In Conversation with Wajahat Ali

14 May, 2026

[Transcript editing for clarity, flow and length]

Waj Ali: Your uncle fell asleep again this week in front of the cameras. Surrounded by a bunch of MAGA handmaidens and sycophants, he spent his time gaslighting the public about the failed Iran war, mocking Iran’s leaders, and insisting everything is totally fine before literally falling asleep on camera.

Mary Trump: A couple of things. First, I’m having COVID flashbacks. It feels wildly unfair that this incompetent, corrupt, craven idiot is in office again while we may be facing another health threat.

As for the sleeping, it’s diagnostic in a couple of ways. He always wakes up when he hears his name.

Waj Ali: That’s right.

Mary Trump: The minute somebody starts talking about him, he snaps awake.

Waj Ali: Donald Trump is the greatest ever.

Mary Trump: Obama. Biden. Frederick Douglass.

Waj Ali: He’s great. I like that black Frederick Douglass doing great work for the Blacks.

Mary Trump: It’s also diagnostic of the people standing around him. They know. There’s a picture of Donald slumped over asleep while Lutnick, Kennedy, Hegseth, and others stand behind him looking deeply uncomfortable.

Waj Ali: Dr. Oz was there. RFK Jr. was there. Katie Britt was there. And they all just continue performing while this man falls asleep in front of the cameras.

Mary Trump: Honestly, I’m grateful he’s sleeping during the day. If he’s unconscious 70 percent of the time, that’s 70 percent less time we have to listen to him talking.

Waj Ali: Before he fell asleep, he also said this:

I feel the same as I did 50 years ago. It’s crazy. It’s not because I eat the best foods. Maybe they are the best foods. Who knows what the best foods are? Maybe junk food.

Mary Trump: What a wonderful lesson for children. Go forth and eat Doritos. When I was a kid, I ate Cool Ranch Doritos and vanilla frosting right out of the can.

Waj Ali: He also claimed:

The loss of the Strait of Hormuz is genius because countries are buying their oil from Texas now. It’s sort of amazing.

Mary Trump: Donald, it is amazing. It’s amazing how ignorant and pathetic you are. If by genius you mean one of the most avoidable and self defeating disasters imaginable, then yes. Genius.

Waj Ali: We’re entering month three of this war. The world’s strongest military cannot force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Gas prices are rising. Energy prices are rising. Food shortages are increasing. Entire economies across the Asia Pacific are being destabilized.

At the same time, Donald is increasingly incapacitated, obsessed with ratings, and surrounded by sycophants who keep insisting he’s wearing the finest clothes while he stands there naked.

And over the weekend MAGA pastors and clergy gathered at Doral to unveil a massive golden statue of Donald Trump. Then they spent the entire weekend insisting it was not like the golden calf.

Mary Trump: If you have to begin by saying, “This isn’t a golden calf,” you’ve already lost the argument.

These so called religious leaders clearly haven’t read the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not worship false idols.

Honestly, I think I’ve read the Bible more carefully than many of them have, and I’m not even religious.

What’s especially disturbing is how blasphemous this all is. Any genuinely religious person should be horrified by it. I’m horrified simply as an American who believes in the separation of church and state.

But Donald has always been good at softening the ground and convincing people to accept the unacceptable over time. We are now at the point where he could convince people that losing Social Security is somehow patriotic sacrifice.

These people are snake oil salesmen exploiting religion to elevate Donald into something superhuman, and it’s appalling.

Waj Ali: The world is watching America weaken itself in real time. Donald just got back from traveling to China with Elon Musk and Tim Cook where they privately begged Xi Jinping for help reopening the strait.

Meanwhile, our allies increasingly see America as unreliable. China benefits. Russia benefits. Iran becomes stronger. And Donald keeps insisting this is all amazing.

At this point, whoever is still fully committed to him is in a cult. We should have confronted this years ago. We should never have obeyed in advance. There is no reason for Democrats or institutions to keep being afraid of this man.

Mary Trump: I completely agree. The worst strategy has always been capitulation and compromise. Republicans set the rulebook on fire years ago, and Democrats are still pretending normal rules apply.

Donald has spent his entire life cheating because he knows he cannot win legitimately. And now the corrupt, illegitimate Supreme Court is effectively telling him that cheating is acceptable.

Democrats should not be demoralized. They should be furious. Americans are beginning to understand how dangerous the Republican Party has become. It is now an openly anti democratic, anti American party.

And anybody still trying to make common cause with fascists is making a catastrophic mistake. You do not compromise with people actively trying to destroy democracy.

Waj Ali: Republicans rig the courts, manipulate the maps, abuse structural advantages, and then openly mock Democrats while doing it. And Democrats still respond by saying, “Please vote harder next time.”

Mary Trump: Exactly. This is no longer about policy differences between moderates and liberals. This is about defending democracy itself.

Republicans are willing to break every rule to destroy democracy. Democrats should be willing to fight just as hard to save it. The difference is we are not willing to hurt people or lie. But we absolutely should be willing to fight.

Waj Ali: Before you go, shamelessly promote yourself.

Mary Trump: My Substack is The Good in Us. We also have exciting changes coming to the Mary Trump Media YouTube channel, including hopefully getting the nerds back together again.

And if you are not already subscribed to Waj’s Left Hook, please go do that immediately.

Also, I’ve written three books. Too Much and Never Enough is about how my family created Donald. The Reckoning examines how America failed to confront genocide and systemic racism. And my memoir, Who Could Ever Love You, is much more personal.

Waj Ali: Please subscribe to Mary’s Substack and to The Left Hook. Everything is free because people deserve access to information during the rise of fascism.

Mary and I do not play footsie with fascists. We confront them legally, peacefully, and directly. There are more of us than there are of them.

Be kind. Be informed. And please, do not be a fascist.

Mary Trump: Bye.