Author: The Bulwark

If Joe Rogan is the voice in the wilderness on the disappearing of migrants to El Salvador, then the Democratic leadership really needs to rethink its cautiousness. Meanwhile, the Bluffer-in-Chief is musing about a third term and Elon seems to be skirting the law in Wisconsin over an election he claims will determine the fate of civilization. Plus, the tariffs threats are rattling the markets, Trump's gullibility with Putin is coming through loud and clear, and why does JD hate Europe so much? 

Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.
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Trump is siccing the thought police on the Smithsonian, he's got an FBI task force set up to protect Elon's car company, and he's turning random tattoos into gang insignia—unless they're on Pete Hegseth. Meanwhile, Greenlanders did not come to play, Elise Stefanik gets benched, the DOJ won't do its real job, and next week's elections are making Republicans nervous. Plus, courage is contagious—make them come after everybody. Amanda Carpenter joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.

Amanda Carpenter joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
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Trump so far is not delivering on his promised spike in deportations, but he is creating a permission structure where we lock up people without due process in a foreign gulag—and where masked, plainclothes officers in unmarked cars can grab an international student off the street because of her speech. Meanwhile, a Rolex-wearing Kristi Noem is shooting videos in front of people we've turned into hostages, the mainstream media is struggling to respond to the moment, we can't count on judges siding with the Constitution, Republicans refuse to be honest, and far too much of the public is not paying attention. 

Jon Lovett joins Tim Miller.
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No matter how hard Republicans try to spin the sharing of top secret military attack plans on an insecure app, the colossal f***up of an administration that claimed it was rooting out incompetence is plain on its face. And while Jeffrey Goldberg told Tim Tuesday that he was mulling over releasing the Signal messages, he went ahead and did so after the administration accused him of lying and sneaking into the Signal group chat. Plus, Russia pretends to agree to a cease-fire, Breitbart kind of grows up, and a new book examines Capitol Hill's craziness—including Trump's control of the House GOP, Nancy Mace's delusions of grandeur, and Schumer's infinite faith in the Republican Party of old.

Michael Weiss, Ben Smith, and Annie Karni join Tim Miller.

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No matter how hard Republicans try to spin the sharing of top secret military attack plans on an insecure app, the colossal f***up of an administration that claimed it was rooting out incompetence is plain on its face. And while Jeffrey Goldberg told Tim Tuesday that he was mulling over releasing the Signal messages, he went ahead and did so after the administration accused him of lying and sneaking into the Signal group chat. Plus, Russia pretends to agree to a cease-fire, Breitbart kind of grows up, and a new book examines Capitol Hill's craziness—including Trump's control of the House GOP, Nancy Mace's delusions of grandeur, and Schumer's infinite faith in the Republican Party of old.

Michael Weiss, Ben Smith, and Annie Karni join Tim Miller.

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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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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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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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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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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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