Trump’s head is stuck in the 80s so he may not have noticed that cable is dying. All he can think about is getting his greedy little hands on CNN so he can make them say nice things about him. But independent outlets—like The Bulwark— are changing the media space and are beyond the reach of a corrupted FCC. Nevertheless, our screens are going to be filled with vast quantities of pro-MAGA propaganda. Meanwhile, Mamdani played to Trump’s 80s tabloid obsession to win a favor, which was good, but it was also something that would have the left howling in disgust if Hakeem had done it. Plus, Hegseth is bullying Anthropic because he wants to mass surveil Americans, how states can legally fight back against ICE and the administration’s election meddling, and the irony of cool, edgy, masculine men behaving like women with Mar-a-Lago face.

Amanda Carpenter joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.

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No matter how often Trump tries to change the subject, he keeps getting caught in his own attempted diversions. He blames Somali immigrants for importing bribery, corruption, and lawlessness while he sits behind the resolute desk taking a million dollar bribe to bitch about a new bridge. Or he showcases the US men's hockey team while his lying FBI director gets caught red-handed pretending he just happened to be in Italy when the team was playing. And the more Trump tries to run away from the Epstein case, the more blatant the administration's cover-up becomes. Plus, distancing from the craziest parts of the DSA is part of the anti-authoritarian project, Mamdani and AOC have avoided some of their fan base's worst impulses, Newsom put his name on a number of policies that will dog his ambitions, and the Dems need to reclaim improving public schools as one of their key issues.

The Atlantic’s Jon Chait joins Tim Miller.

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For just under two hours, Trump in his State of the Union address lied about the state of the economy, the cost of living, his tariffs, and even his immigration policy—claiming that he favors legal immigration while his armed, masked goons grab and imprison people who followed the law. And if Americans didn’t hear Trump discuss any real policy proposals in speech, it might be because he’s a bit distracted with his quest to capture more media outlets, including his longtime nemesis, CNN. Trump’s attempt to silence dissent has become the signature of his presidency. Plus, the paradoxes and conflicting signals on Iran, the sellout of bipartisan support for Ukraine, Vance finally has a job as VP, and POTUS only allows robotically remixed, Fox fever-dream women in his Cabinet.

Susan Glasser joins Tim Miller.

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Apart from all the lies MAGA is forced to say in defense of Donald Trump, the movement is actually better at political organizing than Democrats. So while the Dems can pull off the massive No Kings rallies, the protests are just one day and the energy can fizzle away. But MAGA is really focused on turning out the vote so they can win. And they got the idea from the big tent campaign tactics that Obama deployed in 2008 and 2012. Plus, some advice on how Dem candidates can turn their communications into a superpower—like stop proposing solutions when voters are mad and just want to vent.

The New Yorker’s Charles Duhigg joins Tim Miller.

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With a shooting at Mar-a-Lago and some real counterterrorism issues associated with Trump's threat of war on Iran, Kash Patel probably had more important matters to attend to than shotgunning beer with the U.S. hockey team. And the team itself might have remembered that Patel himself is standing in the way of investigating the murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. But too many people at the top don't give a crap, and others are taking their cue. And that includes the larger media, which has moved on from Minnesota, even though women are having to resort to giving birth at home out of fear that federal agents will snatch family members in the labor & delivery ward. Meanwhile Trump is aggressively promoting regime change in Iran, and Sam Altman sounds like he thinks Neo was the bad guy in "The Matrix." Plus, does Netanyahu's role in helping get Trump back into power—and perhaps pushing him to war— open up a political opportunity for Dems to put pressure on Israel?

JVL joins Tim Miller.

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Of course, SCOTUS struck down Trump’s stupid tariffs. Nearly every legal expert in America said they were unconstitutional, but we have had to live with them for more than a year. Now, he’s threatening war on Iran apparently because it’s not fair that Obama got a Nobel and he didn’t. Meanwhile, as we approach the fourth anniversary of Russia’s war on Ukraine, Putin still holds out hope he can seize all of the country. Plus, Marco is working on getting Cuba to be the next domino to fall, Trump’s Board of Peace is pushing a complete fantasy in Gaza, the battle against ICE in Minnesota is not over, and gold medal-winner Alysa Liu—a California lib, and a child of an immigrant—represents the shining city on a hill. She is America. Michael Weiss joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.

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The junior senator from Minnesota joined Tim on Wednesday for the first show of a two-night Bulwark run at the historic Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis—the city that caught ICE off-guard with its "radical empathy" and kick-ass organizing skills. It was the "secret sauce" of Minnesotans that looks to have federal agents winding down their operation there. Plus, Democrats need to continue to hold the line on DHS funding, the incompetent clown atop the DoD and other loser Republicans, the Senate is fundamentally broken, and the beauty of retiring to make way for a new generation of leaders.

Sen. Tina Smith joins Tim Miller.

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• Tickets are now on sale for our LIVE shows in Dallas on March 18 and in Austin on March 19: TheBulwark.com/Events.

Most Democratic politicians are scared to criticize each other. They also fear dinging former presidents, or the various groups that make up the party’s broad coalition. And too many Dem candidates are afraid to color outside the lines, even if voters want them to be less establishment and more like regular people. Can the party get it together before the midterms? Plus, Trump’s threat of war against Iran, and his reported intent to kill Netflix’s bid to takeover Warner Discovery—potentially giving him power over CBS, CNN, Fox, and TikTok.

The Atlantic’s Mark Leibovich joins Tim Miller.

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From FCC Chair Brendan Carr—who keeps trying to silence the political opinions of late night TV comedians, to DHS pressuring social media companies to expose anti-ICE accounts, and to the willingness of serial killer RFK, Jr and his MAHA cohort to stack up dead children so they can keep their antivax con going—it’s clear the shamelessness of MAGA knows no bounds. But even if the coalition that delivered Trump’s victory in ‘24 has been shattered, the Dems have to skip the seven-point policy plans and focus on the economy and Trump’s corruption. And Dem candidates need to do their own tweeting. Plus, the potential legal peril for Kristi and Corey, Virginia went big and bold against Republicans on redistricting, and an homage to Jesse Jackson.

Rick Wilson joins Tim Miller.

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• Get $35 off your first box of wild-caught, sustainable seafood—delivered right to your door. Go to: https://www.wildalaskan.com/BULWARK.

The white Anglo-Saxon supremacy in Trumpland is so over the top that even child-of-Cuban-immigrants Marco Rubio claims America’s common cultural heritage is European. But then with a schizophrenic touch, our secretary of state went on to endorse the reelection of Viktor Orban, who has decidedly turned Hungary away from Western democratic values. In response, some high-profile Democrats weighed in, including AOC from Munich. Plus, we are constantly reminded to not trust anything DHS says, the Dems should not agree to give one more penny to ICE, and Marco: The music of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones would not have existed without African American culture.

Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller for the holiday pod.

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