The Bulwark

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com 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 f...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Catherine Rampell went live to cover the breaking news that Graham Platner has chosen to end his campaign for Senate.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com 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 killin...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Roughly 2,000 people a day are being swept up by ICE and put in subhuman conditions. And Stephen Miller's quotas likely contributed to the recent tragic deaths of two immigrants. Meanwhile, Graham Platner is still holding the Democratic Party hostage. What lessons can be learned for Democrats who went along with this...

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. As always: Watch, listen, and leave...

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 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 comm...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com 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 Melon...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim, Sarah, and Sam Stein (filling in for JVL) take on the political stories dominating the headlines:— Mitch McConnell is alive and taking calls (maybe, probably?)—despite Laura Loomer’s reports to the contrary.— Platnerdämmerung; the enormous irresponsibility of the Platner candidacy will have real consequences for...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com After being a guest on Piers' show numerous times, Tim gets a chance to pin him down for answers. Like, how could he have ever thought Trump in his second term was ready to be a "great president?" And even though Piers is now critical of Trump's tariffs and the war he started in Iran, he still thinks the verdict is ou...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com 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"...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller are going live to cover POLITICO's bombshell story on Graham Platner, Platner's response, and the future of the campaign. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archives exclusively for Bulwark+ members. Add Bulwark+ T...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com POTUS went on a stock buying spree the day before he paused some of his tariffs last year. The markets rebounded on his tariffs' reversal. On Monday, Trump from the Oval Office encouraged Americans to buy stock in Dell, a company he's heavily invested in. And he defended his children having access to insider informati...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com 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 ag...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com 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 Americ...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com 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...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Jay Nordlinger joins Bill Kristol for Bulwark on Sunday. Read Jay's Substack, "Onward and Upward" https://www.jaynordlinger.com/

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Historian Lindsay Chervinsky discusses her book on our second president, John Adams, and how crucial his decisions were in solidifying our democratic republic. For The Bulwark Book Club for July, Mona interviews presidential historian Lindsay about her book Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That For...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.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 appr...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com If you're wondering how (and whether) America is worth celebrating on this particular July 4th, this show will be a bit of a pep talk for you. Heather Cox Richardson joins Sarah to discuss voters' complicated relationship with patriotism this year, and the lessons of history for rebuilding from the Trump years. Throug...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com 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 congressiona...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com It's hard to be in a celebratory mood about America 250. The administration only wants to tell a narrow story of the country without all the contradictions and complexities of its history. And for the past 18 months, it has also been a particularly challenging time for black members of the military under Hegseth, who...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sarah Longwell and Bill Kristol (filling in for JVL) take on America’s 250th birthday under Trump—and how far the GOP has fallen from Reagan’s “you can become an American” to 2,000 ICE arrests a day. They break down the right-wing meltdown over the birthright citizenship ruling, Megyn Kelly’s race to the bottom, why t...

This week I’m joined by CNN’s media analyst Brian Stelter to discuss the big news of the week, Comcast’s decision to spin NBC Universal off into a separate company. What will happen to the broadcast network? Who might some of the suitors be for the standalone company? All that and more on this week’s episode. If you enjoyed it, please share it with a friend! This is a public episode. If you'd like...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com 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...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Not only did Trump pocket $2.2 billion last year—vastly increasing his pre-presidency wealth—he shamelessly showed off his new hand-me-down plane from Qatar which Americans paid hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade. Not to mention, there's a massive conflict of interest involved in Trump taking a gift from a cou...