Tonight: Watch the VP Debate with The Bulwark
Tonight: Watch the VP Debate with The Bulwark
Plus: JD Vance Can’t Be Trusted to Protect the Constitution
Recently in The Bulwark:
BILL KRISTOL & ANDREW EGGER: Balls, Strikes, and Yikes!
JVL: A Pro-Life Murder 🔐
JOE PERTICONE: Donald Trump Is Not Your Nutrition God
Overtime is for everyone. If you’re a subscriber: 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.
JOIN US TONIGHT FOR THE DEBATE AT 8:30 PM ET!
THOMAS JOSCELYN: JD Vance Can’t Be Trusted to Protect the Constitution
BEFORE TONIGHT’S VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE, we should recall why JD Vance will be on the stage. Donald Trump didn’t pick Vance as his running mate because the junior senator from Ohio had any significant experience in government. Nor did Trump choose him because of any noteworthy accomplishments in the private sector. No, Trump chose Vance because he has proven to be far more servile than his predecessor—former Vice President Mike Pence.
Pence has repeatedly explained to the American people that Trump forced him to choose on January 6, 2021: He could either remain loyal to the U.S. Constitution or he could serve Trump. He could not do both. Pence chose the Constitution. Vance, by his own admission, would have chosen Trump.
A.B. STODDARD: What Harris Needs from October
FIVE WEEKS FROM TODAY, the harrowing presidential campaign of 2024 will be over. The election may not be over, as the results may not be known for days or weeks. A Kamala Harris victory could produce a second Donald Trump–led coup attempt—if Republicans refuse to certify local and state results on time, there could be a constitutional crisis. There could also be violence. But the vote-casting will be over, and the time for persuasion will end.
Trump isn’t in the persuasion business; he is trying to energize his base with a scorched-earth campaign. Harris has weeks left to bring more voters into her tent, but as sitting vice president, she will be navigating political landmines, including, this week, challenges arising from the devastation Hurricane Helene visited upon the South. Harris needs some help and some luck. Here is what she needs in October to be best positioned to win:
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Will JD Vance Fall Flat on His Face Debating Walz? (w/ Lis Smith) [YouTube]
Just Between Us: Hurricanes, Strikes, and Centenarians 🔐
Across the Movie Aisle: The Messy 'Megalopolis'
Did you know? Bulwark+ members can listen to an ad-free version of these podcasts on the player of their choice.
Learn more at Bulwark+ Podcast FAQ.
📣Bulwark+ members can now listen to ad-free podcasts on Spotify! Learn more here.
✍️Also: Did you know that every podcast has a transcript for B+ members? Yes! If you’re more a reader than a listener/viewer, open any podcast and the transcript button is beneath the player.
JILL LAWRENCE: Say Goodbye to Truth as We Know It If Trump and Vance Win
AS HURRICANE HELENE RACED TOWARD FLORIDA last week, the Miami Herald seized a dramatic opportunity to remind readers that “we live and die—sometimes literally” by information from the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service. And when you’re trying to figure out whether to leave or stay, whether schools are open or closed, “how much food and gas to buy to survive,” the editorial board wrote, you obviously need “the best, most trustworthy information” possible.
MONA CHAREN: Trump Is Making Americans Meaner
WHEN A NATURAL DISASTER STRIKES anywhere in the United States, Americans spring into action to help. I live in Virginia, which was mostly spared from Hurricane Helene’s wrath, but within hours, I was seeing messages that teams of rescuers from Maryland, Virginia, and other jurisdictions were rushing aid to western North Carolina (some by mule!). First responders who live hundreds of miles from the afflicted zones jump in their vehicles to help out. People like you and me donate. Local and state governments, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and hundreds of private charities like the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, World Central Kitchen, Americares, and Save the Children provide food, water, shelter, toiletries, and medical attention.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
October is the best month of the year… Not just because I love fall, or that my birthday is coming up, or that of my twins. But because hockey is back and The Fall Classic®.
As part of the annual tradition, we’re doing an Overtime World Series Prediction contest. Not the full playoffs, we’re keeping it simple. Who wins?
🚨Bulwark Live in the Blue Wall!🚨
Come see us live in Philadelphia on October 17, Pittsburgh on October 18, and greater Detroit on October 19. Tickets going on sale soon—be on the lookout, and see you there!
The Christian Radicals Are Coming… The movement that fueled January 6 is revving up again, writes Stephanie McCrummen at The Atlantic.
Usha Vance is a 'spirit guide'… to husband JD and has evolved with him on Trump. (USA Today) Enjoy that, um, “evolving” Mrs. Vance! Some might call it nihilism but don’t listen to them.
The Election’s No-Excuses Moment… Voters know all they need to know—especially about Trump. (Tom Nichols, The Atlantic 🎁)
I didn’t get a VP Debate 8 Ball… Back in 2004, when “The Race at Case” hosted the VP debate, but I heard about them (in the pre-social media era) and really wanted one. Go figure that The Smithsonian would have one. (Check out some of the other fun things they have!) While I was busy on the campaign trail, thanks to my parents, I did get a t-shirt!
The legacy of Pete Rose… The souvenirs. (Cincinnati Magazine)
Pete Rose… and the limitations of hustle. (Andrew Donaldson, Ordinary Times)
This will not come as a shock… Judge Aileen Cannon tosses ‘ghost candidate’ lawsuit by investors in Florida Power and Light parent company. (Miami Herald)
Exit, Voice, and the Post-Trump GOP… Daniel Drezner wonders: “Can a decent Republican support Trump this year? Can a viable Republican reject him?”
Poll workers can be hard to find… But in Nebraska, counties can draft them. (NPR)
In this awful Biden economy… Republicans are buying Taylor Swift autographed guitars for $4,000 just to destroy them.
JD Vance: Unfit, unqualified (cont’d)… Sarah Rumpf joins Hannah Yoest in highlighting my Senator’s unfitness for the Vice Presidency (Mediaite)
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.