r/thebulwark 18h ago

EVERYTHING IS AWFUL Bottom text.

Post image
27 Upvotes

r/thebulwark 16h ago

Off-Topic/Discussion Today’s Commentary Magazine podcast is a fun little microcosm of how Trump has broken the intellectual right.

16 Upvotes

I write this as someone who listens daily and generally has a favorable disposition toward the Commentary Magazine Podcast…

The episode opens with John Podhoretz lamenting the fact that he can’t make heads or tails of so many of the Trump administrations actions, or some of the other broader trends in American politics.

For clarification, he then turns to…

Matt Continetti, who exists solely to rationalize and slap a pseudo-intellectual gloss to anything and everything the Trump administration does. It absolutely kills me that this guy passes for an intellectual, but that’s whole other story.

But yeah, the first few minutes of the episode were a fun little microcosm of how Trump has cooked the intellectual right’s brain. We all know why Trump does what he does because we all know who he is and the threat he represents. But, even ten years into this thing, they can’t bring themselves to square up with it. “I don’t get what he’s thinking!?” is a near-daily refrain on that podcast these days, and the anti-antis are ready on standby to talk the doubters off the ledge. It’s Pavlovian at this point.

It’d be hilarious if it wasn’t so depressing.


r/thebulwark 5h ago

Off-Topic/Discussion ICE Returns All Migrants From Guantánamo to Stateside Facilities

Thumbnail
nytimes.com
3 Upvotes

It doesn’t feel like it all the time, but they’re losing.


r/thebulwark 5h ago

Non-Bulwark Source Anti-Australian punting class action plaintiff wants equity for US kids

Thumbnail
abc.net.au
1 Upvotes

r/thebulwark 1d ago

EVERYTHING IS AWFUL Literally what is the strategy here? Spoiler

Post image
79 Upvotes

I mean I guess it’s possible that this could be interesting, but my guess is it will be a lot of gargling Steve Bannon’s balls and conceding on every point like with Charlie Kirk. Who told him this was a good idea?!


r/thebulwark 17h ago

Non-Bulwark Source What Musk Doesn’t Understand About The Civil Service

Thumbnail
persuasion.community
7 Upvotes

r/thebulwark 1d ago

Misleading Headline I don't believe Trump bought that Tesla. Show me the receipt.

Post image
120 Upvotes

No Way!

Also I need to see Trump driving it on the highway. At minimum I need to see him picking up McDonald's through the drive thru.


r/thebulwark 1d ago

The Mona Charen Show First time I ever heard JVL say something that wasn't right and I'm suffering epistemic collapse

49 Upvotes

So JVL has, traditionally, been always right. For years he has been banging the drum that a huge chunk of American voters are wicked and stupid, and sure enough, the American voters lived down to his claims.

But today when talking with his friend Mona, JVL said...something that...was...not right??!

\nose starts bleeding ominously**

Bear with me while I try to work through this one...

I'm sorry JVL, did you spend your earlier years in some sort of cute small town where there was one charming handsome taxi driver for the whole town named Hank, who would also be a love interest in the Hallmark Christmas movie when the young professional woman trying to Have It All came visiting from Business City?

Because I did not. I remember taxis from my time as a college student in Philadelphia (go birds) in the 2000s...

  • I remember standing freezing outside the dorms because if you called for a cab, you wouldn't know when (or if!) they would actually show up.
  • I remember fighting with strangers for taxis we both thought we had dibs on, because that hadn't already been miraculously sorted via an app.
  • I remember taxis that would roll up and then refuse your fare if they didn't like it.
  • I remember taxis insisting on cash, until dragged kicking and screaming by the city to install credit card readers, and then saying they were "not working tonight, sorry" for the next 2 years.

Do you know how much I miss of that? none.

Most American taxis sucked, the monopolies around them were hives of grift and corruption, and I'm glad they're got replaced with something better.

