The Physical Transformation of the White House

When you look at the White House, it's a symbol of who we are as Americans. We rejected the gold leaf of the monarchy. and Donald Trump he's so enamored with the pomp and circumstance of royalty and of dictatorships that he's going and trying to literally glue it onto the White House piece by piece. When you look at the Oval Office right now, it is stunning to see face the face lift. He's given it. It's like, you know, the Mar Lago faceelift. He's given it to the Oval Office, it's not realal And it's not authentic. It's not American any longer I'm Joannah Coles, this is the Daily Bees podcast and today we have Chronicler Kat her on the show. she talks about his health, she talks about the grift, she talks about the state fair. whyy isn't anybody there? And this is a woman whose first book, Unbelievable, sold millions of copies as she chronicled him on the campaign and then in his first term in office. She's now of course, host of the moment on MS now, but she has opinions about everything. So before we get into it, just a reminder, we're literally like two thousand memberships of getting to seven hundred thousand. So if you haven't subscribed to the Daily Beast The reason we can bring you independent conversations is because we are genuinely independent media but we love your support. We need your support. So please subscribe to the Daily Beast. If you haven't become a Be Beast member, become a friend of the Beast But we love your support And Katie Tur So much to talk about. let's get into it Kati Tur Very good to have you back on the Podcast. Thank you forving me, Joanna What the hell is going on in the Republican Party? I think the Republicans are asking themselves that right now, what is going on? What does Donald Trump want? It doesn't seem to be the Republicans winning the midterms. Right. so how upset our Republican, conongresspeople and senators by this. I mean, he seems to be almost going out of his way to be disruptive to their chances, which are already slim. I mean, he seems to be the real issue that the Democrats are going to run on. Some of the Republicans are just fine with it. Mike Lee is just fine with it. some others, some are extraordinarily upset about it. Tom Tillis is one of them. We've seen Bill Cassidy come out and get angry, John Cornan even. These are people that Donald Trump is primarary. They're all leave They It's not hard for them to come. No, it's not hard for them. But there is a you can tell that there is a growing discontent by the way they're voting. By the way they're voting on more powers, what they're willing to do. Donald Trump wants them to overturn the filibuster to get his Save America act through. They are not willing to do that. There aren't even There isn't even a full slate of Republicans who are willing to vote for that, let alone ten Democrats let alone enough Republicans to overturn the filibuster because they understand that time marches forward and there might come a time where they are not in power and losing the filibuster would be a problem So there is a lot of discontent because their goal is to get reelected. theirir goal is to put some legislation on the floor to vote for it, to get him to sign it. And he's not doing that. He's got a housing bill in front of him right now that was dispatched to him by the speaker a couple of days ago. He still has not signed it. He called it dull or boring or something the other day. housing bill that the Repubans can run on on two things. One, we can work with Democrats. We are not incapable of bipartisanship. We can make your lives better. And number two, look, we have made your lives better. We understand that you're having problems with affordability. We understand that Many young people especially don't think that the American dream is possible any longer because they can't afford a house. We are addressing that, keep us in power. R. They can't do that because the president hasn't signed the bill. So we're hearing that there's a lot of shouting. There was a Republican lunch this week for senators and he shouted at people. He shouted at people again last night. There were reports of sort of loud raised voices. You covered Donald Trump ever since he descended in Trump Tower. Your first book, Unbelievable was about the five hundred and ten days you spent on the campaign. No one has observed him more closely than you. Now mayan Jonathan Swan might be. Well it might be a little bit closer at this point. They've just written the most recent bookight. But there's a whole group of you who've been following and watching this man for a long time Do you think he's changed I think he's just more himself And I think that happens to all of us as we get older. We become more ourselves. Oh God. And more insulular. I think that's true, but he's the president of the United States and he is acting like Once he's done with this, nothing else matters U And what we're seeing is, I mean, he used to be He used to directly to people about what they were experiencing. I mean, some would say that he wasn't, you know tetered to truth about what was going on, but he knew how to read a room and he understood people's grievances or frustrations and what they wanted. I mean he was on the road all the time. So when you say people, do you mean regular people? I mean regular people. R regular people. He was listening, he was getting feedback from voters You know this. If you are in a room with Donald Trump, he's like a comedian He's road testing what lines work on you. He's watching how you react and he's reacting to your reaction. He can do it one on one and he can do it in an entire at an entire rally. And he was so good at that in twenty sixteen and so good at that even during the first administration, when he was always going out and having rallies, even as president. So he understood the American public But since he left office during the intervening time where he he was not president