Best of the Daily Blast: Krugman: Trump’s Unnerving Mental Breakdown Signals Nation in Decline

With the Daily Blast on break this week, join us as we revisit some of our top episodes of 2026! Original air date: June 22, 2026 Donald Trump’s war with Iran is making it clear this presidency could have much worse long-term consequences than we expected. Yet Trump is spending his nights indulging his crazed obsessions. In one ⁠early-morning tirade⁠, he raged about “fools” who criticize his Iran fiasco, calling them “bad people” and “stupid.” In another, he ⁠fulminated at length⁠ about his ballroom. He’s posting ⁠updates⁠ on the gilding of statues and ⁠images⁠ of himself on international magazine covers. The gap between the gravity of the moment on one side and his trivial megalomania on the other is jarring. We talked to economist Paul Krugman, who has been ⁠writing really well on his Substack⁠ about ⁠both sides⁠ ⁠of this divide⁠. He goes big-picture, detailing the signs that we’re a country in decline, why other countries are looking toward a post-American world, and why it’s shocking that we put up with his worsening megalomania and nonstop desecration of our republic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices