Trump is currently at the G7 openly criticizing Netanyahu and Israel, calling Israel’s attack in Beirut vicious, lavishing praise on the Syrian President, saying no country has ever been treated as unfairly as Lebanon, and saying Syria is better at controlling Hezbollah than Israel is. I don’t know if it ultimately means anything, but maybe Netanyahu is about to run into the immutable law of ETTD. If so, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
But there's so much winning on the Netanyahu train! It's all winning.
Trump is an idiot. No doubt, EVERY SINGLE OTHER PRESIDENT who's dealt with Bibi got the same ask. They all resisted and said, "Nope." They knew things would spiral beyond scope of the project.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu is also an idiot. Trump will always stay true to form. You're only useful to him, while your useful to him, and once you are not you're chum.
Bibi is a lot smarter than Trump (a low bar, of course), but he's just about out of options. He's only still in power bkz of the war with Iran/Lebanon/Gaza/reality because it's the only way he can stay out of jail. He's going to crash this whole MOU, bkz he's not going to stop bombing anybody.
The Iranians have played a better game than either Bibi or Trump. They have essentially made reigning in Israel in Lebanon contingent on the deal moving forward. Trump is desperate enough for a deal hence his language and attitude towards Bibi. If Trump really puts the screws on Bibi in Lebanon it will be game over for him domestically — parts of his coalition are already in the uproar. Regime change may be an outcome of this war but in Jerusalem rather than Tehran.
I would love to see our country turn off the spigot of money we send to Israel. Get rid of Bibi by stopping his funding. When the Israeli people realize they have to survive on their own without the US' help, Bibi would be in jail in a NY minute.
These are certainly tricky waters to navigate, so I'll tread cautiously: I agree. There were legitimate responses to the October 6th attack. I think we're way beyond those. I can see the head strike on Iran as being tactically acceptable. Everything else now seems like we're just running around spraying gasoline on stuff. Time to turn off the hose.
The head strike on Iran was not acceptable. It was done because there was a chance for peace and Bibi was afraid of that. According to the Omani foreign minister, Iran was about to sign an agreement better than the one Obama obtained. We literally murdered the negotiators. This was as tactically acceptable as December 7th.
Some response was necessary (leaving aside the theory that Bibi precipitated the attacks himself), but it's now out of all proportion, and he's dragged "The Dumbest President in American History" into it with him. He's not going to let Trump pull out without making a fuss.
It's relatively easy to play the game better strategically when you have an idiot handing you the keys to 20% of the global oil market (or 10% if we're parsing, at least until China drained its reserves). When the damage to the global economy will blow back 100 times harder on him than you. When you know with almost absolute certainty that said idiot does not have the cards to take you out, because he can't do a ground invasion, because he doesn't have - and never tried to get - the support of his populace for such a bloody and sustained effort. When he hasn't done the prep work to wind up internal opposition. When he's alienated all of his allies for 13 months straight (not counting the prior eight years) RIGHT BEFORE going to war. When he's one of the world's most arrogant, ignorant and narcissistic leaders. When a stable genius has dealt you a royal flush.
But, not being a world leader, I could just be guessing how hard it is to outwit Donald Trump.
"That's what we're talking about, of course I support Egypt. He's a friend of mine.
From day one, you know, I met him early in the campaign when Crooked Hillary and I were running against each other, right, and I was told that the President of Egypt is here. That was a big deal. It's still a big for me to be with the great President of the Egypt, but not as big as it used to be before I ran.
So, he was in a hotel and I met him. And we fell in love, deeply in love."
Every time I think he can't embarrass us any more.......
I wish I could share Andrew's optimism, but to my eye, the administration now seems squarely focused on manipulating elections in every way possible. That seems worse. Way worse.
I agree. But I do take hope when you look back and see that there have been a lot of failures when there was organized pushback. I also saw that Dems a week or two ago were also laying out plans, groundwork, communications, etc. to plan for all sorts of contingencies in November.
That is the point to me. Keep yelling. Keep screaming. Keep pushing back. F Trump. F MAGA. F Authoritarianism. We can make a difference, even if it isn't as large and immediate as we want it to be. "So many people forget that the first country that the Nazis invaded was their own." -Dr Erskine in Captain America. MAGA is trying the same. Not here. Not this time. Resist
The spinelessness and abject dereliction of duty of the House and Senate pointed toward the Republicans being all in on election interference and more since before Trump's inauguration. The GOP is all in, and they've only gotten more so since Jan. '25. In fact, the more he alienates the populace the more he manipulates the powerful toward outright election overthrow (cause they sure do love their sinecures). That's one of the few ways Trump is intelligent.
It'll be show and tell time for the GOP this fall. I suspect the number of true patriots there can be counted on less than two hands (Lindsey doesn't count, no matter what he says). Let's hope the wave is so overwhelming their denials look ridiculous. Not that that's stopped them before.
MN , ICE or CBP were or are still around, small city Bemidji, MN, sort of a summer tourist town, guess they had some high wind , think it was last year, some say derecho. so, homes needed replacing. I suppose this was a big project, so homes were needing roofing, not yet totally completed, they called in a larger crew, so some were brown, so they made a big show of interrogating every single person on every roof. whites too.
anyway, I did hear that maybe two, three hopped from roof to roof, went into woods, they did not catch them. sad deal. it's pretty far north, lake area.
