The Daily Beast Podcast The Sleazy Reason Trump Can’t Quit Ghislaine Maxwell
Aug 29, 2025
Michael Wolff, an influential author and journalist known for dissecting Trump's presidency, joins the conversation. He uncovers the peculiar ties between Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell, highlighting Trump's conflicting emotions and considerations for a potential pardon. The discussion dives into how wealth and connections shaped political decisions, revealing surprising intersections with figures like Prince Andrew and Epstein's broader social network. Wolff weaves a narrative of loyalty, leverage, and the complexities of power where personal and political worlds collide.
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Shared Social World Shapes Sympathy
- Michael Wolff argues Trump feels sympathy for Ghislaine Maxwell because she comes from the same wealthy social world as him.
- That shared social milieu and long acquaintance shape Trump's emotional and political calculus about pardons.
The Pardon Culture Around Trump
- Wolff identifies a 'pardon culture' where Trump favors rich criminals and January 6 defendants due to personal identification and perceived fairness.
- He frames pardons as both emotional acts and structural incentives sustaining loyalty around Trump.
Pardons Create A Loyalty Marketplace
- Wolff explains pardons create a market: intermediaries sell access and loyalty to Trump in exchange for attempts at clemency.
- This system supplies unpaid, incentivized attendants who profit from closeness to the president.