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SPEAKER 1
Hey everybody, Tim Miller from The Bulwark here. Just got off MSNBC with Chris Janssen, who's just the best. We were talking about how Jeff Bezos is trying to kind of nudge out Elon Musk and get more government contracts for his Blue Origin program. We talked about all the ways that he is doing that,
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including inviting Trump to his wedding this weekend, which I could not give a fuck less about, by the way. They're doing it in Venice and Just let the people of Venice be. Okay. I want to play the clip for you. I want to kind of revise and extend my remarks. It's daytime MSNBC.
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So, you know, we're doing news. I didn't get to everything I wanted to get to just about how grotesque Bezos's behavior is. So I want to play the clip for you. And then on the backside, I am going to go off a little bit. So stick around for that.

Bezos Really Wants to be Trump’s New BFF

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Tim Miller just got off MSNBC and has more to say about Jeff Bezos’s shameless attempts to cozy up to Donald Trump, all in the name of winning more government contracts for Blue Origin. Bezos is proving that even billionaires will debase themselves to serve power, from inviting Trump to his lavish Venice wedding to producing a pro-Melania documentary for Amazon.

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Discussion about this video

User's avatar
Diane Battista's avatar

I listen to this again with you about the Bezos wedding, which you nailed right on the head

Nothing can be more of a narcissistic me me celebration of ourselves then this display of exorbitant consumption that went on.

While so, many people are suffering and he supports a person that is causing so much chaos suffering, pain, and destruction in our country

This was her second or third marriage with other relationship relationships. This was his second.

Emotionally, mature, love, especially at this age is more quiet and understated.

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Diane Battista's avatar

Marty Barron would be a great guest on the podcast

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Diane Battista's avatar

Marty Barron who was editor at the Washington Post

He served as editor at the Boston Globe and was the one that broke the Catholic Church child sexual abuse scandal in Boston

He is an integral man of honor and a real journalist, newspaper, man, and editor, in every sense of the word

The Washington Posts model is

“ Democracy Dies in Darkness “

He wrote a book in 2023

Titled

“ Collision of Power : Trump , Bezos in the Washington Post”

I wonder if he’s going to write a sequel now that Jeff Bezos has totally capitulated to Trump and Maga selling the Washington Post out .

Marty Barron would be a good guest to have on your podcast to talk about the freedom of speech and the role of free journalism and the Free Press in a democracy

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Mary Lou Kurtz's avatar

Ok - so I guess I’m going to play devil’s advocate here: Lauren Sanchez does not lack serious credentials. Maybe she represents the new “elite.” MAGA approved. MAGA aligned. MAGA billionaire. …that’s all that matters now…right?

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Shana's avatar

Profound disgust at the acts of the disgusting. This is what I come here for. (Not always, but it's never, ever unwelcome.) Thank you for being horrified and decent with us, Tim. Thank you, as always, for the reminder that NO, we are not the ones on the crack here.

(I have never been petty...until Trump 2.0. Which is why I will now say the following: Jeff and his stupid midlife-crisis cowboy hat are pathetic and will be remembered as such, so it's good that they got a bunch of RILLY nice pictures to remember them by [juxtaposed with their deeds] [you in this now, Lauren, no "his" and "hers"].)

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Dave Yell's avatar

"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right. Here I am stuck in the middle with you". *Steelers Wheel

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Carrie's avatar

yah. gag me with a spoon.

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Chantal Rabey's avatar

I never needed the image of Bezos sucking on Trump's toes! Thanks Tim :D

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Shana's avatar

Or teat, though I knew THAT was coming once he said "t...oes."

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Erin Toth's avatar

I DO NOT care about Bozo’s wedding.

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Dave Yell's avatar

What wedding?

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Celia's avatar

So gross! And speaking of people with new faces... These people. Ugh.

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PapaG's avatar

Not surprised to see the wealthy elite jockeying for position in Trump's kingdom. Where's are William Wallace? (No, we don't want you Mel Gibson)

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Cary Lapekas's avatar

Bozo's wedding is vulgar. When you said, "This has all gone to Bezos's head," I thought - That's WHY he can't grow hair!

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Jackie Banks's avatar

It is amazing that even after the “Musk thing”, Bezos still thinks he’s special enough to survive trump. LOL, but as Rick Wilson says “Everything Trump Touches Dies”. Bezos will be no exception.

PS: have found that I get by just fine without Amazon!!!!

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Shana's avatar

Right? Nobody has ever survived Trump's narcissism (I would like to point out that I reflexively almost included an asterisk in "narcissism" to keep social media filters from flagging me for talking about, you know, facts and happenings, so after we take care of Trump we need to deal with the socials), but sure, Jeffie, you're so amazing and different and visionary that you'll be the first. *steps aside so he falls in the hole directly on top of all those who came before*

Honestly, the idea that THESE people are the best and brightest. What a bunch of buffoons. However Americans are remembered, we deserved it.

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Lily who reads The Bulwark's avatar

The still used for the cover of this video is incredibly cute and made me laugh.

Apropos a nothing but these extravagant oligarch weddings always seem so sad and performative to me. I remember some rich Indian guy inviting every celebrity known to man to his wedding and all of them flew in to Mumbai and posted a bunch of pictures of themselves in traditional garb in their socials with captions wishing him and his wife a happy marriage and it was quite apparent he never even met 80% of these people. I don’t think people who are THAT rich have many real friends or normal human connections. Everything is transactional. Everything is a spectacle. What a miserable existence.

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Shana's avatar

THIS. Like, goody for you, you don't have any real friends so all you celebrities just invite other people from your and adjacent industries to fill the seats? Sounds like such a wonderful, personal memory to look back on in your last days, surrounded by, what, jewels and silence, with just the soft beeping and humming of the machines keeping you alive because you are far too special and important to die before your obscene wealth funds the scientific advances necessary to effectively freeze and resurrect you, your family have all deserted you, and your remaining staff are fine keeping the sad gravy train going as long as your money holds out? Imma keep my 15-attendee mountaintop wedding, but you do you. Maybe this is cope, as Tim would say, but at least from the outside, their lives DO look super depressing, like all the empty-headed costumed Capitol people in the Hunger Games. Circuses, indeed.

Re: cover stills, since it's in the "independent media ecosystem" #btc / pro-democracy coalition and therefore fam, Crooked is KILLING me with the PSA audio-only podcast covers, for MONTHS now. SO often, weird pictures of Trump and/or Elon looking disgusting and/or trying to be cool, like the "putting sunglasses on"/mugshot/creepy banner pics. Like, gimme some clouds or a sunset or one of y'all's faces. Gimme staffer of the week. Anything but Trump's giant burnt sienna face making that stupid "o" shape with his stupid mouth. :)

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Carrie's avatar

they are so miserable

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Susan Paulo's avatar

I am disgusted by this decadence when Congress is fighting for more tax relief for these guys while everyday people, veterans, children, etc are losing so much in the BBB. Bezos, you worked in your garage with your first wife to build Amazon. You knew struggle, but you are now ignoring that struggle that others feel for more $$$!You are really disgusting.

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Julie's avatar

I’ll take passionate truth telling over rich person wedding porn, thanks

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Sharon L. James's avatar

What a gross display of white privilige, no understanding of what they are doing to the Venicians or the exquisite city. They don’t care - they can just buy their way into or out of anything. I’m a capitalist but it’s not healthy for anyone to have this much money.

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Mauricio Laos's avatar

Chris Jansing is a legend and she never ages.

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Diane Battista's avatar

A woman named Tina Brown posted this about the Bezos wedding:

“The Jeff Bezos-Lauren Sánchez (circa $56 million) Venice-sinking nuptials, tying up every tender on the Grand Canal (and 90 private jets expected), is the big beautiful buster bomb of high-net-worth exhibitionism. Now that the 55- year-old bride Sánchez has proved that landing the fourth richest man in the world requires the permanent display of breasts like genetically modified grapefruit and behemoth buttocks bursting from a leopard-print thong bikini, she’s exuberantly and unapologetically shown that the route to power and glory for women hasn't changed since the first Venetian Republic. “

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Chris R's avatar

Well said.

