Amy Walter: Everyone Is on the Take

Summary

The Bulwark Podcast – "Amy Walter: Everyone is on the Take"

Host: Sarah Longwell
Guest: Amy Walter (Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Cook Political Report)
Date: June 6, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Sarah Longwell welcomes Amy Walter for an in-depth conversation about the country’s current political climate as the U.S. heads into the summer before the general election. The focus is on how average Americans, specifically swing voters and Trump disapprovers, perceive the state of the nation amid ongoing wars, government controversies, and deep skepticism towards institutions. Through recent focus group discussions, Longwell and Walter dive into voters’ disillusionment, sources of discontent, and what these sentiments might mean for the upcoming election.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

The Broader Political Climate (00:00–02:36)

• Setting the Scene:

  • Sarah Longwell comments on taking a brief hiatus from covering primaries to discuss the broader national mood as primaries near their end.
  • The ongoing war in Iran and the controversy over a federal "weaponization" or so-called "slush" fund are highlighted as major political backdrops.
  • The episode will center on voter perceptions and wishes for the current administration.
  • Quote, Sarah Longwell [00:00]:
    "Meanwhile, how does the rest of the country think things are going? And what do people wish the administration was focused on?"

• Maine as a Political Bellwether:

  • Amy Walter lightheartedly notes that Maine, due to its early voting history, was once considered a national bellwether.
  • Quote, Amy Walter [02:08]:
    "Remember, in the long, long, long ago days, as Maine goes, so goes the nation, because they voted earliest."

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Voter Skepticism and Systemic Distrust (02:36–03:48)

• Cynicism Runs Deep:
  • Walter summarizes a pervasive theme from listening sessions: voters see the system—media, government, politics—as “rigged.”
  • Most are voting for the “least worst choice.”
  • Many feel disconnected from any candidate and wary of institutional narratives.
  • Quote, Amy Walter [02:42]:
    "You can appreciate how challenging it is as a candidate to try to win over these voters who believe everything is rigged. The media is rigged, the government's rigged, the system is rigged. Nobody's on the up and up, everybody's on the take and they don't believe anything."

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Focus Group Segment 1: Biden-to-Trump "Swing" Voters (04:29–07:29)

• Overview:

  • Longwell introduces a group of “Biden-to-Trump” voters and notes their persistent feeling of betrayal and dissatisfaction.

• Key Voter Comments & Themes:

  • Voter 2 [04:29]: Critiques Trump for focusing on hot-button social issues instead of economic challenges and calls for a "blueprint for the United States."
    • "I just feel like everything had to be turned upside down when he came in. Instead of being more specific and goal oriented...We have bills to pay. We have healthcare to think about..."
  • Voter 3 [05:23]: Feels the country's "spirit" has improved compared to the Biden era, especially on social issues, but progress is slow.
  • Voter 4 [05:44]: Believes the economy is in “shambles” and that the media cannot be trusted.
    • "I think that the economy is basically in, is in shambles and it's going to get a lot worse...you can't trust anything coming out of the media right now."
  • Voter 5 [06:10]: Personally doing well but sees the country as chaotic and getting worse, describing politics as a "chessboard."
  • Voter 1 [06:31]: Feels “lied to” and manipulated by mainstream and social media, particularly the White House’s outreach; regrets being influenced to support Trump.
    • "I think we're lied to a lot. I think it just. A lot of people go straight to like social media for their news. And I feel like the White House page specifically is breadcrumbing people to believe all this stuff and distract us from the actual issues..."

Memorable Moment:

• Sarah Longwell [07:29]: Highlights the irony that a voter said “mainstream media" actually made her like Trump more because of perceived bias in his favor, not against him.
  • "That last voter means that the mainstream media made her like Trump more. She's not saying the mainstream media was against him, it's the mainstream media was for him. Wild."

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Decoding Political Language (07:43–08:37)

• ‘Breadcrumbing’ as a Concept:
  • Walter and Longwell clarify “breadcrumbing” is a new term for them, tied to dating apps, but here it means the White House is stringing people along.
  • Longwell equates it to "gaslighting."
  • Walter connects to wider skepticism and suspicion over manipulative communication.

