Susan Glasser: The President Is Crazy and Delusional

In this gripping episode of The Bulwark Podcast, host Tim Miller and New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser dissect the aftermath of Donald Trump's primetime address announcing a new war in the Middle East, which they condemn as a chaotic, delusional, and strategically incoherent performance. Glasser argues that Trump's speech lacked any coherent objectives, failed to explain why the war was necessary now, and revealed a president detached from reality—claiming a 'moderate' new Iranian president when the leadership remains unchanged. She highlights the administration's internal dysfunction, with conflicting goals between the State Department and White House, and warns that Trump’s reckless foreign policy is undermining decades of U.S. national security infrastructure. The episode also explores the geopolitical fallout: NATO allies are furious over Trump’s threats to withdraw, European economies are reeling from soaring oil prices and energy crises, and the war is inadvertently funding Putin’s war machine. Domestically, Trump’s claim that the war forces cuts to Medicare and daycare underscores a broader pattern of prioritizing military spending over social programs, further alienating the public. Yet amid the despair, Glasser finds a flicker of hope in the Artemis II moon mission, a reminder of America’s capacity for ambition and unity—qualities she fears have been lost under Trump’s leadership.