Bulwark+ Takes

A holiday classic, Bulwark-style. From foreign jets to fake honors, we rewrote The 12 Days of Christmas to keep track of Trump’s greatest hits in 2025.The 12 Days of Grift-mas, annotated: 1 giant Qatari jet : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy5lp4v594o 2 peace awards: * FIFA Peace Prize ( https://www.thebulwark.com/p/screw-it-lets-rename-the-moon-trump-institute-of-peace-kennedy-center-coin-eps...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Donald Trump’s first year back in office is in the books, but how accurate were The Bulwark predictions from this past year? Sam Stein is joined by “Judge” Mona Charen to put our 2025 forecasts under the gavel. From Trump’s health and pardons to government shutdowns, MAGA infighting, and political chaos, we revisit wh...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com While most Americans were with family, Trump spent the night before Christmas Eve rage-posting threats at TV networks he doesn’t like. Tim Miller was on MS NOW Reports to disuss. Watch MS NOW Reports: https://www.ms.now As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Sarah Longwell made a mistake. They decided to take on their haters and read mean comments from the internet about each other. What followed was a mix of roasting, self-reflection, interruptions, hair discourse, Seinfeld heresy, and the comment section doing what it does best. As always: Watch, listen, a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller and JVL take on a Manhattan Institute focus group that exposed open praise for grotesque “strongman” politics, overt antisemitism, and casual acceptance of extremist figures like Nick Fuentes. Read JVL's Triad newsletter on the focus group: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/behold-the-focus-group-from-hell-city-...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Bari Weiss just spiked a 60 Minutes story on the notorious CECOT prison, sparking outrage inside CBS and across the media world. Sam Stein and JVL are joined by Semafor’s Max Tani to break down what happened, why Weiss made the call, and how Trump’s shadow looms over CBS News. Read more in Morning Shots As always: Wat...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein, Catherine Rampell and Sonny Bunch take on Trump’s trade wars, the bourbon bust in Kentucky, and how tariffs, retaliation, and broken alliances are hammering an iconic American industry. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archives exc...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Jack Cocchiarella take on US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’ struggling through his appearance on Meet the Press as he stumbles through excuses for the heavily redacted Epstein files. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) joins Bill Kristol to discuss the Trump administration’s attempts to slow the release of the Epstein files. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archives exclusively for Bulwark+ members. Don’t care for video? Use the contro...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller takes on the MAGA conspiracies that falsely accused a Brown University student of murder. After the Brown University shooting, right-wing influencers like Laura Loomer, Benny Johnson, and even a DOJ official spread baseless accusations targeting a student. The real killer was later identified on Thursday, a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com JVL and Catherine Rampell take on the re-naming of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, as Donald Trump continues to put his name on anything he can, congress approval or not. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a com...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sarah, JVL, and Tim are going live to discuss the HUGE news day. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archives exclusively for Bulwark+ members. Don’t care for video? Use the controls on the left side of the player to toggle to audio. Add Bulwark...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Ben Shapiro slammed Candace Owens at TPUSA's AmericaFest and exposed a growing civil war inside conservative media. Sam Stein and Will Sommer give their takes on the backlash, Tucker Carlson’s response, Megyn Kelly’s role, and why no one seems capable of stopping the chaos. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a commen...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller is joined by Keith Edwards to take on Trump Media’s head-scratching move into nuclear fusion, the sprawling corruption tying together crypto, energy, and media power, and why major TV networks just handed Trump free airtime with no pushback. They also discuss elite cowardice, Dr. Oz’s bizarre speech, and th...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller takes on the viral confrontation between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and a protester at a DC wine bar, and makes the case that public officials don’t get to cause mass suffering and still expect polite silence in public. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short vid...

Tim Miller, Andrew Egger and Will Saletan react to Trump’s White House address. From grievance speedruns to tariff denial and whatever is going on with that garland. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archives exclusively for Bulwark+ members. Don’t care for video? Use the controls on the left side of the player to toggle t...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Will Sommer give their takes on the news that Dan Bongino is on his way out at the FBI. They discuss Bongino’s bizarre tenure, his struggle to reconcile conspiracy culture with reality, and what comes next. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller gives his take on Kash Patel using Katie Miller’s podcast to push back on criticism about spending time with his girlfriend, and why the interview felt more like reputation management than leadership at a critical moment for the FBI. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to s...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein joins Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace to discuss the stunning Vanity Fair interviews of Trump chief of staff Susie Wiles. Watch Deadline: White House on MSNOW: https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Catherine Rampell take on a weak jobs report and why the topline numbers may hide more serious economic trouble. They discuss into manufacturing job losses, the Fed’s warning that growth is overstated, and the White House’s shaky spin—plus how AI could soon hammer white-collar workers. As always: Watch,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller takes on the planned deportation of Uyghur whistleblower Heng Guan, a decision that raises deeper moral and strategic failures in America’s approach to China. Please contact your senators and representatives: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes...

Celebrate the life and work of Rob Reiner with The Bulwark’s Bill Kristol and Sonny Bunch, who will be joined by The Ankler’s Richard Rushfield and Semafor’s Dave Weigel tonight at 9 PM. He was one of the most versatile directors of his generation, with classics like This Is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, and A Few Good Men under his belt; come remember your favorites with u...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim takes on Trump’s latest disaster of a press conference, including his claim that fentanyl is a “weapon of mass destruction,” a fake pardon promise, and a doubling down of his attacks on Rob Reiner. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archive...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com JVL and Sarah Longwell give their takes on Donald Trump’s ghastly response to the murder of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele. From victim-blaming to self-obsession, Trump turns a horrific family tragedy into a fantasy about “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” exposing the moral rot and hypocrisy at the heart of his presidenc...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller and Sam Stein run through a Sunday potpourri of news and the week’s weirdest internet moments, from Trump’s awkward Army–Navy coin flip, brawls outside of a New York Republican’s Club event, Erika Kirk dominating Twitter’s algorithm, and Tekashi 6ix9ine catching strays. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a...