The World’s Brittlest Ego Meets the Globe’s Biggest Stage
When are all you U.N. jerks going to start appreciating everything the American emperor does for you?
Jimmy Kimmel, back on the air as of last night, is plainly a little bemused by his unsought role as Free Speech Hero. The cold open to his show showed a sequence of short, breathless clips from newscasts proclaiming his return to the air “a marker in late-night show history,” “a huge moment in American history,” and “one of the most pivotal moments in broadcast history”—before panning the camera to Kimmel dressed as a giant rat and and sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez as a banana. “Maybe we should change?” “Yeah.”
He changed. And then he went on stage. And then he got emotional. “This show is not important,” Kimmel said in his monologue. “What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.”
An admirable sentiment—made all the more salient by the post the president had made just a few moments before. “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,” Donald Trump fumed on Truth Social last night. “The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! . . . He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do.” We’ve only just begun. Happy Wednesday.
Lord of the World
by Andrew Egger
Watching Donald Trump’s long, self-congratulatory, ridiculous, ominous address at the United Nations yesterday, it was hard to know what was more unsettling: What the speech showed about America under this president, or what the speech showed about Trump himself.
Given his tendency to meander—sorry, weave—it can sometimes be difficult to sum up what a Trump speech is about. But at its heart, Trump’s speech yesterday, which droned on for almost an hour, was ideological: a defense of his brand of lawless populist nationalism as the only solution for the challenges now facing the world, challenges against which liberal multilateralism doesn’t stand a chance.
Refugee resettlement programs, attempts to police borders while simultaneously abiding by the law, even efforts to fight climate change and diversify into renewable energy, which he called the “green energy scam”—all these, Trump said, were self-sabotaging projects that “the English-speaking world” needed to immediately abandon. “Both the immigration and suicidal energy ideas,” he said, “will be the death of Western Europe.”
America, he said, was showing another way—one that, he implied, was setting aside petty concerns like wielding force only in accordance with the law in pursuit of the higher aim of results. Perhaps the speech’s most unsettling moment in this vein came when Trump boasted of his repeated sinking of alleged drug-running boats from Venezuela—attacks for which the administration has still given no justification under U.S. law, except by pointing, as Trump did yesterday, to “the supreme power of the United States military” to destroy “terrorists and trafficking networks.”
“Let’s put it this way: People don’t like taking big loads of drugs in boats anymore,” Trump leered. “There aren’t too many boats that are traveling on the seas by Venezuela.”
All this was abominable—the latest demonstration that America, far from leading the charge toward a world based on orderly international cooperation, now actively seeks to supplant such a world with one based on a state-of-nature struggle between nations (or perhaps “the English-speaking world” against the barbarian hordes outside).
Somehow, though, I found myself even more unsettled by some remarks Trump made in passing, not about the world per se, but about himself. Trump, of course, has always been a braggart and a blowhard. But the levels of auto-hagiography he put on display before the world yesterday were remarkable even for him.
To hear Trump tell it, the biggest problem with bodies like the U.N. wasn’t that they were bureaucratic, ossified structures dedicated to a failing vision of international cooperation. The biggest problem was that they had never been able to understand that he, Trump, was the personal solution to all their problems.
The U.N.’s failure to appreciate him, Trump said, was a longstanding problem—going all the way back to the time, he recalled, when they declined his bid to renovate their New York complex. “I remember it so well,” Trump lamented, sounding momentarily more like a jilted lover than a world leader. “It would be beautiful. I used to talk about, ‘I’m going to give you marble floors, they’re going to give you terrazzo. I’m going to give you the best of everything. You’re going to have mahogany walls; they’re going to give you plastic.’ But they decided to go in another direction.”
These issues, Trump grumbled, have only persisted. “I ended seven wars,” he (spuriously) claimed, without ever getting so much as a “phone call” from the U.N. offering to help out. “It’s too bad I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them.” After rattling off a long list of international wins, Trump said this: “Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize for each one of these achievements.”
At first, I laughed at this comment. But then I realized that this wasn’t just bluster. Trump doesn’t just think he deserves a stack of Nobels—he actually thinks that everyone thinks this.
