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)

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.

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.”

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)

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

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.