And now he's done F less rallies. I mean he did some while he was campaigning, yes, and he won again But he has lost that touch that he's had with the American public And it doesn't seem like he cares or wants to be back in touch. He's going through the greatest hits of his lines Democrats made that It's a hoax. Don't worry about it. Everybody loves me. I'm your favorite president He's no longer talking about the things that they are saying very clearly in poll after poll or any interview that you hear matter to them That's the cost of living Right. so where does he go from here? I mean, what's your prediction? inasmuch as one can predict anything about Donald Trump, who is the least predictable person and also Unpredictable events happen to Donald Trump too, not least butler, Pennsylvania. Do you have a sort of sense of what you think is going to happen at the midterms So I think that if you look at the way things are happening right now, it seems pretty clear that Democrats have a very easy path to take over the House and they may have a path to take over the Senate So there could be a situation where he loses Bat If he loses both by wide margins, he will be a little bit more hamstrg. If he loses one or both by a tighter margin, I think what you're going to hear is what you always hear, which is that the election's rigged. Right. And he will try to say that it doesn't count, it's invalid this partarty has no bearing over him, the Congress should have no authority over him because it's an invalid Congress. I think you're going to hear all of that The question is how far will it go? Will he try to Will he try to get electors not to certify the vote again? Will he put pressure on them? Will he present evidence from his DNI, Bill Polty, the acting guy that tries to dispute what happened. There's already reporting that they're trying to declassify material that they say will help him on the twenty twenty election interference claims that he had made you just you It's hard to predict what exactly will happen, but I think you can safely say that if he loses, he will say It's fair and it' gg This episode is sponsored by Roe One of the biggest misconceptions about GLP one medications is that they're simply out of reach financially. 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Go to row d. co slash dailybeast to see if you qualify. That's R. coo slash dailybeast to get started on Row. Go to row d. co slash safety for boxed warning and full safety information about GLP one medications Why is he still obsessed? with the twenty twenty election because he can't lose. It's an ego thing. Oh, it's because he can't he just cannot literally cannot accept that he that he has lost. R. He's unable to do it. Now maybe he intellectually understands that he did I would venture to say at this point, he has so convinced himself of the lie about the election being rigged against him that he actually believes that he won. It's a delusion Right. So there's all sorts of speculation about his health. We know that the White House has said he's got chronic venous insufficiency, which is not uncommon in someone of his age There are a lot of people saying that he's beginning to show Especially because you can track his language over the last forty, fifty years because he's never stopped. I mean, go back and look at a clip of him from two thousand. It is shocking how coherent He was compared to what what he is now. He could keep a thought and he could keep going with that thought and he could answer questions cogently. And today he's just all over the place So do you think there's a mental difference now? I think that there's a mental difference in the way that he speaks today than even twenty sixteen than twenty twenty, I think Right. I don't think you need to ask me that. You can go and look and see it for yourself on the clips. But as someone who's observed him, you've noticed it. He's more um chaotic in the way that he answers questions. He goes on more tangents D He doesn't follow a thought clearly and he's president. so that's alarming that he doesn't follow a thought clearly. I mean, I would I would think that anybody who's concerned about on who was concerned about Joe Biden would have been concerned about that So we should be at the state fair. Both of us should be at the state fair. We should be with your children, except it's going to be a hundred degrees What do you think of the celebrations in Washington this week? I mean, you've been watching them, you've been chronicling them on your show on MS, MS now Are you you know, you're an American. Is this something that you feel proud of? I think what is most disheartening about what we're seeing, and I'm going to say disheartening because U it's it shouldn't be about Donald Trump It shouldn't be about MGa Right. It should be about the American public and this country and telling a story of who we are where we came from and where we are going We saw that so beautifully with what President Obama did the other day at the dedication to his library. told a story about this country and how far we've come. And he gave people on every side of the political spectrum a reason to believe in this country and to be proud to be an American And there's so many folks out there who are grasping for that today. They want to be able to say, Hey, this country, yeah, complicated full of mistakes. We have not been the best to ourselves, to our own people And we have not been the best to foreign lands and foreigners But we have been Good By and large, we have done good and we can do more good if we all believe in it I think we need that as a country right now. We are so divided and he has this opportunity two hundred fiftieth birthday. to try to bridge that divide. and we shouldn't be surprised, but he's not taking it He's making it about himself. It feels like a political rally He had that That wrestling match on the UFC UFC, the fighting match, excuse me, on the White House lawn, That's