Think of what it’s like to go through life as this guy. You’ve just spent a decade purging your party and personnel of all but the most pliable and spineless tongue-bathers and yes-men. You sit atop perhaps the largest and most powerful cult of personality the world has ever seen. You’ve repeatedly demonstrated your love for retaliatory action against everyone who displeases you on any matter, no matter how petty—business leaders, opposition politicians, international leaders. And recently, you’ve shown zero compunction about wielding the entire U.S. government to settle those scores.
The result is a life crammed with people, from sunup to sundown, who do absolutely nothing but kiss your ass. It doesn’t matter if you’re meeting with your staff, your congressional allies, business leaders in your country, foreign allies, foreign foes—every single person you meet knows their best course of action is to spend the whole interaction buttering you like a roll. Add that on top of your preexisting lifelong egomania, and it’s a wonder you haven’t actually gotten around to proclaiming yourself Lord of the World.1
This isn’t just a deeply stupid state of affairs—it’s dangerous. Trump’s increasingly ironclad sense that everybody, more or less, worships the ground on which he walks strengthens his confidence that he has no need to triangulate on even his most controversial actions. Why seek consensus from across the aisle when you are convinced you’re the consensus?
As for those remaining foes and critics, in Trump’s mind they don’t represent alternative views so much as some dark and ominous agenda—no doubt as bought-and-paid-for members of an elite conspiracy. It’s not the headspace of a guy who’s considering taking his foot off the gas, whether he’s speaking at the White House or before fellow world leaders at the U.N.
Trump’s Ukraine Re-Re-Re-Pivot
by Cathy Young
Trying to keep track of all of Trump’s pivots on Ukraine, Russia, Vladimir Putin, and Volodymyr Zelensky is liable to make one’s head spin, Exorcist-style.
But yesterday, we saw his toughest pro-Ukraine rhetoric yet. In a social media post after a meeting with Zelensky at the United Nations General Assembly, Trump suddenly declared that Ukraine can “fight and WIN” all of its land back “with time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO.” It’s not clear whether Trump means the borders from February 22, 2022, when Russia already controlled seven percent of Ukrainian territory, or “all of Ukraine back in its original form” (which would include Crimea), or whether he even understands the difference. Either way, it’s a remarkable turnaround from the time before the Alaska summit (a grand total of six weeks ago), when Trump suggested that Ukraine would have to not only cede most of its occupied territories to Russia but give up more.
What’s more, at the sit-down with Zelensky in front of cameras and reporters, Trump hailed the Ukrainian president (you know, the “dictator” who bilked the U.S. out of $350 billion and has “no cards”) as “a great man” who is “putting up one hell of a fight.” And there’s even more: at the same meeting, Trump replied in the affirmative when asked if NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft straying into their airspace. Marco Rubio now appears to be the dove in this administration.
What’s going on? Was Trump playing golf with Finnish president Alexander Stubb again? Did he get a nighttime visit from the ghosts of Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan? Barring such fanciful explanations, Trump’s annoyance with being jerked around by Putin—and being made to look like a weakling and a chump—may be finally having an effect. But his shift is also likely due to the realization that, contrary to Kremlin propaganda, Russia is not on a victorious march and Ukrainian defenses are not collapsing. His post refers to “getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation” and jeers that “Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years … making them look like ‘a paper tiger.’” He made similar points in his U.N. speech.
Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews (Scotland), notes that “Trump seems to finally be getting intelligence that Russia is not doing well and Ukraine has actually started to gain an upper hand in some areas.” At the moment, Russian troops are making virtually no confirmed advances (despite continued high-attrition assaults) while Ukrainian forces are retaking some ground. Ukraine is also continuing its successful campaign of long-distance drone strikes, targeting more oil facilities inside Russia and military aircraft in Crimea. Ukraine has also reached Moscow, where passenger airplanes were grounded for hours, in an operation with a clear demoralizing effect. Some of us said even before the election that Trump may well turn toward Ukraine if he decides that Putin looks like a loser.
