Bulwark Takes – "MAGA Becomes the Cancel Culture Mob"

Date: August 28, 2025
Hosts: JVL & Sarah Longwell

Episode Overview

In this episode of "Bulwark Takes," JVL and Sarah Longwell tackle the transformation of right-wing culture war tactics, focusing on the recent Cracker Barrel logo controversy. The hosts draw connections between MAGA outrage, the mechanics of cancel culture, and the shift in American political discourse—where the right increasingly mirrors the mob mentality and grievance strategies it once decried. The conversation serves as both a commentary on a peculiar brand kerfuffle and a deeper dive into how culture war distractions mask more serious authoritarian moves by Trump.

Key Discussion Points

1. The Cracker Barrel Logo Kerfuffle

• [01:26] JVL introduces the story: Cracker Barrel updated its logo as part of a $700 million revamp; the resulting backlash from right-wing media and personalities—culminating in Trump weighing in—led the company to revert to its old logo.
• [03:23] Sarah Longwell, reflecting on her Pennsylvania roots, shares her fondness for Cracker Barrel as a cultural mainstay, but jokes about her greater loyalty to Bob Evans:

  “Sausage and gravy is my passion ... I think their sausage, biscuits and gravy is better. But I like a Cracker Barrel ... you got to hang out in the little market where they sell the candy while you wait and, like, you sit in a rocking chair.” ([02:41])

• [04:01] Both hosts acknowledge innate resistance to change (“I hate it when Twitter changes its font”), but Sarah finds it bizarre how such a minor change escalated into a political flashpoint.

2. MAGA as the New "PC Police"

• [05:50] JVL observes the irony: this is now a one-sided culture war initiated and enforced by the right.

  “That’s the weirdness of it ... It was a one sided culture war.” ([05:50])

• [06:52] JVL notes Trump’s reaction makes sense from a business perspective (stock drop) but not as a culture war issue:

  “I am in favor of them changing back ... What I don’t understand is how this is somehow part of woke culture war. ... it kind of makes my skin crawl watching this turn into a culture war instead of a logo war. ... The right wanted to assert cultural dominance that we get to say whether or not Cracker Barrel changes its logo.” ([06:52])

3. Manufactured Outrage and Cultural Dominance

• [08:52] Sarah frames the logo issue as a manufactured controversy:

  “I don’t think anybody had talked about a Cracker Barrel ... now everyone’s talking about their brand. When was the last time you thought about Cracker Barrel?”

• [09:27] JVL speculates that the logo refresh was driven by demographics—aging customer base and weak appeal to younger people—and that the menu refresh was actually succeeding.

4. Culture War as Distraction and Tool

• [10:47] JVL links pop culture “outrages” (Rogers Clemens, steroid use in baseball) to a broader pattern:

  “Maybe it is just about dominance and submission. Right. The right sees a chance to assert dominance over anything in the culture.”

• [12:33] Sarah explicitly connects the current right to the "cancel culture" tactics—once the purview of the left:

  “What’s so interesting to me right now ... is how much it looks like the left when we were like 12 ... people said that it was the left. The left was using cancel culture or whatever. Like, what are you talking about? This is cancel culture. That is all this stuff is ... Mob something in a way to get them to do what you want. I’m sorry, is that not what you guys complained about the left doing all of this time?” ([12:33])

5. Distraction from Authoritarian Moves

• [13:47] JVL lists more serious concurrent Trump controversies that go overlooked:

  “...in the last 10 days ... yes, the Cracker Barrel controversy, but we’ve also had Trump now arming the National Guards ... rolling out a literal red carpet and applauding Vladimir Putin ... firing a member of the Fed Board ... It’s all of the things. It’s the ridiculous stuff and the most sinister, most dangerous authoritarian stuff all at the same time.”

• [14:29] Sarah posits that cultural controversies serve as a tool for building solidarity—one that MAGA can then harness for more substantive political ends:

  “It’s funny how they work in concert, ... builds his commitment from people over the Cracker Barrel kind of thing ... but then wields it as a kind of cudgel ... a way they can conjure a wave of support on one thing, while ... tag on the support for the cultural valence stuff into the serious authoritarian stuff.” ([14:29])

6. The Existential Question of Self-Rule

• [15:14] JVL closes with a provocative question for Sarah (to be addressed in a future episode):

  “Is a country in which a significant share of the population can be turned into a, like, oh, yes, this is a woke war on Cracker Barrel. And so I will definitely support the removal of a member of the Federal Reserve Board. Is that country capable of self-rule in a liberal democratic way?” ([15:14])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sarah Longwell on Cancel Culture Hypocrisy:

  “Like, what are you talking about? This is cancel culture. That is all this stuff is. It is the way that you mob something in a way to get them to do what you want. I’m sorry, is that not what you guys complained about the left doing all of this time?” ([12:33])

• JVL on the Absurdity of Culture War Politics:

  “It kind of makes my skin crawl watching this turn into a culture war instead of a logo war.” ([06:52])

• JVL Listing Overlooked Authoritarianism:

  “It’s all of the things. It’s the ridiculous stuff and the most sinister, most dangerous authoritarian stuff all at the same time.” ([13:47])

• Sarah Longwell on MAGA Grievance:

  “The right now is so addicted to grievance that their only move is to like, freak out about these things and be like, see, this is how we win.” ([11:49])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:26: Intro & Overview of Cracker Barrel incident
• 02:41: Sarah's personal nostalgia and thoughts on change
• 04:01: Culture war becomes "logo war"
• 05:50: "One-sided culture war" analysis
• 06:52: Trump's involvement & right-wing cultural dominance
• 08:52: Manufactured outrage and branding
• 09:27: Aging demographics & menu changes at Cracker Barrel
• 10:47: Asserting dominance as a political mechanism
• 12:33: Right using "cancel culture" tactics
• 13:47: Actual authoritarian actions by Trump administration
• 14:29: How cultural and substantive battles intertwine
• 15:14: JVL's closing philosophical question

Tone and Style

The conversation is witty, lightly satirical, and exasperated—mixing nostalgia (for breakfast chains and pre-Trump civility) with sharp political analysis and concern over the normalization of grievance-based politics.

Takeaways

• The Cracker Barrel logo controversy is less about branding and more about right-wing political mobilization through minor cultural flashpoints.
• The MAGA movement now actively employs the "cancel culture" tactics it decried, framing every change it dislikes as a moral and existential threat.
• Culture war “wins” are used to galvanize base support, which is then channeled into supporting more explicitly authoritarian and anti-democratic moves.
• The episode closes with the unresolved question of whether the American public’s susceptibility to manufactured outrage undermines meaningful self-governance.

Listen to this episode for:

• A sharp dissection of how performative outrage distracts from real dangers
• Colorful, candid banter between two seasoned political commentators
• Food for thought on the future of American democracy—and branding