MAGA Influencer Blames Antifa for His Own Alleged Sex Crime | The Trio

Summary

The Bulwark Podcast – The Trio

Episode: MAGA Influencer Blames Antifa for His Own Alleged Sex Crime
Date: July 9, 2026

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Episode Overview

This lively episode of "The Trio" reunites Tim Miller, Will Sommer, and Sam Stein as they offer a satirical and incisive roundup of current right-wing absurdities. The panel delves into the saga of “MAGA Manny”—a conservative influencer arrested for public lewdness who now bizarrely blames Antifa for his woes. The crew also dissects the strange goings-on at the Great American State Fair and the unusual GOP gubernatorial candidate in Colorado, Victor Marx. Through colorful banter and sharp media criticism, the hosts examine the intersection of MAGA subculture, conspiracy theories, and performative politics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. MAGA Manny’s Legal Drama and Bizarre Defense

• [02:20] The main story focuses on "MAGA Manny," infamous for being arrested while allegedly engaging in lewd conduct at the National Mall.
• He gave a peculiar interview—not to a newspaper or mainstream outlet, but to “Edgar the Puppet,” a conservative puppet influencer with a large online following.
  • Will Sommer [03:36]: "It truly alarms me to learn that this guy has a big audience. I mean, he has like 190,000 followers. He's like a conservative puppet."
• Manny initially denies any inappropriate touching but, under questioning from the puppet, admits to reaching into his pockets—most notably in the porta-potty.
  • Manny [03:18]: "Wait a minute. Never mind. I did twice...when I went to the spot a pot."
  • Edgar the Puppet [03:22]: "Sir, this is America. We call it a porta potty."
• The interview background includes an off-putting techno beat, which the hosts lampoon for its surreal ambiance during such uncomfortable subject matter.
  • Sam Stein [05:17]: "There's this weird sort of techno song playing...that gives it a...really, truly uncomfortable vibe."

2. Conspiracies & Blame-Shifting

• When Edgar the Puppet prompts Manny about possible setups, Manny floats the idea that Antifa could be involved.
  • Manny [07:51]: "I've seen Antifa do crazier things than that. So I'm not saying I was set up, but I would not say that."
  • Tim Miller [08:07]: "Do we think that Antifa has infiltrated the National Mall? Park police? ...This might be a pretty important job for Marco Rubio and Todd Blanche and Cash Patel."
• The panel mockingly riffs on the absurdity of such deflections, highlighting the pattern of MAGA figures blaming elaborate conspiracies for personal failings.

3. The Sad State of the Great American State Fair

• The fair, located on the National Mall, is oddly still running after July 4th—a choice the hosts find perplexing.
  • Will Sommer [09:55]: "The idea to not just end it after July 4th...was really strange...the only agenda they have posted is from July 2nd."
• They discuss the lackluster turnout for Meghan McCain’s live podcast taping at the fair, broadcast on the Two Way app run by Mark Halperin.
  • Tim Miller [11:45]: "Why would she post this?...You don't have to be a professional photographer anymore to, you know, not show off that nobody is watching you."
  • Sam Stein [12:29]: "It's just pretty bleak all around. Massive screens and no, literally no one there."

4. Meta Commentary and Media Satire

• The Trio jokes about how, if given the opportunity, their own show might have drawn a better audience at the fair than McCain.
  • Tim Miller [13:00]: "I think that we really could have drawn a much bigger crowd...see if they would have allowed us to speak on matters of state."
• They satirize the paradox of empty public spectacles in the MAGA media ecosystem and allude to recurring scandals involving high-profile right-wing media figures.

