Podbit · The MeidasTouch Podcast
Sent to Wisconsin to look presidential, JD Vance tried to affect a local accent from his prepared remarks. It bombed. Meiselas says it perfectly captures just how inauthentic and weird Vance comes across.
Where this was said
At 5:03 · chapter starts 1:38
Ben Meiselas wastes no time establishing the episode's central thesis: Donald Trump is declining rapidly, and the people around him know it. Trump has been posting obsessively on social media about having taken cognitive exams and raving about a coming Iranian assassination attempt — behavior Meiselas characterizes as that of a 'lunatic.' The host argues that Trump is fully aware the clock is running out and is now sizing up his potential successors: JD Vance, Marco Rubio, and even Pete Hegseth, who has been posting belligerent threats toward Iran. Meiselas frames all of the Trump-Vance public activity in the weeks that follow as a direct product of this succession anxiety, setting up the rest of the episode's analysis [1] — Ben Meiselas "Trump is posting about cognitive exams and raving that Iran will assassinate him. The people around him reportedly don't think he'll make i…" 01:38 .
Trump is posting about cognitive exams and raving that Iran will assassinate him. The people around him reportedly don't think he'll make it through the year. The succession battle has already begun.
Trump is deliberately pushing JD Vance into public appearances to expose his bizarre behavior — the Wisconsin accent, the fumbled press briefing, the tone-deaf podcast clips. This isn't support; it's sabotage.
Trump has been repeatedly posting on social media claiming he took cognitive exams, which Meiselas interprets as a sign of deterioration.
Ten years ago, 90% of tech media coverage was relentlessly negative and Kalanick felt he couldn't speak freely. Today, the rise of independent podcasters and Elon Musk buying Twitter has fundamentally changed the game — and it's why he's finally willing to talk.
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