Bulwark Takes

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Trump Invents His Own Iran War Polls Because the Real Ones Suck Jul 23, 2026

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Sam Stein and Andrew Egger give their takes on Trump's new threats of war crimes to Iran, the new polling showing MAGA support for the war cratering, and the new U.S.-Saudi civilian nuclear agreement. Plus, they dig into the White House's ever-expanding gold decor of oversized frames, mystery bells, and speculation about Trump's late-night decorating habits.

This episode is sponsored by The New York Times.

Trump Was Stupid Enough to Tell Iran How to Beat Him Jul 22, 2026

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Will Saletan breaks down how Donald Trump’s empty threats, reckless boasts, and shifting stories turned his Iran deal into a deadly fiasco—and exposed just how little he understands the war he started.

This video is sponsored by The New York Times.

Sen. Slotkin: Trump Is Desperate to Escape His Iran War | Command Post Jul 22, 2026

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Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) and Ben Parker are joined by Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) for her take on the state of the Iran war, U.S. military strategy, and the health of American democracy heading into the midterms. Slotkin, a former CIA analyst with three tours in Iraq, pushes back on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's testimony that the U.S. has neutralized Iran's naval threat in the Strait of Hormuz, arguing Iran retains "veto power" over the critical waterway through drones, mines, and fast boats. Plus, Sen. Slotkin explains how her "Protect Our Polls Act" is designed to block the military from being deployed to polling sites during the midterms without congressional approval.

This episode is sponsored by The New York Times.

MAGA Said The Odyssey Would Flop. Whoops! Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey just pulled in $124.5 million over its opening weekend, the biggest domestic opening for a live-action film this year. So why has MAGA Twitter spent the weekend insisting it's a woke disaster, a box office fraud, and a betrayal of Homer himself?

Sam Stein, Sonny Bunch, and Will Sommer give their takes on the right's bizarre backlash: the fake Achilles/Elliot Page casting controversy, the Emily Wilson translation discourse, the conspiracy theories about Rotten Tomatoes being "rigged," and the very online split between guys like Matt Walsh and Elon Musk (furious) and Ben Shapiro and Dave Rubin (actually kind of into it).

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BREAKING: GOP Senators May Turn on Trump’s Attorney General Pick Jul 21, 2026

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Sam Stein and HuffPost's Arthur Delany went live to cover the brewing dissatisfaction with Trump's nominee for Attorney General, Todd Blanche.

Pentagon Hid Extent of Americans Wounded in Iran Attacks | Morning Shots Jul 21, 2026

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Bill Kristol and Andrew Egger went live to cover CNN's reporting that Trump and Elon Musk's cuts through DOGE to the CDC and USAID slowed the response to the cyclosporiasis outbreak, the Pentagon withholding the number of U.S. military injuries from the war with Iran, and why Trump's strategy appears trapped between military escalation and political retreat.

Can We Get RICH by Watching Hundreds of Trump Speeches? Jul 21, 2026

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Brendan Hartnett and Will Saletan put their encyclopedic knowledge of Donald Trump to the test by predicting which words he would use in a major speech. The fake bets produce some eerie wins, one brutal near-miss, and a new appreciation for how quickly prediction markets can become addictive.

MAGA Mondays: Trump Refuses to Leave World Cup Trophy Ceremony Jul 20, 2026

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Will Sommer and Sam Stein went live to cover Trump refusing to leave Spain’s World Cup celebrations, the MAGA right questioning Trump’s claim that Iran is “obliterated” after deadly attacks on U.S. bases, the Tate brothers arrested in Florida, and Clavicular explaining “looksmaxxing” to Sean Hannity.

Two American Soldiers Killed as Trump’s Iran War Spirals Jul 18, 2026

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Sam Stein and Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) take on the deadly Iranian strike on a U.S. base in Jordan, the mounting American casualties, and a rapidly widening war with no clear path to de-escalation.

Rep. Jim Himes: Tuberville is “participating in a coup d’etat” Jul 18, 2026

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Sam Stein speaks with Rep. Jim Himes about Trump’s election speech, his attacks on voting systems, and the danger of declaring sitting senators illegitimate. They also examine how Trump’s own foreign-interference files document Russia’s efforts to help him, spread the Burisma story, and create chaos in American politics.

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