Home Podcasts THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent
THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent

THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent

Greg Sargent 564 Episodes Aug 21, 2026

Every weekday, The New Republic’s Greg Sargent brings you a fresh way of thinking about the biggest political stories of the moment, offered up in an entertaining, information-packed conversation with a leading lawmaker, journalist, or newsmaker. The show goes deep into the stories behind the headlines leading TNR and other news outlets while making it fun and fast.

Episodes

Trump Tirade Goes Nuclear as MTG Issues Midterm Warning: GOP Is Toast
Trump Tirade Goes Nuclear as MTG Issues Midterm Warning: GOP Is Toast Aug 21, 2026 1187 Donald Trump just issued a crazed, rambling tirade, vowing to hit Iran with the “MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN” while threatening “TREMENDOUS” economic consequences to any country that helps Iran. News organizations are struggling to divine what he means and what it’s supposed to accomplish. Regardless, it shows just how stuck Trump is in this quagmire. Meanwhile,
Trump Hits Brutal New Polling Low as Dems Win Stunner in MAGA Country
Trump Hits Brutal New Polling Low as Dems Win Stunner in MAGA Country Aug 20, 2026 1435 Donald Trump’s approval rating just hit an abysmal low of 33-64 in Reuters polling. That’s only one survey, but Trump also just hit a new low of 37-59 in New York Times polling averages, which suggests he’s likely in the mid-30s and may be trending toward the Reuters number. This comes as Democrats appear to have flipped a state legislative district in western Pe
Trump Aides Unnerved by Natalie Harp Mess as Ossoff Takedown Hits Home
Trump Aides Unnerved by Natalie Harp Mess as Ossoff Takedown Hits Home Aug 19, 2026 1387 The White House and MAGA exploded in fury after Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff pointed out during a speech that Donald Trump loves to “travel with Natalie” on the presidential jet. “Natalie,” of course, is Natalie Harp, the young aide whom Trump relies on heavily for emotional support and basically controls information flows to him. Yet despite all the fake MAGA outrag
Trump Rage Erupts Over Iran as Aides Leak Embarrassing Truth: He Lost
Trump Rage Erupts Over Iran as Aides Leak Embarrassing Truth: He Lost Aug 18, 2026 1348 The 60-day deadline for a deal between Donald Trump and Iran has passed, and he’s in a lather over it. First Trump raged to Fox News of his displeasure with Oman’s negotiations with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s--t out of them,” he fumed nonsensically. Then, under questioning over foreign policy, he erupted at a female journalist, repeate
Trump’s Angry Tirade over Gas Prices Backfires in Humiliating Self-Own
Trump’s Angry Tirade over Gas Prices Backfires in Humiliating Self-Own Aug 17, 2026 1489 At a rally the other day, Donald Trump handed Democrats the perfect soundbite. “For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline,” Trump seethed, “just remember” it’s to deprive Iran of a nuclear weapon. He said higher prices are “okay,” and that “I will never apologize.” Trump’s angry sneering tone on the words “tiny little bit more” projected deep contempt for all who dare
Fox Hits Trump with Brutal Polling as Aides Privately Feed Him Hopium
Fox Hits Trump with Brutal Polling as Aides Privately Feed Him Hopium Aug 14, 2026 1461 Intriguingly, Fox News has lately been hitting Donald Trump with terrible polling news. In recent days, Fox has found Democrats slightly ahead in Senate races in Maine, Texas, and Iowa, and up by a lot in North Carolina. Critically, Trump’s own favorability numbers are very bad in all those states, even though he won three of them, two by double digits. In all four, his numbers
Trump Secret Plane Swap Suddenly Looks Darker as Damning New Leaks Hit
Trump Secret Plane Swap Suddenly Looks Darker as Damning New Leaks Hit Aug 13, 2026 1324 By now you’ve heard that when Donald Trump left the NATO summit in Turkey last month, he was clandestinely transferred from Air Force One to an alternative plane to avert a credible Iranian threat. It appears many of his cabinet members were left on Air Force One. Now new leaks make the story look darker: It turns out Trump brought several of the aides who are personally closes
Trump Blurts Out Vile Plot to Steal Midterms as GOPers Grow Unnerved
Trump Blurts Out Vile Plot to Steal Midterms as GOPers Grow Unnerved Aug 12, 2026 1161 While interviewing Donald Trump, a MAGA media personality urged Trump to consider declaring a national emergency to seize control of our elecctions. Trump’s response was ugly. “Let me just say that stranger things have happened,” Trump said. “I’ll leave it at that.” In other words, Trump wants it understood that declaring a national emergency absolutely is being consi
Trump Approval Hits Another New Low—and Even GOP Pollsters Are Rattled
Trump Approval Hits Another New Low—and Even GOP Pollsters Are Rattled Aug 11, 2026 1386 In a fascinating new analysis, CNN’s Harry Enten calculates that Donald Trump’s net approval on the economy is 33 points underwater. That’s a shocking 42-point swing from during the 2018 midterms, when Trump was in positive territory. On top of that, Enten notes that in the most recent CNN poll, Trump’s net approval on inflation is 50 points underwater, and that this hasn’t been riv
Trump Blurts Out Huge Admission of Midterm Weakness as MAGA Cracks Up
Trump Blurts Out Huge Admission of Midterm Weakness as MAGA Cracks Up Aug 10, 2026 1427 In an interview with Punchbowl News, Donald Trump said straight out that his voters just might not show up for GOP candidates this fall. That’s a striking admission of one of the thorniest problems the GOP faces. But it gets worse. Trump also declared that “a lot” of his voters are “not angry at me,” but “are very angry at Republicans.” That will likely be read by his supporters as a dec
Trump Rages Wildly at Hegseth as Leaks Reveal Humiliating New Blunders
Trump Rages Wildly at Hegseth as Leaks Reveal Humiliating New Blunders Aug 7, 2026 1436 A striking new Washington Post report reveals that Donald Trump privately raged at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, demanding to know why he’d been caught off guard by depleted munitions stockpiles. Yet these leaks actually reveal his own serious screw-ups: Trump wrongly concluded that the munitions situation had been fixed, showing that the commander in chief utt
Who is Abdul El-Sayed? His Harsh New Takedown of Trump Offers a Clue.
Who is Abdul El-Sayed? His Harsh New Takedown of Trump Offers a Clue. Aug 6, 2026 1890 Democrats just nominated left-wing populist Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate race. Yet his victory was razor close, suggesting he faces big challenges ahead. What’s his theory of the case? In his victory speech and in remarks to reporters, El-Sayed offered clues. He described Trumpism as a fusion of the “worst” of neoconservatism and of MAGA, an apt descript

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