5. Victor Marx: The Wild Card Candidate

• The conversation shifts to Victor Marx, the leading MAGA-aligned candidate for Colorado governor, noted for his extreme claims of performing exorcisms and wild personal anecdotes.
  • Tim Miller [16:32]: "Normal Christian lady, 39%. Maniac, who claims that he has a long past of murder and exorcism, 40%. Got to go for the real MAGA."
• Will introduces an audio clip of Marx recounting a dramatic story involving violence toward his own child, emphasizing the increasingly outlandish nature of right-wing candidates.
  • Victor Marx [16:53]: Describes “snatching up” his son and throwing him across the room as a disciplinary measure, illustrating what the hosts see as his troubling background.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Will Sommer on puppets in right-wing media [03:36]:
  • “He’s like a conservative puppet...It truly alarms me to learn this guy has a big audience.”
• Manny, denying and then admitting to lewd conduct [03:18]:
  • “Not one time at the entire event did I go anywhere past my pockets...Wait a minute. Never mind. I did twice.”
• Host banter on conspiracies [08:07]:
  • Tim: “Do we think that Antifa has infiltrated the National Mall? Park police?”
• Sam Stein on the state of the fair [12:29]:
  • “It's just pretty bleak all around. Massive screens and no, literally no one there.”
• Miller on right-wing priorities [16:32]:
  • "Normal Christian lady, 39%. Maniac, who claims that he has a long past of murder and exorcism, 40%."
• Meta humor on performative politics [13:00]:
  • Tim: "I think that we really could have drawn a much bigger crowd...see if they would have allowed us to speak on matters of state."

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Important Timestamps

• [02:20] – Overview of “MAGA Manny” saga and puppet interview.
• [03:36] – Will explains “Edgar the Puppet.”
• [05:17] – Panel discusses surreal background music in interview.
• [07:51] – Manny floats Antifa conspiracy as possible setup.
• [09:55] – State of the Great American State Fair; lack of agenda and attendance.
• [11:45] – Hosts roast Meghan McCain's empty podcast event.
• [13:00] – The Trio speculate how their own show would fare at the Fair.
• [16:32] – Introduction to Victor Marx and his “exorcisms” candidacy.
• [16:53] – Marx’s disturbing anecdote about his son.

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Tone and Language

The episode is irreverent, sardonic, and brimming with quick wit and biting satire. The hosts blend incredulity with deep skepticism toward right-wing media theatrics, using humor to expose political absurdities while maintaining a pointed pro-democracy stance.

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Takeaway

This episode offers a razor-sharp critique of MAGA culture’s ever-more surreal blend of conspiracy, spectacle, and self-delusion. Through lampooning interviews, empty public events, and fringe candidates, the hosts provide both entertainment and insight into the ongoing devolution of the right-wing media and political sphere.

Transcript

[A]

Hey everybody, it's Tim Miller from the Bulwark and I'm here with the Trio three of us. We are just so excited to be with you today. It's going to be wonderful. That's Will Sommer. He has the False Flag newsletter that is kind of the sucker that the material, the substance beneath the Trio video. So please go subscribe to that and read. I looked at the Atlantic yesterday. Apparently people don't read anymore. There's no reading is over. And so fight against that. You know, be a salmon swimming upstream and read@the bulwark.com we also have Sam Stein as the managing editor. Today's Trio video is going to be kind of a just sort of a highlight reel. We're going to try to put a bow on a lot of stories that you've been hearing about the masturbating maga Manny for one. Candace Owens, crash out. The Colorado Republican gubernatorial nominee who said that he did exorcisms. He has much more interesting past that we found out and many of your other favorite characters. So I'm excited. Sam, you don't look that excited.

[B]

Well, I thought your send up for Will was a lot better than how you described me.

[A]

Will's the sucker.

[B]

He provides the foundation for everything we do. And Simpson, the managing editor also, I think you should be transparent with our audience here. We're doing this. This is take two. Because Will's Internet was an absolute disaster yesterday. In this, the year of our Lord 2026, Will does not have a full functioning modem at his home. And we tried this already. And so if the jokes land a little bit differently, it's because of Will.

[A]

The jokes are going to be great. Will, do you think it's possible that there's kind of like an attack coming on your Internet?

[C]

I thought about that, yes. I think I might be able to attack from possibly the Trump administration. But you know, tech wise, I will note, you know, about a month or two ago, one of my paintings fell down and my wife finally got sick of it being down and put it back up. So now the whole studio is back in action.

[B]

You know, maybe the issue here, Will, is that Magamanny is taking off your using your wifi to download too much porn and your speed is a little bit slow.

[C]

You know, I am near the, near, near the mall, so he might have found it convenient.

[A]

Okay, well, let's go to Magamanny. For people who don't remember, he was the one playing pocket pool on the National Mall while watching a poorly attended AC performance at The Great American State Fair. Then his arrest was live streamed. He has reemerged. He's posted bail. He's out among the rest of us. He could be near your children, so keep an eye out near Will's house. And he's done an interview that I don't think I can describe. So we're just gonna show you.