All honor to the people of Minneapolis, who, with the Trump administration at the height of its power and presumption, stood up against Trump and his army of goons, and who stood with their neighbors, for our country, and in defense of its principles.
AMEN! And thank you to them for showing the rest of the country that People Power still matters.
What D.C. needs is not a bombastic arc de Trump but a small monument to Minneapolis, perhaps with eternal flames for Renee Good and Alex Pretti. They saved what remains of our honor.
I know JVL and Sarah covered this during last week's secret pod but can we talk about how fucking unethical Maggie Haberman is as a journalist? Trump and his team are talking about invoking the insurrection act and destroying the constitution and she is saving that information for a book tour. This would have been nice to know in January. She did this during the first administration too, holding back information about criminal acts that could have been folded into impeachment so she could make a buck in 2022. This is not the kind of journalism that will help save Democracy and more people should call it out.
This is not the first time someone held back on info that would have been useful to the American people. I'm thinking of Bob Woodward's book in which it was clear the president downplayed the seriousness of the Covid virus.
very true, during covid some idiots taking weird shit, may have lived if they had heard that from trump's mouth, on tape, it goes through the sir. but you know, we will find out much more later, much more, I'm not shocked .
I wish I could like this a hundred times. Maggie Haberman has helped herself by helping Trump more times than I care to count. She is a morally vacuous, unpatriotic hack posing as a journalist and bears as much responsibility as anyone for the sane-washing of this administration.
And that is EXACTLY WHAT THE FELON WANTS, and what Bannon meant by "Flood the Zone with Shit". Get the rubes so tired of fighting every battle that they won't fight any one of them anymore. WAKE UP EVERYONE!!!!
Au Contraire. One can stand up to bullies wherever one is. I am an American living in Germany and protest weekly at the US Consulate, in no small part to show the German citizenry that not all Americans are idiots or just going with the flow ... right now the into the cesspool. You are a Canadian supporting the Bulwark financially. That is not nothing. Thank you.
Maybe the Empire State Building should put out a graphic showing volume. Bet it kicks the reflecting pool's ass! (In a contest no one even knew not to care about).
Well, it's somebody's fault besides him (who had the floor of the pool painted a *darker* color, which absorbs *more* heat and makes algae grow *faster*).
Amazing, the algae just does its thing. It's like it has no regard for the political ramifications of growing there in defiance of President Donald J Trump's wishes. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
"All honor to the people of Minneapolis, who, with the Trump administration at the height of its power and presumption, stood up against Trump and his army of goons, and who stood with their neighbors, for our country, and in defense of its principles."
Thanks for making this point again, Bill; it can never be said too many times. Still heart-wrenching that two people had to die in this effort.
Thanks Andrew, it's a bit off the reporting beat for most of the Bulwark staff, but the other thing that is giving me genuine optimism for America is the World Cup. I was totally ready to stop watching out of protest, but I sort of can't help it, and generally, I've been extremely encouraged both by how much fun the world seems to be having visiting and the way Americans in general have been hosting. The story of the Algerian Team in Lawrence, KS is amazing -
That and I saw a scandavian guy try to eat 15 waffle house waffles, and an Australian organically discover on his own the "Waffle House is Southern Hibachi" meme (he called it teppanyaki, but still) and a French guy who wanted to cast shade on Buccees but wound up loving it for its clean restrooms and barbeque.
We can still be the shining city on the hill, with our waffle houses and clean bathrooms
Shiny restrooms rather than shining hill. A somewhat low bar, but we gotta take what we can. This world cup is proving to be good fun with a few surprising twists and the antidote to the Trumpian spectacle on the White House lawn.
No accident a fab college town was picked for hosting, wisely avoiding other potential Kansas choices like White City, with a sundowning history that lives up to its name.
I didn't grow up here and I lived here a long time (decades) before I realized the centrality of this region (say within a few hours drive radius from Kansas City) in American history. There's a literal line, North-South that represents the boundary layer between who we could be vs who we were...Bleeding Kansas was a thing and you can just drive on down and look into the ditch where it happened. There's a civil war battle field (and former golf course and now city park) ringed by multi-million dollar homes, not far from my house and on a nice day, it's an interesting dynamic seeing the city flood into it...
I had a mild panic attack the only time I went into a Buccee’s. The world’s largest gas station convenience store lol. But I have to admit, the bathrooms WERE very clean
I've always thought he was turning into a lizard, rather than a cockroach. Those weird, hooded little eyes - wouldn't surprise me to see him flick a fly out of the air with his tongue. . .
Last year I was angry. I had friends lose jobs and more fear that they would also be unemployed. I watched dumbfounded as the administration did everything it could to provoke and troll. This year I am just sad. I am pretty certain that what has been broken is gone for good just like the lives of all those children who lost aid and health care. The phrase build back better makes me laugh. To get back to pre-Trump would take a lifetime.
I never saw much value to him in his role, especially after the eating kittens thing, but he’s really proving to have a lot more hate and stupidity than I’d given him credit for.
You know...that's probably one of the most damning aspects of the Trump presidency...what he spends his time and energy on. Similar to when he takes time to comment on actors and TV shows that he calls "failures" and such.