not representative of what Americans watch. The majority of the public isn't watching that. You had a guy stand up and call the former firstirst Lady a manan Americans aren't looking for that. They're looking to celebrate this country and themselves and our democracy, they're not looking to celebrate Donald Trump or MAGA. So in my opinion, that is what is disappointing about what we're witnessing. The state fair, sure, in theory, it's a good idea. In actuality, it feels very partisan because Donald Trump makes everything so Partisan becausecause he's made it about himself and made it all about MAGA, you had a bunch of performers drop out. They didn't want to be a part of something that was so partisan. They wanted to be a part of something that was celebrating this country. And it feels It feels empty and it is empty or it is empty because it feels. empty Right. Well Another thing that he's made sure of is that he's filling his own coffers. I was astonished to find this still a government offffice of Ethhics came out with a report this week saying that Donald Trump has made two point two billion dollars since he's been president. Now we know that last time he was president, you felt that he hadn't made enough money on it that he'd actually, you he had had to put things in blind trusts You know, he felt he'd missed out on regular earning opportunities. now happily for Donald Trump d in he's dug into the grif. Yeah, he said nobody cared that he made money last time. Right. Right. Why would he stop now? So you know, you're looking at this. What do you think about this? Is this this is Well, we know this is really unusual behaviour for a president to help himself And he's not really unusual. it's unprecedented. No one's ever done this. Okay fair. And I hate say I mean, the word unprecedented is a cliche. Everything's unprecedented that he does. He is breaking all the rules and all the norms, all of the shame somebody might have had for making money off the president presidency, Donald Trump doesn't have shame in that way. so it doesn't bother him Yesterday on the show, I was talking about before the financial disclosure came out and we learned all of the ways in which he's making money off crypto and like actually just putting it, it seems in his pocket I was talking about the New York Post editorial about his son Okay, I missed that. What did it his sons? The New York Post called up his sons and Howard Lutnik's sons right for the Kazakhstanstin deal. Right. It's a billion dollar maybe a billion point eight dollars deal between the government and the country of Kazakhstan for their tungsten. and it's been linked to firms U that have ties to both sets of sons. And the New York Post said, Eough is enough. This has gone too far. I mean, they tried to equate it to Hunter Biden, which I think is silly. And that's Hunter Biden's deal with the U. But they said, when Hunter Biden and Joe Biden did it, it wasn't right. It's certainly not right if you do it And in trying to put it into context, I was searching around for a George H W Bush letter that he wrote to his sons before he became president while he was running And he he wrote them saying, as we get closer to November, you're going to find yourself having A lot of friends, whole lot of new friends. Right What I ask of you, what I beg of you is that you never call a government entity, anything linked to the government. and drop your name. because you're going to get a call back But that call is likely going to get leaked and likely going to at worst be misrepresented brought me back to something that happened with Reagan and his son, Michael. a I worked for a military contractor And he wrote a letter to an Air Force base that's surface service Air Force One. saying, My father is proud of this country and I know that he's proud of Air Force One. I'm summarizing. And we'd like to be considered for future contracts. me and my the military contractor that he was associated with It got leaked, the press put it out there and the American public went wild and said, this is absolutely not acceptable And Michael Reagan had to resign from that position R with the military contractor. I mean, and this was not a business that he was standing to make millions and millions and millions of dollars off of. It used to be that the American public didn't stand for this sort of behavior. They held our presidents and the families to a higher standard. Well, and is it even a higher standard? It's just an appropriate appropriate standard for l ofive interests. Absolutely. And so My question is why are we here now where enough of the American public seems to be okay with this? I mean, we're going to have another chance to find out if they really are in November I mean, this will be the American voters' chance to say, I do believe there should be a standard of conduct for the guy in the White House. And I do believe there should be a standard of conduct that Congress holds them to So we'll see if that happens I mean exponentially worse degree to which Donald Trump and his family are using his name and the White House and the presidency to enrich themselves You cannot make a comparison to anybody else in American history. Well, and also the first lady who got forty million dollars from Amazon for a film about her, which is the most banal although strangely revealing, I think, unwittingly revealing movie about her and also her book. And it's, you know, we've seen Jill Biden's on a book tour now, Dr. Biden selling her book about her experience in the White House, but usually presidents do it after those ladies do it after Michelle Obama obviously did becoming They don't monetize the job while they're in office. No, I mean, there's a line you don't cross. ussually The financial disclosure, I thought was most striking and the amount of money that he's making off I mean, it was like two point two billion dollars total, but one point, I haveve know, it's one point four billion