[D]

Men of your age, they grab the crop. Sometimes they have to shift the goodies. They have to shift the goodies for increased comfort.

[A]

Did you do any of that, Manny?

[D]

Did you. Did you grab the twig and berries at any time during this event?

[E]

Not one time at the entire event did I go anywhere past my pockets to get something out of them.

[D]

All right, yeah, because you were live streaming and they were.

[E]

Wait a minute. Never mind. I did twice.

[D]

You did?

[E]

When I went to the spot a pot.

[D]

Sir, this is America. We call it a porta potty.

[F]

Port.

[E]

A pot. Spot a pot.

[D]

A man dressed in such an American fashion should know the property proper terms for things.

[B]

Look at that.

[C]

Tongue out at the end.

[A]

Will, what is happening there? Who is the interviewer?

[C]

So this is a guy named Edgar the Puppet. This is someone. It truly alarms me to learn that this guy has a big audience. I mean, he has like 190,000 followers. He's like a conservative puppet.

[A]

This is like a newsmax triumph. The insult Comet dog.

[C]

Well, yeah. And, you know, the thing to note here is you might think this kind of comes off like a triumph routine, but he's on Manny's side. He, like, supports him. And so Manny, I said, you know, you know, I'm out of jail. I've avoided very, like, I've avoided violating my release conditions by not quite getting back on the mall. And now I'm giving an exclusive interview to a puppet. I'm not a sicko.

[A]

I don't know why I didn't come to the Bulwark Podcast. I was available. You know, the bulk podcast is more. Podcast has been a stop for people who've been in some controversies before. They've come on, had an interview with me. I'm happy to do it. You know, I can offer some emotional support while also being tough, but fair and stern. I've got that ability. But instead, he went to.

[B]

I thought the puppet was pretty tough there. Did you. Did you do. Did you touch the twig and berries? The other thing is, if you listen now, because this is the second time we've listened to this again, because Will's Internet crash.

[A]

If you realize that, like, professional actors, like professional performers, like, there are many, many takes. You know what I mean? Like when you're watching D. Dutton Ranch or something, they don't do. They don't do a thing before the show starts where they're like. Just so you know, this was the knife take. So the actors might not be doing as good as they would otherwise. This is a pretty standard thing.

[B]

This is what separates us from other publications, our transparency towards the viewers and the readers. I want them to know I'm famous for just getting it in one take and. And my reputation is being sold. If you notice the video, back to the actual content here. There's this. I. I picked it up. There's this weird sort of techno song playing or like clubby song playing in the background that gives it a. Like a really, truly uncomfortable vibe. It's like it's just kind of there in the background while they're talking about him. This dude in a porta potty touching himself.

[A]

I didn't notice that. So let's look at clip two.

[D]

Are they right? Are they telling the truth? Did you. Did you stretch your bacon even absentmindedly in the presence of such aerialist lovelies?

[E]

Of course not.

[B]

And your bitch boyfriend.

[E]

You saw it twice, Maybe rummaging between two things. Maybe two, six. Come on.

[D]

Yeah. Can you give us, like, a quick summary of your defense? What were the problems with witnesses? In a nutshell.

[E]

Shoddy at best. Hearsay. Did you see this? Maybe. Kind of, sort of. So it's. It's a lot of hearsay and we.

[D]

Yeah. And you believe forthcoming details in your. Your next court appearance will. Will show that properly. Is that correct?

[E]

Absolutely. I've. I will have not spoken about them in public, and I will not until.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

The next court.

[D]

Yeah. Don't just talk about it now. Even though. Even though you. Probably.

[A]

Embarrassment.

[D]

And it's probably even worse now that you're talking to a Muppet.

[E]

You know, it.

[D]

You're not embarrassed?

[E]

It does not embarrass me. You cannot embarrass me.

[B]

That tongue again.

[C]

The puppet's kind of not on his side, I guess. You know, I said he was, but, like, he's kind of like, he's. He's being like. It seems like your story's changing a little. Oh, you touch yourself a couple times. And he's kind of slapping him around, too.

[A]

Yeah. A couple of things I noticed there when he went to do to put the hand in the pocket to kind of show what it would look like if he were to masturbate through the side of his pocket. He seemed very comfortable with that.

[B]

A man who's done it many times before.