I think my biggest sigh comes from thinking that this version of the GOP doesn't even bother to mention this aspect of his presidency...even though we all know if Joe Biden or Kamala Harris were doing this...it would be a sign that they weren't fit for office. It would be headline news for 24/7 for the rest of their terms.
Dear Bulwark team - Do you guys mind making a comment in your newsletter about the newly implemented "good taste" nanny that's making decisions on what's good taste posting and what is not?
I see where this post was hidden and wow...that seems rather mild to me:
"The Iran deal includes a 300-billion dollar payout to the Iranians. That stupid orange child molester…"
While not something I would say or post...are we really being that picky these days? I've heard Tim Miller or JVL say far worse on their podcasts.
The Bulwark crew really needs to have someone looking at the "hidden" posts on each thread at least once a day, and release from the bot jail those which are not active trolling posts.
I wonder if they're starting to? I've posted a complaint as have many others. Today I had a comment hidden and then all of a sudden it's "unhidden". I noticed another mild comment was hidden this morning and now it's not.
I've had TWO of my comments hidden - and they were both pretty mild. One was actually factual - and provable. And it was on a Will Sommer piece - and considering the life styles he covers, that's a pretty hard man to "shock"!
Interesting. The Bulwark crowed has expanded vastly since I came on board in late '24. Largely this is a self selecting group as a function of the subscription model, so I've only seen a few folks that have been willing to pay to troll. These people peter out quickly. Only rarely do I see things that go to far and they tend to die on the vine. Thus, this seems odd.
As a small-scale publisher, I have experienced the difficulties of keeping things civil, thoughtful and on point in comment threads. There will inevitably be disagreements on where to draw the line.
That said, I am a professional writer so I take what I write seriously even with comments. Particularly when I post a longer missive that took a meaningful amount of time to draft, I feel like I'm making an in-kind contribution to the publication.
This is why I have a rule: If my comments start getting censored for reasons that don't make sense to me, I stop commenting at that publication. Nothing personal -- I just can't afford to waste my limited time.
Now see, I'm a frequent flippant commentor, but I spend a lot of time in the comments for the very reasons you've outlined. There are many in the comments that advance the topic of the day, furthering my understanding and improving my knowledge. So, yeah...people like you and other ARE part of The Bulwark team at large. (Therefore, now they need to provide a bot editor? It would be nice to know, I think I'm not going to make the cut.)
hmm, I mouth off a lot, can't stand false etiquette and plastic persons, you know, how is your day, just great, yeah right, parts of it is great. maybe I'm adding enough adverbs. almost always, I gain a lot from comments, almost always, not always pleasant.
I can only assume that either they have instigated a policy of hiding any comment that gets reported - a dangerous thing to do considering the opportunities that would give to MAGA "readers" - or that they have a hyper sensitive bot installed which springs into action when notified words are used, whatever the subject.
I suppose we have to add 'could' or possibly or maybe, or perhaps, then comments can stands, it's about lawyers, pre defending a possible threat by ' you know who ' ?? just my view.
One of the comments I had "hidden" was a reply to a Will Sommers article that contained a story about masturbation. I made a general comment about masturbation, no specific names. I didn't say "j*** o**" or "w****ing" or any of the other euphemisms. I didn't accuse anyone of choking the chicken. It wasn't a comment that would have disturbed a lawyer - though it might have raised the eyebrows of a maiden aunt. It never occurred to me that Will Sommers' maiden aunt was reading his column.
And, as someone else has said, they didn't even have the courtesy to tell me it had been hidden, or why - or how I could query the hide.
Yes, they’re awfully fussy. My experience is that fee-paying subscribers are rarely a problem. The real problems arise on sites that allow free subscribers to comment.
Right. I've see a few folks who were either gifted or paid and were on a trollish path. It didn't take long before nobody would play with them. They lost steam quickly and either went away or were won over.
If y’all are going to “good taste” our comments, then at least fact check Tim.
During last week’s latest round of CA rancor, Tim repeatedly stated that Minnesota & Wisconsin have higher rates of voter enfranchisement than CA. It’s an old and inaccurate talking point.
CA currently has the highest rate of voter enfranchisement @ 84.8%, compared to MN’s 83.6% & Wisconsin’s 78%. Happy cite sources/dates.
I 💙 The B with my CA bleeding blue lib heart, and am happy to support such an important pro democracy platform.
I shluff off most of the “obvious bad governance” in CA comments from Tim, and Andrew too; I chalk it up to talking points taught at Winahoochee Boys Camp for Conservatism & Canoes /j.
Seriously tho, Tim treats CA like we’re an existential threat to fair elections under the regime with our voting system- too slow! How about most empowered and transparently accurate? With a crazy higher population to factor in! When I suggested CA’s goals of maximum enfranchisement/maximum accuracy are aspirational goals for other states, Tim said, “This is absurd”.
So yeah, Marc Elias agrees with me, and I’m gonna roll with that, since he’s gonna be the one fighting for ALL of us in court.
sometimes I think ( not defending what or how he says it ) T Miller wishes he was still 29, well , not gonna happen. I do not think he is immature, but
it may be tactical, he has young followers, so may be a journey he is on.
