Trump’s Sunday Night Brain Dump Will Leave Your Jaw on the Floor

Summary

Bulwark Takes: "Trump’s Sunday Night Brain Dump Will Leave Your Jaw on the Floor"

Release Date: May 5, 2025

In this engaging episode of Bulwark Takes, host Sam Stein and guest Andrew Egger delve deep into the tumultuous and unpredictable behaviors of President Donald Trump, particularly focusing on his recent flurry of social media activity. Titled "Trump’s Sunday Night Brain Dump Will Leave Your Jaw on the Floor," the episode dissects Trump's latest tweets, examines their implications for U.S. policy and governance, and reflects on the broader dynamics at play within his presidency.

1. Introduction: Setting the Stage

The episode kicks off with Sam Stein highlighting the barrage of erratic posts from President Trump on his social media feed, prompting a critical examination of the current state of his presidency.

• [00:00] Sam Stein: “Hey, guys, it's me, Sam Stein, managing editor at the Bulwark. I am joined by Andrew Egger, author of Morning Shots. We are coming to you Sunday night because there's just a lot of crazy stuff that Trump is posting on his feed, and it's breaking on the Internet. Truly makes you wonder, what actually is this presidency about? Like, what is it really about? What is he doing here?”

2. Trump’s Latest Social Media Activity

The conversation swiftly moves to specific instances of Trump's social media activity, each illustrating his spontaneous and often perplexing decision-making process.

a. The Alcatraz Proposal

Sam Stein introduces Trump's unexpected proposal to bring back Alcatraz as a functioning prison.

• [00:40] Sam Stein: “Donald Trump wants to bring back Alcatraz the Rock. I mean, I'm assuming everyone knows what Alcatraz is... But this one came out of nowhere. Like, I didn't have this on my executive order bingo card.”

Andrew Egger provides context, suggesting this move is emblematic of Trump's broader pattern of impulsive policy ideas.

• [01:38] Andrew Egger: “This is what's so cool about the second Trump term is. Is like it's just a tiny microcosm for everything that's happening right now. No, okay, Not. Not everything that's happening, but everything that Donald Trump himself is doing. This is how Trump views his president.”

b. Hosting the NFL Draft in Washington, D.C.

Next, Stein discusses Trump's announcement to host the NFL Draft in Washington, D.C., potentially at the National Mall.

• [02:25] Sam Stein: “Trump is going to announce tomorrow on Monday that he wants or that D.C. will host the NFL Draft in 2027, possibly on the National Mall. So I. My guess, I mean, this is Occam's razor, but obviously he watched the draft last week and was like, that looks cool. Yeah, let's do it on the mall.”

Andrew Egger elaborates on how Trump's involvement in events like the NFL Draft illustrates his tendency to latch onto popular phenomena to boost his own image.

• [02:55] Andrew Egger: “We know that he watched the draft last week because he was doing commentary... This is Donald Trump's life now. He is having a blast because he just... goes through his day.”

c. Imposing Tariffs on Foreign Films

The discussion then shifts to Trump's aggressive stance on foreign films, proposing a 100% tariff on movies produced overseas.

• [04:19] Sam Stein: “He announced that he will be issuing... a 100 tariff on any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands.”

Andrew Egger highlights the absurdity and potential chaos such a policy could unleash on the film industry.

• [05:45] Andrew Egger: “These words don't add up to anything, right? Like, are they going to tear? Like, if you have the real. He knows all this stuff better than me.”

3. Analysis of Trump's Behavioral Patterns

Andrew Egger offers a critical analysis of Trump's behavior, framing it as a reflection of his unfiltered thought process and the lack of institutional checks within his administration.

• [08:38] Andrew Egger: “Donald Trump waking up in the morning, tripping through life and shooting from the hip... There's no guardrails around it whatsoever.”

He underscores the peril of Trump’s impromptu decision-making, where casual interactions with various influential and fringe figures directly translate into significant policy shifts.

