Bulwark Takes: “Trump Loves Putting His Own People Down”

Podcast: Bulwark Takes
Date: March 28, 2026
Host/Main Contributor: Sam Stein

Episode Overview

This episode centers on Donald Trump’s recent public statements and behavior, highlighting several odd, off-topic, and sometimes awkward or inappropriate moments from his recent speech to the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund and media appearances. Host Sam Stein breaks down a pattern of Trump’s flippant comments on sex, his penchant for humiliating his own allies, apparent fabrications about personal history, and his concerning rhetoric about NATO and military incidents. Throughout, Stein questions the judgment and seriousness of the administration, noting the potential consequences of such conduct.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Trump’s Strange Public Comments & Sex Jokes

• Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund Speech ([01:12]):

  • Trump invites unfiltered questions, including about “sex”:

    "You can ask me anything you want. You can talk sex, you can whatever the hell you want." [Donald Trump, 01:12]

  • Stein frames this as part of an emerging pattern of inappropriate asides, not just a one-off.

• Fox & Friends Appearance ([02:44]):

  • Instead of answering a serious humanitarian question about Iran, Trump pivots to a flirtatious exchange with Dana Perino:

    "You may be even better looking. Okay, so I don't know what you're doing, but I will not say that." [Dana Perino to Trump, 02:54]

  • Stein calls it “gross” and points out Trump’s habit of saying things he prefaces as taboo:

    "It's not like you get out of jail free card just because you've preempted it..." [Sam Stein, 03:11]

• White House Social Media Post ([03:45]):

  • The administration posts a meme parodying "OnlyFans" as “OnlyFarm” during a farming event, further evidencing a sex-tinged, adolescent humor streak.

• Pattern of Adolescent Tone ([04:02]):

  • Stein:

    "It's like a White House run by, you know, 14 or 15-year-old boys with the commander in chief being at top the gang." [Sam Stein, 04:02]

Trump’s Public Humiliation of His Own People

• Cabinet Meeting with Pete Hegseth ([05:05]):

  • Trump recounts someone telling him Pete Hegseth was a “mistake” as Defense Secretary, while Hegseth sits beside him:

    "Somebody came up to me yesterday, gave you a very hard time, said, you know, I made a mistake. Pete Hegseth is doing a good job..." [Donald Trump, 05:05]

  • Stein notes:

    "That's just like public humiliation." [Sam Stein, 05:23]

• Trump Prefers ‘Losers’ Over Successful Allies ([05:44]):

  • Trump at the Saudi event:

    "I always like to hang around with losers, actually, because it makes me feel better. I hate guys that are very, very successful and you have to listen to their success stories. I like people that like to listen to my success." [Donald Trump, 05:44]

  • Stein: “They get to be humiliated by this man time and again.” [06:17]

Fabricated or Embellished Stories

• The Infamous Sharpie Pen Story ([08:16]):

  • Trump claims to have negotiated with Sharpie’s CEO for custom pens, but the company denies any such conversation occurred.

    "A spokesperson for Sharpie maker Newell Brands said it did not occur, 'We don’t have any information about the conversation described.'" [Sam Stein quoting spokesperson, 09:05]

  • Stein:

    "If your uncle was talking about Sharpies in this way, you’d be like, man, get this man a little help..." [Sam Stein, 08:24]

• Alleged Friendship with Vince Lombardi ([09:42]):

  • Trump:

    "Vince Lombardi was a very tough person, a very tough football coach. He was sort of a violent guy, actually. I knew him." [Donald Trump, 09:42]

  • Fact-checked by Stein: Trump never met Lombardi, who died when Trump was 24. Previously, Trump said, “we would have been great friends.”

    "There's no record of Trump ever meeting Lombardi." [Sam Stein, 09:52]

Problematic NATO Comments ([12:25])

• Trump Signals Unwillingness to Defend NATO:
  • Trump:

    "We would have always been there for them, but now based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be, do we? ... Why would we be there for them if they're not there for us?" [Donald Trump, 12:25]

  • Stein underscores:

    "They were there for us. The only time article 5 has been invoked is after 9/11. Everyone knows this, he knows this. It’s silly." [Sam Stein, 12:51]
    Points out Trump’s penchant for creating drama instead of sober leadership.

Aircraft Carrier Mystery: Was It “Enemy Fire”? ([15:32])

• Trump Appears to Contradict Official Reports:
  • Talking about the recent fire on the USS Gerald R. Ford, Trump says:

    "We noticed at one o'clock in the morning, every 32 seconds, another airplane...was coming off the deck of an aircraft carrier ... then they hit us. And they came from 17 different angles ... We ran for our lives. It was over." [Donald Trump, 15:32]

  • Stein flags this as potentially revealing, as official reports claimed a laundry fire, not enemy action; or, it could be another Trump invention:

    "Which brings me back to my earlier point. When you have a president who just makes things up on the fly like this, it becomes hard to know when he tells serious stories what is actual reality..." [Sam Stein, 16:09]

Overall Tone and Sobriety of Leadership

• Stein observes a lack of seriousness or empathy in Trump’s delivery, even when discussing significant events:

  "The one emotion that seems totally absent from his retelling ... is, you know, soberness or, you know, empathy or a sense of the stakes, right?" [Sam Stein, 17:57]

• The administration is characterized by adolescent humor (“OnlyFarm” memes), fabricated stories, and casual references to grave national security matters.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the adolescent tone of Trump’s White House:

  • "It's like a White House run by, you know, 14 or 15-year-old boys..." [Sam Stein, 04:02]

• On Trump’s treatment of his own officials:

  • "That's just like public humiliation." [Sam Stein, 05:23]

• On fabricated stories:

  • "If your uncle was talking about Sharpies in this way, you'd be like, man, get this man a little help..." [Sam Stein, 08:24]

• On misleading the public:

  • "It just kind of grates at you because you'd like to know that the words coming out of the mouth of the president actually have some meaning and some truth to them." [Sam Stein, 10:27]

• On mixing joking asides with serious failures:

  • “There's just not really a level of sobriety here that you would expect, considering how poorly things are going.” [Sam Stein, 18:27]

Key Timestamps of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | Notes | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------| | 01:12 | Trump invites “sex” questions at Saudi fund speech | Example of inappropriate public comments | | 02:54 | Fox & Friends—Trump flirts with Dana Perino | Ignores serious Iran question | | 03:45 | White House “OnlyFarm” meme | Shows adolescent humor pattern | | 05:05 | Publicly humiliates Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth | “Said you were a mistake…” | | 05:44 | Trump says he “likes to hang out with losers” | Demeans associates | | 08:16 | The “Sharpie pen” tall tale | Company denies story | | 09:42 | Claims of knowing Vince Lombardi | Refuted by facts | | 12:25 | Trump suggests US may ditch NATO mutual defense | Serious, consequential rhetoric | | 15:32 | Aircraft carrier 'fire' — hints at enemy attack | Contradicts official story | | 17:57 | Lack of empathy/soberness in Trump’s storytelling | Host’s analysis of presidential tone |

Final Takeaway

Sam Stein delivers a brisk, skeptical, and at times exasperated analysis of Trump’s odd, unserious, and often demeaning public conduct. The episode’s through-line is the contrast between the gravity of issues (NATO, national security, military incidents) and the juvenile or dishonest way the president discusses them. Stein calls out both the personal effects—on Trump’s own circle—and the potential policy and geopolitical dangers of such flippant leadership.

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