Trump Spent the Holidays Yelling at the TV

Summary

Bulwark Takes — "Trump Spent the Holidays Yelling at the TV"

Podcast: Bulwark Takes
Air Date: December 24, 2025
Host: Tim Miller
Featured Contributors: Bulwark Team (various commentators and analysts)

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Episode Overview

In this holiday installment, Tim Miller and the Bulwark team dissect Donald Trump’s Christmas Eve outburst, in which the former president took to social media late at night to complain about media coverage and attack television personalities. The episode uses Trump’s posts as a lens to discuss his personal behavior, his political positioning going into 2026, and broader public sentiment about the U.S. economy. The tone is sharp, wry, and critical, with a mix of humor and genuine concern about the abnormality of Trump’s actions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump's Christmas Eve Social Media Tirade

• Trump’s Late-Night Posts:

  • On Christmas Eve at around midnight, Trump posted on social media (Truth Social), targeting media outlets and late-night hosts with anger and threats.
  • His central message: If media coverage of him and the GOP is negative, their broadcast licenses should be taken away.
  • Quote (Tim Miller, 03:15):

    “So that's his Christmas Eve message at midnight to the American people is that he's thinking about terminating the broadcast licenses of the network television stations.”

• Obsession with Media Ratings:

  • Trump’s posts included personal attacks on late-night hosts and complaints about their ratings and salaries.
  • Quote (Tim Miller, 05:13):

    “What the President is commenting on is the low ratings of the network TV late night hosts and how they have no talent.”

• Attacks on Stephen Colbert:

  • Trump singled out Stephen Colbert with particularly harsh language, calling him a “pathetic train wreck” with “no talent” and saying CBS should “put him to sleep.”
  • Quote (Tim Miller, 06:17):

    “Stephen Colbert is a pathetic train wreck with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success. … Stephen is a dead man walking. CBS should put him to sleep now. It’s a humanitarian thing to do.”

2. The Psychological Frame: Trump’s Holiday Isolation

• Contrasting Experiences:

  • Miller contrasts his own joyful, family-oriented Christmas Eve in New Orleans with Trump’s apparent isolation and bitterness at Mar-a-Lago.
  • The team remarks on Trump’s lack of connection and need for attention as a possible reason for the vitriol.

• Social Commentary:

  • Tim Miller uses humor and analogy, comparing Trump to a “school principal” rage-posting about teachers or students, highlighting the abnormality of such behavior from a national leader.
  • Quote (Tim Miller, 08:28):

    “What if this was the principal of your school?... She was up all night posting about how she wants Stephen Colbert to be put to sleep now… People would be like, I don’t—we might need to call the board in here. We might need to call the 25th Amendment for the school principal if they’re posting at midnight on Christmas Eve.”

3. Authoritarian Implications & Media Bullying

• The episode discusses the seriousness of a president threatening media outlets and calling for the cancellation of TV programs he dislikes, drawing comparisons to authoritarian and “Soviet-esque” behavior.
• Miller notes that even the best-case defense—Trump is just venting, not acting—still casts him as a “crank” and an unfit leader.
  • Quote (Political Commentator, 07:23; Tim Miller, 07:44):

    “It’s presidential bullying… maybe the best possible thing you could say about this is that it’s all just fake and that the leader of the free world … just like stays up at midnight on Christmas Eve and issues empty threats at television commentators because… he’s just a delusional, like obsessive, you know, poster.”

4. Broader Political & Economic Context (10:06–14:40)

• Deflection from Economic Woes:

  • Miller and team connect Trump’s media obsession to the administration’s faltering economy. With little positive news to report, Trump defaults to feuding with the media.
  • Quote (Tim Miller, 10:26):

    “This is the kind of thing you do when you don’t have a good story to tell on the thing that you put yourself into the office on.”

• Economic Sentiment:

  • Despite one strong GDP report, most data points are “bleak,” with stagnant job growth and persistent inflation hurting Trump’s economic narrative.
  • The team draws parallels to recent Democratic strategies and the importance of messaging on affordability, healthcare, and economic anxiety.
  • Quote (Political Analyst, 12:11):

    “Polls are showing that people are feeling less secure about their own finances, showing that they don’t approve of the president’s handling of the economy, are upset about how inflation has stayed stubbornly high. And the actual jobs numbers themselves are not showing a lot of job growth.”