It pays to have , you know bash this bash that, I take it as tactics, but
he also got some possible crap in L A, so could be overflow, he'll settle eventually.
I am sympathetic to all of that; even his dorky skinny jeans. I think he’s a really talented podcaster - an important voice. I hope, I think to your point, that he will lean into his strengths and not chase amorphous youth culture bs.
He stands to gain much more by an even-handed assessment of CA than the ever-present bashing. We have way more people here to potentially adore him.
Iranian leaders said the quiet part out loud. They brought on a panel of their top clinical psychologists to advise them on what to expect from an insane demented old man, and the best path forward to deal with him. Manipulate him is more accurate. They got some some outstanding advice.
I'm curious to see if the G7 leaders follow suit. I assume Macron will have his hands full just trying to keep Trump awake so it will be up to others to make any pertinent observations.
That's so spot on. I was thinking something like this when I saw the G7 leaders lining up for the historical photo this morning. You could see that they were pushing the whole "Let's put Trump in the center of the photo again." Not because they think he deserves it but they know he likes it and they'll appease him on the petty stuff in an attempt to get him on the big stuff.
What's really disheartening is to know that everyone knows this but him.
“Our second-rate con man encountered first rate-con artists, and, as is often the case, it’s the second rate-con men who turn out to be the biggest suckers.”
When you’re at the poker table and can’t identify the mark—chances are it’s you! Trump has always been extremely unserious and predictable: he not playing 3 dimensional chess—more like Chutes and Ladders! Or more aptly, Two clever by half!
Not only was he played, the real winner is China—and it’s almost as though Musk, Thiel and company led Trump straight into the slaughter—access to Chinese markets.
Now it appears the world will be run by a bunch of bullies—the US overtaking Russia for the lead, while China consolidates on several fronts. Control of the Straight through Iran’s “service fees (Asia relies on 75-80% ME oil),” and when our Asian allies decide to convert to renewables, China has 90% of the industrial capacity. Quite the conundrum!
And Trump, as always—destroyed our position for renewables thanks to the Fossil fuel and LNG lobbies. And here we are!…:)
Trump is currently at the G7 openly criticizing Netanyahu and Israel, calling Israel’s attack in Beirut vicious, lavishing praise on the Syrian President, saying no country has ever been treated as unfairly as Lebanon, and saying Syria is better at controlling Hezbollah than Israel is. I don’t know if it ultimately means anything, but maybe Netanyahu is about to run into the immutable law of ETTD. If so, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
But there's so much winning on the Netanyahu train! It's all winning.
Trump is an idiot. No doubt, EVERY SINGLE OTHER PRESIDENT who's dealt with Bibi got the same ask. They all resisted and said, "Nope." They knew things would spiral beyond scope of the project.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu is also an idiot. Trump will always stay true to form. You're only useful to him, while your useful to him, and once you are not you're chum.
Bibi is a lot smarter than Trump (a low bar, of course), but he's just about out of options. He's only still in power bkz of the war with Iran/Lebanon/Gaza/reality because it's the only way he can stay out of jail. He's going to crash this whole MOU, bkz he's not going to stop bombing anybody.
The Iranians have played a better game than either Bibi or Trump. They have essentially made reigning in Israel in Lebanon contingent on the deal moving forward. Trump is desperate enough for a deal hence his language and attitude towards Bibi. If Trump really puts the screws on Bibi in Lebanon it will be game over for him domestically — parts of his coalition are already in the uproar. Regime change may be an outcome of this war but in Jerusalem rather than Tehran.
I would love to see our country turn off the spigot of money we send to Israel. Get rid of Bibi by stopping his funding. When the Israeli people realize they have to survive on their own without the US' help, Bibi would be in jail in a NY minute.
These are certainly tricky waters to navigate, so I'll tread cautiously: I agree. There were legitimate responses to the October 6th attack. I think we're way beyond those. I can see the head strike on Iran as being tactically acceptable. Everything else now seems like we're just running around spraying gasoline on stuff. Time to turn off the hose.
The head strike on Iran was not acceptable. It was done because there was a chance for peace and Bibi was afraid of that. According to the Omani foreign minister, Iran was about to sign an agreement better than the one Obama obtained. We literally murdered the negotiators. This was as tactically acceptable as December 7th.
Some response was necessary (leaving aside the theory that Bibi precipitated the attacks himself), but it's now out of all proportion, and he's dragged "The Dumbest President in American History" into it with him. He's not going to let Trump pull out without making a fuss.
Are NY Minutes longer or shorter, now that Mamdani is mayor? 😃
Can't happen soon enough.
Agreed.
It's relatively easy to play the game better strategically when you have an idiot handing you the keys to 20% of the global oil market (or 10% if we're parsing, at least until China drained its reserves). When the damage to the global economy will blow back 100 times harder on him than you. When you know with almost absolute certainty that said idiot does not have the cards to take you out, because he can't do a ground invasion, because he doesn't have - and never tried to get - the support of his populace for such a bloody and sustained effort. When he hasn't done the prep work to wind up internal opposition. When he's alienated all of his allies for 13 months straight (not counting the prior eight years) RIGHT BEFORE going to war. When he's one of the world's most arrogant, ignorant and narcissistic leaders. When a stable genius has dealt you a royal flush.
