The Walls Are Closing In

Summary

The Bulwark Podcast: "The Walls Are Closing In"

Date: May 23, 2026
Hosts: JVL and Sarah Longwell

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Episode Overview

In this wide-ranging episode, JVL and Sarah Longwell dig into the avalanche of political news from the past week, analyzing new cracks in Donald Trump’s political hold, the sudden (and belated) emergence of Republican opposition, and a deluge of Trump corruption revelations. The discussion centers on how unprecedented legal, ethical, and political scandals are being processed—by politicians, the media, and the broader public—as the 2024 landscape grows ever more fraught. With their signature mix of sardonic wit and political insight, the hosts question whether the sheer scale of scandal has numbed the electorate—and whether anyone will act on it.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. A Wave of Bad News and Political Shifts ([01:41]–[05:18])

• Recent developments (JVL):
  • Bipartisan pushback against Trump, including reps. Fitzpatrick and Don Bacon signaling open defiance, especially regarding Ukraine aid.
  • Trump’s polling falls to -24 (Quinnipiac) and -22 (Fox) in approval ratings.
  • Gas prices and consumer confidence hit new lows.
  • “That sounds to me like a president with the walls maybe starting to close in on him a little bit.” (JVL, [03:10])
• Sarah’s analysis:
  • Trump’s own attacks on the GOP have empowered intra-party retaliation from those he previously targeted.
  • Republicans may now "buck" Trump without fearing his base, as his numbers fall and they become political lame ducks.
  • The belated courage of GOP lawmakers is bittersweet: “The moment that they no longer have to win elected office is, of course, very telling…” (Sarah, [04:24])
  • Many knew “right from wrong” but served their careers instead of the country; their “conscience” only appears as they leave.

2. Cynicism at Republican 'Change of Heart' ([05:18]–[08:00])

• The cost of delayed action:
  • JVL expresses mixed gratitude: “It is better than nothing…but it isn’t what the moment demanded.” ([05:18])
  • Sarah: Democrats should seize the moment, working with now-defiant Republicans in Congress, but she feels “no personal satisfaction,” seeing it as confirmation that these figures “were faking it the whole time just for political purposes.” ([07:55])
  • Bill Cassidy’s rhetorical change is “a deeply sad commentary on current politics.” ([05:18])

3. The Flood of Trump Corruption Revelations ([08:00]–[10:17])

• “Shocking” week of scandals (compiled by Catherine Rampell) ([08:00]):
  • Trump evades a potential $100 million IRS fine.
  • Grants himself, family, and friends immunity from future IRS investigations.
  • Bought and sold ~$735 million in stocks tied to companies before his administration.
  • Insider trading alerts follow Trump’s statements about Iran, with $800 million moved.
  • Accepts $5 million from Big Tobacco ahead of deregulation moves.
  • Don Jr.’s investment firm balloons from $200 million to $3.5 billion.
• JVL’s reaction:
  • “It’s so much that I think none of it matters.” ([09:43])
  • “It’s so big. It’s so horrible. It's so unprecedented... that it just…” ([10:00])

4. The Limits of Language—And Media Failure ([10:17]–[12:31])

• Problematic language in coverage:
  • JVL rails against euphemisms and neutral reporting words: “Unprecedented” and “controversial” are insufficient for the moment.
    • “The Declaration of Independence was controversial, too. Tell us: are David Duke’s opinions controversial, or are they fucking repugnant? …Just say it.” ([11:15])
    • The use of “polarizing” and “unprecedented” “is why...media [is] not equal to the moment. And I hate it.” ([11:41])
  • Sarah agrees mainstream journalism can’t render judgment on “obviously corrupt and morally bankrupt” behavior.
    • “Unprecedented is like we landed on the moon and it’s unprecedented…there’s something about the nature of ‘unprecedented’ that leaves people with the notion that it could be just a barrier-breaking goodness.” ([12:31])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On GOP accountability:
  “Watching these guys suddenly catch their conscience the moment that they no longer have to win elected office is, of course, very telling…they know right from wrong. They choose wrong to keep their seat.”
  — Sarah Longwell ([04:24])

• On the nature of scandal:
  “It’s so much that I think none of it matters.”
  — JVL ([09:43])

• On euphemistic journalism:
  “The Declaration of Independence was controversial, too. Tell us: are David Duke’s opinions controversial, or are they fucking repugnant? Just say it.”
  — JVL ([11:15])

• On media failure:
  “Mainstream media’s inability to render judgment on things that are obviously corrupt and morally bankrupt is a real problem for the moment.”
  — Sarah Longwell ([11:41])

• On public numbness:
  “Unprecedented is like we landed on the moon and it’s unprecedented…that word leaves people with the notion that it could be just a barrier-breaking goodness.”
  — Sarah Longwell ([12:31])

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• The live show backstage banter / bus bit: [00:15]–[01:30]
  (Light banter and commentary on inside jokes, transitions quickly to political content.)