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The Media Environment & Voter News Sources (08:37–09:41)

• Mainstream Media vs. Social Media:
  • Longwell reflects that “mainstream media” possibly means Joe Rogan or Twitter for these voters, not legacy networks.
  • Many feel the administration posts “nuts” things on social media, eroding trust.
    • Quote, Sarah Longwell [08:37]:
      "This is why it was funny when someone said mainstream media. And I was like, I wish we drilled down and asked what she means by mainstream media because she probably means like Joe Rogan and not ABC News."
  • The central disappointment: voters hoped the administration would focus on “things that mattered to my material well-being” and feel abandoned.

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The War in Iran: A Dominant Concern (09:41–10:51)

• Focus on Foreign Policy:
  • Amy Walter observes that the war in Iran, unprompted, keeps surfacing with Hispanic men swing voters and others.
  • Voters question the rationale behind the war, its winnability, and decision-making by leadership.
    • Quote, Amy Walter [09:54]:
      "What they're...especially really homed in on was like, we can't win this war. What are we doing? Yeah, right. Like we can love our military and we're awesome and America's awesome...but this is an unwinnable position."
  • The issue is twofold: not just about gas prices but about failed leadership and a sense of futility.

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Critiques of Trump’s Leadership and Deal-Making Persona (10:51–11:42)

• Trump’s ‘Deal-Maker’ Image Takes a Hit:
  • Longwell suggests the drawn-out nature of the Iran conflict also wounds Trump's core brand as the guy who can "make a deal."
    • "The war strikes at another central thing which is that he's a great deal maker and the fact that he can't seem to get us out of this or strike a deal..."
  • Voters are following the ongoing promise of a deal that never materializes, adding to their frustrations.

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Notable Quotes

• Amy Walter [02:42]:
  • "You can appreciate how challenging it is as a candidate to try to win over these voters who believe everything is rigged. The media is rigged, the government's rigged, the system is rigged. Nobody's on the up and up, everybody's on the take and they don't believe anything."
• Voter 4 [05:44]:
  • "The economy is basically in shambles and it's going to get a lot worse...you can’t trust anything coming out of the media right now..."
• Sarah Longwell [07:29]:
  • "That last voter means that the mainstream media made her like Trump more. She's not saying the mainstream media was against him, it's the mainstream media was for him. Wild."
• Amy Walter [09:54]:
  • "We can't win this war. What are we doing? ...This is an unwinnable position."

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Key Timestamps

• 00:00 – Political landscape intro; focus on national mood
• 02:08 – The “as Maine goes” political legacy
• 02:42 – Voter distrust themes, system is ‘rigged’
• 04:29 – Focus group, swing voters respond to state of the country
• 05:44 – Concerns about economics, media trust
• 06:31 – Manipulation by media, especially White House communications
• 07:29 – Longwell identifies the irony of “mainstream media” influence
• 07:43 – ‘Breadcrumbing’ and gaslighting definitions
• 09:41 – War in Iran as a recurring, unprompted voter concern
• 10:51 – Trump’s deal-maker legacy and war frustrations

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Tone & Language

• The conversation is thoughtfully skeptical, often wry or self-deprecating ("nerd friends"), with a sincere desire to understand voters’ deeper frustrations. The language captures real voter voices—pessimism, disillusionment, and “chessboard” analogies dominate.

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Summary Takeaway

Voters from focus groups express deep fatigue, skepticism, and cynicism about politics, feeling both the media and government string them along while failing to address core economic or stability concerns. The war in Iran looms large, particularly as it undercuts not only the perceived competence of current leadership but also specific campaign personas like Trump’s dealmaking. Across both swing voter and Trump-disapprover cohorts, there is little trust, less optimism, and a feeling that everyone in power “is on the take,” making 2026’s electoral environment uniquely fraught and unpredictable.

Transcript

[Sarah Longwell]

I just want to point out that that last voter means that the mainstream media made her like Trump more. She's not saying the mainstream media, like, was against him, is the mainstream media was for him wild. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the focus group podcast. I'm Sarah Longwell, publisher of the Bulwark, and this week we're taking a break from the zillion primaries that we've been covering on this show. And we are surveying the national political landscape as we head to the summer and all of these primaries get resolved. In the last few weeks, we have seen the war in Iran drag on and the federal government start a slush fund for their political allies who they say have had their lives ruined by the federal government. Although it looks like in brand new reporting that just came out before we started taping, the weaponization fund may be off the table. So you will know that when this airs. But meanwhile, how does the rest of the country think things are going to. And what do people wish the administration was focused on? My guest today is someone I'm going to be checking in with more and more as we get closer to election day. Amy Walter, publisher and editor in chief of the Cook Political Report, and my favorite nerd friend. Amy, thanks for coming back.