doars crypto. R. And so the White House in trying to push back on it says that Donald Trump has no conflict of interest, but he's proud to make America like al of crypto around the world. of cool see But they're But they' They're revealing the conflict. They're confirming the conflict in the statement It's like if Donald Trump said, to be I want to make America the washing machine capital of the world. And he was the owner of Maytag Right L like obviously there is a conflict there or like I want America to be the soybean capital of the world and he owned owned all the soybean fes. R. So when he's saying this about crypto and he has the power to loosen regulations, which he had has maybe it's good for America to be the capital of crypto, but it's certainly certainly good and has been good for him I found that list where they detailed what he made from each thing really interesting because it was I think two hundred two hundred eight thousand dollars from the Trump Bible. It was I think sixty seven thousand dollars from fragrance and his gold shoes. And you're like And who's buying this stuff? And I think four million from Trump watches actually. I mean, I mean, it's just so It's also the meme coin. I mean, what did he get make six hundred and thirty five million dollars on the meme coin That's nothing. You were basically just putting money into Donald Trump's pocket to have this thing that doesn't even exist in real life paying for this. Maybe it's some regular Americans, but it also is Are there also people who are using it to pay for access to him Aual access to him. Right. Well, let's talk about access to him because obviously one way that companies are doing that and people are doing that is by donating to the East wing, which he ripped down. Now in theory, he's rebuilding it as a huge ninety thousand footballroom, which I still find incredible. and will dwarf the existing White House. I mean, that's what's so strange it's just going to look Ris I wonder, you know, I think If the ballroom was to a better scale. and it was done tastefully Would the American public have such a problem with it? No, I'm sure they wouldn't, right? becausecause Actually, you could argue they do need a ball room. They haveinitely dinners. I'm sure you've been to them. You have to go to was st day dinner now. Well, I've been to one and I was shocked that it was in a tent and that you had to get in a little golf cart and be taken there. They have like little miniature trains. It was a super fun evening. I'm not going to pretend it wasn't But I was shocked that they had to establish a marquis for it instead of having an event. So I can see his argument for that But the way it's been done and he said it was going to be two hundred fifty million, now it's four hundred million. now it might be a billion because they're adding all sorts of hospital facilities and a bunker. R a bunker now they want drones on the rooute. I mean, it's a And it's going to come outsts. Right. And it's a sort of Swiss army knife of buildings. it's sort of everything Donald Trump has ever wanted from a building, I think. Yeah, it's like he said, well we, you know, I need a bunker to be safe. Let me destroy the bunker we have. so I'm going to force you to build me a better Bunker. The way in which she's doing this, not I mean, Breaking the rules is one thing. I think, you know, I'm not sure how much people care about him breaking construction code Right. There's a brazenness with which he just does whatever he wants. It's very plain. And now you have images, actual physical images of it. You have the image of the construction side of the White House, which every time you look at it, it is it is a shocking thing to see. Yeah, it is. Now you have the destroyed lawn from the UFC fight and what appears to be there's a big circle on the I think it's the South lawn now where maybe where a helipad is going? Right. That's right. He's adding a helipad. added a really gaudy gold eagle to one of the balconies, the outside balconies. Has he actually added that? Well the White House They showed an image of it. so I don't actually know unless they just put it up there for a second. Well, you lead me on to another thing because I thought that was an AI image. maybe it will be of his intent, I think. But somewhat ominously, there is now scaffolding surrounding the actual White House, the famous columns. They say that they're just updating or restoring the columns. Who knows though? But you can't take the White House at their word. No And the American public, when you look at the White House, it's a symbol of who we are as Americans. We are a country that broke away from a monarchy. We rejected the trappings of a monarchy. We rejected the gold leaf of the monarchy. and Donald Trump is going and he He's so enamored with the pomp and circumstance of royalty and of dictatorships that he's going and trying to literally glue it onto the White House piece by piece. One onene of I think the best parts of Maggie and John's new book, Reime Change. And this is Maggie Habermman and Jonathan Swan. uh part where they're describing Donald Trump on his hands and knees Super gluing Gold appliques to the fireplace Yeah the overice like like you have on your door here. Well, we have it we should show our door because we've done it as a mock homage to what that And when you look at the oval office right now, it is stunning to see the face the facelift. he's given it. It's like the, you know, the Mar aago faceelift. He's given it to the Oval Office, it's not real And it's not authentic. It's not American any longer. We are not a country of Gauddy decorations. We're not a country of gold leaf We are a country of like Down home. Home spun Um pick yourself up from your bootstraps, you know, grit and determination. That's who we are as a country. That's what we started out as. and he's trying to change it unilaterally And I think that While Americans might not be able to pinpoint exactly