5. Advice for the Audience (11:15–11:37)

• Tim Miller closes his segment with holiday advice:
  • Stay connected to loved ones rather than rage-posting on Christmas Eve.
  • Quote (Tim Miller, 11:15):

    “Enjoy your family. Don’t be Donald Trump this Christmas. … Reminisce about Christmases of yore. That seems better than rage posting at the tv.”

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “He just is so barren and soulless that he cannot find community or validation from any other way besides bleeding about how much he hates the stories on the tv.”
  — Political Commentator (02:49)
• “If we thought he was serious about that, that would be a Soviet-esque statement from the President.”
  — Tim Miller (03:26)
• “Stephen is running on hatred and fumes. That seems like projection to me.”
  — Tim Miller (06:24)
• “The best case scenario is not that he’s abusing his power like a fascist dictator, but that he’s just like. Like a crank, a deluded crank.”
  — Political Commentator (08:19)
• “It would be one thing... we should monitor this at least. If this is a repeat behavior, this is not someone we can entrust with our child’s education.”
  — Political Commentator (09:31)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Trump’s Christmas Eve posting, behavior and TV tirade: 01:15–10:06
• Analysis: Media threats, authoritarian implications: 03:15–08:28
• Broader economic context & political strategy: 10:06–14:40
• Audience advice and closing holiday sentiment: 11:11–11:37

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Summary

This episode uses Trump’s latest social media meltdown as a focal point for critiquing his ongoing need for attention, his inability to connect meaningfully with others, and his dangerous impulse to threaten independent media. The Bulwark team places these behaviors in the context of political fragility, failing economic messaging, and broader anxieties heading into the next election cycle. The overall tone is one of exasperated humor, darkly amused at the spectacle, yet genuinely alarmed at the stakes for American democracy.

The Bulwark’s recommendation this holiday season is heartfelt and pointed: cherish real connections—don’t spend your holidays like Trump, shouting at the TV.

Transcript

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[Tim Miller]

Hey everybody, it's Tim Miller. Merry Christmas Eve to all of you. I hope it is a merry one in your house. It is here in New Orleans. I don't think think it's quite as merry down in Mar a Lago. I hope you don't have anyone in your life behaving like the President of.

[Political Commentator]

These United States on this holy holiday.

[Tim Miller]

The President was up late last night around midnight.

[Political Commentator]

Hate tweeting the television.

[Tim Miller]

That's true. That's what's happening. So I don't know what you're doing. I was around my friends at Tipitina's. We was having a Christmas spectacular with a bunch of New Orleans musicians. It was wonderful. I'm here this morning with my in laws. Life is good. I've not been shitposting at all. Yeah, I was up on Ms. Now we're gonna play a little bit from that clip for you here in a second. That feels normal. That feels like something that regular people who are not deranged do. People with families and loved ones, you know, maybe cook little meal down there today, who knows, go to the park. That's not what the President is up to. The President like I don't. I don't know. I guess maybe Melania goes to bed, he doesn't even drink. You'd think that this was drinking, drink, drunk, posting he doesn't even drink. He just is so barren and soulless that he cannot find community or validation.

[Political Commentator]

From any other way besides bleeding about how much he hates the stories on the tv. He doesn't like that people are saying mean things about him on the TV and he is up at midnight on Christmas Eve posting about how terrible the people on the TV are.

[Political Analyst]

So I want to read for you.

[Tim Miller]

A couple of these. Just, you know, because I assume you're enjoying yourself, you know, you and your family, maybe you're taking a little break from them right now to talk to listen to me. But mostly you're not scrolling. Truth Social. Right, so let me give you a little read. If network newscasts and their late night shows are almost 100% negative to President Donald J. Trump, MAGA and the Republican Party, shouldn't their very valuable broadcast licenses be terminated? I say yes. So that's his Christmas Eve message at midnight to the American people is that he's thinking about terminating the broadcast licenses of the network television stations. If we thought he was serious about that, that would be a Soviet esque statement from the President. And remember, all those free speech warriors had to be for President Trump because it's the golden age to create the golden age of free speech, said Mark Zuckerberg. We were so offended that Biden had some mid level staffers asking us to take down Covid misinformation that have to go for Trump because he is for free speech. Well here he is threatening to shut down the broadcast stations. Now I assume most of those people say, well that's not real, that's just bluster. So that's the best spin we have, is that a totally deluded and deranged President of the United States is up.

[Political Commentator]

At midnight issuing false threats to shut down television stations. That's the best spin we've got for Donald on that one.