[Amy Walter]

Thanks, nerd. Yeah, right back at you.

[Sarah Longwell]

I do. You know what? I wear it with pride.

[Voter 1]

You too.

[Amy Walter]

I'm going to push up my glasses.

[Sarah Longwell]

Yeah. Do I want to sit amid reams of cross tabs? I do, because I'll tell you, the state of things is looking bleak. Although, before we get into listening to voters, and I promise I won't, sometimes we, and me in general, can talk for a very long time before we get to voters. And I'm trying to get to voters faster, but, you know, I spent the weekend fighting on the Internet about Graham Platner and James Talrico because everybody's doing that. I know my. I gotta. I gotta get this habit under control. But as you look around the country, right, lots of people are focused on Maine. So you're wearing your Colby shirt in honor of Maine being at the center of the political universe.

[Amy Walter]

It's never been at the center of the political universe. Actually, it used to. Remember, in the long, long, long ago days, as Maine goes, so goes the nation, because they voted earliest. They voted early, before the November.

[Sarah Longwell]

I don't remember this.

[Amy Walter]

Yeah, well, you wouldn't because we weren't alive. But. And so that's where the saying came from. They were the bellwether. The fact that the Senate race has taken outsized Attention is quite something. Not what we're used to.

[Sarah Longwell]

Once again, I've gotten nowhere close to starting the actual voters, but because they

[Amy Walter]

didn't talk about that, but they talked about a lot of things there, these are people who, you understand now how challenging it is as just listening to this group, I, you can appreciate how challenging it is as a candidate to try to win over these voters who believe everything is rigged. The media is rigged, the government's rigged, the system is rigged. Nobody's on the up and up, everybody's on the take and they don't believe anything. Right. It's like they are voting for the least worst choice. I think one of the voters said that and I think she said, doesn't everybody do that? Right. That's how you vote. You just pick the least worst candidate. You don't pick someone you like because there's no such thing. And I wouldn't say these folks were nihilists, but because a couple of them were like, oh, my life is actually going pretty well. I just think that the country is not doing great. But they just do not believe that this system is at all worth celebrating.

[Sarah Longwell]

Let's get into it. So just to be clear, these are Biden to Trump voters. My, our favorite cohort of swingy voters to be able to sort of rock with. We're also going to listen to some Trump disapprovers later on, but they are distinct, different groups that we, we brought together. So one was actually screened for the fact that they rate Trump as doing a bad job and then the other group is just your garden variety swing voter, Biden to Trump voter. So we're going to start there. We just did this group and we like every group, we start with the same question. How do you think things are going in the country? And you learn more from this question than you do any other question in the. So let's listen to how they answered it.

[Voter 2]

I don't see Donald Trump coming into his second term as a leader. I just feel like everything had to be turned upside down when he came in. Instead of being more specific and goal oriented, especially when it comes to foreign policy, economic policy, he hit on the issues of trans issues. But that's not the whole fabric of America. We have bills to pay. We have health care to think about, college to think about for our kids. So I think when politicians play on those social hot button issues and they can get into office, there has to be a blueprint for, for the United States.

[Voter 3]

I think we've done a 180 from when Joe Biden was there with the boys and girls, sports and the trans. And I think it's a lot better now kind of environment than it was before. I'm loving the kind of the American spirit that we have nowadays versus we didn't have that since 911 that I've seen. We're in the right direction, slowly moving upward.

[Voter 4]

I think things are not going well at all. I think that the economy is basically in, is in shambles and it's going to get a lot worse. Everything that's going on with this war that, that we cannot win. I mean, like somebody said about the media, you can't trust anything coming out of the media right now, or you basically trust zero because it just changes. It changes by the minute and it changes by the source that you're getting.

