Podcast Summary: Bulwark Takes – "Trump Soft-Launches His Dictatorship"

Date: August 25, 2025
Hosts: Tim Miller & JVL (Jonathan V. Last)

Episode Overview

This episode centers around Donald Trump's recent public statements that openly flirt with authoritarian rhetoric, especially his trial-ballooning of dictatorial powers and the lack of robust pushback from within the Republican Party and conservative media. Tim Miller and JVL dissect how Trump and his ecosystem are normalizing the notion of a "Trump dictatorship" in the right-wing narrative, and analyze reactions from various players, including the Wall Street Journal editorial board and establishment Republicans.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Dictatorship "Trial Balloon" ([00:30]–[01:30])

• Tim Miller flags a Trump press moment as a “dictatorship trial balloon” and cues up the relevant clip where Trump flirts with the idea of Americans wanting a dictator – not himself, of course, but “a lot of people are saying” it.
• Trump quote: “A lot of people are saying maybe we like a dictator. I don’t like a dictator. I’m not a dictator. I’m a man with great common sense…” ([00:59])

2. Dictator Aesthetics & Authoritarian Habits ([01:46]–[03:36])

• JVL points out it’s not the first time Trump has suggested Americans might want a dictator. He predicts a pattern: once is an accident, twice a coincidence, the third time “enemy fire.”
  • “One of the things you see in all dictatorial regimes is an obsession with making it look right…like a Morton Joe in Mad Max, Fury Road… All of this is Death of Stalin stuff.” ([03:17])
• JVL draws a parallel between Trump's hand makeup, the obsession with appearances, and the psychology of brittle authoritarian regimes: they require an unassailable image of the leader.

3. The MAGA Media and Right-Wing Inertia ([04:16]–[06:17])

• Tim Miller unpacks the spectrum in right-wing media:
  • On one side: “maximalists” like Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson, openly calling for dictatorship, even joking about dynastic succession.
  • Trump himself: Engages in "foot-in-the-door" rhetoric—never directly claiming the desire for dictatorship, but letting others float the idea.
  • Establishment Republicans: Not pushing back, sometimes mocking “alarmists” who express concern.
• “There’s actually nobody really in right wing world publicly taking the position we don’t want Donald Trump to be a dictator...” (Tim Miller, [04:58])

4. Conservative Hypocrisy & “Good Republicans” ([06:17]–[09:43])

• JVL and Tim examine Republican elites (using John Bolton as an example) who refuse to back Democrats even when Trump threatens their own interests:
  • Bolton, despite being personally targeted by Trump, preferred a Cheney write-in over supporting Kamala Harris.
• Tim highlights the Wall Street Journal editorial board’s tepid criticisms—never quite able to grasp or admit the full authoritarian risk until after the fact.
  • “The real offender here is a president who seems to think he can use the power of his office to run vendettas. We said this was one of the risks of a second Trump term, and it’s turning out to be worse than we imagined.” (Wall Street Journal editorial quoted, [09:36])

5. The Power Dynamic: Who’s Using Whom? ([13:06]–[13:57])

• JVL: Many "good Republicans" and establishment figures delude themselves into thinking they’re using Trump for policy gains, when Trump is the one exerting real power.

  • "You think still that you're using Trump...but this is realpolitik. And these guys seem utterly blind to the fact that it's the opposite. Trump is the one in charge." ([13:06])

• Tim recounts Breitbart’s Matt Boyle even affirming the dynamic: "the nationalist authoritarians are using the Republican establishment cucks." ([13:54])

6. The Press Conference Escalates ([15:05]–[16:46])

• Tim and JVL detail further outlandish comments made during the Trump press conference:
  • Pete Hegseth praises arming National Guard soldiers to "take over" cities. ([15:05])
  • Stephen Miller claims D.C. is now so safe "women are wearing jewelry and carrying purses again."
  • Trump muses about renaming the Department of Defense to “Department of War.”
  • They joke about Trump’s plans to “annex Greenland and Canada” from his previous presidential term.

7. America First: Defining the Enemy as Domestic ([16:14]–[16:46])

• JVL emphasizes that Trump’s "America First" actually reorients the state’s focus away from external threats and towards internal enemies—casting Democrats, blue states, and activists as the true threat.
  • "The people we really need to crush and wage war against are right here at home. That's where we are." ([16:14])

8. Flag Desecration Executive Order & Free Speech ([16:46]–[19:20])

• The ostensible purpose of Trump’s presser was an executive order criminalizing flag desecration.
  • Trump states: "If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail. No early exits, no nothing…And you will see flag burning stopping immediately…" ([17:28])
• Tim and JVL note the selective application and performativity—unclear if supporters using flags as weapons (e.g., Jan. 6) would be prosecuted.
• JVL: When it comes down to real authoritarian acts, "none of these people we've been talking about, whatever their private feelings, will be willing to push back." ([19:20])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “A lot of people are saying maybe we like a dictator... I’m a man with great common sense.” – Donald Trump ([00:59])
• “One of the things you see in all dictatorial regimes is an obsession with making it look right... They're brittle… the minute people start saying, well, I…” – JVL ([02:37]–[03:12])
• "There's actually nobody really in right wing world publicly taking the position we don't want Donald Trump to be a dictator." – Tim Miller ([04:58])
• "You think still that you’re using Trump… but it’s the opposite. Trump is the one in charge." – JVL ([13:06])
• "The people we really need to crush and wage war against are right here at home. That's where we are." – JVL ([16:14])
• "If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail. No early exits, no nothing..." – Donald Trump ([17:28])
• "When the chips are down, none of these people we’ve been talking about, whatever their private feelings, will be willing to push back against it." – JVL ([19:20])

Important Segment Timestamps

• [00:30] – Trump’s dictatorship trial balloon and analysis
• [03:36] – Authoritarian aesthetics and Trump’s self-image
• [04:16] – MAGA media extremism and right-wing inertia
• [07:18] – John Bolton’s anti-Trump, anti-Democrat balancing act
• [09:09] – Wall Street Journal Editorial Board criticism of Trump
• [13:06] – The establishment mistakenly thinks it controls Trump
• [15:05] – Armed National Guard and D.C. “law & order” narratives
• [16:46] – Flag desecration executive order and double standards
• [19:20] – Summing up: Why no one within the system will stop authoritarianism

Conclusion

The hosts deliver a darkly humorous but sobering breakdown of how authoritarian trends are laundered into mainstream right-wing discourse, aided by media inertia and elite self-delusion. Trump’s provocations aren’t accidents; they’re tests of what the base and the system will tolerate, and examples abound of influential conservatives rationalizing or enabling the slide. The episode closes with a call to vigilance from outside the system: "If we get through this thing, it's going to be because of us, all of us. Like you guys listening." ([19:20])

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