Trump’s Senioritis

Summary

What A Day — "Trump’s Senioritis" (June 12, 2026)

Episode Overview

This episode explores President Donald Trump's apparent disengagement and lack of focus—a case of "senioritis"—as he enters a tumultuous phase of his second term. Host Jane Coaston and guest Tim Miller (from The Bulwark Podcast) dissect Trump's checked-out persona, ongoing controversies, and how his behavior is shaping politics, policy, and public perception. The episode blends sharp analysis with the hosts’ signature wit and exasperation, all while breaking down why Trump appears to have abandoned any semblance of governing in favor of leisure, personal gain, and sporadic, ill-conceived initiatives.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Trump’s Checked-Out Attitude

• Theme: Trump is no longer engaged in the responsibilities of the presidency, showing signs of disinterest akin to senior year "senioritis".
• Jane summarizes the mood:

  “But Trump doesn’t seem to care about anything besides going to sporting events and napping and occasionally finding ways to combine the two, like when he slept through an NBA Finals game.” (03:51)

• The only event Trump seems focused on: his birthday party at the White House, masquerading as an "America's birthday" event, featuring “shirtless men…oiled up and fighting for him.” (05:20)

Legislative and Administrative Chaos

• Trump has let key provisions like Section 702 of FISA lapse, partly due to poor appointments (e.g. meme stock enthusiast Bill Pulte as DNI).
• Federal courts have blocked his administration’s controversial “slush fund”.
• Inflation has hit a three-year high—with Trump declaring, "I love the inflation." (11:14)
• War with Iran continues amid vacillation and inaction, with Trump repeatedly (38+ times) claiming a peace deal is imminent—without progress.

The “Looting Phase” of the Trump Presidency

• Tim lays it out:

  “Trump has this handful of things he cares about… If you want to be corrupt, if you want to do whatever you want, you can go ahead and press forward and get as rich as you can. Do it now before the adults get back in charge, assuming they ever do.” (07:57)

• The sense is the current regime is allowing allies and insiders to profit “while the getting’s good.”

Declining Public Approval & Transactional Politics

• Recent polling shows drops in Trump’s support, especially among independents and voters without college degrees (01:47).
• Tim explains:

  “The last people in the boat are the first ones off.” (12:04) Many had a “transactional relationship” with Trump—they want lower prices, fewer wars, etc.—and are disappointed as those aren’t delivered.

• War with Iran has split Trump’s base into dissatisfied camps (pro-Israel mega-donors versus antiwar conservatives).

What Happens Next?

• If Democrats reclaim Congress, Tim predicts “a miserable two years for Trump on the Hill”: non-stop investigations, blocked nominations, stymied agendas (14:53).
• However, with Trump “checked out,” the threat is anything requiring real leadership—Tim warns, “there’s not been this big external crisis… Thinking about Trump managing… it’s hard to even contemplate how Trump would handle something like that.” (15:52)

The Absurd Priorities of Trump’s Team

• The only legislative push of note: increased funding for ICE and Border Patrol—otherwise described as “the looting phase.”
• Jane’s take:

  “He’s checked out in a way… you would see… in the last two weeks after the next presidential election… but you’ve got two more years.” (07:03)

Humor and Dark Relief

• The hosts vacillate between alarm and semi-relief that Trump is more interested in parties, architecture, and naps than pursuing extreme policy goals.
• Jane:

  “So if it’s between masked ARM agents in American cities and letting him turn the reflecting pool blue, I, you know, sure, have a pool.” (18:01)

• Tim invokes Arrested Development:

  “Blue yourself. As Tobias Funk would say, blue yourself, Trump.” (18:15)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tim Miller, on the current state of Trump’s presidency:

  “It's kind of the looting phase.” (08:26)

• Jane Coaston, on Trump’s disconnection:

  “The degree to which Tim, he doesn’t give a fuck is actually kind of remarkable.” (06:46)

• On transactional Trump voters:

  “These folks who had a transactional relationship, a lot of them are, like, not happy with what is happening.” —Tim Miller (12:18)

• On Congressional gridlock:

  “It will be investigations, will be hearings, will be blocking him from doing things he wants to do…” —Tim Miller (14:58)

• On preferred presidential inactivity:

  “With Trump, it’s like, yeah, take naps, look at some architecture, go nuts, because all of your actual ideas are awful.” —Jane Coaston (16:46)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------| | 00:22-01:09 | Overview — Jane sets the scene and headlines | | 01:47 | Polling: Growing discontent among Trump’s base | | 03:51 | “Trump doesn’t seem to care” — intro to senioritis| | 05:20 | Tim: Trump’s focus on his birthday party | | 06:46 | Jane: Trump’s total detachment | | 07:57 | Tim: “Looting phase” and unchecked corruption | | 11:14 | Jane: Trump's magical realism about bad news | | 12:04 | Tim: Transactional relationships, base discontent | | 14:53 | Tim: What if Congress flips? Projections ahead | | 15:52 | Tim: Worry about Trump handling a real crisis | | 18:01 | Jane: Between evil policies and blue pools | | 18:15 | Tim's “Blue yourself” (pop culture reference) |

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Conclusion & Takeaway

This episode makes clear that much of the turmoil of Trump’s second term stems from his utter disengagement and lack of policy ambition—except regarding self-enrichment and the interests of cronies. While this senescence sometimes feels like a relief (compared to active malevolence), it’s also deeply unsettling given the ongoing crises and atrophying leadership. If a true national emergency hits, both Jane and Tim agree: there’s every reason to worry about the results.

The episode’s tone mixes incredulity, gallows humor, and worried pragmatism, offering both catharsis and insight for listeners navigating the strange landscape of late-stage Trumpism.

Transcript

[Tim Miller]

Trump has this handful of things he cares about besides that. You know, if you want to be corrupt, if you want to do whatever you want, you can go ahead and press forward and get as rich as you can. Do it now before the adults get back in charge, assuming they ever do.

[Jane Coaston]

I'm Jane Costen, and this is what a day. The show saluting the University of Kansas marching band. Because Lawrence, Kansas, home of the University of Kansas, is the World cup base for the Algerian soccer team. So the entire city and the band has made the Algerian team feel right at home, like by learning and playing the Algerian national anthem for the team's training session on Thursday. On today's show, the Bulwarks Tim Miller answers my biggest question of the week. Is President Donald Trump just totally checked out? Now, before we get into all that, here's what we're following today, Friday, June 12th.

[Tim Miller]

And let me tell you, if people had told me this was gonna happen, I was like, man, you must be smoking some really good crack, because I think this company's gonna fail.

[Jane Coaston]

One of the world's most insufferable men just became even more insufferable. Shares of SpaceX soared in its Wall street debut, making the rocket maker CEO Elon Musk the first ever trillionaire. Just what Musk needs, more money. Musk marked the opening of trading on Nasdaq by joining a ceremonial bell ringing from Starbase, the South Texas home of SpaceX. Musk says SpaceX is going public now because it needs money to fund its ambitions, like establishing a colony of people on Mars. And I'm sure he doesn't mind being called a trillionaire, though he is Exhibit 900 that money doesn't make you happy or cool or interesting. Pakistan's prime minister said today the US And Iran have agreed to wording of an agreement aimed at ending the war, and that mediators were working with both sides to finalize a deal, the prime minister wrote on Twitter. Peace has never been this close as it is now. The apparent breakthrough in negotiations comes after Iran exchanged fire with the US And Israel over three days this week. At the time of our recording, there was no immediate comment from US Or Iranian leaders on the prime minister's statement. Independents, like most of America, have grown increasingly unhappy with Trump during his second term. That's according to a new AP NORC polling analysis that found there was a drop in approval with people who don't have a college degree. But Republican National Committee Chair Joe Grutters didn't seem too fazed when talking to Newsmax on Friday. What do you make of this? And could this be trouble for November?

[Tim Miller]

No, I don't necessarily believe any of those polls. I believe an Election Day is what really matters.

[Jane Coaston]

The analysis aggregated polls conducted between July 2024 and April 2026, allowing for a deeper look at how support for Trump changed during several distinct periods. You know, like when the big beautiful bill passed, or when the longest government shutdown ever happened, or when Trump went to war with Iran for who knows what reason. A federal judge agreed to extend a court ordered block on the Trump administration's $1.776 billion slush funding. You know, the ones set up to compensate people who claim to be victims of a weaponized government. If you're listening to this, just know I'm rolling my eyes. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress earlier this month that the government was scrapping plans for the fund. But not everyone is buying his assurances that it won't move forward, including the judge whose ruling today means the slush fund will remain blocked until further notice from the court. And that's the news. Let's talk about what a tough week our commander in chief just had from planning UFC fights no one seems very excited about. To the potential end of warrantless surveillance because of an unpopular Trump hire to new and very bad inflation numbers that Trump loves. Our dear president has been taking some Ls and that doesn't even include his continued dithering on the war in Iran. In the last two months, Trump has declared that he's close to a deal more than 38 times, according to CNN, and yet no deal has materialized. But Trump doesn't seem to care about anything besides going to sporting events and napping and occasionally finding ways to combine the two, like when he slept through an NBA Finals game. For millions of Americans, life feels more unaffordable than ever before. And the politician who promised to lower prices on day one is checked out. So to talk more about Donald Trump's apparent case of senioritis, I called Tim Miller, who host of the Bulwark Podcast. Tim, welcome back to what a Day.

