Bulwark Takes

Tim Miller joined the Deadline: White House panel to discuss Trump’s failed attempt to stop the bipartisan housing bill, the Republican cowardice it exposed, Trump's Qatar jet fiasco, and Graham Platner’s withdrawal from the Maine Senate race. Watch Deadline White House on MS NOW: https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house

Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller take on Donald Trump’s decades-long habit of defending men accused of sexual assault and misconduct. From Roy Moore and Roger Ailes to Mike Tyson and Ghislaine Maxwell, they roll the archival tape and expose the staggering depth of the GOP’s hypocrisy.

Catherine Rampell is joined by special guests from Yale's Budget Lab, Natasha Sarin and Martha Gimbel, to break down Trump's refusal to sign a housing bill he once championed, the bipartisan push for tax breaks for seniors, and what happens when the across-the-board 10% tariffs Trump imposed expire later this month.

Sam Stein, Tim Miller and Will Sommer take on the week's weirdest stories: MAGA Manny changes his story on tape—to a puppet. Colorado GOP frontrunner Victor Marx's confessions keep getting darker, and he's still winning. Meghan McCain posts photographic proof that nobody came to her State Fair broadcast. Students for Trump founder Ryan Fournier is arraigned in shackles on new felony charges—with J...

Sam Stein and Tim Miller take on JD Vance's rough day in Wisconsin: playing Fraud Czar while his Iran deal implodes, and telling a cookie story that accidentally describes Trump. Plus: Patrick Dempsey passes on a Maine Senate run, and Riley Gaines isn't sure Helen Keller existed. (Will Sommer will be back soon. Pray for his wifi.) This episode is sponsored by The New York Times.

Join Sam Stein and Catherine Rampell as they cover the breaking news that Graham Platner has chosen to end his campaign for Senate. For their buy 1 get 1 50% off deal, head to https://3DayBlinds.com/BULWARKTAKES .

Sam Stein and Adrian Carrasquillo take on the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, shot dead by ICE in the North Houston suburbs. Lorenzo lived in the U.S. for 35 years, built a construction business, and put three sons in college. DHS released a statement nearly identical to the one it issued after Renee Goode's killing—and ICE won't say where the three witnesses in his car are. Read Adrian's full...

Catherine Rampell gives her take on Donald Trump's latest attempt to claim credit for Walmart's routine discounts, treating a standard retail promotion like a White House policy victory. From Walmart sales to corporate investment announcements, Trump has repeatedly portrayed business decisions that were already in motion as personal wins for his administration. For their buy 1 get 1 50% off deal,...

Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) and Ben Parker went live to cover Trump's press conference at the NATO Summit where called Iran "scum," said negotiations were over, warned of "a big attack" on Iran, and said a U.S. aircraft carrier was struck by "the Islamic Republic of Japan.” Plus, Mark and Ben break down Trump's comments to Ukrainian President Zelensky about the war in Ukraine. Read more from Mar...

Trump's Versailles peace deal feels truly dead. Iran fired missiles at tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. answered with strikes promised to be "more intense" than last month's—and Tim asks the question nobody in the administration can answer: why? Plus: JD Vance's Iran victory lap ages badly, Trump trolls Meloni then insists he likes her, Belgium dunks on the "Trump curse," and the White Ho...

Bill Kristol and Ben Parker (filling in for Andrew Egger) went live to cover Trump's trip to the NATO summit, where he said the war in Ukraine "doesn't affect us," announced he would remove sanctions from Turkey, and renewed his calls for the U.S. to control Greenland. Plus, the continued fallout in Maine following POLITICO's reporting on Graham Platner. Larineco is offering listeners up to 50% of...

Donald Trump spent America's 250th birthday celebrating one person: himself. Will Saletan breaks down Trump's July 4th speeches, his bizarre Mount Rushmore post, his obsession with foreign leaders praising him, and why Trump's version of patriotism always revolves around Donald Trump. From claiming America was "dead" before his return to joking about a third term, Trump reveals a vision of the cou...

Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller went live to cover POLITICO's bombshell story on Graham Platner, Platner's response, and the future of the campaign. Taking care of your health just got easier – start here with Zocdoc: https://zocdoc.com/BULWARKTAKES #sponsored

Will Sommer and Sam Stein went live to cover the week's craziest stories from the right wing fever swamp, including MAGA blaming liberals for the rain on Trump's fireworks show, the conspiracy involving rap music and USAID, Trump asking FIFA's president to investigate the red card call, and the latest charges filed against Students for Trump founder. Taking care of your health just got easier – st...

Will Saletan and Jonathan Cohn take on the shakeup in Michigan's Senate race: Mallory McMorrow has dropped out, leaving a two-way Democratic primary between establishment favorite Haley Stevens and Bernie-backed progressive Abdul El-Sayed. Was McMorrow pushed? Where do her voters go? And is the man who would be America's first Muslim senator the party's biggest risk—or its best shot at holding a s...

Trump's massive America 250 celebration was supposed to be a patriotic showcase, but it quickly descended into chaos. Sam Stein and Bill Kristol give their takes on the biggest failures of the day, from Patriot Front's march through Washington, D.C. and Republicans' attempts to blame the left, to Doug Burgum's refusal to clearly condemn neo-Nazis, hours-long security delays, thunderstorms, and a c...

Jay Nordlinger joins Bill Kristol for Bulwark on Sunday. Read Jay's Substack, "Onward and Upward" https://www.jaynordlinger.com/

Tim Miller is joined by TMZ DC's Charlie Cotton and Jacob Wasserman to talk about their unlikely rise on Capitol Hill and why lawmakers keep stopping to talk to them. From Lindsey Graham's infamous Disney bubble wand to chasing members of Congress through the Capitol, the pair discuss how they're bringing a fresh approach to political reporting, what surprised them most about Washington, and why a...

Tim Miller takes on Trump's 327 unreported stock trades made the day before his surprise tariff pause—and why Tim has come around on impeachment. He also breaks down the July 4th speech from Mayor Mamdani that even this ex-Republican appreciated. Plus, Tim appears on Deadline: White House to discuss a new congressional report on how the White House hijacked America's 250th, from the shadow charity...

Sarah Longwell and Andrew Egger give their takes on the surprisingly competitive political race in Iowa, where Democratic nominee Rob Sand is trying to build a new kind of populist message: less culture-war confrontation, more competence, accountability, and structural reform. Andrew went to Iowa to attend Sand’s campaign events in rural Iowa, where Rob is blending local concerns like affordabilit...

Tim Miller recaps his appearance with Katy Tur: Trump's vow to give a "really long" July 4th speech in extreme heat, the "threesome" medal moment in North Dakota, and Tim's theory of why Trump has stopped trying to win the midterms—he's chasing statues, arches, and grotesque wealth instead. Plus, an ugly June jobs report.

Tim Miller is joined Jared Poland and Brendan Hartnett after they spent time at Trump's "Great American State Fair" on the National Mall. What was billed as a patriotic celebration to celebrate America's 250th anniversary felt more like an underwhelming county fair, complete with sparse crowds, overpriced food, empty podcast tapings, Michael Knowles debating the Salem witch trials and a lumberjack...

Sam Stein and Will Sommer take on the lewd "Uncle Sam" court battle to get back on the National Mall, Stephen Miller's deranged pregnancy-test proposal for women entering the country, Scott Presler getting blocked from the South Dakota GOP convention, Trump's $700 million Qatari Air Force One, James Fishback's residency lawsuit and his cringeworthy iShowSpeed stream-snipe, MAGA's blackmail-debate...

The Supreme Court left birthright citizenship intact, but the bigger story may be everything else it handed the Trump administration. Ben Parker and Adrian Carrasquillo are joined by the American Immigration Council's Michelle LaPointe and Todd Schulte from FWD.us to break down the Court's immigration rulings, what they mean for Temporary Protected Status asylum, and Trump's mass deportation agend...

Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller and Will Sommer take on the Great American State Fair fiasco, MAGA's rival Freedom Fest lineup (starring Dog the Bounty Hunter), and Colorado's stranger-than-fiction GOP frontrunner Victor Marx—live from the Aspen Ideas Festival. Plus: an audience Q&A on hate, hope, and why authoritarians want you exhausted.