Bulwark Takes – "The Super Rich Still Worship this Loser"

Date: September 13, 2025
Host: The Bulwark Team (Tim Miller, Marcus, Mark Elias)
Main Theme:
This episode of Bulwark Takes dives into the political and cultural turbulence of the week, with sharp insights on gun violence, Donald Trump’s latest authoritarian posturing, the economic anxieties shaping the public mood, and the urgent fight for democracy and fair elections. The Bulwark’s team, joined by legal expert Mark Elias, delivers clear-eyed analysis and rare moments of optimism amid ongoing threats to American norms.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Week’s Chaos: Guns, Trump, and Authoritarian Threats

• Reaction to Gun Violence

  • Recent shootings (including a high-profile incident with Charlie Kirk and another school shooting) reignite debate over guns in America.
  • Tim Miller stresses the need to keep the gun conversation alive despite exhaustion:
    • "This is a uniquely American crisis... People are so beaten down... But that's the nature of these kind of political movements. Things take time." (02:49)
  • Both parties once found common ground on gun reform:
    • Cites the 90’s Democratic approach: more police funding, sensible gun control, and Republican support for red flag laws after Parkland.
  • Miller warns against the media and political tendency to shift focus after shootings:
    • "Immediately after these shootings, not talking about guns and instead talking about rhetoric or talking about sending in the military... there are all these other issues that are not going to solve the problem that come to the forefront." (03:45)

• Trump's Power Grab and Military Posturing

  • Discussion of Trump floating the idea of sending military troops into American cities, especially blue cities in red states (e.g. Memphis, New Orleans, Chicago).
  • Shelby County Mayor warns:
    • "To have individuals with military fatigues, semiautomatic weapons and armored vehicles patrolling our streets is way too far anti-Democratic and anti-American..." (Host, 04:49)
  • Tim Miller characterizes these stunts as “authoritarian cosplay”:
    • "It is not about solving crime... They want to blame the mayors of these predominantly black cities, say we're going to send in troops... we're just going to try to scare and intimidate people. That's what they're doing." (06:14)
  • Rebukes Republican claims of helplessness:
    • "If you want more cops in Memphis, fund more cops in Memphis and New Orleans. If you want to do an authoritarian takeover and you want to do fascist costuming, then send in the troops... we can see what their real priorities are." (07:51)

2. The Economy: Wall Street, Inflation, and Elites’ Complicity

• Ongoing Economic Fallout
  • Host reads from a Wall Street Journal op-ed on rising inflation and Trump's tariffs/immigration policies pushing up costs; business elites hoping for lower interest rates.
  • "It's all because of Donald Trump. This time in his first term, there was some blame you could attribute to [COVID]; this is all because of Donald Trump's policy choices." (08:07)
• Why Does Trump Get a Pass from the Rich?
  • Miller argues business elites still see Trump as “a businessman they can deal with”—despite evidence of policy failure:
    • "There's a hostility in the business community... they feel like they can play ball with Trump." (09:33)
  • Warns that the impacts have yet to reach Wall Street directly, but “eventually this stuff is going to be passed even more down to consumers.”
  • Summarizes the problem:
    • "There's nothing else that Trump is doing that is going to help the economy... no relief is coming for working class people in their agenda. So I think the plan of wait till January is not going to go as well as they hope." (11:08)

3. Defending Democracy: Elections, Courts, and Small Wins

• Legal Defense of Democracy
  • Mark Elias describes his ongoing mission:
    • "Fundamentally my job, as a lawyer, is to ensure that there are free and fair elections and that Republicans are not able to rig the, the election rules, are not able to subvert the outcome of elections... we have the tools in our arsenal to fight back." (11:34)
• Resisting Normalization of Authoritarian Behavior
  • Host links normalization of militarized responses to an “atmospheric” sense of fear that serves Trump and the GOP as the election nears.
• Signs of Hope—The Power of Pushback
  • Tim Miller shifts to optimism, noting that resistance matters:
    • "The pushback in the courts after LA has led to Trump backing off of Chicago... you demonstrate that they will back down on various things... They wouldn't have [backed down on the El Salvador prison] if people didn't speak up, if there weren't court, if there weren't legal attacks against them." (12:42)
  • Miller and Elias both endorse aggressive Democratic countermeasures in redistricting where possible, citing Maryland and Illinois as examples.
• Light-Hearted Closing
  • Host jokes about unusual optimism from typically cynical panelists:
    • "I did not have it on my bingo card. The two of you would be the optimism carriers. But I'll take it." (14:11)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Gun Violence Fatigue:

  • Tim Miller: "People are so beaten down... But that's the nature of these kind of political movements. Things take time." (02:49)

• On Militarized Policing:

  • Host (reading Memphis mayor): "To have individuals with military fatigues, semiautomatic weapons and armored vehicles patrolling our streets is way too far anti-Democratic and anti-American." (04:49)
  • Tim Miller: "It is this authoritarian cosplay, right? It's just like they're putting on costumes and they want to seem as part of this slow rolling authoritarian takeover. Like that's what this is all about." (06:14)

• On Corporate America’s Tolerance of Trump:

  • Tim Miller: "There's a hostility in the business community... they feel like they can play ball with Trump, so they think that he's a businessman that they can deal with. It's all this, I sound ridiculous even kind of making their defending their point. But I think that is their perspective." (09:33)

• On Legal Resistance:

  • Mark Elias: "My job, a lawyer, is to ensure that there are free and fair elections and that... we have the tools in our arsenal to fight back." (11:34)

• On Optimism and the Power of Pushback:

  • Tim Miller: "That has worked. It's not worked as much as we want... but the pushback in the courts after LA has led to Trump backing off of Chicago... So that doesn't mean he's going to quit, but it means that you demonstrate that they will back down on various things." (12:42)

Important Timestamps

• 00:31–01:11: Recap of team’s recent appearances and topics covered
• 01:13–02:49: Gun violence in the news; root causes and ineffective responses
• 04:49–06:14: Trump’s threats to militarize policing in cities, with commentary on race and democracy
• 08:07–11:08: Economic effects of Trump tariffs, business elite’s complicity, and unequal political accountability
• 11:34–12:42: Mark Elias on election security and legal resistance to authoritarian tactics
• 12:42–14:11: Evidence that political and legal pressure yields real (if limited) positive results

Tone & Takeaway

The Bulwark remains candid, sardonic, and fiercely committed to democratic norms. The hosts highlight the exhaustion and frustration of living through constant crises, but also urge listeners not to give in to cynicism or inertia. Legal and civic pushback, even if incremental, matters. The powerful still "worship this loser," but they are not invincible—and the Bulwark team ends the episode with an unexpected dose of optimism and resolve to keep fighting.