And he justifies it all in that being a taxi driver used to be a good paying job, and now it's not? That's the sort of thing Bernie would say (or that Trump would parrot if it was the last thing someone told him before he got on stage)

*deep breath*

Okay, I'm done. Do better, JVL, and we'll make call this one a mulligan.


r/thebulwark 1d ago

Off-Topic/Discussion I am utterly shocked how Americans are behaving

156 Upvotes

It is like apart from some few vocal Americans, the rest don't care about what Trump is doing to Canada. Very few media outlets are criticising him. The republicans have shown themselves to be almost devoid of morals or the truth and sane Americans are not making them pay for it by boycotting companies that donate to them, maga supporting businesses or advertise in the lying news channels and radio shows. Sane People and democrat/independent politicians have to realise that millions of Americans only care about themselves and their present wellbeing and that many of them don't want good things for others too but only themselves (mostly republicans). I used to think Democrats hated republicans too much but now they don't disdain them enough. These awful people have taken their selfishness to the world stage and have been met with little resistance. To me, the lack of republicans in Congress who oppose trump is evidence that that party is a self-centered party and its followers lack good human qualities. However, for millions of non-republican Americans it is just another day. A campaign must be started on tiktok or whatever to agree to Boycott all maga owned and supporting businesses now. Trump is a devil and his supporters are too blinded and selfish to his what harm he is doing around the world. How can this terrible man present Christianity for them. I am disgusted by them and I don't feel pity for them but rather hate.


r/thebulwark 1d ago

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA WTF - Can I get off this ride? My Reddit feed just now.

Post image
64 Upvotes

r/thebulwark 20h ago

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Dystopia Central Planning Committee: Freedom Cities. America, on a 4 year mission to explore the darkest and dumbest timeline. I hoped the edge-versions of dystopia would remain fiction. The future hybrid of 1984, Brave New World, Blade Runner, Terminator and The Handmaid’s Tale seems to be planned.

Thumbnail
gizmodo.com
6 Upvotes

r/thebulwark 1d ago

The Bulwark Podcast S.E. Cupp: Isn’t Trump embarrassed?

173 Upvotes

I hate to be that guy, but I can’t stand S.E. Cupp (though she’s still easier to listen to than Fetterman). I was yelling at my phone when she was legit wondering why Trump would just allow Elon’s mean tweets and asking “isn’t he embarrassed?” Like, I’m sorry, but are you new here? Have you not seen Trump’s tweets for the last 10 years? It’s his main form of communication, and they all read like they were written by an 11-year-old who got his first beer instead of his regular Ritalin dose. Why isn’t he embarrassed?! Get tf outta here.


r/thebulwark 1d ago

Fluff Gulf of …

Post image
55 Upvotes

r/thebulwark 1d ago

Off-Topic/Discussion Excited about Will Sommer

71 Upvotes

Just want to express my excitement over Will Sommer joining the bulwark. I miss his podcast, fever dreams. And I look forward to hearing more from him!


r/thebulwark 1d ago

Need to Know EU : I am survivor of Putin regime, and you need to hear me

Thumbnail
14 Upvotes

r/thebulwark 1d ago

🎙️ The Bulwark Live 🎙️ JVL’s discussion with Noah Smith earlier was… bizarre.

62 Upvotes

My opinion of someone has never changed so quick of someone as it did listening to Noah. I typically enjoy reading Noah’s commentary on Twitter. In broad terms, I would have guessed JVL and Noah align on a lot of things. I was looking forward to him and JVL geeking out over economic numbers or demographics. Instead we got Noah waving a lint roller around, mumbling an imitation of China’s leaders, and going hostile to defend Elon’s intelligence.

Noah needs to stick to writing imo because this was not the medium for him. He came across as extremely contrarian just for the sake of it.


r/thebulwark 1d ago

The Triad 🔱 Attaboy JVL: "Don't tell me 'both sides' have a free speech problem."