4. Implications for Policy and Governance

The hosts delve into the broader implications of Trump's spontaneous policy announcements, emphasizing the potential for instability and unpredictability within the executive branch.

a. Rapid Policy Implementation

Sam Stein observes how quickly Trump's ideas transition from tweets to actionable policies, often bypassing traditional legislative scrutiny.

• [04:16] Sam Stein: “The whole apparatus is set up to let him rock with these things, let him cook, and he's just doing it.”

b. Challenges in Policy Execution

Andrew Egger discusses the practical challenges of implementing Trump’s policies, using the foreign film tariff proposal as a case study.

• [05:46] Sam Stein: “Howard Lutnick, the commerce Secretary, says we're on it, and we're trying to figure out internally... lots of movies have different shooting locations.”

5. Reactions and Potential Impacts

The conversation touches upon the responses from various sectors, including government officials and industry experts, highlighting the confusion and uncertainty surrounding Trump's initiatives.

• [06:49] Sam Stein: “Don’t know if they have tariffs on Amazon Prime Video rentals...”

Andrew Egger notes the bewilderment among policymakers and industry stakeholders as they attempt to navigate Trump's erratic directives.

6. Broader Political Dynamics

The episode further explores Trump's interactions with diverse and sometimes controversial groups, reflecting on how these relationships influence his policy decisions.

• [07:01] Andrew Egger: “He’s super happy to hang out with both Jeff Bezos and Enrique Terrio... And then he. That’s input for him, right?”

This segment illustrates the complex web of influences shaping Trump's presidency, ranging from mainstream executives to extremist figures like Enrique Terrio of the Proud Boys.

7. The Dual Nature of Trump's Presidency

Sam Stein and Andrew Egger reflect on the duality of Trump's presidency, juxtaposing serious policy moves with seemingly trivial or whimsical decisions.

• [08:31] Sam Stein: “He seems to be totally preoccupied with, like, the shiniest of objects.”

Andrew Egger emphasizes that this blend creates a confusing and volatile political environment, where significant issues coexist with surface-level distractions.

• [08:38] Andrew Egger: “This is the kind of dynamic of Trump 2.0, where it's like some of it's very serious and a lot of it's very, very serious.”

8. Conclusion: The Continuous Flux of Trump's Actions

In concluding remarks, Sam Stein underscores the relentless pace of Trump's activities and their far-reaching consequences.

• [10:07] Sam Stein: “And it, us, D.C. residents, at least we're going to get the NFL Draft in 2027. Look, they ripped a billion dollars from our budget, so we get this nice little shiny object in exchange.”

Andrew Egger reinforces the notion that Trump's presidency is characterized by constant, rapid shifts driven by spontaneous ideas, leaving little room for stability or predictability.

• [10:52] Andrew Egger: “This is just the water. Endless, Endless.”

Key Takeaways

• Spontaneous Policy Making: Trump's unfiltered and impulsive approach leads to sudden and often nonsensical policy proposals.
• Lack of Institutional Checks: The administration appears ill-equipped to provide oversight or challenge Trump's off-the-cuff decisions.
• Influence of Diverse Groups: Trump's interactions span a wide spectrum, from corporate executives to extremist groups, all influencing his policy direction.
• Industry and Governance Challenges: Policies like the proposed tariffs on foreign films present significant practical challenges and uncertainty within affected industries.
• Volatile Political Environment: The combination of serious policy moves and trivial decisions fosters a highly unstable and unpredictable political landscape.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• [00:00] Sam Stein: “What actually is this presidency about? Like, what is it really about? What is he doing here?”
• [01:38] Andrew Egger: “This is how Trump views his president.”
• [02:25] Sam Stein: “Obviously he watched the draft last week and was like, that looks cool.”
• [04:19] Sam Stein: “We want to make movies made in America again.”
• [08:38] Andrew Egger: “Donald Trump waking up in the morning, tripping through life and shooting from the hip.”
• [10:07] Sam Stein: “Look, they ripped a billion dollars from our budget, so we get this nice little shiny object in exchange.”

