Podcast Summary: Bulwark Takes – "Yes, These Things All Happened in 2025"
Episode Date: December 31, 2025
Host & Contributors: The Bulwark Team (Tim Miller, Sarah Longwell, Bill Kristol, and more)

Episode Overview

This episode of Bulwark Takes is a rapid-fire roundtable where multiple Bulwark contributors share their picks for the wildest, most astonishing, or era-defining moments of 2025. The team highlights both grave and surreal events from the political and cultural landscape, with each speaker offering biting commentary and signature irreverence. The tone is a mix of exasperation, gallows humor, and sharp-eyed analysis—aimed at making sense of a year that, even by recent standards, felt especially tumultuous.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Craziest and Most Absurd Moments

• Elon Musk vs. Donald Trump Twitter War (00:55–03:28)

  • June brought an online feud between two of the world's most powerful men, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, featuring:
    • Accusations by Musk that Trump was involved in the "Epstein files"
    • Threats to decommission the Dragon 2 spacecraft
    • Calls for a new political party and even for Trump’s impeachment (by Musk)
    • Trump threatening to pull government contracts in retaliation
  • The chaotic, juvenile nature of the feud made staffers in the newsroom gawk:

    “The world’s richest man, one of the President’s top advisors, basically going ballistic on him in the most emotionally irresponsible way possible. … Should these individuals have any power whatsoever?” (03:16)

• The American Pope (21:23–23:16)

  • Pope Francis finally passes, and to universal shock, the conclave elects an American from Chicago, Bobby Prevost—now Pope Leo XVI—who, notably, is a White Sox fan and Villanova Wildcat, not a Notre Dame alum:

    “We get an American pope and the guy didn’t even go to Notre Dame. No, no. Bobby Prevost went to Villanova. … Greatest upset in pontifical history.” (22:17)

2. Most Shocking and Tragic Moments

• Assassination of Charlie Kirk (04:02–07:44)

  • The killing of the influential right-wing figure is depicted as a pivotal disruption within the conservative movement:

    “Ever since then, I think the right has been in chaos. … I think Donald Trump, his image has been hurt on the right by the—by Charlie Kirk’s death.” (05:52)

  • This power vacuum led to the rise of more fringe voices and conspiracy theorists.

• Murder of Rob and Michelle Reiner (24:10, 35:11)

  • The beloved filmmaker and his wife are murdered by their son, sparking a shocking Trump reaction:

    “Donald Trump’s immediate reaction is to criticize him and make it about Trump by saying that he was killed because of his Trump derangement syndrome… It really does convey the utter level of depravity that is Trump as a person.” (24:33)

  • Contributors circle back to this event as a low point for both national tragedy and presidential indecency.

3. Institutional Collapse & Scandals

• US Foreign Aid (USAID) Dismantled (29:43–33:09)

  • Massive, abrupt funding cuts lead to humanitarian crises worldwide.

    “There are credible estimates that hundreds of thousands of people have already died. It is only the beginning. … In a just world, this would weigh on the conscience of people like Trump and Elon Musk. I don’t know if they have that kind of a conscience.” (32:32)

• Healthcare and Medicare Slashed (28:01–29:43)

  • Medicaid and ACA subsidies are targeted, millions lose coverage, and HHS under RFK Jr. pursues anti-vaccine policies and purges scientists.

• Federal Institutions Kowtow to Trump (44:44–45:32)

  • The legal, media, and academic elite swiftly acquiesce to the new administration:

    “I thought that they would have put up a bit more of a fight and played the long game. No, despite what Trump says, no one stays in power forever.”

• The ‘Pay-to-Play’ Meme Coin Dinner (39:13–41:55)

  • Trump rewards cryptocurrency investors with direct access:

    “The openness of it, the brazenness of it was, was kind of on another level. … But because of the brazenness of it, I think it’s pretty astonishing that we’ve all basically forgotten it happened.” (41:13)

4. Immigration and Racial Issues

• Immigration Crackdown: The Narciso Barranco Case (46:05–49:41)

  • A landscaper/father of three Marines is violently apprehended on video, exposing the cruelty and contradictions of the new crackdown:

    “It brings the lie to … caring about our veterans. Caring about—I mean, he has three U.S. Marine sons, one who had to throw the phone down when he saw the video…DHS posted the video. They were proud of this.” (48:14)

  • Raises questions about the treatment of mixed-status families and what the US stands for.

