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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.

Bulwark+ members can get a totally ad-free version of the show delivered right to their favorite podcast player.

The Bulwark Podcast

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" 
 • Get 20% off when you go to 
trustandwill.com/BULWARK •

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
 • This week only, a full Bulwark membership for everything we offer on our website is $86 a year. That's 14 percent off at 
http://thebulwark.com/july4 •

Clint Smith: Make America What It Set Out to Be

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 country that is directly impacted by his administration's foreign policy decisions. Plus: Vance can't tell a joke to save his life, Trump is the polar opposite of Teddy Roosevelt in almost every way, the Russian casualty count from the war in Ukraine has been catastrophic for the country and potentially destabilizing, and the challenge of celebrating 250 when Trump has inverted the American dream.

Susan Glasser joins Tim Miller.

Show notes:

Susan's 'Political Scene' podcast
Tim's July 4th playlist
 • This week only, a full Bulwark membership for everything we offer on our website is $86 a year. That's 14 percent off at 
http://thebulwark.com/july4 •

Susan Glasser: Our Money-Grubbing President

Trump leaves ice cream cartons, potato chip bags, and candy wrappers all over his personal space at the White House. His diet aside, his aides are working overtime to keep the state of his health a secret. And it turns out that his loss in 2020 made him more powerful: He didn't have to deal with post-Covid inflation and the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Trump also wouldn't have been prosecuted, which ultimately led to him getting his get-out-of-jail free card to break all the laws, courtesy of the Supreme Court. Maggie joins Tim to discuss some of the revelations in her new book, including the pardons Trump is promising and the relationship between POTUS and a young aide who writes him "raw" and "emotional" love notes. Oh, and Marco—who's having the time of his life—was the guy who set up the deal to send people to the gulag at CECOT. Plus: Cam Kasky on why DSA candidates are resonating with voters and how things feel on the ground around Platner in Maine and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. 

Cameron Kasky and Maggie Haberman join Tim Miller. 

Show notes:

Maggie's and Jonathan Swan's book, "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump" 
 • This week only, a full Bulwark membership for everything we offer on our website is $86 a year. That's 14 percent off at 
http://thebulwark.com/july4 •

Maggie Haberman: A Gross and Messy White House

The era of hell that we are living through may have been ordained in the 90s by angry Republican voters who felt screwed by the corporate elite—and political leaders who didn’t represent them. Trump watched Pat Buchanan and David Duke and saw how their protectionist, anti-immigrant, culture war messaging was resonating. More recently, Trump returned to his New York wheeler-dealer vibe by getting us in a war because he needed to look strong after SCOTUS struck down his stupid tariffs. Plus, more on Vance’s insincere religious discovery, Platner’s tattoo, the Dems’ nerd problem and its incompatibility with the base’s desire for a fighter, the jock/creep administration, and the Dan Goldman coffee shop incident.

John Ganz joins Tim Miller.

show notes

John's book, "When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s" 
John's Substack 
Tim's interview with Jon Ossoff 
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John Ganz: Trump’s Coalition of the Aggrieved

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