Final Thoughts

This episode of Bulwark Takes offers a critical and comprehensive analysis of President Trump's unpredictable governance style. By dissecting his latest social media outbursts and their tangible policy implications, Sam Stein and Andrew Egger provide listeners with a nuanced understanding of the challenges and uncertainties that define Trump's second term. The discussion serves as a sobering reminder of the potential ramifications of unrestrained executive decision-making on both national policy and the broader political landscape.

Transcript

[Sam Stein]

Hey, guys, it's me, Sam Stein, managing editor at the Bulwark. I am joined by Andrew Egger, author of Morning Shots. We are coming to you Sunday night because there's just a lot of crazy stuff that Trump is posting on his feed, and it's breaking on the Internet. Truly makes you wonder, what actually is this presidency about? Like, what is it really about? What is he doing here? Before we get into that, subscribe to the feed. Really would appreciate it. All right, Andrew, there's, like, four things that we could talk about, but let's just go with what was on the feed tonight. So I was doing bath time with the kids. I got, you know, got them into the bath. I took my phone out just to take a look and look, when you're.

[Andrew Egger]

A bad parent, this is what I do.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah, I know. At least I bathe them. All right, lo and behold, Donald Trump wants to bring back Alcatraz the Rock. I. I mean, I'm assuming. Assuming everyone knows what Aquatra is, but if you don't. It's the prison off of San Francisco in the Bay. It's been closed since 1963. It's a tourist site now. I've been there myself, infamously, famously, I should say, the setting for the Rock, which was one of the great Sean Connory, Nicholas Cage joints of all time. Fantastic movie. But this one came out of nowhere. Like, I didn't have this on my executive order bingo card. And I'm very perplexed, and I'm curious why he did this. I think he was asked about it by the pool, and all he said was, I. I had the idea. I had the idea to do it. Yeah, no kidding. You had the idea. Like, yes, you tweeted it. So anyways, what do you. What do you make of it?

[Andrew Egger]

This is what's so cool about the second Trump term is. Is like it's just a tiny microcosm for everything that's happening right now. No, okay, Not. Not everything that's happening, but everything that Donald Trump himself is doing. This is how Trump views his president.

[Sam Stein]

We don't know what he was doing, Andrew.

[Andrew Egger]

He.

[Sam Stein]

He could have been literally watching the movie.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah, yeah, but, but, but it's all like that. It's all like that. Things kind of come across his field of vision, and they spark an idea in his brain. He's like, well, hell, I'm the President of the United States. Let's make it happen. And the whole apparatus is set up to. To, like, you know, it's. It's kind of like the old, like, executive time joke from. From back in the first term. But executive time now is like, Donald Trump will have crazy ideas, and then it'll be like, all right, well, he. He put that up there, and we're gonna, we're gonna figure out how to put it in, put it into play.

[Sam Stein]

You know, to jump forward then. Because that's a great segue to the news that broke tonight, which is that Trump is going to announce tomorrow on Monday that he wants or that D.C. will host the NFL Draft in 2027, possibly on the National Mall. So I. My guess, I mean, this is Occam's razor, but obviously he watched the draft last week and was like, that looks cool. Yeah, let's do it on the mall. Like, he's doing my ex with cool stuff.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah. Like, no, and we know we. We don't have to guess. We know that he watched the draft last week because he was doing commentary. You remember that when, when Shadow Sanders fell to the fifth round, he was like, this happened. He's like, are these owners schmucks? What's going on? This guy's a generational talent, you know, Son of a Hall of Famer. Yeah. So, no, I mean, and it's all like that. I mean, like, like, this is. This is Donald Trump's life now. Right. I mean, he is having a blast because he just. He just kind of goes through his day. He goes down to Mar a Lago, he bumps into people. Different people come to him to solicit different things. They all want something out of him. And he's the guy who can just say, hey, that is a pretty cool idea. We're doing it. Or like, oh, that's such a. I mean, a couple of weeks ago, he was. He was doing that event with the coal miners. Do you remember that? Like, he was. He had like some. Some like, you know, American energy speech where he was. It was just like a. Pay on to coal. That was the whole thing. And while he was up on stage, he was like, you. You know, we just had this idea. We're going to have. We're going to A, we're going to make it illegal for future administrations to, like, roll back our coal policies. So you're welcome, coal miners. I just had this idea. And then, b, I also just had the idea that we're going to all these law firms that keep capitulating. Oh, I do remember this. We're going to make these guys, you know, do pro bono work on behalf of America's coal companies. And these are just These are just thoughts that are occurring to him. But he's the president, you know, and.