[A]

It was very natural, you know, I think it would take me a few tries to figure out the right angle, etc. Okay, we have two more clips. Do we want us. Do we want to deal with two more clips here?

[B]

I feel like I'm a little bit manied out, but.

[A]

You are. Okay, how about one more? We're going to sit through the first. We're going to skip you. Is asked if you want to apologize to President Trump for sullying his reputation. The answer to that was no. And then he also was asked if this was a setup.

[D]

Is it just a misunderstanding or were you set up?

[E]

I've seen Antifa do crazier things than that. So I'm not saying I was set up, but I would not say that.

[D]

It would not be surprising.

[E]

Call maybe was made to somebody. You never know with them.

[B]

How would that work?

[A]

The phone call. The phone call would be from Antifa HQ to the park police. Do we think that Antifa has infiltrated the National Mall? Park police? This might be. This is actually a pretty important job for Marco Rubio and Todd Blanche and Cash Patel. They've been very concerned about Antifa and cracking down to think that they might have someone on the inside.

[B]

I think the. I think the conspiracy goes even deeper.

[F]

Oh, really?

[B]

I think what he's suggesting is that Antifa infiltrated Cirque Mechanics and tempted him

[A]

and who had the Cirque Mechanics again? Is that like the French Legionnaire?

[B]

No, this is the performers that he was watching. Yeah, these are the performers he was watching on stage when he was touching himself from a distance. And I think what he's saying is they infiltrated the Cirque and they. And they were just. They're just too tempting.

[A]

Did the Cirque go back to the Great American State Fair after this?

[E]

Will do?

[C]

You know, they've been there. They've been there. I mean, they kept going as far as I know. I mean, I think they've been there the whole time. Well, after that trauma, they didn't let Manny stop them. I mean, they were juggling in front of, you know, several people at one time.

[B]

Did we let the British stop us after a few setbacks in 1774? No, this is. This is what you do on the Great American State Fair.

[A]

Manny was also juggling the muskets. Okay, terrible. We're going to move on to the Great American State Fair is still happening. I don't know if you are aware of that.

[B]

That's crazy.

[A]

Thursday, July 9th. So if you're watching this and you're in the District of Columbia looking for something to do, still happening. State Fair, what will do you have a sense for what, why, and what's going on down there?

[C]

This was a crazy idea. I mean, you know, the idea to not just end it after July 4th, after all the tourists came to town, all the fireworks went off. That was like the one day it was actually packed. And so to keep it for another week was really strange. I looked up, I was curious, who made the kind of the undercard here? Who's, like, filling the slots afterwards? And I'll tell you what, the only agenda they have posted is from July 2nd. So again, about a week ago, you know, so it's not the best run fair. I guess we can't even find out, really, who the people are.

[A]

You got to just go in person. You're in D.C. will. Shouldn't you be there to close the down. Close down the festivities?

[C]

I got to get down there. I'll be. I mean, I'll be treated like a king.

[A]

I'll be the one guy there.

[B]

Wait, so I. Just to be clear, you can't find out what's gonna happen on the mall today.

[C]

As far as I can tell, it's impossible to find out. I checked on the 8th, and they said, here's the agenda for the 2nd, and that's it.

[A]

It's probably because you don't wanna know what is happening here is one thing happening on the main stage that we Learned from Meghan McCain's Twitter feed. She was very excited about this. Let's go ahead and put that up. And there it is. That is a live. That is a live streamed performance of Meghan McCain's new podcast on the Two Way app, which is kind of an interesting segue in its own right, since the two Way app is run by Mark Halperin, who knows his way around to public masturbation. And the Meghan McCain show didn't seem to have a big crowd there. Let's. Can we zoom in a little bit? What do you guys see in there?

[B]

I see some chairs.

[C]

Yeah, one or two chairs.

[A]

She posted this herself.

[B]

So cool.

[A]

What an honor. I was at the Great American State Fair. I didn't go in person. You know, I didn't leave my obnoxious husband. I mean, like, if I was Becky McCain, I'd be, like, trying to do anything possible to get out of the house. But that's neither here nor there. And she decides that she's just going to appear via screen and be beamed in to the great American state fair. Two people I don't recognize. Maybe they're minor figures in the two way app universe. And there it is. No one there. Why would she post this? Like you would think that she could crop. You realize on the little cell phone, if you take a picture, you can. There's a little cropping button. You know, you don't have to be a professional photographer anymore to, you know, not show off that nobody is watching you.