[Tim Miller]

He continues, though it wasn't just one. You can allow somebody one off, you know, blowing off little steam, you know, after, after you had your pecan pie. No, not Trump. He kept going. He asked this rhetorical question, who has the worst late night host? Cbs, ABC or NBC. They all have three things in common. High salaries, no talent, really low ratings, all caps, all caps. Cares deeply about network television ratings.

[Political Commentator]

The President of the United States, that's what he's worried about.

[Tim Miller]

You know, a lot of things happening in the country. For some people, Christmas Eve's a tough time. You Know, lost a loved one, struggling financially, not gonna have the kind of presents under the tree they wish they could have. They may have to work on Christmas Eve, which is tough. We appreciate all the people out there working, serving us food, doing the last second Amazon deliveries from some of us late shoppers. Like, you know, we've got troops mobilizing around Venezuela and other places. We're doing deportations still. Like, there's very serious things afoot on Christmas Eve. People in the country have things they're really worried about. What the President is commenting on is the low ratings of the network TV.

[Political Commentator]

Late night hosts and how they have no talent.

[Tim Miller]

That would be bad enough, but he's also issuing threats to them. You know, there's the first post which was, who knows, they're all bad. And then I guess he decided he sort of, he's riling himself up a little bit. He decided that Stephen Colbert is the.

[Political Analyst]

One that he wanted to call out.

[Tim Miller]

In particular. Stephen Colbert is a pathetic train wreck with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success. Now, after being terminated by CBS but left out to dry, he has gotten worse. Along with his non existent rating. Stephen is running on hatred and fumes. That seems like projection to me. He writes, stephen is a dead man walking. CBS should put him to sleep. Now. It's a humanitarian thing to do. I mean, again, taken at face value, the President United States is putting a target on a late night TV host.

[Political Commentator]

And suggesting that he should be put down. Now, you could say that. Okay, well that's easily a metaphor. He's saying CBS should cancel him. So the better spin would be not that President Trump wants to kill Stephen Colbert, but that he wants to dictate to a private TV network what they should do with their late night hosts. They already tried that once with Kimmel. He wants to do that. I think also in the context of that network, the owners of that network.

[Tim Miller]

Wanting to get approved for a merger where they would purchase another network, cnn. And so, you know, it's bullying. It's presidential bullying as well. And then I guess again, similar to the earlier tweet, that maybe the best possible thing you could say about this.

[Political Commentator]

Is that it's all just fake and that the leader of the free world.

[Tim Miller]

The commander in chief, the most powerful person in the world, just like stays up at midnight on Christmas Eve and.

[Political Commentator]

Issues empty threats at television commentators because like he's, he's cuckoo. Because he's just a delusional, like obsessive, you know, poster. He can't control himself.

[Tim Miller]

He can't stop from posting about how.

[Political Commentator]

He hates people and he can't help himself but threaten them even if there's no actual real oomph behind it.

[Tim Miller]

Like that's the best case scenario.

[Political Commentator]

That not that he's abusing his power like a fascist dictator, but that he's just like. Like a crank, a diluted crank.

[Tim Miller]

I mean, like literally. I mean, look at this. What if this was the principal of your school?

[Political Commentator]

I'm thinking about that.

[Tim Miller]

Like, I woke up this morning and like there's a little text chain with the. It's mostly moms, let's just be honest. But it's the mom's chain. We're text texting and they're like, you seen what the head of school posted last night? She was up all night posting about how she wants Stephen Colbert to be put to sleep now. And she doesn't like the network news anchors or the late night hosts and she thinks that they're terrible. She's posting all caps about how they have really low ratings and how they should be terminated. People would be like, I don't. We might need to call the board in here. We might need to call the 25th Amendment for the school principal if they're.

[Political Commentator]

Posting at midnight on Christmas Eve. I mean, I guess it was technically.

[Tim Miller]

The 23rd into Christmas Eve. You know, random threats at the people.

[Political Commentator]

That they're watching on tv.

[Tim Miller]

I mean, it'd be one thing. It's like, we should monitor this at least.

[Political Commentator]

If this is a repeat behavior, this is not something, this is not someone we can entrust with our child's education.

[Tim Miller]

That is, I'm certain what would happen. And here it is, the President of.

[Political Commentator]

The United States just popping off.

[Tim Miller]

So there you go.

[Political Commentator]

Late night threats of Stephen Colbert. That's what's happening inside Mar?

[Political Analyst]

A Lago.