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Diane Battista's avatar

https://substack.com/@beverly143/note/c-129991828?r=eit6y&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

Obviously, her and her ex-husband have different morals and values

She looks like the type of woman that would not want to display her breasts wearing practically nothing on her ex-husband‘s arm to please him and for him to show off what a great “trophy wife “ he got .

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Jim Stark's avatar

Point of order... Jeff Bezos is not doing free propaganda, he is paying $40M for *the privilege* of doing the propaganda.

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Memo-55's avatar

As I understand it, Venice of Italy can hardly stomach Jeff's wedding there. Making a theme park mockery of their treasured historical island. Cheap, vulgar weekend takeover of this beautiful place of world cultural heritage. Looking at the bride, that fits. Sorry, Jeff. You gave up the incredible Mackenzie for this TV media tartlet? WTF, Jeff? WTF have you become? I ask because your influence matters in our world, as in WAPO.

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E.K. Hornbeck's avatar

Poor WaPo, he threw it under the bus, many good writers quit, replaced with "Trump isn't so bad" columnists. He made a mockery of the motto he created, "Democracy Dies in Darkness" just to send Katy Perry and "The Boobs" into space.

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drw's avatar

Tim Miller Is great! So happy he is part of the Bulwark.

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Ellen Lake's avatar

I appreciate your outrage, Tim, because it mirrors how I feel so much of the time. This disgusting story is one more example of that.

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Jane Isenberg's avatar

The MSNBC clip in the video was you commenting on the Hegseth news conference, not Bezos.

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Suzanne D’Andria's avatar

Amazon is NOT a great company from the perspective of the employees. Unreasonable work metrics, terrible conditions just terrible. Boycott Amazon, shop direct from the retailers

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Richard Courtney's avatar

And from a purely consumer perspective, You're likely to find anything it sells much less expensive through the actual manufacturer anyway.

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Carrie's avatar

yes! boycott.

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Pat P.'s avatar

He also refused to give his warehouse workers protective measures during Covid.

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kerreee's avatar

Yes!! Time for amazon takedown.

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Carrie's avatar

boycott amazon

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Linda P.'s avatar

"PUFFERY" Great word. Perfect word.

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Terence Rafferty's avatar

Bezos’s wedding celebration is pure made-for-the-cameras economic pornography. Cameo appearances by Jarvanka, Oprah, the Kardashians, etc. One look at this spectacle and you can understand why we have Trump in the White House. It’s the apotheosis of Vulgarity.

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E.K. Hornbeck's avatar

Oprah's such a phony, Kamala one day, Bezos the next.

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Tasmin Gardner's avatar

Totally agree Tim! I’ve been happy to see the protests against Bezos in Venice. Flaunting obscene wealth is obviously not popular in most countries.

Let’s be real: second marriages have a higher divorce rate than first marriages.

I think this is Lauren’s third marriage? Bezos’ second. It won’t last.

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Carrie's avatar

aaaww, you don't think so? poor jeff

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kerreee's avatar

Will he still need her, will he still feed her when she's 64 and her genetically modified grapefruits are hanging down to her knees?

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Tasmin Gardner's avatar

😂😂

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Richard Courtney's avatar

Alimony is a very manipulative tempter. Good thing Bezos isn't rich.

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Alondra's avatar

I want to provide the breast update. Women's breasts I mean. At the wedding. Ms Sanchez has set a high bar for breast exposure, and, of course, size and shape. Sure, who wouldn't - knockers like that don't come for free. So far, from the pics I just googled, only one of the Kardashians (not sure which) is in serious competition for most expensive looking, biggest and most perfectly round and up-tilited breasts. Ms Sanchez appears to be playing the slow game, keeping us all in suspense with a high cut, not even a hint of cleavage, gown, so far. It leaves us to wonder what she might have in mind for her wedding gown. Full or half breasts out? Will there be any nipple play? It's a good bet that where there's Ms Sanchez, there's some big mama breasts, and she don't want those big mamas feeling under-noticed on her wedding day. More to come.

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E.K. Hornbeck's avatar

Well she had the attention of the man in charge of virtual reality wondering if they're virtual or real...

https://www.tmz.com/2025/01/20/mark-zuckerburg-caught-staring-lauren-sanchez-breasts-inauguration/

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Carrie's avatar

who would ever think those are real????????