• Trump’s Anti-Somali Tirade (53:22–56:52)

  • At a December Cabinet meeting, Trump delivers a bigoted rant against Somali-Americans, met with cheers, not protest, from officials:

    “He said, quote: Somalis ripped off that state, Minnesota, for billions of dollars. … Ilhan Omar is garbage. She’s garbage. Her friends are garbage… The most astonishing thing was that instead of somebody in the room expressing dissent … what happened was applause all around the table.” (54:13)

  • The speaker warns this echoes the darkest chapters of 20th-century Europe.

5. Surreal and Comedic Moments

• Liberation Day Penguin Tariffs (15:09–16:23)

  • Trump tariffs the penguins of the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands:

    “It especially made sense if you’re talking about tariffing an uninhabited island that is home only to penguins, as was the case.” (15:40)

• RFK Jr. Swims in Sewage (16:24–17:00)

  • The HHS Secretary and family’s publicity stunt, described as the “most astonishing moment of 2025.”

• Drone Panic of Late 2024 (33:54–37:17)

  • Mass hysteria over routine air traffic and a few hobby drones, fueled by politicians and media personalities:

    “Tucker Carlson said something Big is happening and that the cover-up is bipartisan. Marjorie Taylor Greene said that she would shoot the drones down herself along with every other red blooded, freedom loving American. Of course, what was it? It was normal air traffic and, you know, a handful of drones.” (35:52)

6. Other Notables

• Plane Crash and DEI Scapegoating (57:06–58:23)

  • After a fatal DC airport crash, the administration blames DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) with zero evidence, later acting as if nothing happened.

• Social Security “Modernization” (45:44–46:04)

  • AI and outsourcing are ramped up at the SSA just as the baby boomer retirement wave hits, risking catastrophic service failures.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Should these individuals have any power whatsoever? And yet they're the two most powerful individuals in the country, if not the world.” (On Musk-Trump feud, 03:16)
• “It was a sickening display… I was just so floored that the Vice President had done this.” (On J.D. Vance berating Zelenskyy, 03:41)
• “The right has been in chaos. … Donald Trump’s image has been hurt on the right by the—by Charlie Kirk’s death.” (On impact of Kirk assassination, 05:52)
• “We get an American pope and the guy didn’t even go to Notre Dame… Suck it, Domers greatest upset in pontifical history.” (On new Pope, 22:28)
• “It really does convey the utter level of depravity that is Trump as a person.” (On Trump’s Rob Reiner tweet, 24:33)
• “There are credible estimates that hundreds of thousands of people have already died. It is only the beginning.” (On USAID cuts, 32:40)
• “It brings the lie to…caring about our veterans. Caring about—I mean, he has three U.S. marine sons…” (On Barranco case, 48:14)
• “He said, quote: Somalis ripped off that state, Minnesota, for billions of dollars. … Ilhan Omar is garbage. ... what happened was applause all around the table.” (On Cabinet meeting, 54:13)
• “I thought that they would have put up a bit more of a fight…No, despite what Trump says, no one stays in power forever.” (On institutional capitulation, 45:25)

Conclusion

Bulwark Takes' year-end recap is an emotional whirlwind, alternating between horror, dark comedy, and outright disbelief at the events and personalities dominating 2025. The contributors’ memories span violence, bigotry, political corruption, and institutional decay, but also highlight episodes of sheer absurdity that captured public attention. The panel’s blend of sarcasm, earnest critique, and flashes of hope (“it’s up to the rest of us to keep talking about this,” 33:06) ensure listeners finish the episode with a sobered but not entirely despairing outlook.

Note: Timestamps refer to the main content; advertisements and promos have been omitted.