• Political landscape shifting—Republican bucking Trump: [01:41]–[06:16]

• Critique of delayed Republican conscience: [05:18]–[08:00]

• Reading the list of Trump's recent scandals: [08:00]–[10:17]

• Host frustration with euphemistic media language: [10:17]–[12:31]

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Tone & Language

The episode uses a blend of sardonic humor and grave realism, with JVL and Sarah freely expressing disillusionment at the state of both politics and media. They aim to inform listeners while not shying away from calling out hypocrisy, cowardice, and the danger of “normalizing” unprecedented levels of corruption and dysfunction.

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Bottom Line:
JVL and Sarah argue that the “walls are closing in” on Trump, but they caution that a mix of public numbness, media euphemism, and the belated courage of lawmakers may mean even monumental scandals barely move the needle. The episode’s call is for clarity—both of language and moral judgment—at a perilous moment for American democracy.

Transcript

[A]

Hello, everyone. This is JVL here with my best friend Sarah Longwell, publisher of the Bubwark. Sarah, happy Friday. I am in New York City. You are in the City of Angels.

[B]

How are you in New York City? I'm good. Yeah. We just got done with a live show. I am disheveled, unshowered, slightly hungover, but we had a great LA live show.

[A]

Well, we're going to save that for the back half of the show because I have so many questions. I need to hear all about it.

[B]

We missed you, man.

[A]

Curiously through. I missed you guys. I was like sending you email texts.

[B]

I know.

[A]

Yeah, No, I was really. But first we need to talk. I assume that since you were taping your YouTube live stream on the empty bus, you did not have time to read. That was a great. It was a great bit, by the way.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Pocket hose content A plus plus.

[B]

So wait, we. It was so funny. I will say sometimes I am reminded that I am an immigrant into this world of liberals whose comments on the live stream were all about the carbon footprint of the bus. And they were like. It was like. And, and what was funny is, so we were filming, we were at the back half of the bus and so the front half of the bus was filled with people, but it looked like on camera that there was nobody else on the bus.

[A]

You. And you missed the obvious, you missed the easy joke, which is that we forced all the little people to get out of the frame. We didn't want them on camera with us.

[B]

That's right, they were.

[A]

I was waiting. I was literally waiting for you to make that joke while I'm listening to the show. Anyway, we'll talk all about that, but I wrote yesterday with a little bit of Hopium because I just want to list off some things that have happened. Brian Fitzpatrick said about the slush fund, we're going to try to kill it. The Senate seems to have decided they will not give Trump $1 billion for his ballroom. Representative Don Bacon says that they, they got enough votes for their discharge petition and they're going to force the vote in the House Ukraine aid package next week. Quinnipiac showed Trump at negative 24 approval. Fox showed him at negative 22. Gas is at 456 for the Memorial Day weekend when 40 million Americans plan to drive long distances. Consumer confidence just came out this morning, is at an all time low, lower than it was at any point during the 70s or during the. The great financial crisis of 2008. And this week, again, these are all things that have happened in the last four days.

[B]

I know, but I love how all this terrible news is your hopium, but go ahead. Well, I know. I understand so well, let's just start with that.

[A]

I mean, that sounds to me like a president with the walls maybe starting to close in on him a little bit.

[B]

I think that it definitely sounds like a president who launched an attack on a bunch of people in his own party through the primaries, and now those people still have seven months in office with which to return the favor. And his increasing unpopularity means that them bucking him probably doesn't lead to them getting screamed at in airports or. You know, Donald Trump's power over the Republican Party has always been part that just the voters were with him and part that voters who were not, who perceived candidates or Republicans to not be with Trump would be menaced. And this is something that people constantly, I think, forget or underappreciate about. How much if you were a Republican and you voted to impeach Trump. Uh, yeah, I just remember the quotations that we saw coming out. It was in the Mitt Romney book of people who said, like, yeah, obviously he should be impeached, but, you know, I've got kids. And that, that implicit thing was, I can't have people coming.

[A]

And like, Mayer talked about this.

[B]

Yeah, that's right. And so, so his, his low level now, that doesn't mean he doesn't still have, obviously his, his, his cult, his fervent supporters who are never going to dip out on him. But he's at a, he's at a real point of weakness. And this allows for Republicans to turn on him now. But, like, that's the, it's the bad news as well as the good news. Right? Because the bad news is watching these guys suddenly catch their conscience. The moment that they no longer have to win elected office is, of course, very telling to something that we've always known, which is that they know right from wrong. They choose wrong to keep their seat. And so now that they can, now that they don't need to win their seat, they can choose. Right. And that is a, That's a deeply sad commentary on current politics.

[A]

I mean, it's better than nothing, right? But it's, it isn't what the moment demanded, you know, and that, that's what I feel. I feel a little. We have to live in the real world, right? You go to the war with the army you have, not the army you wish you have. And so as a. It is, it is better than nothing to have these guys Like, Bill Cassidy switching their votes now. And, like, the War Powers act looks like it's going to be a thing. And I. And I'm grateful for them doing it. And I don't want to take the position of, like, trying to wave off anybody who's finally doing something to. To stop him. But I think sad is the right. Like this moment demanded that. I mean, we. We've been. We've been doing this for. For a decade.

