Dems Must Really Fix Medicaid, Not Just Undo Trump’s Damage to It
What You Missed This Week From The Bulwark
Happy Saturday! Overtime is for everyone. If you’re a Bulwark+ member: thank you. If you’re not, there’s no better time to subscribe to Bulwark+ than today. If you like today’s issue, you can share this newsletter with someone you think would value it.
Dems Must Really Fix Medicaid, Not Just Undo Trump’s Damage to It
DONALD TRUMP’S ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL effectively accomplishes what he failed to do in his first term: repealing much of the Affordable Care Act.
⚖️ The Epstein Files 📂
Programming alert: The Bulwark on Sunday goes live at 10am, and Bill Kristol will be joined by investigative journalist Julie K. Brown, the leading expert on Jeffrey Epstein. Her groundbreaking 2018 reporting was instrumental in reopening the Epstein sexual abuse case.
The Focus Group podcast is still on hiatus, but the Trump administration’s walkback of the promised “Epstein Files” this week got us curious about what voters are thinking. The Bulwark’s own Will Sommer joined Sarah to break down a focus group of 2024 Trump voters who now disapprove of his performance—and to explore how Democrats might talk about the Epstein revelations.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
100k! As you may have seen in JVL’s Triad, we hit 100,000 paying subscribers recently. It’s kind of a big benchmark for us, something we did not expect would happen. If you’re not yet a member, go read the post, and read the comments. There are 1,300 of them, and they are emblematic of the sort of place we are building here. (Ditto if you are a member, it’ll lift your spirits this Saturday AM.)
I wanted to share a couple of my favorite responses from members:
Trey H. has a nice little mini-essay on how The Bulwark helps him learn to think about stuff. It is powerful.
Or Lisa N., who particularly enjoys the lifting tone of JVL saying “my best friends” or Sarah’s laugh giving her hope.
I’ve run out of space for more, but go take a look, and comment below if you’re a paid member and if you haven’t yet. My prompt this week?
When did you first feel like The Bulwark was your people?
Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
—30—
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.
Thank you for these summaries! With my schedule and The Bulwark growing, this helps me catch what I missed. Like everyone here, I was growing more and more concerned about the 2024 election and was looking for ways to stay informed. My dad is regrettably an avid Fox News consumer and I was also looking for a source that I could try to switch him to (making minor progress but still tilting at windmills!). I understood US media to be heavily biased and was looking for a source that presented a level-headed, comprehensive, minimally biased view. New to this, I bounced around between cbc, bbc, and msnbc, but everything was so sensationalized and superficial. I was being told what to think with little evidence and not being helped to understand it.
It was recommended to me to look at independent media, so I sifted through outlets that were radically left and right until I came across The Bulwark. I was mostly sold when I read your "About" page. I found, as promised, the articles where factual, substantive, and thoughtful. I didn't agree with everything, but I viewed that as a positive. I still don't agree with everything, but now I can at least tell you why. It took me a while to "warm up" to some more than others, but now I understand, respect, and look forward to reading everyone's work. I debated becoming a member for a month, but with the looming election and growing fondness of the Bulwark Podcast and TNL, I decided to sign up with the Black Friday deal and did not regret it for a second! I quickly found the comments were the same quality as the analysis and starkly different from those on Youtube - no one needs that kind of toxicity in their life.
This is exactly what I was looking for and everyone here has kept me sane and informed and I am so thankful for it. I have said this several times before, but thank you so much for your thoughtful reporting and for creating an equally thoughtful community. I look forward to being a part of it for years to come.
When did I know the Bullwark was for me. It was when I first started hearing JVL. There is something in his disappointment with people that touches a cord with me. I dont always go as far as he does in what I think about people but I am disappointed with the fact that so many people seem so unaffected by what is and will be others suffering.
I ALSO really like the way Sara, Tim and JVL interact and talk with each other. Sam is right in there with them too.