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The Bulwark

Tim Miller and guests discuss the latest political news for the flagship podcast of the Never Trump movement and the reality-based community. Every weekday we provide insightful analysis, political hot-takes, an unabashed defense of liberal democracy and long-form interviews that cut through the "both-sides" BS. Plus a few laughs to help you wash down the crazy.

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The Bulwark Podcast

The men serving Trump are so used to getting away with punking people, including too many members of the media, that they sometimes walk into a trap they don't see coming, and the truth slips out. Like Todd Blanche—Trump's personal attorney masquerading as acting AG—having to own the fact that he collaborated with Ghislaine Maxwell to protect Trump. Or Jay Clayton, the DNI nominee, showing that he has zero self-worth and that he's ready to do anything to help POTUS try to steal the election in the fall. Plus, the administration has too much of an obsession with d*icks—and trying to rewrite African-American history as well. And parents with young kids be warned: Vance has an issue with eating corn dogs and has an odd reaction to Biden licking an ice cream cone. 

Michael Steele joins Tim Miller.

Show notes:

Michael's "The Weeknight" on MS NOW
Longer clip of Ossoff's exchange with Jay Clayton
Tim's episode with Clint Smith from the July 4th weekend
Book Tim referenced about Ona Maria Judge, "This Land Is Your Land"
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Michael Steele: Tripped up by Their Own Lies

While ICE is still murdering people in the streets, more than 60,000 people are currently being held in ICE detention centers across the country. The largest facility is at Fort Bliss in El Paso—which was an actual Japanese internment site in WWII. Detainees there are being deprived of needed medication; some have been held incommunicado; others have reported that the tent camp was not designed for humans to live there. When the conditions are not dire enough to make detainees self-deport, guards terrorize them into submission. Plus: Cuban and Venezuelan immigrants are particularly caught in the crosshairs of the escalating deportation campaign. And Tim holds forth on Trump's goons murdering our neighbors, ICE's reckless Kavanaugh stops, the straight-up Constitutional violations the administration is encouraging, and the illegal and marauding settler groups in the West Bank.

The New Yorker's Jon Blitzer joins Tim Miller.

show notes

Jon's piece, "Locked Away"
Nick Miroff's Atlantic piece on the Maine shooting 
The NYT on Marco running Venezuela (gift link)
The episode of "This American Life" Jon referenced, "What Is Your Emergency?"
Jon's book, "Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here"
The HBO Max show, "Proud," Tim referenced

Jonathan Blitzer: Our New Internment Camps

Democrats tend to defend the institutions that Trump is tearing apart, but Pete Buttigieg says the party should be focusing on the bigger, deeper structural problems the country is facing and the need for political reform. The kind of radical institutional changes he’d like to see include: expanding SCOTUS and the House of Representatives, statehood for Washington, D.C., and directly electing the president by popular vote. Plus, Pete gets candid about the “most f*cked-up thing” that’s ever happened to his family, the big opportunity for Dems in Iowa in November, and Pete’s stumping for candidates in places where Fox News reigns.

Pete Buttigieg joined Tim Miller in Des Moines.

Show notes:

 • List provided by Pete Buttigieg of candidates he has endorsed in the 2026 election cycle can be found in show notes in the below link:
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/pete-buttigieg-time-for-radical-change

Pete Buttigieg: Time for Radical Change

The Trump administration is going full speed ahead on its authoritarian project to intimidate the media and the business world—and to gun people down in the streets. And in Israel, Netanyahu is allowing settler militias to run amok in the West Bank, killing Palestinians and destroying their villages and property. Rep. Khanna joins Tim to describe his own personal encounter with the private armed groups near Hebron. Plus, the mixed legacy of Lindsey Graham, Trump is trying to pretend he didn't sign a deal giving Iran management of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Dems have a real chance to weaken Todd Blanche and the whole administration.

Bill Kristol and Rep. Ro Khanna join Tim Miller.

Show notes:

Monday's "Morning Shots"
Bill's "Bulwark on Sunday" with Sarah
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Bill Kristol and Ro Khanna: Two Governments Acting with Impunity

The Trump administration desperately wants the public to just tune out the shooting death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by ICE agents in Houston. But this roaming army of masked, armed men chasing people down and killing them is tied directly into the administration's criminality across the board. Trump may pardon Stephen Miller, but he should be on trial in state court in 2029. Meanwhile, McConnell's choice to not convict on impeachment means Donald Trump is his legacy. Plus: Republicans showed with the housing bill that they could find a backbone, Platner is not who he said he was, Dems should talk about race more, some way too early Magnolia Bowl talk, Vance/Trump 2028, and which potential Democratic nominees would Stuart work for in a heartbeat? 

