The Daily Beast Podcast

Episode Title: Why Megalomaniac Trump Is Wrecking Kennedy Center
Host: Joanna Coles
Guest: Michael Wolff
Date: February 6, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the chaos and fallout surrounding Donald Trump’s attempt to rebrand the Kennedy Center as the "Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts." Hosts Joanna Coles and Michael Wolff discuss the megalomaniacal tendencies behind the move, broader Trumpian modes of distraction and denial (especially regarding the Epstein files), and the ripple effects across American politics, law, and culture. The episode also delves into the intersections of power, loyalty, and scandal—from Peter Mandelson’s Epstein connection to recent Harvard battles, the fate of major institutions under Trump’s whims, and the bizarre rise (and possible fall) of figures like Tulsi Gabbard.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Kennedy Center Fixation

• Trump’s Initial Plan: Wanted to rename the Kennedy Center after himself, initially proposing "the Trump Center." After some pushback, he settled for the more absurdly titled "Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center" ([01:17], [24:15]).
  • Joanna: "His first idea was not to call this the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy center... His first idea was to call this the Trump Center. He said, why does this have to be... Kennedy? That was such a long time ago and I was almost assassinated." ([01:17], [25:04])
  • Michael: "Oh my goodness, that's why he said it." ([01:39], [25:37])
• Decision-making Style: Trump is described as going "for the absurd and settles for the outlandish," always withdrawing from his most extreme positions just enough to appear “reasonable” to his circle ([01:42], [25:43]).
• Chaotic Impact: The renaming and Trump’s presence lead to a mass exodus of performers and audiences, as the institution becomes seen as an explicit MAGA bastion ([27:47]).

2. The Epstein Files Fallout

• The release of the Epstein files continues to erode trust and implicate influential figures, with Trump and his White House in total denial mode ([04:00]).
  • Joanna: "The White House is an Epstein free zone. You can't bring up Epstein. It is as though it doesn't exist..."
  • Michael: "It remains that one thing at the center... they can't get around. They can't get through. They can't come up with a distraction..." ([04:00])
• Kaitlan Collins’ Challenge: When faced with questions about Epstein, Trump responds by personally attacking female reporters (specifically telling Collins to smile), successfully distracting from the substance ([10:36]–[11:51]).
  • Joanna: "He manages not to answer any questions about Epstein. And in a way, it actually does work." ([11:07])
• Epstein’s Network: Connections extend to Deepak Chopra, Peter Mandelson, Peter Attia, and law firm leaders—exposing the pervasiveness of elite mutual entanglement.
  • Michael: “Amongst these 3 million files are caches of emails with Deepak Chopra. No one saw that coming, the spiritual leader of the grifters.” ([05:41])
  • Deepak’s emails with Epstein, involving crude jokes and philosophical exchanges, are read and dissected ([07:23]).
  • Joanna reiterates the key theme: “Everybody who came to Jeffrey Epstein’s... is a source about Trump. All of these people track back to each other. That is really what’s the message of this entire Epstein story.” ([09:18])

3. British and American Political Collateral

• Peter Mandelson’s Scandal: Long-known connections to Epstein resurface with evidence Mandelson provided information to Epstein for payment (approx. $75,000) while in government ([14:59]–[17:18]).

  • Joanna: "This could send Peter Mandelson to jail, it might well appear to be some kind of insider trading..." ([17:18])
  • Michael: "He was on a government minister's salary... Who would say that out loud? In what world is he living?" ([16:02])

• Law Firms Bow to Trump: Brad Karp (Paul Weiss) resigns after emails surface showing professional favors and his firm’s capitulation to Trump under threat ([20:21]–[23:53]).

  • Joanna: "Paul Weiss is the first and the most prominent law firm to have bent the knee to Donald Trump... paid off the government... under Brad's leadership." ([20:36], [21:24])

4. Institutional Chaos and Downfall

• Cultural Fallout at Kennedy Center: With the Trump rebranding, the US’s premier performing arts venue loses its reputation and participants ([24:13]–[27:47]).
  • “Every performer departs... audience departs... Because if you go to the Kennedy center, it just identifies you as... a MAGA person.” ([27:47])
• Potential Future: The building’s modernist design is to be gutted and redone in "imperial neoclassical style," repositioning the center for spectacles rather than the arts.
  • Joanna: “It will be rebuilt in imperial neoclassical style and its function will change... When it reopens... the Trump Center.” ([34:50], [35:35])
• Congress Side-stepped: Trump is remaking Washington (including the East Wing) with no effective oversight or checks. ([36:52])
  • Michael: “He’s totally driven a coach and horses through any permission needed from Congress.” ([36:52])

5. The Tulsi Gabbard Mystery

• Gabbard, now apparently head of National Intelligence, is the subject of a classified whistleblower complaint so sensitive almost nothing is publicly known ([37:13]–[43:03]).
  • Joanna: "The Tulsi Gabbard story is a fantastic one... she is a bizarre character to be head of National Intelligence. Last spotted... overseeing the FBI, taking receipt of boxes of ballots..." ([38:03])
  • The hosts trace her journey from “Democratic oddity” to MAGA insider, with entrepreneurial opportunism flagged as her guiding principle ([39:41]).
  • Speculation that the complaint concerns her alleged status as a Russian asset ([37:49]).