But, not being a world leader, I could just be guessing how hard it is to outwit Donald Trump.
One could say Bibi has some cards.
Then tipped his hand.
Exactly. Trump eventually throws everyone under the bus. No matter what.
But Bibi thought he was special and would not get thrown under the bus. FAIL.
Just like everybody else who has (for lack of a better word) "trusted" Trump and then displeased him in some minor way.
Exactly. Like entropy, Trump's arrow only goes one way...
"Trumpentropy".
He did. So did Cassidy and Cornyn.
It is probably not wise to gamble on the man who bankrupted casinos. Netanyahu decided that was a gamble he was willing to take.
Trump turns on everyone in the end, yet there's always someone else who thinks *this time* will be different.
The leopard won’t eat MY face
Until it does.
Today at the G7 he is saying this:
"That's what we're talking about, of course I support Egypt. He's a friend of mine.
From day one, you know, I met him early in the campaign when Crooked Hillary and I were running against each other, right, and I was told that the President of Egypt is here. That was a big deal. It's still a big for me to be with the great President of the Egypt, but not as big as it used to be before I ran.
So, he was in a hotel and I met him. And we fell in love, deeply in love."
Every time I think he can't embarrass us any more.......
The president didn't have to take Netanyahu's advice.
The phrase 'immutable law'. It does have death knell ring to it.
While there's no moral equivalence between Israel and Ukraine, Bibi will now experience the treatment Trump gave to Zelenskyy.
I wish I could share Andrew's optimism, but to my eye, the administration now seems squarely focused on manipulating elections in every way possible. That seems worse. Way worse.
I agree. But I do take hope when you look back and see that there have been a lot of failures when there was organized pushback. I also saw that Dems a week or two ago were also laying out plans, groundwork, communications, etc. to plan for all sorts of contingencies in November.
That is the point to me. Keep yelling. Keep screaming. Keep pushing back. F Trump. F MAGA. F Authoritarianism. We can make a difference, even if it isn't as large and immediate as we want it to be. "So many people forget that the first country that the Nazis invaded was their own." -Dr Erskine in Captain America. MAGA is trying the same. Not here. Not this time. Resist
Indeed. To me it seems like they've altered their focus on how to ensure that Republicans retain the house in November.
Yeah, there’s never a bottom with these guys.
The whole admin is AT THE VERY LEAST "comfortable" with child rape. There is no low to which they will not sink.
It seems worse because it is worse. You and I are both worried about this, as are millions of other Americans. We need to make that number 300MM+
The spinelessness and abject dereliction of duty of the House and Senate pointed toward the Republicans being all in on election interference and more since before Trump's inauguration. The GOP is all in, and they've only gotten more so since Jan. '25. In fact, the more he alienates the populace the more he manipulates the powerful toward outright election overthrow (cause they sure do love their sinecures). That's one of the few ways Trump is intelligent.
It'll be show and tell time for the GOP this fall. I suspect the number of true patriots there can be counted on less than two hands (Lindsey doesn't count, no matter what he says). Let's hope the wave is so overwhelming their denials look ridiculous. Not that that's stopped them before.
And right on cue, the DOJ is bringing charges against protestors in Minnesota. I agree that both Andrew and Bill are being way too optimistic.
It's a shame for those charged, but I doubt the hacks are getting any indictments.
MN , ICE or CBP were or are still around, small city Bemidji, MN, sort of a summer tourist town, guess they had some high wind , think it was last year, some say derecho. so, homes needed replacing. I suppose this was a big project, so homes were needing roofing, not yet totally completed, they called in a larger crew, so some were brown, so they made a big show of interrogating every single person on every roof. whites too.
anyway, I did hear that maybe two, three hopped from roof to roof, went into woods, they did not catch them. sad deal. it's pretty far north, lake area.
Well it's not really worse than murdering, kidnapping, terrorizing citizens, including children, but I take your point.
It's worse in that it neutralizes our ability to stop those things.
All honor to the people of Minneapolis, who, with the Trump administration at the height of its power and presumption, stood up against Trump and his army of goons, and who stood with their neighbors, for our country, and in defense of its principles.
AMEN! And thank you to them for showing the rest of the country that People Power still matters.
What D.C. needs is not a bombastic arc de Trump but a small monument to Minneapolis, perhaps with eternal flames for Renee Good and Alex Pretti. They saved what remains of our honor.
That’s an amazing idea
I know JVL and Sarah covered this during last week's secret pod but can we talk about how fucking unethical Maggie Haberman is as a journalist? Trump and his team are talking about invoking the insurrection act and destroying the constitution and she is saving that information for a book tour. This would have been nice to know in January. She did this during the first administration too, holding back information about criminal acts that could have been folded into impeachment so she could make a buck in 2022. This is not the kind of journalism that will help save Democracy and more people should call it out.
This is not the first time someone held back on info that would have been useful to the American people. I'm thinking of Bob Woodward's book in which it was clear the president downplayed the seriousness of the Covid virus.
very true, during covid some idiots taking weird shit, may have lived if they had heard that from trump's mouth, on tape, it goes through the sir. but you know, we will find out much more later, much more, I'm not shocked .
