Share

cover art for UNLOCKED: Trump DHS Official: Of Course There Are Racists in the Administration

The New Abnormal

UNLOCKED: Trump DHS Official: Of Course There Are Racists in the Administration

As you’ve probably heard, we also run bonus episodes every Sunday that are only for Beast Inside members. As a small token of our gratitude, we’re sharing one of those bonus episodes in full with you here. If you want more bonus episodes like this, with more of the spicy interviews and blunt banter you know and love, consider joining Beast Inside. Doing so supports us, The New Abnormal, and the rest of fearless journalism from The Daily Beast. Head over to newabnormal.thedailybeast.com to become a member now – or after you listen to this amazing interview with Elizabeth Neumann. 


Even a former member of Trump’s Department of Homeland Security thinks he is bat-shit, and surrounded by actual racists. It would be funny if some of the stories that former DHS official Elizabeth Neumann told Rick Wilson and Molly Jong-Fast on this episode on The New Abnormal weren’t so terrifying. She admits that she did “hold her nose” and vote for him in 2016 and really believed he would rise to the occasion. But that dream died super quick—by the end of summer 2017 to be exact: “It was clear he didn’t have a strong enough character to put aside some of his bad habits,” she said. There was one moment, though, that changed it all. Or, as Molly put it, “made you realize we’re not in Kansas anymore.” “He was having some sort of school yard bully fight with a man who is trying to launch a nuclear weapon,” she explained. “It was a huge wake up call for the department.” Neumann also spoke to the influence Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller had on immigration and when she, a pro-lifer, realized the president “wasn’t a true Christian.” And then she makes two scary admissions, which says a lot because they are all pretty scary, tbh. The first is that Nuemann can say with certainty that many of those in Trump’s orbit are racist. In fact, she had a moment while working in the department in which she thought, “Oh my God, some of these people are racist.” The second, and related to the first, is the role that Trump has had on domestic terrorism and white supremacy in the United States: “The president not speaking out against white supremacy and against QAnon is extremely dangerous. He is creating that fear that creates vulnerability in people to be recruited and radicalized by groups that have an intention of violence.” Plus! Will more former administration officials come out? Neumann shares her thoughts.


Want more? Become a Beast Inside member to enjoy a limited-run series of bonus interviews from The New Abnormal. Guests include Cory Booker, Jim Acosta, and more. Head to newabnormal.thedailybeast.com to join now.

More episodes

View all episodes

  • MAGA OG Nick Fuentes Takes a Surprising Left Turn as a Trump Truther

    27:13||Season 1
    On this episode of The New Abnormal, co-hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy are left scratching their heads over far-right political pundit Nick Fuentes’ surprising characterization of Trump as a “demagogue.” Plus! John Hopkins University professor and historian Mary Fissile discusses her new book, Pushback: The 2,500-Year Fight to Thwart Women by Restricting Abortion.
  • 507. Trump Is Playing Russian Roulette

    01:03:59||Season 1, Ep. 507
    A planned rollback of environmental protections is yet another example of how the Trump administration is playing Russian roulette with American lives, warns co-hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy on this week’s episode of The New Abnormal. Plus! The Washington Post columnist and author Philip Bump on why young men are politically shifting to the right, and GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis discusses growing attacks on LGBTQ rights
  • 506. Trump’s Latest Move Officially Brings Autocracy to the U.S.

    01:05:21||Season 1, Ep. 506
    The New Abnormal hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie are alarmed by the arrest of Columbia student and pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil by ICE agents over the weekend. Then, Madiba Dennie, deputy editor and senior contributor at Balls and Strikes, joins the show to talk about Trump’s recent weaponization of the Justice Department. Plus, author and podcast host Jared Yates Sexton stops by to discuss the alarming authoritarian power grab unfolding before us.
  • Republicans Used to Love Outsourcing, Now Blame Unions

    32:35||Season 1
    As President Donald Trump’s flip-flopping on tariffs roils the stock market, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick took to CNBC earlier this week to blame the outsourcing of American manufacturing on labor unions. Plus! TNA spoke with The New York Times’s David Enrich about Murder the Truth, a new book about New York Times Company v. Sullivan, a landmark Supreme Court ruling that guaranteed freedom of the press and has come under attack from oligarchs seeking to silence the media.
  • 505. Where Are the White People Standing Up to Trump?

    01:02:16||Season 1, Ep. 505
    The New Abnormal hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie question why it appears that only people of color are leading the Democratic Party’s fight against the Trump administration. Then, actor and filmmaker Alex Winter talks about “Tesla Takedown,” a movement targeting financial support for Elon Musk and his car brand. Plus, Deirdre Schifeling and Alexa Kolbi Molinas from the American Civil Liberties Union discuss how the organization is pushing back against the administration from legal battles to grassroots organizing.
  • Dems Completely Dropped the Ball During Trump’s Speech

    15:44||Season 1
    The New Abnormal hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie react to President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night—and flame the Democrats for failing to stage a cohesive protest of Trump’s speech.
  • 504. Marco Rubio Needs Body Language Work to Stay in Trumpworld

    01:02:58||Season 1, Ep. 504
    The New Abnormal hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie tear into President Donald Trump’s “toddler tantrum” in the Oval Office. Then, journalist Erin Reed talks about the Trump administration’s attacks on trans rights from federal erasure to military purges and immigration bans. Plus, Brooke Shuman and Eric Vasquez dive into a video they co produced for More Perfect Union detailing how Elon Musk’s Texas playbook explains the moves of the Department of Government Efficiency.
  • Elon Musk's DOGE Mistakes Will Cost Lives

    30:55||Season 1
    On the latest episode of The New Abnormal, Elon Musk admits DOGE “will make mistakes” as it weeds out government “waste,” but those mistakes could cost lives, warns co hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy. Plus! Imara Jones, journalist and CEO of TransLash Media, discusses the Trump administration's attacks on trans rights.
  • 503. Trump’s $5M ‘Gold Cards’ Have Russia Written All Over Them

    01:00:20||Season 1, Ep. 503
    On the latest episode of The New Abnormal, Trump is poised to recreate Russia’s oligarch system by putting a $5 million price tag on U.S. citizenship with his “gold card” visas. Plus! Mike Masnick, founder and editor of Techdirt, breaks down how Elon Musk's latest DOGE move mirrors his Twitter takeover. Then incoming Center for American Progress president Neera Tanden discusses how Democrats can turn the tables on Trump’s agenda.