why they feel uncomfortable with it, they do feel uncomfortable with looking at how he's physically changed the White House, physically trying to change Washington Yeah. And I think your point about building code and people maybe not beinging too anxious about him breaking it is because it's so relatable. For anybody who's tried to updo their house or do anything, you have to file the most annoying kind of bureaucracy here in New York City, it's impossible to do anything. I have a poor man who bought the apartment opposite me three and a half years ago. He still hasn't been able to get approval from the buildings department. These things go on, I think people are sympathetic to that, less sympathetic to the meddling of the White House and it's so familiar the White House and the modesty of it. And then this terrible demolition that seemed to happen in the middle of the night too. So people woke up and it was gone. Suddenly it was gone gone and there was no historic hoding paid attention to And And it's as you say, it's a sort of taste. Al how well is the job going to be done? Look at the reflecting pull. He spent what fourteen million dollars trying to restore the reflecting pull, whichways had problems for a long time But he spent that money and a few days later, a few days later bottom of the paint is peeling off. Rightool And it's totally green because there's been an algae bloom I mean, if you are going to do something and you're going to spend that money, you're going to tout it, do it right, att least have it work for a few months But Donald Trump has these no bid contractors. We talk to People with any expertise in this and they'll say, well, you put a darker bottom on the pool down, you did it in the middle of the summer. It's going to get hot. And when it's hot, it's easier for algae to bloom. That's a basic science. Right. If you're going to do this, do it in the fall, when it's cooler and when it has a chance to settle. Like I'm no pool expert. So who who's doing the construction of the white of the ballroom? Another apparently no bid contract. How well is that going to be done? Is it going to be something that lasts for another hundred, two hundred, three hundred years. Or is it something that's going to fall apart in a few months? Right. And also he keeps referring himself to a builder that this is the thing he really loves doing. This is the thing he knows how to do And yet Actually what he does is slap his name on the side of buildings. How significant is it that the courts decided he had to take his name off I think it'sennedyan. I think that any time that he is forced to back down is significant. There's a question of what Do this democracy survive? you know, how threatened are we right now? I think we're threatened I am I feel good about all the ways in which our system has pushed back. against Donald Trump. A you seeing that in the courts We're seeing that even to a degree with the Supreme Court, which is like I got this crazy wild arrguably extreme theory on the unitary executive, but that's the executive When it comes to Donald Trump specifically, they overruled his tariffs. They didn't let him overrule birthright citizenship. All right. That was this week. You know, divide is a little depressing. That was crazy that it was six to three in your like three people four was five to four on constitutional grounds. Right. R. So I mean, it could have been even closer But regardless, they're pushing back on the moves that he has made specifically And at the same time, you're seeing so many voters Go out and participate in special elections, go out and participate in primaries The reaction to Donald Trump has not been muted the American public is pushing back. And so if I am feeling hopeful about this democracy and hopeful about what will happen to us afterwards. and there's a lot of reasons to not be hopeful. I look to all of the ways in which the system, even under all of this stress is continuing to hold Okay, well, that's that's not thatic. Yeah, that is that is slightly positive So what are you planning to do for july the fourth? How are you planning to celebrate it? How many of be is my friends. We're gonna go to the beach U Wing fireworks. I'm going be with my kids and do it the way that I've always done it, which is gather with the ones I love And Try to think of the ways in which I'm proud to be American, because I'mroud to be Americ and all of the ways that I want to participate in this democracy to make it better It's simple. I mean, it's not going to be top of my mind for the entire holiday But on this two hundred and fifty year anniversary. I do think it's important to remind ourselves why it's White. Fighting for this country is a fight worth having Petya, thank you so much coming into the studio. It's so good to hear you and July You too, how are you celebrating? Our our breakaway? Al also celebrating with friends. I'm sure there'll be some fireworks and I'm planning to relax. Yeah. planning to relax.ually It's a holiday weekend. Pims. or beer U Proably wine. Proably roose. Probably Rse, is that terrible? I think it might be terrible, You know a bit of summer in a bottle. I love that Thanks for having me What is going on with that very ominous scaffolding at the front of the White House? that familiar portico. Why do I feel like it's going to change? and that the columns that Donald Trump was filmed stroking three weeks ago There was something going on there. I suspect we're going to see another facelift of the White House.way The moment it happens or the moment we know more about it happening, we'll be bringing you that news. If you have been, thank you for watching us, than you for following us. feel free to subscribe and a big thank you to our production team. John Romero, Ryan Murray, Rachel Pasa, Heather Posaro and Neil Rosenhus. So the good news is we have so many be Beast tier members now. There are too many names to read out and we really appreciate your support