Podcast Summary: Bulwark Takes

Episode: RNC Goes Feral Online After Disastrous Interview
Date: December 13, 2025
Host: Sam Stein (Managing Editor, The Bulwark)
Guest: Andrew Egger (Author, Morning Shots)

Overview

This episode of Bulwark Takes dives into the fallout from Andrew Egger's reporting on RNC Chair Joe Gruters' recent “doom-and-gloom” media blitz and analyzes how the Republican National Committee’s social media team melted down online in response. Host Sam Stein and guest Andrew Egger discuss the substance of Gruters’ comments, how they break with political norms, and the RNC’s chaotic reaction—which targeted Egger and others with vitriol on X (formerly Twitter).

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Context: Egger in the Barrel

• Sam Stein describes Andrew Egger as being "in the barrel," after the RNC's social media turned on him for his newsletter coverage of Gruters’ media appearances. (01:50)
• Egger is called “scum, garbage, and one of the worst journalists ever.”
• Sam reflects:

  “Why are they so mad at you, Andrew?” (01:57)

2. Joe Gruters’ Unprecedented Gloom and Doom

• Gruters’ Comments:
  • Gruters, the relatively low-profile new RNC Chair, spent the week making unusually pessimistic public statements about the GOP’s midterm chances.
  • Key Gruters quote replayed in the episode:

    "This is an absolute disaster... There’s no sugarcoating it. It’s a pending, looming disaster heading our way... Only three times in the last hundred years has the incumbent party been successful winning a midterm... We’re facing almost certain defeat... The only person that could bring the nose up... is the president, United States, Donald J. Trump." (03:30–04:14)

• Breaking with Tradition:
  • Egger and Stein note that political operatives will often set “lowish” expectations, but Gruters’ language (“disaster,” “almost certain defeat”) is far beyond normal.
  • Stein:

    “That’s not really low, buddy. That’s like below the floor, through the earth, down to the earth’s core, basically.” (04:14)

  • This stands in stark contrast to the current White House messaging, which expresses total confidence in retaining power.

3. Why the Language Matters

• Stein contrasts Gruters' remarks with the mild hedging by Robert Gibbs (Obama WH press secretary) in 2009, which caused a “multi-day crisis” among Democrats, even though it was far less dramatic.
• Historical Note: Any hint of pessimism from party leadership can demoralize donors and voters and potentially trigger incumbent retirements.
• Stein’s context:

  "It is diametrically opposed to the White House’s own messaging... it can deflate your donors, it can deflate members of your own party." (05:03)

4. The Trump Factor

• Gruters frames Trump as the “only hope” to avert disaster, at a time when some Republicans are privately questioning the wisdom of total fealty to him—especially given policy liabilities like tariffs and cracks emerging in the MAGA coalition.
• Egger:

  "Republicans are more so than at any point... starting to actually sort of reassess their priors about how much they need to be, like, bear hugging Donald Trump." (08:24) "...the chairman is going out there and saying, don’t stop... this is our only shot..." (09:02)

5. RNC Digital Team Goes Feral

• The RNC’s digital team unleashed crude, hostile tweets at Egger and other journalists who highlighted Gruters’ comments.
• Notable direct quotes from RNC Research Account (09:40–11:30):
  • "You’re a lying piece of." (10:07)
  • "Hey, jackass. Here’s the full quote." (10:15)
  • "You, scumbags." (10:44)
  • “Here’s the full quote, comma, scumbag.” (11:08)
  • “How much does Harvard charge these days to learn how to report bullshit?” (11:20)
  • "Breaking: You're a massive loser and a liar." (11:31)
• Sam and Andrew highlight the absurdity of the RNC sharing the “full” quotes, which still confirm the original reporting.
• Gruters’ own radio audio clips, cited by Egger and posted by the RNC, were later deleted—implying an effort to bury the story.

6. Broader Media Strategy & Party Dynamics

• Egger observes the RNC isn’t trying to win arguments with critical readers, but to stoke the “narrative silo” and change the subject to alleged “media malpractice.”
• Egger:

  “They’re not really trying to win an argument with anybody who is actually reading the piece... The idea is to take what is sort of an alarming story for Republicans... and turn it into a media story. Right? The story of the dastardly fake news Bulwark...” (11:58–12:46)

• Town Hall, in critiquing Egger, omitted context from the very quotes they accused him of misrepresenting.

7. Party Anxiety & Operative Reactions

• The real reporting, Egger notes, is about Republican strategists: Many privately believe Trump’s policies (on affordability, tariffs) will hurt the party in the midterms—but fear defying MAGA orthodoxy.
• Egger:

  “If you’re not, like, MAGA waving the flag the whole way, you might have to worry about MAGA nuking you from orbit before you even get to your tough purple state race...” (13:42)

• Sam calls it a “classic Kinsey gaffe”—a truth accidentally spoken aloud.
• Many operatives acknowledge it is “bleak out there,” but public honesty is anathema in the current environment.

8. Personal Reflections and Podcast Banter

• Egger is sympathetic with Gruters’ likely regret after his radio hits:

  “I myself know what it’s like to get off a radio hit and be like, that’s kind of stupid, that thing I said. Let’s hope that just sort of slips back into the past.” (14:58)

• Both men joke about the perils of “playing hurt,” likening Andrew’s podcasting under duress to Michael Jordan’s flu game. (15:37)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |---------------|-------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:30–04:14 | Joe Gruters (via clip) | "This is an absolute disaster... We’re facing almost certain defeat."| | 04:14 | Sam Stein | "That’s not really low, buddy. That’s like below the floor, through the earth, down to the earth’s core, basically." | | 09:40–11:30 | RNC social team (via Stein/Egger) | "You’re a lying piece of." / "Hey, jackass. Here’s the full quote." / "You, scumbags." / "Breaking: You’re a massive loser and a liar." | | 12:08 | Sam Stein | “You were over the top fair about it.” | | 13:42 | Andrew Egger| "...have to worry about MAGA nuking you from orbit before you even get to your tough purple state race..." |

Important Segments & Timestamps

• [01:50] – Introduction, Egger under RNC attack
• [03:30–04:14] – Gruters’ dire midterm prognosis
• [04:14–05:58] – Comparison to prior political expectation-setting; Gibbs example
• [08:08–09:40] – Analysis of Gruters’ "only hope is Trump" message
• [09:40–11:30] – Reading/ridiculing RNC's aggressive social media replies
• [11:59–13:05] – Discussion of RNC’s narrative management vs. actual argument
• [13:16–14:27] – Operatives’ reactions to Trump loyalty demands
• [14:27–15:18] – Reflections on the perils of public candor in politics

Summary Takeaway

The episode offers a sharp critique of both the RNC’s uncharacteristically defeatist rhetoric under Chairman Gruters and the party’s digital comms apparatus going “feral” in response to accurate, if awkward, reporting. The discussion underscores deeper anxieties within the GOP—about Trump, the midterm outlook, and policing party loyalty. The RNC’s fixation on media spin and online aggression, rather than substance, is laid bare for listeners in a combination of news analysis and irreverent banter.

(Ads, intros, and outros omitted per instructions.)