[Sam Stein]

The whole apparatus is set up.

[Andrew Egger]

The whole apparatus is set up to let him rock with these things, let him cook, and he's just doing it. That's what he's spending his time on.

[Sam Stein]

There's. There's the improvisational element to this. And it does make you wonder, like, is the best way to influence him just to get lucky and be on TV in that moment, possibly. Another thing he came out with tonight, I don't know what the origins of this one is, but maybe he just, like, talked to some producer or something. But he announced that he will be, I think, issuing an executive order saying that you will be tariff. Sorry, not the executive order. He's going to put tariffs, 100% tariffs on films that are made overseas. Let me get the actual.

[Andrew Egger]

I know, I'm pulling it up.

[Sam Stein]

He said, okay, this is the best part. He said, hollywood and many other areas within the USA are being devastated. This is a concerted effort by other nations and therefore a national security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda. Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce in the United States trade representatives to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100 tariff on any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands. We want to make movies made in America again. Now, this is one where, yes, it was shot out of his ass, probably. But Howard Lutnick, the commerce Secretary, says we're on it, and we're trying to figure out internally in bulwarks, like, what it means. Like, lots of movies have different shooting locations.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sam Stein]

Is it. If you have, like, even one shot overseas, you're gonna get terr. Like, what happens here.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah. Our poor. Our poor movies guy, Sonny Bunch, is, like, in slack with, like, his eye twitching. Just like, these words don't add up to anything, right? It's like, yeah, like, are they. Are they going to tear? Like, if you. If you have, like, the real. He knows all this stuff better than me. If you have, like, the reels that are going to get shipped to the. To the theaters, like, individually, are those not allowed to come in from outside? Or is it. Is it, like, the creative process somehow? Like, like, if you are. If it's a Bollywood film, like, are.

[Sam Stein]

Those the ones that are definitely going to hit Bollywood?

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, like, like, yeah, if you're going to rent that on Amazon Prime Video, like, is there a tariff on that?

[Sam Stein]

Now, Bill Crystal, your partner in crime is deeply worried about Bluey.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah.

[Sam Stein]

But Blue is not a film.

[Andrew Egger]

That's true. That's true. Yeah. And, you know, if he. I'm surprised that this, this deeply well thought out policy that the, that the US Government is rolling out now is not. It's not, you know, giving us clarity on whether it's movies or the shows. You know, what are we doing?

[Sam Stein]

Look, I know people. I know people are wondering this. This. Because I was wondering this. Donald Trump was in Home Alone 2. Home Alone 2 involves a family that gets on a plane, goes to France. Were. What were those scenes shot in France? And the answer is no, it wasn't in Charles Galler part. It was in O'Hare. And they made it look like we.

[Andrew Egger]

Used to be a proper country. We shot.

[Sam Stein]

I know.

[Andrew Egger]

In France here, Return.

[Sam Stein]

Trump understood that.

[Andrew Egger]

I know, I know.

[Sam Stein]

That's the way it should be done.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's got that line to the Zeitgeist. You know, we got it, we got to get it back.

