three months. She is a Trump appointed judge. So If I had to say, what's the rub here? And you know, federal judges have small staffs, they have a lot to do. Almost all decisions take a long time, but this feels like it's taking longer than, than it should. But, and to note, she is a, she's a judge appointed by Donald Trump. So I would say that this is, if you're a judge appointed by Donald Trump, this is the last case you want to have to decide.

[Joanna]

I cannot imagine anything worse for a judge than being presented with this case.

[Michael]

So this is, this is a problem, a problem for us. And, and it's not that she might decide against us, that would be fine. Because if she decides against us, she's a Trump judge. We just appeal it and, and, you know, entrust that the process would work out. We have a good case, et cetera, et cetera. But what this is, this is almost. Could get to the point where this is almost a pocket veto. She doesn't have to. She literally. There is nothing that makes it incumbent upon this judge to make a decision. I was with my lawyers the other day and I was saying, there must be something. How long can this go on? I'm speaking in frustration. And one of my lawyers said, well, you know, I guess the longest we've known for a decision to be pending is 27 months. So this could, I mean, this is a kind of constant discussion several times a week. How can we move this along? And there really isn't all that. There isn't a lot of recourse here, but as they say. But it could come any minute. Any minute.

[Joanna]

Any minute you could get the call. And of course, Michael, the thing I've missed actually somewhat is I haven't been very good at reading the comments and I've missed, I think, several limericks, but we found two. Garf Reed, obviously our limerick laureate, has one, and also edits C3X. There's a very good one there. All right, I'm going to read Garfried's first. In the ballroom he dreamed of a crown While the pollsters kept dragging him down With Ratner in tow and Epstein steam below he went waltzing through slush as he drowned. Very good, Garfried. And then this is from edits. Well, there Brett was on the China Expedition, the 2026 chapter of a slow walked sedition. BFF of POTUS making his magnum opus, Rush Hour 5, White House edition.

[Michael]

Fantastic.

[Joanna]

Very good, Very good. Rush Hour five, White House edition. Yes. Come on, Brett Rattler, you know you can do it.

[Michael]

Rush Hour. I don't think we pointed out that the Rush Hour connection. So Brett Ratner, exiled from Hollywood, can't get finished, actually. But Melania, the movie revives his career. And then Rush Hour four. There have been Rush Hour one, Rush Hour two, Rush Hour three, Rush Hour four, which he has not been able to get financed for many years now, and many years of trying. Suddenly, after Melania, the movie is picked up by Paramount. Paramount is the studio that has been acquired in the last year by the Ellison family. Larry Ellison, the tech, you know, multi, multi, multi billionaire and friend of Donald Trump's. Not only friend of Donald Trump's, but the person who needed Donald Trump in order to complete the acquisition of Paramount and now the forthcoming acquisition of Warner Brothers, all due to Donald Trump and as a further reward to Donald Trump, and there have been already many. But he gives Donald Trump's friend, BFF Brett Ratner financing for Rush Hour 4. So we can say, what has Donald Trump accomplished in office? Well, at the very least, Rush Hour

[Joanna]

four, Rush Hour four, we should perhaps have a marathon showing of all the rush hours. I mean, if I were someone who'd been me too, just thoroughly as Brett Ratner, I would be offering to help the President, I think, and come back. I mean, what's Billy Bush doing now? Billy Bush, who, you know, was quickly excommunicated from NBC after the grab them by the pussy tape, is still somewhat in the wilderness. I think he's doing his own thing now. But if I were him, I'd put his hand up and I'm sure Donald Trump will find something for him. Well, it's very good to catch up with you. For those of you who've joined us today, thank you. We'll be back on Saturday and we'll be back in the studio on Tuesday. I'm conscious it's Memorial Day. Oh, it's Memorial Weekend, isn't it? There is no such thing in the uk. But I'm looking forward to coming back and being in the studio and being in the data Beast office.

[Michael]

Memorial Day is officially on Monday.

[Joanna]

On Monday, yeah. So you'll have your flag flying.

[Michael]

We will. We will.

[Joanna]

Michael, good to be back and see you on Saturday.

[Michael]

Fantastic. And I'm really glad to see you and really glad that we're back in the swing of it.

[Joanna]

So the good news is we have so many Beast Tier members now, there are too many names to read out. And we really appreciate your support. Thanks to our production team. Ryan Murray, Rachel Passer, Heather Passaro, Neil Rosenhaus.