[B]

Yeah. And they knew. Decade, like, watching Cassidy, like, yes, these are the votes I would have taken if I was just doing what my conscience demanded or what I believe to be right and true.

[A]

Like, what was good for the country.

[B]

Yeah. What was good for the country. Totally. And this is where there's, like, this separation that I'm always trying to. As somebody, and I'm sure you feel this, too. There are your personal beliefs, and then there's your analysis of what's happening. Right.

[A]

Or your.

[B]

Or your thoughts on strategy.

[A]

For me, those are the same. I can't wait for. I want Graham Platner to be president, Sarah, because I love Nazi tattoos.

[B]

Yeah, I know. I know it's tough. But. But in this case, it's a matter of. As a strategic matter. Democrats should go to grab Cassidy. Right. They should go grab Thomas Massie, and they should. You know, there's such narrow margins right now, and Susan Collins is basically free to do whatever she wants because she's in an election cycle where she's got to win over Democrats because she's in a bluer state than most people up for reelection. So she's going to get a pass from everybody to buck Trump. And so, like, you can put something together, and you should. You should use all of these Republicans who, Who are mad at Trump because he came at them so hard. I mean, he spent, what, $19 million against Massie in one congressional seat? Like, it's ridiculous. And he's obviously been personally toxic to them. I'm sure they're getting targeted in all kinds of ways. So, like, they're in YOLO mode. Democrats should seize them in YOLO mode. I just can't find any personal satisfaction from watching Cassidy behave this way, because it, to me, is just a reminder of something we already knew, which is just that this guy was faking it the whole time just for political purposes. And that is one of the. It's just so gross to think about.

[A]

It's bad. It's bad. So in addition to those, those are not scandals. Those are just, like, objectively bad things happening in the country. Or defeats for political defeats for Trump. Right. I'm going to read you a list again. This is. This was put together for me by Catherine Rampel. She and I just like slacking about this. And like, when she. When you put it all in one place, it does become a little bit shocking. So in the course of one week. One week, Donald Trump lets himself out of a potential $100 million IRS fine. He gives himself and his family and friends immunity from all future IRS investigations. It is revealed that he bought and sold 735 or so million dollars worth of stocks and was issuing buy and sell orders while these companies had business before his government. Somebody with knowledge, in advance of his March 23rd truth social post about postponing the strikes on Iran did insider trading worth about $800 million. He accepted a $5 million donation from Big Tobacco a few days before he deregulated stuff. And Don Jr. S venture capital firm went from $200 million of assets under management to $3.5 billion under management. These are things which all surfaced in the last four days.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

I don't know what to say. I mean, It's. Except this maybe. Like, it's so much that I think none of it matters.

[B]

Well, that's a. That's a shocking jvlt.

[A]

No, I mean, maybe I'm wrong. I don't know. You know what I mean? Like, it's just. There's so. It's so big. It's so horrible. It's so unprecedented, as the Axio story about this called it, that, like, it just.

[B]

I don't know, Like, I do hate the word unprecedented. It is so, so much, this idea of, like, it is such a neutral word, the new. The neutrality of that word, to suggest that it's just. Well, it's something that's never happened before without indicating it's something awful that's never happened before. It's something corrupt that's never happened before.

[A]

So, literally, before you and I sat down, I was doing my Friday live show with Katherine Rambell, and I went on a rant about exactly this. I said this. I have a set, a series of words that freak me out and I hate. One of which is unprecedented, another of which is controversial. Right? Like, oh, well, he has some controversial opinions. Like, no, I'm sorry. The Declaration of Independence was controversial, too. Like, tell us, are David Duke's opinions controversial or are they fucking repugnant?

[B]

Just.

[A]

Just say it. Right. You know, or the. The polarizing figure. Oh, he's polarizing. No, I hate. Oh, that all of that shit. Unprecedented. Polarizing like that is why. That is like old media death. Right? That that or not even death, but just media, which is not equal to the moment. And I hate it.

[B]

Yeah. This is where in all of the years of. Of listening to conservatives rail against the. By the liberal bias in media. The liberal bias may be true, but the mainstream media's inability to render judgment on things that are obviously cor. And morally bankrupt is a real problem for the moment. But unprecedented. Unprecedented gets me more just because it. Here's the thing about unprecedented. Is it unlike a couple of those other words, those at least have negative connotations. Like, you at least know if it's controversial. Like one side thinks it's bad. Like someone in there thinks it's bad. Unprecedented is like we landed on the moon and it's unprecedented. Like there's something about the nature of unprecedented that leaves people with the notion that it could be just a barrier breaking. Goodness.

[A]

Let me. Let me read to you the Axios piece. I'm sorry. Like, I'm. You know what? Everybody, we're just. We're pulling the car over because mom and dad want to yell about this.