The Bulwark Daily

Sadly, it’s taken some time, but voters seem to be figuring out that Trump only cares about himself, his ballroom, his blatant corruption, and his unquenchable desire for revenge. 2026, so far, has been bad for his approval ratings. And his continued weakness on the world stage, especially when it comes to Iran and China, will only drive his numbers down more. At the same time, Trump has done permanent damage to our standing among our allies. Plus, Dems need to get serious about AI as well as a stock-trading ban for public officials—including presidents—Trump has far too many unexplained medical conditions, and Tim explains his support for commuting Tina Peters’ prison sentence.

Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.

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If the IRS goes ahead and gives in to Donald Trump's demands for a MAGA slush fund, it would be outright theft of the public's money and corruption on a scale that we've never even contemplated in this country. What would stop him from plundering even more from the American people? Plus, Kash's ghoulish snorkel at Pearl Harbor, the Supreme Court's VRA ruling gave permission to practice discrimination, MAGA loves the racism and sexism of the 1950s, and the penile implant expert managing the Hantavirus outbreak. And in his new book, Weissmann explores whether the lies of politicians and political candidates can be criminalized.

Andrew Weissmann joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.

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Just announced: San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and our own MAGA culture expert, Will Sommer, will join the gang on stage at Bulwark Live: San Diego on May 20.

And on May 21 at Bulwark Live: LA our friends Jane Coaston, Jon Favreau, Erin Ryan from , The Ringer’s Van Lathan and progressive commentator Brian Tyler Cohen will join Sarah, Tim and Sam on stage.

Grab your seats today at: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bulwark-events

The Chinese have long envied America's power, influence, and market share. But after Trump's failed trade war, his attacks on allies, and the embarrassment in Iran, the view from Beijing has shifted: It now sees us as a nation in decline. Plus, inflation is creeping back up, the stock market is out of whack, new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is screwed, and the ag community is feeling the pain of Trump's policies. And for the view from the Democratic resistance, Rep. Garcia tells Tim that Dems are not finished with their own redistricting and that Gavin's greatest strength is his obsession with winning. And he says Dems are going to fight like hell to win the House so they can investigate the Trump family's corruption and the Epstein case—the single largest government cover-up in history.

Rep. Robert Garcia and Catherine Rampell join Tim Miller.

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p’s recent insomnia-induced, Obama-obsessed posting spree showed a level of paranoia and delusion that should be raising real concerns about the mental health of our commander-in-chief. The new blotch on his neck to go with the giant bruises on his hands is not helping matters. Is the DOJ mulling a $10 billion IRS settlement with Trump to try to ease his emotional distress over his seeming loss in Iran? Plus, Gorka’s half-baked “official” counterterrorism strategy, Tim did ask Comey about the Hillary email investigation in a previous interview, and the poll numbers for POTUS are worse than they were after Jan 6. 

Tom Nichols joins Tim Miller for a special LIVE pod.

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Because Donald Trump has so thoroughly hijacked the Department of Justice, the public can no longer be confident that a criminal investigation or indictment is legitimate. The default assumption is that official DOJ actions are about servicing Trump's needs for validation, power, or retribution—like the latest seashell-related charges against Comey. Acting AG Todd Blanche acts like a mobster, wears his partisanship on his sleeve, and appears to be breaking the law himself. And at the FBI, Kash Patel presides over a smaller and demoralized and distracted staff, which leaves Comey worried for the safety of our country. Plus, the prospects for accountability post-Trump and the stepped-up investigations into journalists reporting news the administration does not like.

James Comey joins Tim Miller.

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Instead of doing the job Americans have been paying Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for—like trying to alleviate the high price of gas and air travel—he's been shirking his responsibilities on a seven-month-long family road trip paid for by industry lobbyists. And of course, Trump is also being looked after: His ghastly, 22-foot golden sculpture was unveiled, and Republicans promised a billion taxpayer dollars for what was supposed to be a donor-funded ballroom. POTUS needs a little bit of a psychological boost after his apparent defeat in Iran. Plus, Ukraine is gaining ground and Putin sounds like he's winding his war down, Trump has basically ended the post-WWII order, and Tennessee's redistricting was pure racial gerrymandering.

Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.

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Tennessee just completely disenfranchised its black voters after the Supreme Court gave red states the green light to rig the midterms by redistricting black majority districts out of existence—as long as lawmakers pretend they don’t see color when they’re doing it. And while partisan gerrymandering is A-OK with Alito & co., it apparently is not alright for Democratic voters in Virginia to do anything like that to Republicans. Sure sounds like the free speech rules of the Trump administration, where people are free to say what Republicans want said. Plus, the burning rage in the Democratic base, the male doomer industry is selling a bill of goods, and Trump’s very Victorian underestimation of Iran’s ability to fight back.

The Atlantic's Adam Serwer joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.

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Trump's corruption is so astonishing, extensive, and overwhelming that most people can't keep up with all the ways he's profiting off his presidency every single day. Isaac examined the reporting on the First Family's self-dealing in Trump's second term, and he's compiled the most exhaustive accounting of it so far. Just two examples: Trump's sons are doing business with a criminal syndicate that stole billions from Americans; and Trump last year branded a cellphone, had it certified by the FCC, and never delivered them to buyers who paid $100 for the device. The Dems are not doing nearly enough to highlight Trump's corruption. Plus, Saudi-paid Jared really needs to testify before Congress, the value of a news source that breaks our algorithmic siloes, and the risk of the Iran war just fading into the background.

Tangle News' Issac Saul joins Tim Miller. 

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The regime in Tehran is not as fractured as is commonly portrayed, and it is also pragmatic enough to see the economic opportunities that would follow from a deal with an eager-to-please-the-markets Donald Trump. But the contours of a potential agreement look like a win for Iran—not for the U.S., which has spent billions a day, lost military personnel and assets, and handed Iran new-found leverage over the global economy. Also, in this season of commencement, Jodi has advice for new college grads on how to navigate the tough employment market and a digitized hiring process. Plus, the Supreme Court's embrace of the shadow docket and John Roberts' pivotal role in the shift, what it's like to listen to Harvey Weinstein mansplain, moneyed Iranians apocalypsemaxxing, and examining Zionism through the prism of the nationalism movement at the time of Israel's founding.

The Times’s Jodi Kantor and The Atlantic’s Arash Azizi join Tim Miller. 

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Our Constitution is about limited government and restraining the power of the state, but we've got a president asserting powers he lawfully doesn't have, a Supreme Court that largely helps him do so, and a Republican Congress that's just dozing through it all. Americans need a refresher on how our government is supposed to work under the Constitution. Plus, the mifepristone case has brought abortion politics roaring back in time for the midterms, Trump is creating his own libel rules and circumventing press freedoms, and no, SCOTUS, the 14th and 15th Amendments were not designed to be colorblind on the matter of voting rights. 

Melissa Murray joins Tim Miller.

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