Inside Trump’s Head – Episode Summary

Episode: "Trump Going off His Rocker as Judges Say No: Wolff"
Date: September 5, 2025
Hosts: Michael Wolff & Joanna Coles
Podcast: Inside Trump’s Head

Main Theme / Purpose

This episode delves deep into Donald Trump’s psychological and political response to opposition—specifically, the ramifications when legal institutions, particularly federal judges, say “no” to him. Wolff and Coles analyze the systemic consequences of Trump’s combative style, the evolving American political landscape, threats to democratic institutions, and the uneasy role of opposition within the administration and the courts. The conversation moves from granular policy disputes around tariffs and National Guard deployments to philosophical questions: Is this autocracy, fascism, or the lasting legacy of Trumpism?

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Reaction to Being Told “No”

• “The chemistry of ‘no’ for Donald Trump is combustible.” (Joanna Coles, 02:14)
• Wolff recounts the aftermath of a federal court invalidating Trump’s key tariff policies, explaining that tariffs were unilaterally determined by Trump without the usual economic or legislative process.
• White House insiders describe Trump’s response as volatile:
  • “When someone does say no, he flies into a rage. He goes off his rocker.” (Michael Wolff, 05:17)
  • This tendency is longstanding; Steve Bannon advised never to directly oppose Trump.

2. Policy by Exception: Exploiting “Soft Language” in Law

• Wolff breaks down how Trump and his administration justify overreach:
  • They search for legal “soft language,” such as crisis exceptions, to rationalize unilateral actions (e.g., tariffs, National Guard deployments).
  • “The person who can define the crisis is the President of the United States and only him. So this is entirely circular…” (Michael Wolff, 09:43)

3. The Role and Stress on Courts as the Last Check

• Judges are experiencing unprecedented intimidation, both institutionally and personally.
  • “The courts for the first time are in the position of being consistently intimidated by the President and then defied.” (Michael Wolff, 11:31)
  • Concern for judges’ safety: “He calls them out, they get doxed online, it’s intimidating, their families get intimidated.” (Joanna Coles, 12:12)

4. Is This Autocracy or Fascism?

• They grapple with terminology and the erosion of democratic norms:
  • “You have to get to the point and say, yes, this is autocracy. This is fascism in a kind of classic sense of one-man rule…” (Michael Wolff, 13:17)
  • Joanna speculates about whether American institutions will hold: “The systems haven’t held, institutions haven’t held.” (Joanna Coles, 15:47)

5. Performative Actions vs Reality

• Trump’s declaration to put troops in the streets and other shows of authority are often more performative than substantive.
  • “The announcements putting troops in the streets… there aren’t that many troops.” (Michael Wolff, 21:09)
  • Even Trump’s critics in LA “didn’t even know they were there.” (Joanna Coles, 21:20)
• Yet, Wolff warns that Trump’s recent behavior is shifting from mere performance to real, dangerous hubris.

6. Foreign Policy Realignment

• Discussion of the Shanghai conference: Xi Jinping, Modi, Putin, and the implications of Trump wanting to align with authoritarian leaders.
  • “Everything that… has kept world peace for the last 70 years… is no longer operative.” (Michael Wolff, 23:09)
  • “Empowering our traditional enemies, empowering Vladimir Putin…” (Michael Wolff, 24:23)

7. Democratic Opposition’s Weakness

• Democrats struggle to communicate on Trump's terms:
  • “There is…that somebody is understanding that Donald Trump speaks in a different language, that…Democrats have to be responsive in some way that they haven’t been.” (Michael Wolff, 26:28)
  • Anecdote about a “likely Democratic presidential candidate” who is “a complete dweeber” (27:33), underscoring the lack of compelling opposition rhetoric.

8. Trump’s Media & Attention Dominance

• Trump’s constant drama ensures he monopolizes attention, reducing substantive debate, and stifling alternative political arguments.
  • “Attention is the currency of our time…He gets it. Nobody else gets it.” (Michael Wolff, 25:08)
  • Joanna: “The audience has stopped hearing the familiar language of politics and they like what he's saying, right?” (29:09)
  • Wolff counters: “It's not a question of like, it's a question of attention. You don't like a car crash, but you know, you're going to look at it. And that's what he understands.” (Michael Wolff, 29:22)

9. Electoral Prospects & Fears for the Future

• Wolff sees 2026 as a crucial test: “If he loses his majority in the House in 2026, then that would seem to me a new ball game. However, of course, he's going to do everything possible...to construct a rationale for interfering in this election in his favour.” (Michael Wolff, 16:58)
• Coles worries about both violent and systemic subversion if Trump’s power is threatened.

10. Audience Question: How Worried Should We Be?

• Coles: “We have to be worried.” (33:19)
• Wolff: “We have to be worried.” (33:20)
• They close the episode acknowledging a collective sense of alarm and urging listeners to reflect and respond.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You can’t say no to him…And when someone does say no, he flies into a rage. He goes off his rocker.”
  —Michael Wolff (05:17)

• “Is this actually what an autocracy looks like?”
  —Joanna Coles (12:29)

• “You have to get to the point and say, yes, this is autocracy. This is fascism.”
  —Michael Wolff (13:17)

• “Attention is the currency of our time…He gets it. Nobody else gets it.”
  —Michael Wolff (25:08)

• “It is alarming. And I, too, am a fundamental optimist…I have always basically believed…this would all somehow pass. Recently I’ve been…not sure that is so reassuring anymore.”
  —Michael Wolff (20:29, 21:37)

• “We have to be worried.”
  —Joanna Coles & Michael Wolff (33:20)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:49 – Framing the episode: “What happens when people say no to Trump?”
• 02:51 – Trump’s unilateral approach to tariffs and economic policy
• 05:13 – Trump’s fury and instability when opposed; Bannon anecdote
• 09:43 – Legal justifications and “soft language” as end-runs around checks/balances
• 12:12 – Judicial intimidation and safety concerns
• 13:17 – Naming the regime: autocracy and fascism
• 21:09 – The distinction between performance and actual implementation
• 23:09 – Foreign policy upheaval and new alliances
• 25:08 – Dominance of attention and the impossibility of alternative arguments
• 26:28 – Democrats’ language problem; anecdote of a “boring” presidential hopeful
• 29:22 – The public’s fixation on Trump as spectacle, not on substance
• 31:38 – Elon Musk’s “America Party” and political meddling
• 33:19 – Climax: “We have to be worried.”

Tone & Style

The episode is frank, analytic, and sometimes darkly humorous, blending Wolff’s world-weary cynicism with Coles’s pointed curiosity. Their exchanges include vivid anecdotes, policy analysis, and speculation about the broader meaning of the Trump era.

In Essence

Wolff and Coles deliver a sobering take on the American political crisis, dissecting Trump’s psychology and its ever-widening effects on governance, institutions, and the very possibility of opposition. They argue that Trump’s disregard for limits, obsession with winning, and mastery of attention have placed the US—and its democracy—in uncharted, perilous waters.

Listener Prompt:
The hosts encourage feedback: How worried are you? What do you make of the institutional collapse and Trump’s one-man rule?