Of course, the question is what Trump is actually going to do with his epiphany—provided it lasts beyond his next conversation with JD Vance. (It helps that Zelensky has mastered the fine art of stroking Trump’s ego, praising him as a potential “game-changer” in the war.) For now, Trump’s only concrete pledge is that “we will continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them.” Sanctions? Still at the “we can do them if necessary” stage, even though we’re way past all of Trump’s deadlines for a peace deal. Asked whether he trusts Putin, he replied with yet another deadline: “I’ll let you know in about a month from now, okay?”
On a larger scale, however, Trump’s post does suggest that he’s done with the peace effort. Former military officer and podcaster Andrew Fox writes that this is “probably the least-worst outcome.” It could be even better if he continues, at least, to talk the talk. Maybe now the bipartisan hawks in the U.S. Senate, who have two pending bills to sanction Russia and repurpose its frozen assets to support Ukraine, can start walking the walk.
Just announced: Rep. Sarah McBride will join Sarah Longwell on stage at Bulwark Live in D.C. on Wednesday, October 8.
Plus: Mona Charen, Will Sommer and Andrew Egger will join Sarah, Tim and JVL for a super-sized Bulwark Live experience.
AROUND THE BULWARK
The Dirty Move Republicans Could Pull to Keep the House… Election-denying Trump allies could use a rare procedural maneuver to overturn a Democratic midterm win in 2026, writes STEVE POSNER.
Is ‘Clear and Present Danger’ the Best ’90s Action Flick? In a later-than-expected movie club (sorry!), JVL, SARAH and SONNY take on Clear and Present Danger—a ’90s thriller packed with politics, cartels, and one of the best action scenes ever filmed.
Bringing a Pool Noodle to a Shutdown Fight… Come join the #Yutes for a takeover of Just Between Us, as ANDREW EGGER, JOE PERTICONE, and LAUREN EGAN discuss the looming government shutdown, the political fallout over the Epstein files, Kamala Harris’s new book and positioning for 2028, and warning signs in the economy.
Senate Republicans Hate That They Have to Defend Jimmy Kimmel… Plus, in JOE PERTICONE’s Press Pass, why the Epstein files discharge petition will soon get enough signatures.
‘One Battle After Another’ Review… SONNY BUNCH on Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest, which alternates between laughs, thrills, and pandering sogginess.
See you in DC? Tickets are almost sold out for our 10/8 event, and our special guest, REP. SARAH MCBRIDE, has just been announced. Let’s be together.
Quick Hits
CAN TYLENOL CURE STUPIDITY?: We spent a lot of yesterday’s newsletter going over President Trump’s announcement that he believed Tylenol was causing autism in babies when taken by pregnant women. It seemed both ill-informed and downright malicious, considering it was not based on remotely convincing scientific evidence and would likely cause panic (if not some medical harm) for pregnant women who believed the hype. Now, it turns out, you can add “slightly shady” to the list of descriptions for this announcement. The New York Times reported yesterday that Dr. Andrea Baccarelli, a leading epidemiologist whom the administration cited as a major authority for linking Tylenol and autism, “was paid at least $150,000 to serve as an expert witness on behalf of plaintiffs in lawsuits” against . . . Tylenol.
Baccarelli, who is the dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, had worked on a scientific review that looked at the “association between exposure to acetaminophen during pregnancy” and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children. The study, which actually evaluated prior studies (as opposed to producing new data) concluded there was an association. It was cited during Monday’s White House press conference featuring Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
During a deposition in the lawsuit, Dr. Baccarelli said he had worked more than 200 hours on behalf of the plaintiffs suing Tylenol, accounting for his $150,000 payday. Not bad work. But not helpful to the current cause. Several folks in the medical establishment flagged the Times piece for us as evidence that the autism announcement shouldn’t be taken seriously.
CAN TYLENOL HELP ME UNHEAR THAT?: Last night on Fox News, former Elon Musk top aide turned budding podcaster Katie Miller was asked about her husband Stephen, and her answer gave us all a little bit too much to think about.
He’s a “sexual matador,” she told Jesse Watters. Sorry, what?
As it turns out, she was making a callback to that time when Watters used the same phrase to describe her husband in an interview with him. Still, we can’t unhear this.