[B]

It's pretty bleak. It's just pretty bleak all around. Massive screens and no, literally no one there that I can't. I'm just looking. I don't see a single human soul in this picture.

[A]

Sam, why didn't the trio get a spot? I mean, I think that if the two way app, I would have done it.

[B]

I honestly would have done it. If they had asked us to come to. I mean, obviously we wouldn't have gotten any audience, but no one else's maybe. Actually, we would have gotten some audience. I think if we had gone there and we'd advertised that we were going to the mall, we could have gotten a pretty good crowd.

[A]

I mean, I would have liked to have gone. And I think that we really could have drawn a much bigger crowd. I think that we could have challenged the administration and the great American state fair's commitment to the first amendment and to free speech to see if they would have allowed us to speak on matters of state.

[B]

I mean, I would have avoided Manny, but other than that, I think I would have been fine.

[C]

He's banned. He's banned from the premises.

[A]

Well, yeah, but he kept.

[B]

Didn't he keep showing up from a distance?

[C]

Yeah, from like across the street? Yeah.

[B]

Just have to be there to witness this. Megan McCain broadcast.

[A]

Imagine just the energy and the intensity. If people knew the trio was going to be there, they didn't know who we were going to be talking about. There's this huge build up. They're waiting for us on the stage. The acrobats. The Cirque Magnifique is over here. Maybe masturbating. Manny will come out. Out onto the stage comes Cash's girlfriend and she does the inaugural rendition of the soon forthcoming trio theme song. Yes. I mean, think about the buildup. Where were you on that, Sam? You were the managing editor of the site.

[B]

I feel bad now. That would have been great. I didn't know who to talk to to book.

[C]

I didn't know they were booking random YouTube shows.

[E]

I guess.

[C]

I mean, it strikes me it's just crazy. The Meghan McCain thing. It's literally like. It's like if a tree falls in the forest, does anyone hear it? You know, like they could have set a laptop up in a closet there and played it. Like, no one saw it. No one saw it.

[A]

It's just beaming onto the mall with,

[B]

like, no one there.

[A]

Accuracy is important to the bulwarks. I just want to say when I said that the head of the two Way app knows a little bit about public masturbation. Kind of depends on what you mean by the word public. According to the Guardian, allegedly he was masturbating in front of colleagues and pressing his erect penis against junior employees. So you can kind of quibble over the word public on that front. What else do we have? Do we have a transition from there to the other topic?

[B]

Really hard to.

[A]

Victor Marks have any erect penis stories? He's got a lot of weird ones.

[B]

Do we have to have a penile element in every story? Is that like.

[A]

I believe so.

[B]

Okay, fine. Fair enough.

[A]

I believe we do.

[C]

Well, Victor Marx is. He hates. He famously hates sickos to the extent that maybe he's making up some of these stories.

[A]

Okay, Victor Marx, people don't remember. He was one of the candidates for the Republican nomination for governor in Colorado. A lot of discussion, a lot of chatter about some of maybe less than ideal Democratic nominees or nominee in particular. Marx continues to kind of fly under the radar. Unclear why he now holds a very narrow lead over Barb Kirkmayer to be the Republican nominee for governor there. He's got about 30, 40% of the vote, and she's got 39.5. So it's a tight. It's tight as a tick, they might say. But the Republicans in Colorado, they look at it and they're just like normal Christian lady, 39% maniac, who claims that he has a long past of murder and exorcism. 40%. Got to go for him. Got to go for the real maga. Got to go for the authentic ID of the MAGA movement. So Victor is in. We will had discussed his exorcisms the last time he was on, but, boy, his rap sheet's a lot longer than that. Do you want to give us a lead in, or should we just go to the videotape?

[C]

Let's just go to the tape. I mean, there's so much to discuss.

[F]

And my son and daughter were playing little kids, little toddlers, and then they got into an argument, and I guess my son pushed my daughter And I don't know if she hit her head or whatever, but she started screaming. And I was just close enough to reach him, and I reacted so fast and so disproportionate that I snatched him up and threw him across the room. I was aiming him for the bed, and thank the Lord, he hit the bed. He bounced on it and kind of hit the wall and settled in, and his eyes got that big and he started crying.