[Tim Miller]

Good to be with you. What a Day.

[Jane Coaston]

So things have not gone as planned for President Trump this week in pretty much any way, shape or form. The controversial Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance act looks certain to expire tonight, which is exciting for me, but not exciting for the White House. Inflation hit a three year high, we're still at war with Iran. And somehow I don't know if you've noticed this. It doesn't seem Like Trump cares about any of this. Is he just, like, checked out? Is this, like, elderly senioritis? Is this just it?

[Tim Miller]

Yeah. I hate to be disagreeable with you on the first question, but I think one thing did work out for him this week is he still gets to have his birthday party at the White House, and he's pretending it's America's birthday party and it's gonna be actually a party for him, and shirtless men are going to get oiled up and fight for him. And I think that's what he cares about right now. I just. I do.

[Jane Coaston]

Yeah. I mean, I was joking with the team earlier that all he seems to want to do is watch sports and take naps, which same. Absolutely hard same, actually.

[Tim Miller]

But, you know, I didn't run for President of the United States, so. No, look, and he's got that ongoing. The ongoing corruption and grift of the family is moving apace. I do think he's annoyed with the Iran war. I think, all things considered, he'd rather stop having generals, like, come into his office and give him briefings with maps and documents that he doesn't read. Right. I don't think he cares about the war at all anymore. And yet the Iranians are not letting him out of this problem that he's created for himself as easily as he'd wish. But besides that, does he care about the rest of that stuff? I don't think so. Really?

[Jane Coaston]

I remember back in 2016, 2017, where it felt like Trump viewed winning the White House as like, winning an Olympic gold medal, where, like, you don't have to do anything after that. That's just like, you know, you get a parade and everybody's really excited for you, and you can just say, like,

[Tim Miller]

put you on the Wheaties box.

[Jane Coaston]

Yeah. Like, you get a Wheaties box and everybody's pumped, but, like, there's no, like, job you have to do after that. And it does seem to me that he had, you know, the, like, affordability and all of that stuff. Like, it just. The degree to which Tim. He doesn't give a fuck is actually kind of remarkable. Like, he is checked out in a way that you would see. Like, not even, like a lame duck president. He's checked out in the way you would be in, like, the last two weeks after the next presidential election, where it's like your staffers are cleaning up their offices level. But it's like, you've got two more years. We're gonna be doing this for a while.

[Tim Miller]

Way too long. We're gonna be doing it for way too long. I know he said inflation's a good thing. And I guess it doesn't seem like he's checked out of his, you know, construction and architecture projects.

[Jane Coaston]

He does care about, cares very deeply about that.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah, that the reflecting pool looking nice and, and I think that, you know, the people around him all have their own objectives that are, you know, varying degrees of malicious that they would like to, you know, make sure get taken care of over the course of the next few years. I don't know, I was thinking I had Jason Calacanis from the all in podcast that's a kind of pro Trumpy tech podcast on the POD this week. And, and I was asking him if the tech CEOs realize that the backlash that's coming for them. And I had this realization, which is kind of like maybe they do realize it, but they just kind of see this next two and a half years as this is the time to get while the getting's good. And I think that's just the reality of where we are. Trump has this handful of things he cares about besides that. If you want to be corrupt, if you want to do whatever you want, you can go ahead and press forward and get as rich as you can. Do it now before the adults get back in charge, assuming they ever do. And, and I just think that's kind of the phase of the presidency we're in right now. It's kind of the looting phase.

