Bulwark Takes

After a historic Democratic midterm victory, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker joins Sam Stein to explain why Democrats can’t afford to waste their newfound power. He lays out his aggressive agenda for Congress, calls out corporate leaders and fellow Democrats who caved to Trump, and unloads on JD Vance for suddenly distancing himself from the Iran war. Plus, why Pritzker thinks the election could finally...

Trump and Vance threw everything they had at Abdul El-Sayed, but Michigan voters elected him to the U.S. Senate by seven points. In an exclusive interview with Jonathan Cohn, El-Sayed reflects on the anti-Muslim attacks against him, why he believes Republicans’ strategy failed, and his plans to challenge Trump and shake up Democratic leadership. Ready to be him? Visit https://hims.com/bulwarktakes...

Sam Stein and Will Sommer break down Donald Trump’s bizarre response to Republicans’ crushing midterm defeat. While Republicans are scrambling to explain what went wrong, Trump headed to the White House ballroom construction site to celebrate chandeliers, kitchen layouts and the final steel beam, seemingly more interested in his vanity project than the political disaster unfolding around him. The...

Andrew Egger and Will Sommer discuss Trump DOJ’s sweeping Election Day deployment of federal monitors, the questions surrounding where they’re being sent, and the growing concerns over federal interference in the midterms. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/bulwarktakes . Application times may vary. R...

It’s Election Day, and Donald Trump is making some surprising last-minute moves, including an announcement that he’s cutting off military aid to Israel. Andrew Egger and Bill Kristol break down Trump’s increasingly desperate closing message, the possibility of renewed strikes on Iran, and the decisions that have put Republicans in such a precarious position, from the Minneapolis ICE crackdown to t...

Ready to be seen? Check that appointment off your to-do list with Zocdoc ✅: https://zocdoc.com/bulwarktakes #sponsored Sam Stein and Andrew Egger give their takes on Trump’s bizarre closing pitch ahead of the midterms: a trip to the Reflecting Pool to brag about algae removal, vandalism that never happened, and his plans to renovate a DC golf course. Instead of making a final appeal to voters, Tr...

Ready to be seen? Check that appointment off your to-do list with Zocdoc ✅: https://zocdoc.com/bulwarktakes #sponsored  Ben Parker and Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) break down Tucker Carlson’s alarming claims that the Trump administration could be preparing a nuclear strike on Iran. They dissect Carlson’s claims about Netanyahu, Pickaxe Mountain and the possibility of nuclear escalation, explaini...

Ready to be seen? Check that appointment off your to-do list with Zocdoc ✅: https://zocdoc.com/bulwarktakes #sponsored With Election Day looming, Republicans are showing signs of panic, and some familiar election deniers are resurfacing at the White House. Sam Stein and Will Sommer discuss Roger Stone’s desperate effort to rescue a MAGA candidate, Trump’s fury over Alina Habba’s $50 million pardo...

In a stunning last-minute reversal, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens has endorsed Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan’s closely contested Senate race, just days after saying she’d support Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed. Sam Stein and Lauren Egan discuss the furious reaction from Democrats, the turmoil inside Stevens’ own office, what may have prompted her decision, and whether it could change the o...

With Election Day just days away, Sarah Longwell and Bill Kristol explain why they believe Republicans could be headed for a historic defeat. Sarah shares what she’s hearing from disillusioned Trump voters in her focus groups, the two examine surprising opportunities for Democrats in deep-red states, and they react to the stunning news that a Haley Stevens has endorsed Republican Mike Rogers in Mi...

MAGA podcaster Clay Travis bet $1 million that oil prices would fall before the midterms. With his deadline looming and prices nowhere near his prediction, Tim Miller brings the receipts on Travis’s spectacularly wrong calls about Trump’s Iran war, then revisits his increasingly ridiculous Cheesecake Factory obsession.

Tim Miller takes on the GOP’s most outrageous midterm candidates, from a MAGA operative facing election fraud allegations to a yacht-owning Republican hiding his wealth, a politically connected congressional hopeful, and Tommy Tuberville’s latest antics. Plus, Tim shares the wild story of how Steve Bannon falsely accused him of orchestrating the allegations against Roy Moore.

Sam Stein joins Nicolle Wallace on MS NOW to give his take on Trump’s bizarre distractions, from defending his decorating skills and feuding with Bill Maher to obsessing over a D.C. golf course, while his party faces mounting political problems. Sam also explains why corruption is emerging as a major issue for voters, the growing signs of waning enthusiasm at Trump rallies, and the Trump administr...