I wish I could like this a hundred times. Maggie Haberman has helped herself by helping Trump more times than I care to count. She is a morally vacuous, unpatriotic hack posing as a journalist and bears as much responsibility as anyone for the sane-washing of this administration.
Totally agree. Her and Swann saving all this for their book is what’s wrong with legacy journalism.
I'm not gonna lie, Andrew. The doings of Trump and his regime don't really outrage me anymore. I feel more of a tired disgust.
Yes, "disgust" is my feeling now, day after day.
Yes, disgust. That's the feeling exactly!
We’ve grown numb.
And that is EXACTLY WHAT THE FELON WANTS, and what Bannon meant by "Flood the Zone with Shit". Get the rubes so tired of fighting every battle that they won't fight any one of them anymore. WAKE UP EVERYONE!!!!
I’m not an American. Not much I can do.
Au Contraire. One can stand up to bullies wherever one is. I am an American living in Germany and protest weekly at the US Consulate, in no small part to show the German citizenry that not all Americans are idiots or just going with the flow ... right now the into the cesspool. You are a Canadian supporting the Bulwark financially. That is not nothing. Thank you.
Chill, David. Nobody here is giving up. We've just stopped taking the rage bait. It's a marathon, my friend.
I"ll never chill, it is worth reacting normally to any outrageous thing
I respect that. I support that. It's also possible to resist both the regime and the algorithm.
Also, the Reflecting Pool is now green after we were promised American flag blue. 😢
But it is still bigger than the Empire State Building!
Just waiting for Joe Rogan to bust out with: “In a fight, who would win, the Empire State Building or the Reflecting Pool”?
And I’m sure they can fix it with photoshop anyway.
The cameras pointed at it uses AI to change the color such that it looks like the Blue Lagoon.
Maybe the Empire State Building should put out a graphic showing volume. Bet it kicks the reflecting pool's ass! (In a contest no one even knew not to care about).
Something something Biden's fault something.
This one, I believe, he was blaming on Obama
Well, it's somebody's fault besides him (who had the floor of the pool painted a *darker* color, which absorbs *more* heat and makes algae grow *faster*).
LOL! And MAGA is saying that the algae was a left wing terrorist attack! Also does Trump not know that "American flag blue" is just indigo?
Per the Administration, they are simply getting ready for St. Paddy's Day.
Next year? Can they plan that far in advance?
Amazing, the algae just does its thing. It's like it has no regard for the political ramifications of growing there in defiance of President Donald J Trump's wishes. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Not as green as trump when he sees his polling figures. . .
Sneaky Dems slipped algae in there, or so I read. 🙄
Socialist frogs 🐸
lol 😺😺
"All honor to the people of Minneapolis, who, with the Trump administration at the height of its power and presumption, stood up against Trump and his army of goons, and who stood with their neighbors, for our country, and in defense of its principles."
Thanks for making this point again, Bill; it can never be said too many times. Still heart-wrenching that two people had to die in this effort.
Thanks Andrew, it's a bit off the reporting beat for most of the Bulwark staff, but the other thing that is giving me genuine optimism for America is the World Cup. I was totally ready to stop watching out of protest, but I sort of can't help it, and generally, I've been extremely encouraged both by how much fun the world seems to be having visiting and the way Americans in general have been hosting. The story of the Algerian Team in Lawrence, KS is amazing -
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/16/algeria-lawrence-kansas-world-cup-fans-adopted-team
https://sports.yahoo.com/video/lawrence-kansas-has-rallied-behind-the-algerian-national-team-195112027.html
That and I saw a scandavian guy try to eat 15 waffle house waffles, and an Australian organically discover on his own the "Waffle House is Southern Hibachi" meme (he called it teppanyaki, but still) and a French guy who wanted to cast shade on Buccees but wound up loving it for its clean restrooms and barbeque.
We can still be the shining city on the hill, with our waffle houses and clean bathrooms
I wrote on this yesterday! I can't get enough of it.
Shiny restrooms rather than shining hill. A somewhat low bar, but we gotta take what we can. This world cup is proving to be good fun with a few surprising twists and the antidote to the Trumpian spectacle on the White House lawn.
Lawrence is a great town and a group of Kansans that don't mind things being a little weird (The Austin, TX of Kansas, so to speak.)
As for Buccees...hard to hate 'em, even if you try.
If only for the absolute cleanliness!
No accident a fab college town was picked for hosting, wisely avoiding other potential Kansas choices like White City, with a sundowning history that lives up to its name.
https://justice.tougaloo.edu/sundowntown/white-city-ks/
I didn't grow up here and I lived here a long time (decades) before I realized the centrality of this region (say within a few hours drive radius from Kansas City) in American history. There's a literal line, North-South that represents the boundary layer between who we could be vs who we were...Bleeding Kansas was a thing and you can just drive on down and look into the ditch where it happened. There's a civil war battle field (and former golf course and now city park) ringed by multi-million dollar homes, not far from my house and on a nice day, it's an interesting dynamic seeing the city flood into it...
I had a mild panic attack the only time I went into a Buccee’s. The world’s largest gas station convenience store lol. But I have to admit, the bathrooms WERE very clean
Hard not to comment on the following:
“Iran Says Strait of Hormuz Won’t Have ‘Tolls’ but It Will Have ‘Fees.’”
