The Bulwark Daily

Senior members of Trump's Cabinet got caught sharing attack plans—down to details of who they were planning to kill, and with what kind of weapons, while also wishing Godspeed to our soldiers—and now they'll say anything to get out of the jam they put themselves in. Also, JD Vance openly questioned the judgement of the president in front of those very senior Cabinet members. Meanwhile, vengeance has long been a defining feature of Trump, but the habits of his heart have also infected his supporters. And they've become a moral freak show cheering on deportations of families and starving Africans. Jeff Goldberg and Pete Wehner join Tim Miller.

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Trump's 1992 interview with Charlie Rose

Bill Kristol joined Tim Saturday in Arizona to rip the atrocious behavior of our government—depriving even lawful Venezuelan migrants of due process, and shipping them off to a mega-prison in San Salvador where they may be being tortured. Any Democratic politician failing to speak out on this is wrong politically, morally, and ethically. Meanwhile, the DOJ is gearing up to charge Tesla vandals with domestic terrorism and Trump sent a Putin fanboy and very useful idiot, Steve Witkoff, to negotiate over Ukraine. Plus, AOC, Bernie, and Bill 2003 vs. Bill 2025. Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.

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Time magazine piece on the Venezuelans deported to El Salvador

Sam talking with Lindsay Toczylowski, who represents Andrys, the gay barber and Salvadoran prisoner

Photos of Andrys as a barber/makeup artist

Immigrant Defenders Law Center

The immigrants' rights division of the ACLU

Trump loves to complain about the deep state while Elon claims he's rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse with all his mass firings. But DOGE should be looking higher up the food chain to target the graft: for example, the South African immigrant whose car company would not have gotten off the ground without the taxpayer money he still collects. In contrast, government workers are mainly mission-driven and they're not in it for the money. Michael's new collection of essays takes a look at some of the characters who populate our federal workforce, including people performing small miracles without fame and glory. Plus, the risk of Trump politicizing economic data and his plan to destroy whatever trust people still have in the government.

Michael Lewis—and Sarah Vowell, who profiled a record keeper at the National Archives for the new book—join Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
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The new book, "Who Is Government: The Untold Story of Public Service"

Tim's "Bulwark Takes" on some of the men taken taken to the El Salvador prison camp

Adrian's "Huddled Masses" newsletter on ICE deportations based on tattoos

George Conway emergency pod on the Paul Weiss law firm caving to Trump

Michael's book, "Losers: The Road to Everyplace but the White House"

Tim's playlist

Trump is a vessel for frustration over the status quo, but he is not a vehicle for a solution—since he has no idea about how to make things better for anyone besides himself. He's made clear that his personal interests come before the country's, and he's willing to trade away the superpowers that made America the globe's Dream Team. The Democrats need to seize the moment to argue for a smarter, more humane way to do efficiency. Plus, the Maryland governor shares his disgust over DOGE's disrespect of veterans and discusses his commitment to elevating boys and men.

Gov. Wes Moore joins Tim Miller.
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Richard Reeves on Moore's commitment to help boys and men

New York magazine on David Shor's 2024 election data 

The Art of the Deal guy gave a master class on how to get worked over by Putin: First, wait around for an hour like an obedient puppy only to have your ceasefire proposal summarily rejected. Then, watch the Kremlin issue a statement that flatly contradicts your claims of what transpired during the phone call on Ukraine. Will there ever be a point when Putin embarrasses Trump so much that he has to defend his manhood? Plus, the possible interpretations of John Roberts's rebuke of Trump, and the administration's sacrifice of even more U.S. power—by silencing the Voice of America.

Ben Wittes joins Tim Miller.
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Ben's Lawfare piece on Trump destroying the Voice of America

Tim's and Sam's interview with Tim Mak on the Trump-Putin phone call

NYT story on the possibly deleted data on kidnapped Ukrainian children (gifted)

The fastest growing demographic class in America is billionaires—we've gone from 500 to 2,500 in the past 10 years. And they know the cheapest, easiest way to get richer: Give a million bucks to Mr. Pay-to-Play in the Oval Office. Meanwhile, maybe just maybe POTUS's confidant in Moscow deposited some cash in his Swiss bank account AKA TrumpCoin, and that's why he is working so hard to get Ukraine to surrender. Also, Dems really need to focus on one or two issues to counter Trump's flood the zone strategy: like the threat to Social Security or questioning why Elon is not applying DOGE to his own Tesla subsidies. Plus, young men are the most anxious, depressed, and obese generation in history and we've really got to help them. 

Jessie Tarlov and Scott Galloway join Tim Miller.
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Raging Moderates podcast

Trump is taking liberties with our country's role in the world as a land of hope and opportunity by summarily locking up and deporting law-abiding immigrants—including people with legitimate asylum claims, people here on proper visas, and people with minor errors in their paperwork. And it's all being done with intentional cruelty to convey the message: Don't even think of coming to Fortress America. Meanwhile, his tone-deaf billionaire treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, is mocking Americans for wanting cheap TVs. Plus, Schumer postpones his book tour as Democrats look elsewhere for a fighter, and Trump throws a late-night tantrum about Biden's pardons.

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White House sizzle reel of immigrants being sent to penal colony in El Salvador
Bill's 'Bulwark on Sunday' conversation with Aaron Reichlin-Melnick

Trump & company aren't even attempting to create a pretext for why they're punishing the free speech of political opponents. They are basically confessing in writing to violating the First Amendment. At the same time, the administration claims it's throwing a Hamas supporter out of the country in the name of fighting antisemitism—while giving jobs to the 'right kind' of antisemites. Plus, MAGA turns on Amy Coney Barrett, Trump sees Canada as 'our Ukraine,' and we're looking at a party that is governing like it will never give up power.

David French joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.

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Democrats are stuck with two terrible options: Either facilitating a government shutdown or allowing Republicans to pass a spending bill that would defund D.C.'s police and schools. Meanwhile, CEOs are getting rattled by Trump's tariff and trade-war chaos, a 'Hispanic Hibernation' is leading to job loss, and Marco Rubio is turning Hamas supporter Mahmoud Khalil into a martyr—as the campus free speech warriors go missing. Plus, California congressman Jimmy Gomez joins Tim to discuss how Dems need to finesse their 'relatable' skills, and man up against the billionaire establishment. 

Sam Stein and Rep. Jimmy Gomez joins Tim Miller.

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Morning Shots on Puma cutting jobs because of a 'Hispanic Hibernation'

The Bulwark's tip line

Mona on the Mahmoud Khalil case

Putin has been named a war criminal because of the Russian way of war in Ukraine—bombing Kyiv and other cities, attacking civilians and first aid workers, and destroying infrastructure. The administration's pause on aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine made the US complicit in those crimes. Meanwhile, Trump does not have any leverage to force Russia to comply with the proposed cease-fire. Plus, the escalating trade war with the EU harms our national security, our allies' hesitancy to share intelligence because of Tulsi, and the South African DOGE bro's laughably absurd attack on Mark Kelly.

Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling joins Tim Miller.

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Hertling's Bulwark piece on the damage of Trump's pause on aid and intel sharing with Ukraine

Hertling's Bulwark piece on a frozen conflict in Ukraine

Andrew's interview with Sen. Mark Kelly