6. Corruption as the New Normal

• “Corruption is the currency of success.”—Joanna ([43:17]).
• Individuals now rise because of exposure and scandal, rather than in spite of it.
• Other examples: ICE leadership, Minneapolis, ongoing unrest and ICE’s ineffectiveness ([43:50]–[44:44]).

7. Harvard: The Next Target

• Trump targets Harvard (originally demanding a $200 million settlement, then raising it to $1 billion) as part of his anti-elite crusade ([48:28]–[54:05]).
  • Joanna: “Inside Trump’s head, he cannot look weak, he cannot look like he has compromised in any sense. He cannot do what would be to his political advantage.” ([48:28])
• Despite mediation by donors like Stephen Schwarzman, Trump escalates the standoff, leading to a no-win situation for both sides.
• Michael: "He's like a spiteful five year old boy that no one is able to control. The parents have given up. The parents, i.e. Congress, have completely given up..." ([55:14]–[55:24])

8. Loyalty and Logic in Trumpworld

• Joanna: "What you have to get to, to be fully inside Donald Trump’s head is a world in which there is no logic, in which he will put his name on the Kennedy center..." ([54:16])
• Discussion of prominent Republicans (e.g. Elise Stefanik) and cabinet hopefuls suffering the consequences of “one-way” loyalty ([52:52]–[54:16]).
• Personal reflections: surviving as a Trump ally means accepting irrationality as a condition of power ([28:14]).

9. Cultural and Social Asides

• Literary fun: Listeners submit limericks and haikus about politics ([58:12]–[59:32]).
• Commentary on public figures’ personal lives—Melinda Gates and Mackenzie Bezos ([56:55]–[58:12]).
• The enduring, tragic farce of government by “one man”—Trump ([55:27]–[56:14]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trump’s style:

  "He goes for the absurd and he settles for the outlandish." – Joanna ([01:42])
  "Trump is like a spiteful five year old boy that no one is able to control." – Michael ([55:14])

• On the Kennedy Center debacle:

  "If you go to the Kennedy Center, it just identifies you as a MAGA person. So therefore, it can't operate." – Joanna ([27:47])
  "Does that sound like an idea popular with anyone?" – Joanna ([24:17])

• On the Epstein story:

  "Everybody who came to Jeffrey Epstein’s actually, in their own way, is a source about Trump. ...All of these people are intertwined." – Joanna ([09:18])
  "The spiritual leader of the grifter set." – Michael, on Deepak Chopra ([07:16])

• On corruption:

  "Corruption is the currency of success." – Joanna ([43:17])

• On the new normal in Trumpworld:

  "Individuals rise because of exposure and scandal, rather than in spite of it." ([43:50])
  "No plan, no strategy. ...We are all beholden to one man, as you're always saying: Government of one." – Michael ([55:27])

• On the futility of logic:

  "There is no logic, in which he will put his name on the Kennedy Center... creating again the situation which he will not be able to get out of until he embarrasses himself again." – Joanna ([54:16])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Trump’s Outlandish Kennedy Center Plan: [01:17], [24:15]
• Epstein and White House Denial: [04:00]
• Epstein Files, Deepak Chopra, and the Power Web: [05:41]–[09:18]
• Handling the Epstein Question in Press: [10:36]–[11:51]
• Peter Mandelson’s Downfall: [14:59]–[17:18]
• Paul Weiss Law Firm Scandal: [20:21]–[23:53]
• Cultural Devastation at Kennedy Center: [24:13]–[27:47], [34:50], [35:35]
• Tulsi Gabbard Intelligence Scandal: [37:13]–[43:03]
• Harvard Saga – Trump’s Billion-Dollar Grievance: [48:28]–[54:05]
• Trump’s Leadership Style and Fallout: [54:16]–[56:14]
• Listener Poetry and Lighter Moments: [58:12]–[59:41]

Episode Tone

Witty, irreverent, and piercing—the hosts blend droll mockery with genuine alarm at Trump’s destructiveness and the normalization of corruption and irrationality at the highest levels of politics and culture.

Summary Takeaway

This episode underscores how Trump’s egomania, unchecked impulses, and need for spectacle are transforming not just Washington’s cultural landmarks, but the very notion of institutional integrity. Through sharp, at times blackly humorous conversation, Joanna Coles and Michael Wolff trace a broad web of complicity, cynicism, and collapse that reaches from the Kennedy Center’s empty stages to the heart of American (and British) public life.