But Katie went on from there, outlining a surreal morning routine in the Miller household, one that looks nothing like the typical household of two professional adults raising young children. “He’s an incredibly inspiring man who gets me going in the morning with his speeches, being like, ‘let’s start the day, I’m going to defeat the left, and we are going to win,’” she explained. “He wakes up the day ready to carry out the mission that President Trump was elected to do.”
Brush your teeth, little Jimmy! Get your shoes on! Have a great day at school! Don’t forget to crush Antifa!
ANOTHER ICONIC TRUMP ESCALATOR MOMENT: The president’s meandering speech at the United Nations yesterday was preceded by a similarly uncomfortable, slightly more physically demanding moment: an escalator he was just boarding abruptly stopped working. This forced Trump and First Lady Melania Trump to—gasp—walk step-by-step up to the next floor. The episode didn’t just prompt anger from the White House but accusations of sabotage.
“That’s definitely what it appears to be to me,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News. Leavitt said that the U.S. Secret Service was looking into whether an insurgent U.N. staffer deliberately turned off the escalator to humiliate Trump. (At least one report suggested that a Trump staffer had inadvertently triggered the stop mechanism on the escalator.)
“If we find that these were U.N. staffers who were purposefully trying to trip up, literally, trip up the president and the first lady of the United States—well, there better be accountability for those people,” she said. “And I will personally see to it.”
What type of accountability could we expect? Sen. Mike Lee suggested that the United States should defund the U.N. over the matter. Alas, we don’t need an escalator episode to facilitate that. It’s happening already.
Cheap Shots
I hope we didn’t just give him a new life goal.
Sometimes some perspective is in order.
Two days ago I lost my mother after a long, grueling, debilitating battle with dementia. It was the end of her long struggle against forces that she could not control, and as the legal guardian and a personal caregiver it is a transition point to now finalizing matters of estate and trying to find time and opportunity to grieve, take care of my own personal and professional business as always, and deal with the realization that a life-changing moment has occurred.
And then I turn on the TV, and there's that voice again. There's that whining, about things that look and feel so small and selfish and mean-spirited. There's that unchecked anger and hostility, a cancer on both the mind and the soul of not only that primary practitioner but also those who give aid and comfort to him, in the belief that somehow his desire to divide and conquer will lead them to a better place in their own lives. (Spoiler alert: it won't.) And there's the awareness that the rest of the world is watching in real time, judging us all by his words and actions, while he is making us a laughingstock, or worse, in rambling on as if untethered from reality, utterly indifferent to any consequences of it all for anyone but himself.
I keep asking, but never find an answer. How did we get here? Why is a nation with so much to be thankful for, with so many good things in comparison to how much actual hardship others on this Earth are forced to endure, so insistent upon ripping itself apart at the seams over petty issues and complaints that, with some real effort and willingness to compromise and share, can be surmounted without undue difficulty?
I know I'm not breaking any new ground here. I just see it somewhat differently than a few days ago, after watching someone die in real time over the last few days, and weeks, and months, and years, while someone else whose life has been marked by privilege and priority and lack of accountability continues to make it a priority for others elsewhere to suffer in ways that he utterly cannot relate to or understand without ever having had to walk the miles in their shoes. Life is unfair in many ways. Some we can control. Others we cannot. We owe it to ourselves and each other to be our best selves, not our worst, in times of difficulty and suffering, and when we have the ability to be kind and compassionate and aware and understanding. There is so much good around us to celebrate and share and unite around. Pray that we can find political leadership, at all levels, that understands that we need healing in our land, not more division and anger and hostility. Pray that they have the life experience to understand what true suffering and loss is, and how devastating and enduring those things are. And how unimportant some things are compared to how they are made to be. The world looks different when you lose someone or something special. It's sad that it sometimes takes such loss to see more clearly, but worse still when the powerful and influential among us never seem to grasp the concept, to the detriment of us all.
"It was foreign affairs journalist Ishaan Tharoor who captured the larger story of Trump’s speech.
“'A senior foreign diplomat posted at the U.N. texts me,' Tharoor wrote, "This man is stark, raving mad. Do Americans not see how embarrassing this is?"’”
-- Heather Cox Richardson, 2025-09-23