The markets may be hanging in there but they also held strong in early 2020—right up until Covid hit New York. Meanwhile, tariffs are driving consumer confidence down, firms are talking about cutting back on hiring and investments, and Goldman Sachs is predicting that the U.S. will have the highest inflation and lowest growth of any developed economy this year. Plus, Scott Bessent is not a calming influence, and Trump has a real 'War on Christmas' in the works.

The Stalwart Joe Weisenthal joins Tim Miller. 

Joe and Tracy Alloway's newsletter on how the markets can get things wrong (gift)

Recent 'Odd Lots' pod on the coming empty shelves & the War on Christmas

Joe's Bluesky post on the War on Christmas

The Trump administration keeps showing it's sooo tough on immigration that it deported three U.S. citizen children, arrested the wife of a member of the Coast Guard because her visa expired, and perp-walked an allegedly immigrant-concealing Wisconsin judge in handcuffs—instead of showing her the kind of deference Trump received over the course of his four indictments. Plus, the wildly wealthy jackasses behind Trump, the missing cargo ships at the ports, and Scott Pelley at 60 Minutes shows how it's done.

Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.

Semafor's piece, "The Group Chats that Changed America"

Since this country's founding, we have been tested. And the Americans before us somehow stood up and fought the good fight. We can't be the generation that loses it all 249 years into this experiment. But that doesn't mean we can't laugh about the stupid clowns—like Trump showing once again that he has no idea how tariffs work. Plus, RFK's dangerous proposed autism registry is selling a cruel fantasy. And Democrats need to lock down what they're selling and listen to what voters want from the government.

Beto O'Rourke joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.

Beto's Substack

Beto's "Powered by People"

NY Post story on the Venezualan stylist, Andry, imprisoned in El Salvador

Tim's interview with David Pakman about not traveling abroad

Tim’s book recommendation, "Diary of a Man in Despair"

Tim's playlist

Donald Trump is trying to foist the worst peace deal in the last 100 years on Ukraine, as he gets repeatedly played by foreign leaders on the world stage. At home, he's turned JFK's "Ask not" upside down to 'Ask what you can do for Donald Trump.' But when will the cowardly law firms or CEOs groveling for a tariff exemption stand up for patriotism, our core constitutional values—and America's better vision of itself? Plus, Tim challenges an 11-year-old block from Twitter's golden era, and Booker shares diet & exercise tips.

Sen. Cory Booker joins Tim Miller.

Trump may be brilliant at assaulting us with his daily distractions, but Democrats need to relentlessly target his corruption because that may be his weak spot. He is running the government in a pre-modern way—like it's his own personal piggy bank. And he has replaced rules-oriented bureaucrats with mostly incompetent loyalists who are only there to do his bidding. Meanwhile, Christianity could help heal the country's partisan polarization if it returns to the teachings of Jesus instead of the gospel of Donald Trump. Plus, the constant burden of having to fight the cognitive warfare and sensory overload coming out of the White House. 

Brookings’ Jonathan Rauch joins Tim Miller.joins Tim Miller.

Jon's piece on Trump's patrimonialism

Jon's predictions in 2022 about a Trump second term

A Chris Murphy Senate floor speech on Trump's corruption

Mark Hertling piece on the Russian and Ukrainian armies that Tim referenced

Jon's new book, "Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy"

Jon's book, "The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50"

The opening scene of The Godfather

Trump and the people around him are trying to weaken our constitutional protections like due process. But the administration is getting rattled, because people see that the Abrego Garcia story is not about the man, but our rights, and because people keep protesting. We have to keep gumming up the works. Meanwhile, why aren't the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups howling while Trump single-handedly ruins our country's global economic status? Plus, our fully-grown SecDef is blaming the deep state for his troubles, even though they involve his wife, his brother, and his phone. And Dear Charleston: Please un-elect Nancy Mace.

Michael Steele joins Tim Miller.

Republican senators could have insisted on someone who was even minimally competent to run our military, but because of their spinelessness, we've now got a SecDef who can't resist texting top secret war plans. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court shows it doesn't trust the Trump administration, and judges on lower federal courts have stopped believing what its lawyers say. Plus, Joe Perticone joins from Rome to discuss the passing of Pope Francis. And the uncanny relevance of the American revolutionaries' grievances against King George.

Bill Kristol and Joe Perticone joins Tim Miller.

Sen. Van Hollen showed that Congress actually does have agency, and a federal judge finally scorched the administration in crystal-clear language about how it's violating the essence of our constitutional republic. But the White House is just treating the whole Abrego Garcia affair like it's a joke. Meanwhile, Trump is elevating his own businesses over the nation's, and is quickly adopting the kleptocratic models of Russia and China—while overlooking the fact that the Chinese have maintained a functional and competent government. Plus, children all over the world are going to die because Elon wants our money to go to his companies, and Marco signaled that the big talker who promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours is ready to give up and walk away.

Anne Applebaum joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.

The White House is doubling down on justifying its extra-judicial actions around Abrego Garcia by trying to incriminate him in the court of public opinion. But the government still can't pluck people off an American street and send them to a concentration camp without due process. Plus, Judge Boasberg is not letting Stephen Miller off the hook for defying his order to turn the Salvadoran-bound planes around. And while the administration tries to stir up outrage about one immigrant's marital problems, they admiringly describe the evil, blood-thirsty Vladimir Putin as a good guy. Ben Wittes joins Tim Miller.

CNBC on Chris Krebs leaving his company after being targeted by Trump

Boasberg's probable cause finding to hold the goverment in criminal contempt

Tim's 2019 Bulwark piece that he referenced 

Support Lawfare

Manufacturing orders are down, stocks are down, and mortgage rates are up. But Trump and his family are wealthier than they've ever been. He's got his Ponzi-like crypto scheme, his meme coin, and a boatload of big money types showing up at Mar-a-Lago trying to curry favors from him for some cold, hard cash. Meanwhile, Trump is play-acting like he has a strong hand, but he's begging China to make a deal. Plus, the administration is defunding science and our world-renowned medical centers to buy crypto. And the Abrego Garcia kidnapping and imprisonment has touched a nerve in surprising ways.

Stephanie Ruhle joins Tim Miller.

Bloomberg on United Airlines having two profit scenarios because of the trade war (gifted)

*The Bulwark Podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp