U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Artemis II astronauts, NASA Commander Reid Wiseman, NASA Pilot Victor Glover, NASA Mission Specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 29, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
A series of leaks that made it into the newspapers on Wednesday about how President Donald Trump talks about himself behind closed doors alarmed a pair of political analysts.
Nico Hines, host of "The Daily Beast Podcast," discussed a new report from The Atlantic detailing how Trump considers himself among history's greatest men, in the same ranks as figures like Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar. Hines noted that Trump has spoken highly of himself in the past, but the remarks captured in the report, which cites "a senior administration official and a longtime Trump confidant," show that his grandiose self-view has reached a new level.
“He’s been talking recently about how he is the most powerful person to ever live,” the confidant told The Atlantic. “He wants to be remembered as the one who did things that other people couldn’t do, because of his sheer power and force of will.”
Hines described the quote as "terrifying" because each of the leaders mentioned had a history of going to war.
"We've now got a couple of years of Trump left, and what will he do next?" Hines said.
Trump's private comments were revealed at a time when the administration is digging in its heels in the war in Iran. Trump has privately told insiders to prepare for an "extended" blockade of Iran after recent negotiations with the Iranian regime fell apart.
The Iranians had offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for delaying discussions about the country's nuclear arms capabilities. Trump has said his objective in the war is to prevent Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Sarah Ewall-Wice, a political reporter at The Daily Beast, said the report suggested Trump is going to try to "superimpose himself" on American society and the rest of the world.