 Stuart Stevens joins Tim Miller. 

Show notes:

Stuart's book, "It Was All a Lie"
Stuart's "The Conspiracy to End America"
 • 
Tim’s playlist

Stuart Stevens: We've Got Death Squads on Our Streets

Trump had to take two Air Force ones to the NATO summit in Turkey: his new bling Qatari hand-me-down that he wanted to show off and the old baby blue one which he had to use to fly safely home—given the war in neighboring Iran. And at the FBI, Kash Patel’s thievery of taxpayer resources has gotten so out of hand, even Chuck Grassley wants answers. Plus: Ukraine has created panic in Russia (which has Trump rethinking which side he wants to root for), Dems should be highlighting the massive military waste in Iran, and Ben invites the public to test-run his new giant database of government records. Oh, and baby elephants are the best.

Ben Wittes joins Tim Miller. 

Show notes:

Lawfare on the military's potential deployment at the polls 
 • Ben’s email: benjamin.wittes@lawfaremedia.org

Ben's Substack, "Dog Shirt Daily" 
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Ben Wittes: Talk About America in Decline

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 walking red flag? Also, the Republicans' McConnell story is not convincing, man baby POTUS had some ridiculous demands at NATO, and Susan Collins helped fund the gulags. And on a more silly note: Was Taylor's wedding tacky? And should Tim and Alex do a sex podcast?

show notes

Alex's pod, "Runaway Country"
Alex's Substack
Bill on ICE in "Morning Shots"

Alex Wagner: ICE Is Still Killing People

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 out on Trump's obvious corruption—and whether the man can evolve and change the course of his presidency. Plus: Mark Hertling discusses the Air Force major who called for the impeachment of Trump and Vance as well as POTUS's confusion over the role of NATO.

Piers Morgan: Polishing Trump's Turds

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 information because of his presidency. This is Putin-grade corruption. Meanwhile, McMorrow's withdrawal from the Michigan Senate race shows Tim was right about the risks of encouraging factional fighting among Dems. Plus: Michael Cohen has always worn a "for sale" sign, and is there any experience in America that Trump hasn't tried to ruin? Go Team USA. 

Show notes:

Monday's "Morning Shots"
Sam and Bill on Trump's July 4 speech

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Bill Kristol: Trump Wants All-out Kleptocracy

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 brazenly disregards their service, blocks promotions of black officers, or expunges them from the ranks. But the aspiration of America as a multiracial, multiethnic, multi-faith democracy is a noble one, and our job is to keep trying to build the country we want it to be. Plus: the man who's trying to stop the magafication of the Smithsonian, advice for how to talk to kids about the country's history, and the simple joys of a July 4th cookout.

The Atlantic's Clint Smith joins Tim Miller for the holiday weekend pod.

show notes

Clint’s piece on being black in Hegseth’s military
Clint on the man who’s put himself between Trump and the Smithsonian
Clint's "How the Word Is Passed"
Thursday’s “Morning Shots” on the words of Gerald Ford
Tim’s July 4th playlist
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Clint Smith: Make America What It Set Out to Be

Republicans never defend Trump’s corruption on the merits. Their lot in life is just to serve up anti-moral excuses for his repeated acts of immorality. And the Dems are currently in a bit of a moral dilemma of their own over the latest Platner revelations, given the moral imperative of having a Senate that obstructs Trump’s worst policies. Questions of morality also surface with AI, particularly if we allow machines to do the thinking for us. Plus, the Dems need a Wemby, an American debt crisis seems inevitable, the global fertility crisis may be too hard to fix, and why is the English-language world the most unhappy? 

Derek Thompson joins Tim Miller.

show notes

“The Next Level” pod will be out later today
Derek’s piece on vicemaxxing
Derek on the great AI cost panic
The “Plain English” pod, hosted by Derek
“Mere Christianity,” by C.S. Lewis
 • 
“Pluribus”

Derek Thompson: The Party of Vicemaxxing

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