[Jane Coaston]

We'll get back to my conversation with Tim Miller in a moment because unlike Donald Trump, I stick to my promises. If you like the show, make sure to subscribe. Leave a five star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Watch us on YouTube and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. What a day is brought to you by Aura Frames. Aura Frames keeps you and your dad connected. I don't live close to my dad. He lives thousands of miles away. But with my Aura Frame, he's always nearby. With Aura Frames, you get free unlimited storage. Add as many photos and videos as you want and you can preload photos before it ships. Keep adding from anywhere, anytime. Aura makes it so easy to shop for dad named number one by Wirecutter. You can save now by visiting auraframes.com for a limited time. Listeners can get $35 off of select frames with code WADE. That's auraframes.com promo code WAD. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Wadaday is brought to you by Oneskin. You've heard me Talk about Oneskin before and whether you're someone who tries every new skincare product that hits the market or you've been using the same one or two things for years, at some point most of us realize our skin just isn't keeping up the way it used to. That's what Oneskin changed for me. It didn't just make my existing routine better, it actually works differently than anything else I've tried. The OSO1 moisturizer has been a game changer for my skin, making me feel more confident in everyday life. And this isn't just my experience. Oneskin's results are backed by four peer reviewed clinical studies, over 10,000 five star reviews, and they've been recognized by Bloomberg as a leader in skin longevity. You really don't need a complicated routine to get healthier, younger looking skin. Born from over a decade of longevity research, Wonskin's OSO1 peptide is proven to target the visible signs of aging, helping you unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. For a limited time, try OneSkin with 15% off using code WADONESKINCO WAD. That's 15% off at OneSkin Co with code Wad. After you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them

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[Jane Coaston]

Now back to my conversation with Tim Miller. Now this is not new with Trump, which because Trump believes firmly in magical realism and he seems to be in denial about how bad things are or that things could be bad in a way that has anything to do with him. He keeps saying we're close to a peace deal with Iran for I think the 38th or 39th time since this war began, it's pretty clear we are not, as you mentioned when he was asked about the new inflation numbers on Thursday, he said, quote, I love the inflation. Now I know that whenever we talk about Trump's base, I always want to separate. Like there's the base, the people who go to like rallies and are obsessed with him and will do whatever he wants that's not how most people who vote for him think about things. They are like we want stuff. You said you give us stuff. How is it landing with those people?

[Tim Miller]

Look, I think that basically what you're seeing right now is the last people in the boat are the first ones off. And I think that you see a lot of folks that thought that there was, as you mentioned, more of a transactional relationship with this, which is like I want cheaper stuff for me or I want better job opportunities for me or I don't want us to get into stupid wars because that is something that I believe or because I'm a young man and I'm worried I'm going to get drafted into a stupid war. These folks who had a transactional relationship, a lot of them are like not happy with what is happening. And I think that the Iran war in particular is one area where not, not the whole party but a lot of people had a transactional relationship one way on both sides of it, right? Like the pro Israel folks, Miriam Adelson's of the world have a literal transactional relationship. I put hundreds of millions of dollars into your campaign and I expect you to be pro Israel and then you have the Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly types like we are, you know, have said that we're anti war and part of the deal was you were going to be the president that was not a neocon that did not do the wars. And so both of those factions within his base at various times, depending on how he acts with the Iran war, get mad at him. And I think that is why he's kind of backed into a corner on this topic in particular because he doesn't get to do the magical realism because the people that have a transactional relationship with him actually wanted a real result. And that's different from the way that he can BS and spin them on stuff where they don't care that much.

[Jane Coaston]

As we know, Trump has made most of his problems all by himself. And I think section 702 is a great example. The reason why that is probably going to expire is cuz he picked someone with no national security experience to be Acting Director of National Intelligence. I mean Bill Pulte as far as I know is best known for bringing poster boards to Mar A Lago to explain why There should be 50 year mortgages, which is not what you need in a dni. I'm just gonna say that not not what I would go for.

[Tim Miller]

He also was really into meme stonks,

[Jane Coaston]

like really into meme stocks, like really into to a degree I find concerning. And I think meme stocks are concerning. So, like, you know, you got the war in Iran, which he's just like, we're in, we're out, we're in, we're out. And like, you can kind of see, I mean, you and I probably follow a bunch of the same kind of like neoconservative folks who are like, what are we even doing here? Like, what, what is this plan? Are you gonna pay them now? Is this gonna be as bad as that deal we hated that Obama did, that we all were about and so is he. So nobody's happy. But again, we still have to deal with this for like two odd years. If it's June of 2026 and Trump is deep in like, have a great summer, see you next fall level senioritis, what does this mean for the next two odd years, especially if Congress changes hands?

