The Bulwark Daily

Pete Hegseth convenes the military’s top leaders to complain about fat troops and generals and plug his book. Meanwhile, Charlie Kirk’s assassination continues to drive debate about how to confront MAGA as a cultural and political movement. David Jolly, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Florida, joins Tim to talk about his campaign, why he switched parties and how he thinks he can reverse his state’s political trajectory. Then, The Ringer’s Van Lathan talks with Tim about our recent interview with Ezra Klein and what political conversations about beating MAGA are missing.

Show Notes:

President Trump orders the National Guard to be deployed to Portland, Ore., after declaring it a war-ravaged city. And reports surface that the administration is considering strikes in Venezuela. Meanwhile, the military’s top generals are on their way to Quantico for a mysterious meeting called by Pete Hegseth that the president now wants to crash. Congressional leaders meet with the White House with the clock running out on the window to avert a government shutdown. And the nation reels after a weekend of violence in Michigan and North Carolina.

Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.

Show Notes:

President Trump’s quest for revenge escalates, as a grand jury indicts former FBI Director James Comey days after Trump forced out a prosecutor who refused to bring charges against his political enemies. Trump, meanwhile, is cheerleading the indictment and publicly encouraging prosecutors to go after more Democrats and left-leaning organizations. Adam Kinzinger joins Tim Miller to talk about the merits of the indictment, why we can’t afford to be intimidated by it and what comes next. They also discuss why Pete Hegseth called generals to a mysterious meeting, how the administration released the military record of New Jersey’s Democratic candidate for governor to her political opponent and how Democrats need to play the fight over a looming government shutdown.

Show Notes:

NEW show added to Toronto schedule: Bulwark Live Q&A Matinee show on Saturday, September 27 —tickets are on sale now, here.

The White House readies plans for mass firings in the federal government as Democrats weigh the stakes of forcing a government shutdown. The Justice Department prepares to seek an indictment for former FBI Director James Comey as President Trump hunts for revenge against his political enemies. Ezra Klein of The New York Times joins Tim to discuss what a fight about a shutdown should really be about, how Democrats can find a message that can meet the moment and what it will take to pull our politics out of a violent moment.

Show Notes:

NEW show added to Toronto schedule: Bulwark Live Q&A Matinee show on Saturday, September 27 —tickets are on sale now, here.

A government shutdown creeps closer as President Trump cancels a meeting with Democratic leaders. Former Vice President Kamala Harris embarks on a press tour to promote a score settling book about her campaign. Plus, Trump taps one of his former personal lawyers to replace a U.S. attorney he dismissed for not targeting his political enemies after publicly calling on the Justice Department to move against people he thinks wronged him. In a two-part episode, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) joins Tim Miller to talk about her race for the Senate and how Democrats can dig themselves out of a hole nationwide. And Glenn Thrush of The New York Times joins the show to talk about his reporting on Trump’s escalating pressure on the Justice Department.

Show Notes:

NEW show added to Toronto schedule: Bulwark Live Q&A Matinee show on Saturday, September 27 —tickets are on sale now, here.

The injecting-bleach president is getting some super-strong pseudoscientific information to scare mothers and blame them for autism while conveniently ignoring the role geriatric sperm may play in neurodivergence. Meanwhile, Kimmel may be coming back, but confusion remains about why his show was pulled to begin with—given the jokes Trump, his son, and other high-profile people made about the attempted murder of Paul Pelosi. Plus, the strength of Dems out in the field vs the leadership in DC, and how overly focusing on race and identity in this majority-white country can make everybody focus on it.

Bakari Sellers joins Tim Miller.

show notes

NEW show added to Toronto schedule: Bulwark Live Q&A Matinee show on Saturday, September 27 —tickets are on sale now, here.

We thought Tom Homan was just an extreme border hawk and ideologue. Now we know this powerful law enforcement official, who's depriving immigrants of their freedom, may also be a corrupt law-breaker—after he was reportedly recorded taking a $50,000 cash bribe during an FBI sting operation. And MAGA die-hards, like Megyn Kelly, have made clear they don't care. Meanwhile, Kash is having FBI agents pursue QAnon leads in the Kirk assassination. Plus, Tucker is a very sick person, Trump is demanding that Bondi file trumped-up charges against his enemies, and Democrats should absolutely not vote to fund this administration.

Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.

show notes

Tim on Megyn Kelly's diatribe against him; or watch on YouTube

Bulwark Live in DC (10/8) with special guest Rep. Sarah McBride
On sale now at TheBulwark.com/events.

NEW show added to Toronto schedule: Bulwark Live Q&A Matinee show on Saturday, September 27 —tickets are on sale now, here.

Cancel culture lives on, but it's taken new turns, especially among some of the loudest opponents of woke culture who simply can not abide one word of criticism about Charlie Kirk or Israel. Meanwhile, the vice president of the United States is actively encouraging his kind of Americans to rat out their neighbors. Plus, how authoritarianism and corruption go together, the challenge for academics who don't adhere to views on race they're 'supposed' to have, and Trump's talent for exploiting grievance will be studied for years.

The Atlantic's Thomas Chatterton Williams joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.

show notes

Tim's playlist

NEW show added to Toronto schedule: Bulwark Live Q&A Matinee show on Saturday, September 27 —tickets are on sale now, here.

The administration wants people to believe that Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off the air because he supposedly crossed a red line when it came to Charlie Kirk—yet at the same time, somehow totally ignore that this is naked government coercion of critics who embrace the time-honored tradition of skewering presidents. And because this is the Trump administration, there's also a corruption angle, namely a local TV station conglomerate trying to curry favor with Trump and FCC Chair Brendan Carr to get a $6.2 billion merger approved. Meanwhile, Vance is openly manufacturing a new, broader conspiracy behind the Kirk assassination, continuing his admitted pattern of just making things up out of whole cloth. It'd be nice if other members of the media noticed.

JVL and Brian Stelter join Tim Miller.

show notes

Brian's "Reliable Sources" newsletter

JVL's Thursday 'Triad'

NEW show added to Toronto schedule: Bulwark Live Q&A Matinee show on Saturday, September 27 —tickets are on sale now, here.

This country has been dealing with an increase in political violence for nearly a decade, and leaders from across the spectrum need to do everything they can to get us off this terrible path. Declaring 'free speech for me and not for thee,' or getting random people fired for not saying nice things about Charlie Kirk isn't helping to tamp things down. Meanwhile, it looks like Trump is sacrificing U.S. national security interests with his corrupt TikTok and UAE deals, and Russia remains one of the only countries in the world Trump hasn't tariffed. Plus, Democrats must not roll over and play dead on the spending bill like they did in the spring.

Amb. Susan Rice joins Tim Miller.
show notes

NEW show added to Toronto schedule: Bulwark Live Q&A Matinee show on Saturday, September 27 —tickets are on sale now, here.