[Voter 5]

In regards to my own life, things are great. I look at things kind of more like a chessboard, you know, I mean, right now there is a lot of cha. But there's been a lot of chaos for the last 10 plus years and it's only gotten worse. But I think that sometimes you just need to allow things to play their hand.

[Voter 1]

I think it's pretty messy. I think we're lied to a lot. I think it just. A lot of people go straight to like social media for their news. And I feel like the White House page specifically is breadcrumbing people to believe all this stuff and distract us from the actual issues. And I think it's all finally coming to light, hopefully. And I hope that we get some justice for everything. But never really like Trump and like how he speaks to people, how he treats people. And then this last election, I, I don't know, I just, like I said, I kind of just got sucked into mainstream media and they like to pick sides. And I was listening to his points of view and it kind of sucked me into him. And then now I'm. I'm definitely regretting it for sure.

[Sarah Longwell]

So I just want to point out that that last voter means that the mainstream media made her like Trump more. She's not saying the mainstream media like was against him, is the mainstream media was for him. Wild.

[Amy Walter]

The breadcrumb piece, which I had never heard that term before. Had you?

[Sarah Longwell]

Yeah, it's. It's the younger. The younger.

[Amy Walter]

What does it mean?

[Sarah Longwell]

It's a dating thing. Oh, somebody explained this to me once. Like a younger person explained it to me. But it is a like, like if you're texting with someone, you like, you like text them, but then you don't text for a little while and then you text again. I, I remember when they told me about this, I was like, you mean playing hard to get?

[Amy Walter]

That's, that's what it seems to me like. You guys didn't invent this learning, right? Like o invented flirting young people, wow, look at you.

[Sarah Longwell]

Every new generation thinks they invented sex and dating. So I, I remember that's. That was what the first time I had heard it. I think what she means though is gaslighting.

[Amy Walter]

That's what I actually, when she, when she went through it, it was more like, you know, Epstein files and all this other stuff trying to distract us from. Right.

[Sarah Longwell]

But what was interesting is that somehow she knew the White House was constantly putting this stuff out and, and look, increasingly I've been writing about this for a long time and obviously people understand this now, but the extent to which people are getting most of their news. This is why it was funny when someone said mainstream media. And I was like, I wish we drilled down and ask what she means by mainstream media because she probably means like Joe Rogan and not ABC News. Somehow this person is, whether it's on Twitter or Instagram or whatever, sees what the White House is putting out and is like, this is nuts. So really dismal marks from these swing voters, many of whom feel just very betrayed. And, and look there this is. Now I've do a lot of these groups. This is a very consistent thread which is mainly a version of. I wanted him to focus on the things that mattered to my material well being and he's not. And I'm upset about it. And I feel like things are chaotic and you know, their frustrations. People didn't bring up tariffs in this one, but a lot of them brought up the war in Iran because that is the thing that they feel like is driving a cris.

[Amy Walter]

I mean, I feel like with this group as well as another group with these were Hispanic men who had voted for Trump. And you know, the war comes up without you having to ask about it.

[Sarah Longwell]

That's right.

[Amy Walter]

In two ways. This is what I think is also interesting. We tend to keep coming back to, well, it's about gas prices and gas so expensive and this is. But what they're all this group especially really homed in on was like, we can't win this war. What are we doing? Yeah, right. Like we can love our military and we're awesome and America's awesome and all of that, but this is an un winnable position that we're in. So what are we doing here? And how are we ever going to get out of this? And I think that too. So it's like a, a double edged problem for the administration because it's not like just a simple issue of, oh, this is increasing gas prices. It's also this was really bad decision making. And I don't think this is anything that we can succeed in. There is the measure of success cannot be met.

[Sarah Longwell]

Yeah. I also just think that the Iran war, sort of, much like the tariffs, sort of struck at the heart of Donald Trump as being sort of good for the economy. I think the war is strikes at another central thing which is that he's a great deal maker and the fact that he can't seem to get us out of this or strike a deal. And it keeps dragging on like they were very aware and we're going to get to the Iran sound, so I shouldn't preempt it, but they were very aware that it keeps being like we're going to get a deal and then there's no deal. And so like they were following that. Okay, before we get to that, like I said, we had some, some groups that we've done that are Trump disapprovers. So people who voted for him and rate him is doing a somewhat or very bad job. And I want to play for you how they thought things were going in the country.