Bulwark+ Takes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Catherine Rampell and JVL went live to cover Scott Bessent flailing as he intervenes in the bond market and Catherine's reporting on how Trump's political appointees hijacked the U.S. Census Bureau, numbers that we're supposed to trust. Plus, for more than a decade, Trump promised to pay down the national debt. This w...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller joins Alicia Menendez on MS NOW to take on the growing questions around Natalie Harp’s access to Trump, why Republicans are hiding from their own voters, and the Trump administration’s increasingly shaky economic message. This video is sponsored by The New York Times. Watch Deadline: White House on MS NOW:...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Michael Weiss and Marc Polymeropoulos discuss Trump’s “economic D-Day” against Iran, the risks of secondary sanctions and a prolonged blockade, and why Tehran may retaliate rather than simply give in. They also examine the bizarre influence and security concerns surrounding Natalie Harp and the dysfunction inside the...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Chris Cillizza and JVL use Hulk Hogan and the strange world of professional wrestling to explain Donald Trump’s political dominance, why conventional political skills don’t seem to matter anymore, and why Trumpism may survive long after Trump himself is gone. Check out Chris Cillizza on YouTube: https://www.youtube.co...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Will Saletan tracks House Republicans—Mike Johnson, Gabe Evans, Jason Smith—flailing to defend Trump's Iran war and rising gas prices, catching them in contradictions, dubious legal justifications, and outright lies about the economy ahead of the midterms.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Zach Lahn is the Republican candidate for governor of Iowa with a very unusual résumé and some very unconventional positions. Tim Miller and Brendan Hartnett dig into Lahn’s ties to Kansas and the Koch network, his investment in FirmTech and its award-winning “sex tech” device that Lahn insists is not a sex toy, and q...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Andrew Egger and Lauren Egan break down Florida’s Democratic primaries—and what Angie Nixon’s surprise Senate win means for Democrats in a state they’ve struggled to compete in. They discuss Nixon’s uphill battle against Republican Ashley Moody, David Jolly’s path for governor, and the awkward dynamic of having a self...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) and Ben Parker went live to cover Trump’s newest push to meet North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and Trump contradicting Jared Kushner on Iran. Plus they walk through what a typical Deputies Committee would look like in the NSC. The Good Fight Tour: https://www.thebulwark.com/events

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller is back in DC and it's somehow crazier than he left it. With National Guard troops patrolling Dupont Circle, Tim recruits Will Sommer for a scavenger hunt through Trump's Washington: a $500K-to-join MAGA club co-founded by Don Jr., the bar where Rand Paul's son got into it with Rep. Mike Lawler, the strip m...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Andrew Egger and Ben Parker went live to cover the Republican election deniers in 2020 now running for office, the company that put out a bogus poll on purpose, Trump’s latest threats against an American ally, and the White House response to a question about Natalie Harp. Read Morning Shots: https://www.thebulwark.com...

Tim Miller shares the story of a Venezuelan family — a pregnant mother, father, and their 7-year-old daughter — who have spent weeks detained at the Dilley detention facility in Texas, despite doing everything the Trump administration has asked of immigrants seeking to leave the country. The family followed every legal step: they applied for asylum, never missed an ICE check-in, and when they deci...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com JVL and Andrew Egger give their takes on Donald Trump’s latest chaotic press conference, from his bizarre claims about talking with Kim Jong Un to his demand that South Korea pay up for U.S. protection. They also look at Trump’s latest comments on the Iran war, the state of the USS Abraham Lincoln, and his increasingl...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Jonathan Cohn gives his take on the viral “puppy killer” attack against Abdul El-Sayed—and explains how a misleading story about Detroit’s animal control department became a powerful piece of political misinformation. The reality is far different from the headline. El-Sayed inherited an animal control system plagued b...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) and Ben Parker went live to cover Trump threatening to bomb Oman, an ally, as a deal to end the war in Iran remains elusive. Plus, Trump praised North Korea over the weekend and cancelled our military drills with South Korea. Read more from Mark: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/canceling-mil...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Will Saletan takes on Kristen Welker’s Meet the Press interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, arguing that Blanche’s evasions on Justice Department independence, Trump’s influence over prosecutions, January 6 pardons, and a proposed compensation fund expose him as a loyalist ready to do the president’s bi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Andrew Egger and Catherine Rampell discuss Sen. Bill Cassidy’s criticism of vaccine policy after his vote to confirm RFK Jr., questions surrounding Mitch McConnell’s prolonged absence, growing support for price controls in the GOP, the political fallout from Trump’s tariffs, and the Navy’s potential multibillion-dolla...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Will Saletan gives his take on how Republicans accused of serious misconduct have learned to survive scandal. All they have do is follow Donald Trump’s example: never resign, deny everything, attack the accusers, call the investigation “political,” and invoke Trump’s own history as proof that they can stay in the figh...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller joins Alicia Menendez to discuss widespread calls for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to resign, Trump’s continued support for him, Democrats’ affordability message, and efforts to recruit stronger young candidates for down-ballot races nationwide. Watch One the Line with Alicia Menendez on MS NOW: https://w...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Ben Parker and Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) give their takes on the growing crisis aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, where sailors have endured months at sea with poor food and living conditions, disrupted communications, and little clarity about when they will finally come home. Now, there's been several reports that...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Join Catherine Rampell and JVL at 12:30pm ET as they go live to discuss the biggest political, financial and economic stories of the week. Read more from Catherine: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trumps-gift-to-the-money-launderers-database-treasury

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Brandon Herrera is running for Congress in Texas and we’ve discovered a very strange side of his public persona. Sam Stein, Tim Miller, and Will Sommer dig into Herrera’s podcast, where he discusses “Lock & Load,” a supplement he says helps men with...something. The trio goes down the bizarre rabbit hole of male-enhan...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Andrew Egger and Sonny Bunch take on Trump’s latest attempt to get his name back on the Kennedy Center, his refusal to let go of fights he’s already lost, and what his obsession with credit, legacy, and scapegoats says about a president who increasingly seems stuck doing the same thing over and over and over and over...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller takes on Georgia Senate candidate Mike Collins, from his support for taxpayer-funded payouts to January 6 rioters to his ties to white nationalists, racist social media posts, election conspiracies, and bizarre campaign stunts. And when Collins is confronted with questions about the extremists in his orbit,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Will Sommer look back at the wildest moments from Mike Lindell’s career after the Trump-backed election denier lost the Republican primary for Minnesota governor. From refusing to accept election results and offering a $5 million challenge, to arguing with a kid at the Democratic National Convention, get...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Join Sam Stein and Lauren Egan for this exclusive, members-only look at the state of primary races ahead of the 2026 midterm election.