Kafka would be really proud here, Bravo, but we've been here for awhile anyway.
"Can we turn this dude into a giant cockroach already?"
Ghost of Franz Kafka
Turn? Isn't he already?
He doesn't have bruises on his hands, he's shedding his layer of orange human skin.
I've always thought he was turning into a lizard, rather than a cockroach. Those weird, hooded little eyes - wouldn't surprise me to see him flick a fly out of the air with his tongue. . .
Which Dude?
Last year I was angry. I had friends lose jobs and more fear that they would also be unemployed. I watched dumbfounded as the administration did everything it could to provoke and troll. This year I am just sad. I am pretty certain that what has been broken is gone for good just like the lives of all those children who lost aid and health care. The phrase build back better makes me laugh. To get back to pre-Trump would take a lifetime.
We can't go back to pre-Trump because that's the era that brought us Trump to begin with.
Pre-pre Felon? Like the last Century?
“The vice president and Mr. Miller were still searching for a reason to put federal troops on American streets,”
We see you JD.
I never saw much value to him in his role, especially after the eating kittens thing, but he’s really proving to have a lot more hate and stupidity than I’d given him credit for.
"credit"? Blame is closer.
Can a judge order the Kennedy cover be removed? It’s so silly. It’s just bringing more attention to DJT’s pettiness. Does he realize this?
You know...that's probably one of the most damning aspects of the Trump presidency...what he spends his time and energy on. Similar to when he takes time to comment on actors and TV shows that he calls "failures" and such.
I think my biggest sigh comes from thinking that this version of the GOP doesn't even bother to mention this aspect of his presidency...even though we all know if Joe Biden or Kamala Harris were doing this...it would be a sign that they weren't fit for office. It would be headline news for 24/7 for the rest of their terms.
ex-GOP guy
Anyone know what it's made of, and how readily that material catches on fire? Asking for a friend.
Even Claude couldn’t find an answer to this question. And all I could find is it’s a “tarp”. But an interesting question. Ha!
He’s acting like a toddler.
Donnie is as Donnie does. Or was that a "hidden from the censor bot" comment about his recent walking style?
"squee and gibber"... I can't even say how much I love those 3 words. That is exactly what (pathetically) happened. Thanks, Andrew!
Dear Bulwark team - Do you guys mind making a comment in your newsletter about the newly implemented "good taste" nanny that's making decisions on what's good taste posting and what is not?
I see where this post was hidden and wow...that seems rather mild to me:
"The Iran deal includes a 300-billion dollar payout to the Iranians. That stupid orange child molester…"
While not something I would say or post...are we really being that picky these days? I've heard Tim Miller or JVL say far worse on their podcasts.
The Bulwark crew really needs to have someone looking at the "hidden" posts on each thread at least once a day, and release from the bot jail those which are not active trolling posts.
I wonder if they're starting to? I've posted a complaint as have many others. Today I had a comment hidden and then all of a sudden it's "unhidden". I noticed another mild comment was hidden this morning and now it's not.
It sounds like they are, and that is good news!
hell, even in monopoly, one could get out of jail
Whoa. I noticed something the other day in my comment window...are posts actively being hidden!?
I've had TWO of my comments hidden - and they were both pretty mild. One was actually factual - and provable. And it was on a Will Sommer piece - and considering the life styles he covers, that's a pretty hard man to "shock"!
Interesting. The Bulwark crowed has expanded vastly since I came on board in late '24. Largely this is a self selecting group as a function of the subscription model, so I've only seen a few folks that have been willing to pay to troll. These people peter out quickly. Only rarely do I see things that go to far and they tend to die on the vine. Thus, this seems odd.
As a small-scale publisher, I have experienced the difficulties of keeping things civil, thoughtful and on point in comment threads. There will inevitably be disagreements on where to draw the line.
That said, I am a professional writer so I take what I write seriously even with comments. Particularly when I post a longer missive that took a meaningful amount of time to draft, I feel like I'm making an in-kind contribution to the publication.
This is why I have a rule: If my comments start getting censored for reasons that don't make sense to me, I stop commenting at that publication. Nothing personal -- I just can't afford to waste my limited time.
Now see, I'm a frequent flippant commentor, but I spend a lot of time in the comments for the very reasons you've outlined. There are many in the comments that advance the topic of the day, furthering my understanding and improving my knowledge. So, yeah...people like you and other ARE part of The Bulwark team at large. (Therefore, now they need to provide a bot editor? It would be nice to know, I think I'm not going to make the cut.)
hmm, I mouth off a lot, can't stand false etiquette and plastic persons, you know, how is your day, just great, yeah right, parts of it is great. maybe I'm adding enough adverbs. almost always, I gain a lot from comments, almost always, not always pleasant.
Especially if they don’t even tell you about it. At least the WSJ sends you an email if your comment is rejected.
Huh. Yeah...that'd be annoying.
I can only assume that either they have instigated a policy of hiding any comment that gets reported - a dangerous thing to do considering the opportunities that would give to MAGA "readers" - or that they have a hyper sensitive bot installed which springs into action when notified words are used, whatever the subject.
I'm going to say substack bot. But who's to say? I'm sure this will come up during JVL's next AMA.