[Political Commentator]

He's not worried about you. He is worried about TV ratings and making threats to broadcasters before he involves himself in potential merger and tries to pressure new owners to be more favorable to him.

[Tim Miller]

Truly bleak stuff. Truly bleak stuff. Part of the reason why I might be doing this though, which I get into in this clip I mentioned, just got off Ms. Now, is that the economy is rough for him right now.

[Political Commentator]

I mean, they're like really holding on.

[Tim Miller]

To this one GDP report, but signs.

[Political Commentator]

Throughout the rest of the economy are pretty bleak.

[Tim Miller]

This is the kind of thing you.

[Political Commentator]

Do when you don't have a good story to tell on the thing that you put yourself into the office on. You sold yourself as the.

[Tim Miller]

Whatever. I'm the you're fired guy, the Apprentice, the fixer. I'm going to fix the economy. Sleepy Joe Biden's ruining everything. And then it isn't.

[Political Commentator]

It's worse. Economy's worse, objectively, across every metric. And it's been a year now. It's the holidays. You're home, you're trying to think about it. You're sitting around in your golf course mansion, ignoring your wife and children and family and rage posting about the television. And you're doing that because you don't have a good story to tell about the economy and you know that people are upset.

[Tim Miller]

So there you go. A little bit more, some more analysis.

[Political Analyst]

More political analysis on what we've learned.

[Tim Miller]

From the econ numbers coming up next. Stick around for that. Enjoy your family. Don't be Donald Trump this Christmas. You know, go find, talk to a neighbor, talk to a cousin, talk to a nephew, grandchild, hang out with them, learn about them. You know, reminisce about Christmases of yore.

[Political Commentator]

That seems better than rage posting at the tv.

[Tim Miller]

That'd be my recommendation to you. All right, everybody, we'll be seeing you soon. Subscribe to the feed.

[Interviewer]

Tim, I'll go first to you. Talk about the commerce secretary there, trying to use the recent good economic news as a way that would translate directly to Americans. But economists say that's not accurate. It sort of feels like the continuing thread of even the president's own address last week where he said a lot of things that on their face would just be fine if only he could give the accurate depiction of what they were.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah. Hey there. Merry Christmas Eve to everybody. Look, you don't have to rely on.

[Political Analyst]

Economists to know this isn't resonating with the American people. It's what all the American people are saying in polls. Polls are showing that people are feeling less secure about their own finances, showing that they don't approve of the president's handling of the economy, are upset about how inflation has stayed stubbornly high. And the actual jobs numbers themselves are not showing a lot of job growth. We've seen pretty much stagnant job growth over the last quarter in the country. That is what's happening out there. The GDP numbers are now a little bit of an outlier. We are seeing some growth in certain sectors, health care and AI. But like, that's not just, that's not reflective of what people are thinking, the entire economy. And this is one way where this administration, which is so unusual and abnormal in their messaging in so many ways.

[Tim Miller]

This is like a very typical president.

[Political Analyst]

Problem they're running into which is that the economy, the people don't think the economy's good and they want to take credit for it and they're struggling with how to message it. And it's not that different really than Biden dealing with high inflation and trying to define it as biodynamics and that not resonating with people. This just isn't working if you're the president. People aren't happy about the economy economy shouting at them and telling them that the economy is good is, is not going to help your political standard as.

[Interviewer]

We go into a midterm election year. Are Democrats picking up that mantle? It feels like they've got openings on affordability, on trust. Are they taking it well?

[Political Analyst]

I think in the second half of this year the Democrats did a lot better than the first half of picking up that mantle. And you know, I think making the decision, which was a fraught decision when there's a lot of disagreement within the party to focus the shutdown fight on health care affordability and rising high health care prices in retrospect looks like a smart move because it demonstrated that the party was focused on people's concerns with rising prices. I think that's something they have to.

[Tim Miller]

Carry into next year.

[Political Analyst]

Also, midterm years are different than presidential years. A cliche in politics is that if you're a party you can't just tell people what you're against, you got to tell people what you're for. That's not really true in midterm years at the congressional and Senate level you can get away with telling people what you're against. A lot of time we've seen a lot of midterm waves based on people's unhappiness with the incumbent party. And so I think that if the Democrats continue their focus on that, that could work in 2026. But you know, it would be a.

[Political Commentator]

Greater challenge and a different challenge in 2028 to demonstrate that they have actual.

[Political Analyst]

Solutions to people's problems.

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