Shawn Ryan on turning against Trump, the Iran war, and planted podcast guests

Oct 01, 2026

Shawn Ryan, the former Navy SEAL who built one of the world's biggest podcasts and backed Trump before the election, has turned against him — bad news for an administration that won partly on podcast reach.

  • Ryan says Trump has gone against nearly everything he promised, and he sees no good outcome for America in the Iran conflict.
  • His former military colleagues believe US forces are fighting for Israel's interests, not America's.
  • He thinks America may already be losing its superpower status, pointing to China's calm buildup, the weakening dollar's global role, and wrecked relationships with allies like Canada over pipelines and tariffs.
  • He believes intelligence services plant guests on big podcasts to slip single viral lines into the conversation, and that platforms have insiders quietly shaping what gets promoted.
  • He is pulling out of political content entirely, saying politicians lied to his face, and pivoting to faith-based programming — which has already cost him a long-time advertiser.

Outlook: Expect the big podcast audiences that helped elect Trump to keep drifting away from him, with Iran and the perception of American decline as the main drivers.

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