It’s a Substack feature. I’ve seen people on other sites complaining. It can be turned off.
I suppose we have to add 'could' or possibly or maybe, or perhaps, then comments can stands, it's about lawyers, pre defending a possible threat by ' you know who ' ?? just my view.
One of the comments I had "hidden" was a reply to a Will Sommers article that contained a story about masturbation. I made a general comment about masturbation, no specific names. I didn't say "j*** o**" or "w****ing" or any of the other euphemisms. I didn't accuse anyone of choking the chicken. It wasn't a comment that would have disturbed a lawyer - though it might have raised the eyebrows of a maiden aunt. It never occurred to me that Will Sommers' maiden aunt was reading his column.
And, as someone else has said, they didn't even have the courtesy to tell me it had been hidden, or why - or how I could query the hide.
Yes, they’re awfully fussy. My experience is that fee-paying subscribers are rarely a problem. The real problems arise on sites that allow free subscribers to comment.
Right. I've see a few folks who were either gifted or paid and were on a trollish path. It didn't take long before nobody would play with them. They lost steam quickly and either went away or were won over.
The one place I see paying trolls is at Heather Cox Richardson. You can read her for free but commenting is not free.
I think it’s because she’s so well known that if you want to troll “the libs” it’s a good place to go. Even she doesn’t have many.
New Substack censorship tools. You are not notified if your post is rejected.
If y’all are going to “good taste” our comments, then at least fact check Tim.
During last week’s latest round of CA rancor, Tim repeatedly stated that Minnesota & Wisconsin have higher rates of voter enfranchisement than CA. It’s an old and inaccurate talking point.
CA currently has the highest rate of voter enfranchisement @ 84.8%, compared to MN’s 83.6% & Wisconsin’s 78%. Happy cite sources/dates.
Plus we have millions more voters than those states.
that must be new, , hmm. MN stuff compared to CA
I 💙 The B with my CA bleeding blue lib heart, and am happy to support such an important pro democracy platform.
I shluff off most of the “obvious bad governance” in CA comments from Tim, and Andrew too; I chalk it up to talking points taught at Winahoochee Boys Camp for Conservatism & Canoes /j.
Seriously tho, Tim treats CA like we’re an existential threat to fair elections under the regime with our voting system- too slow! How about most empowered and transparently accurate? With a crazy higher population to factor in! When I suggested CA’s goals of maximum enfranchisement/maximum accuracy are aspirational goals for other states, Tim said, “This is absurd”.
So yeah, Marc Elias agrees with me, and I’m gonna roll with that, since he’s gonna be the one fighting for ALL of us in court.
sometimes I think ( not defending what or how he says it ) T Miller wishes he was still 29, well , not gonna happen. I do not think he is immature, but
it may be tactical, he has young followers, so may be a journey he is on.
It pays to have , you know bash this bash that, I take it as tactics, but
he also got some possible crap in L A, so could be overflow, he'll settle eventually.
https://independentvoterproject.org/voter-stats/ca
Happy to send along MN & WI too.
Yes- June 2026 figures
I am sympathetic to all of that; even his dorky skinny jeans. I think he’s a really talented podcaster - an important voice. I hope, I think to your point, that he will lean into his strengths and not chase amorphous youth culture bs.
He stands to gain much more by an even-handed assessment of CA than the ever-present bashing. We have way more people here to potentially adore him.
uh, some flamboyance ?
I am from the Dolly Parton More is More school- so flamboyance always sweetens the pot for me.
Iranian leaders said the quiet part out loud. They brought on a panel of their top clinical psychologists to advise them on what to expect from an insane demented old man, and the best path forward to deal with him. Manipulate him is more accurate. They got some some outstanding advice.
I'm curious to see if the G7 leaders follow suit. I assume Macron will have his hands full just trying to keep Trump awake so it will be up to others to make any pertinent observations.
That's so spot on. I was thinking something like this when I saw the G7 leaders lining up for the historical photo this morning. You could see that they were pushing the whole "Let's put Trump in the center of the photo again." Not because they think he deserves it but they know he likes it and they'll appease him on the petty stuff in an attempt to get him on the big stuff.
What's really disheartening is to know that everyone knows this but him.
And there's still a lot of time left on the clock.
“Our second-rate con man encountered first rate-con artists, and, as is often the case, it’s the second rate-con men who turn out to be the biggest suckers.”
When you’re at the poker table and can’t identify the mark—chances are it’s you! Trump has always been extremely unserious and predictable: he not playing 3 dimensional chess—more like Chutes and Ladders! Or more aptly, Two clever by half!
Not only was he played, the real winner is China—and it’s almost as though Musk, Thiel and company led Trump straight into the slaughter—access to Chinese markets.
Now it appears the world will be run by a bunch of bullies—the US overtaking Russia for the lead, while China consolidates on several fronts. Control of the Straight through Iran’s “service fees (Asia relies on 75-80% ME oil),” and when our Asian allies decide to convert to renewables, China has 90% of the industrial capacity. Quite the conundrum!
And Trump, as always—destroyed our position for renewables thanks to the Fossil fuel and LNG lobbies. And here we are!…:)
Chinese bet on renewables paying off. Meanwhile, Trump is pushing coal. 🙄