Bill Kristol and Colin Allred: What's So Hard about This, Pres. Bush?

Gullible Republicans have really been proving what they're made of recently, including Susan Collins, who claims Trump wants to root out corruption, even though his whole life has been a fraud—the water, the university, and "The Apprentice," just for starters. Meanwhile, the presidents of Mexico and Colombia are showing that they're not going to bend over in service of Trump's vanity. Plus, JD's Johnny-come-lately Catholicism, and the tech titans's clash with DEI may be helping the US lose the lead in AI.  Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller. show notes: Colombian President Gustavo Petro's statement on Twitter (hit translate post) Timothée Chalamet on SNL

27 Jan 202550min

Trump launched his first week back in office signaling to loyal followers that they are free to break the law on his behalf, while telling political opponents—including John Bolton and Mike Pompeo—that he'll put their lives at risk. Meanwhile, an office full of white faces is not evidence of a meritocracy, a shortage of VA nurses or prosecutors at the DOJ is not government efficiency, and Putin is different from the man he was during Trump's first term. Plus, the dangers of the word "invasion" in the immigration context. David French joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod. show notes: John Mulaney's 'horse in the hospital' skit Tweet from Dan Crenshaw that Tim referenced David's latest newsletter (gifted) Tim's playlist

24 Jan 20251h 2min

Emotionally-stunted video game boys, who are also government contractors and/or quasi government officials, are fighting on Twitter, a POTUS who went all the way to SCOTUS to get immunity for presidents now would like the last president investigated, and America's premiere scientific research institution, the NIH, can't tell us about the bird flu—a widespread and potentially deadly virus that could mutate into a human pandemic. Meanwhile, the assault on immigration has stepped up, with raids now permitted at churches and schools. And DHS is targeting anyone who can be deported, regardless of whether or not they're a security threat.  Adrian Carrasquillo and Sam Stein join Tim Miller. show notes https://x.com/arelisrhdz/status/1881397640849678362

23 Jan 202559min

All those CEOs cartwheeled down to Mar-a-Lago and then dutifully lined up at Trump's inauguration because they were fed up with social justice warriors and labor having more power—even if their bottom lines were never harmed in the process. Now, they want their next adrenaline rush and more government money without any pesky regulations hampering their highfalutin space-exploration dreams. But they may just pine for those DEI training sessions after the coming populist economic backlash. Stephanie Ruhle joins Tim Miller.

22 Jan 202546min

Trump tried to pencil out literal words in the Constitution and then freed 1,500 violent insurrectionists—while the media attempted to normalize it all. Meanwhile, much attention is being paid to Elon's salute, and not enough to the facts that he has an office at the White House, he's a government contractor, and paid a quarter of a billion dollars to get Trump elected. Plus, other Trump executive orders were pissy and petty, the 80s can no longer be called the decade of greed after Monday's Hunger Games vibe, and the Democrats are going to have a hard time resisting a risky 'eat the rich' path. Tom Nichols joins Tim Miller. show notes  Tom's piece from Monday on the police responding to Jan 6 Tweets about the price of eggs v attending the inauguration, which Tom referenced LAST DAY: Make The Bulwark your home for coverage of Trump 2.0. Get 2 months FREE on an annual subscription of Bulwark+ now for exclusive content, ad-free commentary and more:

21 Jan 202559min

Trump wants us to believe that nothing matters, so we'll brush off all his corruption and grifting as though everybody does it. That's what aspiring authoritarians always do, including the guy who didn't place his hand on a Bible when he was sworn in today. Meanwhile, Trump just launched probably the biggest scam in the history of the presidency with his memecoin—ordinary people will lose real money, nothing like the small-ball amounts he scoops up with his shoes, mugs, and digital baseball cards. Plus, Biden's pardons, Trump's Day One executive orders, and seizing the means of content production with TikTok. Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller. show notes: Mark Hertling on the challenges of executing "shock and awe" TODAY AND TOMORROW ONLY: TODAY AND TOMORROW ONLY: Make The Bulwark your home for coverage of Trump 2.0. Get 2 months FREE on an annual subscription of Bulwark+ now for exclusive content, ad-free commentary and more. https://www.thebulwark.com/subscribe

20 Jan 202543min

Trump governed as a wartime president against blue America, so expect him to keep stirring up culture battles—but the Dems have to avoid getting drawn into them. Kamala and the party were undone in '24 by looking like they cared more about niche issues than putting food on the table. Meanwhile, Biden has left Trump a lot of room to consolidate a bigger coalition than he's ever had. Plus, for Republicans shrugging off climate change and threatening to withhold fire aid to California, here's a news flash: extreme weather is coming to a neighborhood near you.  Ron Brownstein joins Tim Miller for the weekend  show notes Ron's piece on 'late regime' presidencies Ron's interviews with Kamala's advisers Tim's interview with Rep. Jim Himes The book Ron referenced, "The Politics Presidents Make" Tim's playlist

17 Jan 202550min

Pam Bondi is likely to sail to confirmation—even if she's an election denier and pretends she was born yesterday—because she meets the simple qualifications of being a lawyer and former prosecutor, and because she's not a frat paddle come to life i.e. Matt Gaetz. But the fact that she wasn't able to clearly state that the U.S. is her client, not Donald Trump, is a giant red flag. Ditto for his personal lawyers also coming on board. Plus, the ominous removal of Mike Turner from the House intelligence committee, how Biden's farewell address stacked up, and what the locked-up shampoo bottles at CVS say about blue-state governance. Melissa Murray and John Avlon join Tim.  show notes John's "How to Fix It" podcast Melissa's "Strict Scrutiny" podcast Biden's farewell address John's book, "Washington's Farewell"

16 Jan 202556min