All the Wrong Moves: How America Made Trump
Hosted by Anthony Scaramucci & Katty Kay · 19 decoded episodes · newest Oct 6, 2026
A special series from The Rest Is Politics: US examining how political, economic, and social forces created the conditions for Donald Trump's rise. Katty Kay and Anthony Scaramucci combine historical context with insider and outsider perspectives to ask how Trump became the beneficiary of American anger—and whether the country can rebuild beyond him.
Episodes 19
- Oct 6, 2026 · 42 minTrump’s Republican allies weigh the cost of standing closeThe episode tests whether Trump remains a Republican asset as candidates distance themselves, Democrats gain openings, and his political model travels abroad.
- Oct 1, 2026 · 41 minHegseth’s rhetoric masks a deeper Pentagon power struggleThe episode connects inflammatory military messaging, pressure on senior generals, and post-facts political incentives to a broader erosion of accountability.
- Sep 28, 2026 · 51 minTrump’s state power and ICE crackdown test Republican limitsThe episode connects Trump’s economic intervention and immigration enforcement to a broader question about authoritarian power and Republican accountability.
- Sep 24, 2026 · 46 minTrump’s coalition shows cracks as Xi arrives with leverageThe episode links Republican midterm fears at home with a diplomatic encounter that exposes China’s stronger position in key trade negotiations.
- Sep 22, 2026 · 21 minWar, tax cuts and bailouts reshaped America’s political angerThe episode connects fiscal choices and financial rescue policies to the distrust that helped create an opening for Trump’s populism.
- Sep 21, 2026 · 45 minTrump turns monuments and foreign policy into political distractionsThe episode examines whether Trump’s grand projects and shifting Middle East positions reveal strategy, political weakness, or personal volatility.
- Sep 17, 2026 · 46 minFed independence meets war-driven economic anxietyThe episode connects central-bank credibility, affordability politics, and Middle East escalation to the stability of prices, markets, and U.S. alliances.
- Sep 14, 2026 · 39 minTrump’s Ukraine pressure raises questions about Putin’s next moveThe episode connects pressure on Ukraine, Russia’s tests of NATO, and the emerging political fight over AI safety.
- Sep 10, 2026 · 48 minTrump’s $5,000 promise tests the limits of presidential powerThe proposal raises questions about illegal voter inducements, Republican vulnerability, and how tariff politics can reshape local economies and alliances.
- Sep 7, 2026 · 43 minTrump’s Ukraine envoys put Western credibility under strainThe episode connects questionable diplomacy, Ukraine’s worsening crisis, and unchecked AI risks to broader failures of judgment and governance.
- Sep 3, 2026 · 41 minTrump-era uncertainty rattles markets and tests America’s credibilityThe episode connects bond-market stress, tariff uncertainty, debt and foreign-policy volatility to America’s economic standing and the midterm political stakes.
- Aug 31, 2026 · 37 minTrump’s Iran war and Canada fight expose mounting political risksThe episode connects military strain abroad with a trade confrontation next door, asking how much responsibility ultimately rests with President Trump.