Sam Stein and Will Sommer unpack a jaw-dropping Harvard Crimson investigation into Leo Terrell, Trump’s antisemitism czar, and the spectacular dysfunction inside his Justice Department task force. From threatening to choke an intern with a computer charger and pressuring a young employee to spend $1,200 to accompany him to Vegas, to dreaming up a national tour featuring Justin Bieber, Jerry Seinfe...

What happens to Trump if Democrats take back Congress? Reporter Michael Weiss and former CIA officer Mark Polymeropoulos examine the investigations that could expose the administration’s foreign dealings, the growing threat of another war with Iran, and why even Putin’s inner circle is realizing Trump can’t deliver on his promises. Plus, Ukraine stands its ground against Trump, and Elon Musk’s Sta...

Tim Miller takes a trip into the lion’s den, joining Blake Neff and Andrew Kolvet on The Charlie Kirk Show for a spirited debate about Trump’s record. Tim pushes back on the idea that Trump has delivered, laying out that the president has broken his promises on affordability, foreign wars and draining the swamp. The conversation gets heated as Tim challenges the hosts over immigration enforcement,...

Sam Stein, Will Sommer, and Tim Miller unpack another week of MAGA absurdity, from James O’Keefe facing felony charges over an alleged voter fraud stunt to right-wing influencers churning out bizarre AI videos about Democrats and the Cheesecake Factory. The trio also break down a pastor’s bizarre prayer for the deportation of a MAGA commentator, and a Tennessee congressional candidate defending un...

Bill Kristol talks with Ezra Levin, co-director of Indivisible and a leading organizer of No Kings, about why Trump’s attacks on the movement have failed, Meta’s suspicious four-hour shutdown of its Instagram account during a massive early-voting push, and the growing demands for answers from Congress. They also discuss how Trump’s corporate allies enable his authoritarian agenda—and why Democrats...

Ben Parker and Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) break down the growing risks of Trump’s Iran war, including the possibility of renewed strikes after the midterms, the danger of pushing Gulf allies toward China, and the military’s growing logistical challenges. They examine why Iran may be preparing to fight back even harder, how the Houthis could threaten American interests long after the Iran war en...

Catherine Rampell and Andrew Egger break down Donald Trump’s latest campaign strategy: promising taxpayer-funded benefits to voters and threatening to withhold money from states that don’t deliver Republican victories. From $5,000 checks and billions in potential investments to veterans’ Camp Lejeune settlements, Trump is making government funding conditional on political loyalty. Catherine and An...

Will Sommer speaks with Mississippi shrimper Maynard Dubuisson, a longtime Donald Trump supporter who says soaring diesel prices are pushing fishermen and small businesses to the brink. The war in Iran has sent fuel costs soaring, forcing shrimpers to conserve fuel and produce less, and threatened the local economy. Dubuisson says working-class Americans aren’t worried about tax cuts. They’re worr...

With one week until Election Day, Bill Kristol and Andrew Egger break down the Senate races that could deliver Democrats a historic midterm wave. From James Talarico’s fight against Ken Paxton in Texas to surprising opportunities in Mississippi, Kansas, and Florida, they examine how Trump’s unpopularity, rising prices, and Elon Musk’s spending are reshaping the map.  Plus, how Trump’s latest attem...

Will Saletan uses Trump's own words to expose the contradictions behind the Iran war. Trump says he obliterated Iran's nuclear program, claims the threat is under control, and admits the U.S. could leave now. So why is the war still going eight months later? Trump says he wants a guarantee Iran will never build a nuclear weapon, but he also admits he may have gone too far in killing the country's...

Sam Stein and Will Sommer break down Donald Trump’s 1,300-word meltdown over Bill Maher. Plus, MAGA data guru Data Republican is so worried about the GOP’s early voting numbers that she won’t share them with her followers, right-wing influencers scramble to spin election results in Serbia and Brazil, and a pro-ICE conservative is now set to be deported. Also, Newsmax’s new Trump nostalgia show ser...

Mike Rogers’s disastrous Meet the Press interview was a masterclass in political desperation. Catherine Rampell and Jonathan Cohn break down his increasingly absurd attempts to dodge questions about Trump, his contortions over tariffs hurting Michigan, and his ugly attacks on Democratic opponent Abdul El-Sayed.