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E.K. Hornbeck's avatar

Hmm ... well there's

1 - in reality, real boobs

2 - in reality, fake boobs

3 - in virtual reality, real boobs

4 - in virtual reality, fake boobs

So I would say #2 vs #4? ... well, never mind. I'm starting to feel like such a boob. 😯

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Carrie's avatar

Thank you for your perspective, and humor! From where I sit as an old lady, any woman with real boobs that big would be seeking a breast reduction. Unfortunately, many cannot afford it, and they suffer lifelong discomfort and back problems.

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martha m's avatar

Yeah, those “look at my boobs” outfits remind me of what used to be featured in Fredericks of Hollywood catalogs. There is something just so pathetic about her near constant display of those mammaries. It’s like a little kid showing off for mom or dad while shouting “look at me, look at me!”. You expect that from a kid - Sanchez is supposedly 55 years old.

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Alondra's avatar

55 in human years. In Bezos years she’s still a tween.

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Richard Courtney's avatar

If you're selling squares, $5 on the 1/3 side exposed tit tent.

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Carol E Smith's avatar

lol

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DonnaD's avatar

I suppose when you invest that much moolah in altering your body you want to show it off. Myself, I think she looks like The Joker when she smiles.

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kerreee's avatar

He's pretty scary looking as well. Perfect couple.

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E.K. Hornbeck's avatar

He got his new muscles with free 2 day shipping!

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Carol E Smith's avatar

Absolutely.

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martha m's avatar

I agree

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Robert J Danolfo's avatar

Tim, Thanks for the reporting and commentary. You nailed it perfectly. The Anti-Trump, anti-Musk movement should now target this shit bag. Boycott Amazon and force this bald headed bastard to sell the Post. Tesla this traitor.

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Stacey Cameron's avatar

You're cracking me up! Agee 100%

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Leslie Rene's avatar

SARAH IS RIGHT! Personal stories are what is needed now Please continue to promote your new podcast

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Charlie Siefert's avatar

Even though Bezos is a big Star Trek fan - his "moral code" is utterly vapid of any sense of humanity and common goals. He's at least as much of a bully as Trump - although he is exponentially more intelligent.

The supposed 'masculinity' of all the oligarchs and the like is nothing more than rich a$$h0les throwing temper tantrums like a toddler thinking that their money gives them permission to be babies while claiming to be men.

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Strategic Jane's avatar

If he wants the USG to pay for Blue Origin-- lots of rocket makers, Jeff.

Compete for a contract. The wedding? Irrelevant

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Dan Lamson's avatar

I dunno, Tim. Your narrating and mocking the attendees to the Bezos Wedding would be a lot of fun. The level of disgust we’d get would be exquisite. I see big numbers. A small price to pay for your sanity. :P

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Caitlin Sloan's avatar

I know, right ? :) Stripping us of the chance on updates? Timely coverage of the wedding???? ;)

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Angie's avatar

Tim I adore your facial expressions and delivery you always crack me up even when the subject is anything but funny. Melania $40M doc? Gross. $40M wedding? Gross. Suckling orange toes was it? Lost my appetite for the year 🤢😳

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Justin Lee's avatar

"...to suckle on the little orange toes of the man in power." Is Trump putting bronzer on his feet too? I'm going to need Barry to fact check that the way he did Cuomo's nipple rings on TNL.

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Carrie Plowman's avatar

"Sucking on his little orange toes"! Spot on, Tim! That visual captures the disgust I feel for all of the pandering to Dear Leader that all of the oligarchs do everyday.

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meryl selig's avatar

Yay Tim!! With you all the way. Thanks for puncturing the balloon of grotesque posturing and excessthat is Bezos. Now we add Trump-pandering to the mix. This is one of your most concise, direct from the heart, posts. I am going to listen to this numerous times to stay pumped in no-Bezos mode.

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0:35
So, you know, we're doing news. I didn't get to everything I wanted to get to just about how grotesque Bezos's behavior is. So I want to play the clip for you. And then on the backside, I am going to go off a little bit. So stick around for that.