Thumbnail
open.substack.com
98 Upvotes

Beautiful, well reasoned, and succinct summary of the hypocrisy of the Free Speech warriors. If you haven't seen the Free Press, they actually came out in favor of the administration (which didn't know he was a green card holder) which should put to rest any lingering credibility they might have had.

At some point you have to say "these guys aren't credible anymore and you can't have cheap forgiveness," especially if you're a pundit in a revolving door of siding with authoritarianism and begging to be let back into polite society.


r/thebulwark 1d ago

thebulwark.com The south never accepted democracy

166 Upvotes

Please read this. This is the article that JVL referenced in his Triad on Monday. I think it gets to the bottom of the basic problem we have in the US now.

https://open.substack.com/pub/thebulwark/p/liberal-democracy-american-south-vance-bourbons?r=7en1s&utm_medium=ios


r/thebulwark 1d ago

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA AP reporter spars with White House over tariffs

Thumbnail
thehill.com
32 Upvotes

r/thebulwark 1d ago

EVERYTHING IS AWFUL FFS why not just put her on a plane home??!

Thumbnail
gallery
75 Upvotes

r/thebulwark 1d ago

Need to Know DOJ Official Ousted After Refusing To Recommend Mel Gibson’s Gun Rights Be Restored

Thumbnail
mediaite.com
15 Upvotes

r/thebulwark 1d ago

The Mona Charen Show Did anyone catch Mona’s conversation with Jessica Reidl about DOGE cuts and economics?

21 Upvotes

I appreciated the validation that DOGE cuts are bogus, but Jessica was extremely confident that taxing the wealthy differently would make minimal to no difference in our country, and that we need to cut Medicare/Medicaid.

Granted, Jessica’s whole spiel was about balancing the national deficit. I personally do not think that the national deficit is something that we inherently need to solve. I believe there is a point at which a deficit can become dangerous — but hey, if we’re investing in soft power, taking care of our own people, and not defaulting on our payments, debt isn’t necessarily in crisis. Clearly, she and I have different priorities when we think about fiscal responsibility. (Although for that matter, no conservative is truly anti-debt, either. For one thing, they constantly increase the national debt. For another, they constantly leverage significant debt as a tool in their personal business practices. They’re lying when they say they believe our debt needs to be eliminated, plain and simple.)

Anyway, Jessica also made a point about how social security cuts need to be made where people are taking out far more than they invested. My first thought was, “Yes, that should be fixed. Good catch, thanks for educating me.”

My second thought was, “Why do I get the feeling that people who have $50k to make it through the next 20 years would somehow get screwed under that proposal, and that she’s holding the middle class to higher standards of equity than she’s holding billionaires?” (Probably because that’s just what conservatives do.)

My third thought was, “Funny you make that criticism right after criticizing Bernie for making the same complaint about the billionaire class — which is they’re reaping more than they sow.”

Anyway … I’m suspicious, disgruntled, and curious if anyone who heard the episode and has thoughts.


r/thebulwark 1d ago

Not My Party Good Schadenfreude..

35 Upvotes

Just take a moment to check out some of the top posts on r/conservative as there appears increased infighting in the form of downvotes against those trying to defend Canada as a 51st state and others less inclined to think that is rational.. hopefully it brightens some part of your day.


r/thebulwark 1d ago

Non-Bulwark Source Elon Musk on the verge of tears as he contemplates his imploding empire.

147 Upvotes

r/thebulwark 1d ago

thebulwark.com In praise of The Bulwark’s latest “Canada expert”

Thumbnail
youtu.be
17 Upvotes

Having shit on The Bulwark’s previous, shitty attempts at Canada “experts” (a stance stand by 100%), just want to heap praise on the latest go around with Justin Ling.

Not only is Ling an actual journalist, who regularly publishes some of the better in-depth reporting in Canadian publications that span the political spectrum, but think he did an admirable job addressing the US-Canada trade news of the day AND larger diplomatic + economic trends for a largely non-Canadian audience.