The Bulwark

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Trump says he’s banning news organizations over negative coverage. Then his own officials go on TV and insist that’s not what’s happening. Will Saletan meticulously breaks down Todd Blanche’s defense of Trump’s press crackdown, Mike Waltz getting confronted with the president’s own words, and the shifting story about...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com This bonus episode of The Next Level was recorded during Bulwark LIVE: Benefit for Springfield on Friday, September 25. Tim, Sarah, and JVL dig into the quieter tactics behind Trump’s deportation crackdown, what Sarah’s Ohio focus groups are saying about Vivek Ramaswamy, Sherrod Brown, John Husted, and Amy Acton, and...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Trump’s White House is racking up losses, picking fights with the press, and increasingly operating without anyone willing to tell the president no. Bill Kristol talks with former Trump White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews about what’s happening behind the scenes, why Republicans are suddenly putting some...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Mona Charen talks with Casey Revkin of Each Step Home about what happens to children and families caught inside the immigration detention system, including U.S.-citizen kids separated from their parents, postpartum mothers separated from infants, and families detained after showing up for routine ICE appointments. Rev...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Catherine Rampell and Will Sommer take on Trump’s escalating war on the White House press, the amateur-hour MAGA media operation stepping in to replace the traditional White House pool, and Byron Donalds’ awkward attempt to put a little distance between himself and Trump. Plus, Kimberly Guilfoyle’s misadventures as am...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Ohio used to be the biggest swing state in the country. It's turned pretty red, (Trump won it by 11 points in 2024) but it's very hotly contested this year, and there's one big overarching local issue driving it. Signal Ohio state government and politics reporter Andrew Tobias joins Sarah to break down the major playe...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com JVL is already in Ohio. Sarah is about to run to the airport. It’s a wheels-off kind of show. This week: * The government seems to have lied to a court again. * JD Vance was the leaker who threatened national security. * Mary Peltola gets caught in context collapse. * Trump had compromat on Susan Collins. * JVL feels...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Trump pulled out all the stops at the state dinner to regale the guy who is working with our enemy: Not only has China been helping Iran target and kill American soldiers, it's also been shipping Tehran component parts for drones and missile guidance systems. Senate Republicans, of course, blocked an effort to end the...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Marc Polymeropoulos and Michael Weiss examine the growing Russian threat in Europe, separating the real danger of Russian sabotage and state terrorism from the media panic over a potential Russian invasion of NATO territory. They discuss the intelligence briefing that sparked concerns across Europe, how the assessment...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Catherine Rampell and JVL break down the latest economic warning signs, from surging Treasury yields and 7% mortgage rates to the fallout from the Iran war and rising energy prices. They discuss why Scott Bessent’s efforts to push down bond yields are running into broader problems with inflation, government debt and u...

On this week’s episode, I’m joined by V for Vendetta director James McTeigue, whose film is returning to theaters on the first and fifth of November (“Remember, remember!”) via Saga Arts and Fathom Entertainment. We had a really interesting discussion both about the making of the film (I had no idea Hugo Weaving replaced another actor you may well know several weeks into production) and its contin...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Jon Ossoff is running so far ahead in Georgia that his strength is starting to shape the races around him. Tim Miller and Lauren Egan look at the striking gap between Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms, whether Ossoff can drag the Democratic ticket across the finish line, and why the governor’s race could wind up determi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller gives his take on the Republican candidates who are suddenly calling for an end to the Iran war after repeatedly supporting it. John James, Mike Rogers, Tom Tiffany and Ashley Hinson are all trying to distance themselves from the war, but Tim asks the obvious question: What is their actual plan to end it? T...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com A quick note: Your Bulwark membership makes journalism like this possible—and by “journalism,” we mean having Brendan watch six hours of Trump TV. Join today so we can continue funding Brendan’s masochism. Sam Stein, Brendan Hartnett and Will Sommer discuss the chaos surrounding the White House press corps after CNN,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com First, Sam Stein sits down with Tim to discuss the latest humiliation of our troops: Trump’s red carpet welcome for President Xi. Plus: the White House’s insane propaganda machine, a new Maine poll throws some cold water on the midterms hopium, Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s obsession with furries, and is RFK Jr. running for...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Andrew Egger is joined by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to give his take on Maryland’s new AI regulations, the rapid growth of data centers, and the need for guardrails around increasingly powerful AI models. Moore explains why he believes AI is moving faster than government safeguards, criticizes the White House’s approach...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller steps outside the bubble for a conversation with Brandon Weichert, a former Trump supporter and American Greatness writer who has become deeply disillusioned with the administration. They take on Trump’s Iran war, his growing foreign-policy mess, the GOP’s increasingly dangerous midterm map, and what could...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com JVL and Lawfare's Benjamin Wittes take on the strange legal fight over Trump’s ballroom and proposed triumphal arch, including why standing may be the biggest obstacle to stopping them and what John Roberts’ dissent could be signaling to future challengers. They also dig into a bigger question: whether Congress, the c...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com The cozy White House Correspondents' Dinner, where Trump joked around with reporters, was only in July. But now he's ripping away press credentials and setting up state-run media. Sarah scolds the WHCA for bending the knee to Trump to begin with. And recent Italian history even foreshadowed the Trump era. Jason, in hi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sarah and Andrew cover Trump’s escalating war with the press, from his White House ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico to the growing consolidation of major media companies. They also debate Zohran Mamdani’s approach to Trump, unpack the dubious “national security” rationale for Trump’s giant arch, and discuss Weissmann’...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Ben Parker and Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) break down President Trump’s extraordinary comments at the United Nations about Venezuela, including his claim that “to the victor belong the spoils.” Hertling explains why that language raises serious questions under international law and walks through the laws and treatie...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sarah's back from the book tour! The gang discusses Sarah's Focus Group Newsletter , George W. Bush's fundraiser for Republican Senate candidates (we thought he was staying out of politics?) Then they get into Trump's ban on CNN, MSNOW, and POLITICO from the White House press pool, and whether we still care. Sarah als...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com The party has been busy playing defense in Trump states, and now comes the news that Susan Collins is corrupt on top of being a loyal MAGA supplicant. More Democrats should walk with Ossoff's swagger and keep their message simple: attack Trump on his corruption and the war. (And in colder climes, the price of heating...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Rep. Jim Himes, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, joins Marc Polymeropoulos and Michael Weiss for his take on the major national security risks surrounding the Trump administration. Himes explains the counterintelligence concerns surrounding the reported Russian financing of Donald Trump Jr.’s weddin...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Andrew Egger and Bill Kristol went live to react to Trump’s address to the United Nations, breaking down his claims about Iran, Russia and Ukraine, Venezuela, Greenland, the economy and America’s role in the world. Trump made wild comments about Russia’s war against Ukraine, including a grotesque false equivalence bet...