[Tim Miller]

Yeah, well, I think John Cornyn told him that the next two years are going to be pretty miserable for him. And the way John Cornyn framed that is as he has Congress brain, Senate brain. And so I think it will be a miserable two years for Trump on the Hill. If the Democrats take control, which I expect they will, it will be investigations, will be hearings, will be blocking him from doing things he wants to do, preventing him from getting people appointed to positions that require confirmation. But that takes you back to the senioritis. Does Trump care about any of that?

[Jane Coaston]

Yeah, he just wants to get rich at this point. I'm like, it's just money.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah. So it's not like he has bills he wants to pass because he doesn't care about people. And so his frame for this, I think is different than John Cornyn's frame. I will say the scary part of this is that this is going to feel weird, probably to some listeners, but we've gotten kind of lucky. You rightly are pointing out that all of Trump's problems in this term are of his own making. For the most part. The economic problems he caused with the tariffs and this war, his own corruption, there has not been a Covid, really. We'll keep an eye on Ebola, keep an eye on the worm that's happening in Texas. But there's not been this big external crisis being caused by something else. That usually happens in a presidential term. The world is complicated and life is hard and bad things happen. Thinking about Trump managing, you mentioned the FISA expiring. What if there's a terrorist attack here? What if there's an Iranian based attack on the homeland it's hard to even contemplate how Trump would handle something like that. And I think that's the kind of scary part of the two years ahead.

[Jane Coaston]

Yeah, I mean, that is scary. It's also funny to be thinking about how, like, I was mentioning to someone, you know, I keep joking about how I want Kash Patel to go to hockey games and MMA fights and not do his job because what he actually wants to do is terrible.

[Tim Miller]

Right.

[Jane Coaston]

And with Trump, it's like, yeah, take naps, look at some architecture, go nuts, because all of your actual ideas are awful. So it's this weird moment where I'm like, yes, it's terrible that he's checked out and putting the homeland at risk, but also, I'm kind of glad in

[Tim Miller]

a way, like, and they have no policies. They just did reconciliation this week, and obviously now that people's eyes glaze over. But, like, it's the one bill where they only need 50 votes in the Senate because of stupid Senate rules. Like, that's all people need to know. And what did they decide to put in it? It's just funding for ICE and Border Patrol. That's all. We have all these crises happening, and the only thing, the one bill that they can pass because they don't need Democrats at all, is all they did was fund immigration. And they wanted to fund the ballroom, too, but the handful of Republican senators were like, I don't think so. And they wanted to fund the slush fund. Those were Trump's ideas. When you say he has no ideas, if he was able to do what he could, it would be more Minneapolises, more mass deportations, more masked guys in the streets, money for all that, more private prisons, and then more goodies for his insurrectionist friends and new fancy things to build in D.C. those are his ideas. That's what he's got left.

[Jane Coaston]

Yeah. So if it's between masked ARM agents in American cities and letting him turn the reflecting pool blue, I, you know, sure, have a pool.

[Tim Miller]

Blue yourself. As Tobias Funk would say, blue yourself, Trump.

[Jane Coaston]

What a great show, Tim, as always. Thank you for joining me.

[Tim Miller]

Thank you, Jane. We'll see you soon.

[Jane Coaston]

That was my conversation with Tim Miller. He's the host of the Bulwark Podcast. Before we go, Pride month is here. Time to dress like it. This season, the crooked store is dropping gayer than ever in two brand new designs and bringing back an old favorite, the Gay for Democracy shirt. Plus, classics like Dreamboat Willie return in a new colorway alongside the ever reliable Join or Die tee. Whether you're celebrating with your community, showing up to protest or guilting your straight friends into buying you crooked merch in the name of gay rights? There's something here to match your Pride Month style. And let's be honest, pride doesn't end you'll be wearing these long after June. Head to crooked.comstoreteshop that's all for today. If you like this show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, enjoy not watching a UFC fight at the White House and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading, I'm not just about how I am not watching a UFC fight on the White House lawn that's intended to be a birthday present for Donald Trump and available on a streaming service most people don't have like me, Water Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and [e-mail] subscribe I'm Jane Coston, and UFC president Dana White said that he predicts super bowl level viewership numbers for this fight card, which just proves once again that someone here is out of touch with everyday Americans. And how many people actually subscribe to Paramount. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. Our show is produced by Caitlin Plummer, Emily Foer, Erica Morrison and Adrienne Hill. Our team includes Haley Jones, Greg Walters, Matt Berg, Joseph Dutra, Johanna Case and Desmond Taylor. Our music is by Kyle Murdoch and Jordan Cantor. We had help today from the Associated Press. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America EAS.