[Sam Stein]

All right. There's some other ones. He wants Howie Kurtz to retire. I don't know why he tweeted that one out. Just decided, you know, howie, it's time for you to go. Then there's some other reports. He did a pool with reporters. He went off on the Wall Street Journal for no apparent reason. And then this one actually is serious. Scott McFarland of CBS, he said that the White House confirmed that Trump had a conversation last night with Enrique Taro, who is, of course, proud boy member, was involved, obviously, with January six, was arrested and then pardoned or commuted. I want to be clear. I should have known which one. But anyways, he says the two of them talked, and Enrique said that Trump told him to thank the J6ers. So, like, we have this weird dynamic where a lot of weird happens and Trump, like, sort of re. Engineers the executive branch to make it happen. And then sprinkled in is some serious. And it's hard to figure out, like, which one to care about. It's actually not that hard, you know, which one to care about. It's all sort of signal noise to a degree. But this is the kind of dynamic of Trump 2.0, where it's like some of it's very serious and a lot of it's very, very serious. And then he seems to be totally preoccupied with, like, the shiniest of objects.

[Andrew Egger]

Yeah, yeah. And it's all. I mean, I think to me, the. The important thing to point out is that it's all one thing. It's all. It's all the same phenome phenomenon. It's Donald Trump waking up in the morning, tripping through life and shooting from the hip, right? And when he trips through life, some of the people he's coming into contact with are Hollywood executives. Some of the people he's coming into contact with are the biggest psychos in the universe. I guess Hollywood executives might. Might count. But I don't mean the Hollywood executives. I mean proud boys. I mean Enrique Terrio, who's going to. He's going to bump into him at Mar a Lago. He's going to bump into Laura Loomer. He's going to bump into Nick Fuentes maybe, or Kanye west. And like, and it's all one piece to him because he has no filter for, like, oh, these are the people I shouldn't be associating with for him. The people he shouldn't be associating with are like the rhinos. You know, it's like, it's. It's like Liz Cheney. He's like the, the only person he doesn't want to hang out with. He's super happy to hang out with both Jeff Bezos and Enrique Terrio. And, and then, and then he. That's input for him, right? That's. He. He goes among those people and he hears what they have to say and he comes up with his ideas and then he goes to work and he turns them into policy. And there's no, there's no guardrails around it whatsoever. So, like, you know, if you have a line to the president, if you are the kind of guy who can pull him aside at Mar a Lago, you are just as influential over. Over what he has to say as the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal. Certainly more.

[Sam Stein]

You're more influential than the Wall Street Journal.

[Andrew Egger]

But yeah, you're right. 100%. 100%. But the point is like, like this stuff just gets laundered into real shit very quickly and easily and out in the open.

[Sam Stein]

And it, us, D.C. residents, at least we're going to get the NFL Draft in 2027. Look, they ripped a billion dollars from our budget, so we get this nice little shiny object in exchange.

[Andrew Egger]

Thank you for unironically cool shiny object. I had not heard about that one. That'd be kind of fun to cover, right? I don't know. Where is it usually? Is it in Ohio? Is that the hall of Fame?

[Sam Stein]

No, no, no. They do it in different stadiums. This past year is at Lambeau Field. They. They've done it in New York. They did it in, I think they did one in Dallas. This is just, he, he clearly watched it and was like this would be really cool to have. All right, Andrew, thank you for doing this buddy. Really appreciate it. I know we don't always like jump at every chump tweet and rightfully so because we would just be doing this all day but the succession of like rapid fire idiocy tonight demanded this quick.

[Andrew Egger]

Take and I think every once in a while it's good to pop in and be like, hey, this is happening all the time and we're just going to, we're going to get out. But remember, even when you're not paying attention to it, it's always happening. Just the, this is just the water.

[Sam Stein]

Endless, Endless. All right, Andrew, buddy, appreciate it. Thank you guys for watching. Subscribe to the feed and we will talk to you soon.