Summary4 min read

Podcast Summary: The Bulwark

Episode: Trump’s Insane Strait of Hormuz Shakedown Lasted One Day

Date: July 14, 2026
Hosts: Sam Steinman & Will Salatin

Overview of the Episode

In this episode, Sam Steinman and Will Salatin discuss what they call a "rare triple L for Trump"—three significant setbacks or retreats by former President Donald Trump occurring within a single day. The show explores each development, focusing particularly on a deeply controversial proposal by Trump to impose a 20% toll on all ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, its rapid abandonment, and the implications for U.S. foreign policy and political norms.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The "Triple L" – Three Setbacks in a Day

[00:09]

Strait of Hormuz Toll Proposal: Trump proposed (and then abandoned in less than a day) a plan to charge a 20% fee on all fleets and ships traversing the vital Strait of Hormuz.
E. Jean Carroll Defamation Payment: Trump finally paid the $5.62 million ordered in the long-running E. Jean Carroll defamation case after years of legal maneuvering to avoid payment.
ICE Halts Vehicle Stops: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abruptly halted vehicle stops for deportation roundups following two high-profile killings the prior week.

“We’re here to talk about the rare triple L for Trump. Three setbacks, three retreats today. That doesn’t normally happen... But today was three big ones.” – Sam Steinman [00:09]

1. The Strait of Hormuz Fee: Trump’s One-Day ‘Shakedown’

[01:43]

Will Salatin selects the Strait of Hormuz story as the most “fucking nuts” of the retreated policies.
Trump’s plan mimicked a mafia-style protection racket: demanding fees for ensuring the free passage of ships, violating longstanding international norms.
Even staunch Trump political allies, like Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance, opposed the idea, emphasizing the precedent of international waters being toll-free.

“If you're familiar with The Sopranos or any other organized crime show, that's what they do, right? ‘Hey, we’re gonna protect you. We’re gonna charge you a little fee.’ So, it was nuts from the beginning. I’m glad it’s gone. For now.” – Will Salatin [01:49]

The hosts elaborate with a “Goodfellas” analogy, mocking the transactional, burn-the-house-down approach.
They outline how, before recent conflicts, the strait functioned as an open international waterway, only to become a flashpoint with Iran’s mining, closure, and the subsequent U.S. overreaction.

“I draw my inspiration from Goodfellas, where they take over the restaurant... in this case, I’m not sure they’re going to burn the strait down.” – Sam Steinman [02:31]

2. Collapse of the Liberal World Order

[03:25]

The hosts contrast the post-World War II liberal world order (where the U.S. and Western Europe promoted free markets and freedom) with Trump’s “America First” populism.
They argue Trump’s approach discards international norms and replaces them with raw power politics.

“There was kind of a liberal world order... and then came the America First people... We’re gonna take what’s ours... They just kind of discarded that whole world order.” – Will Salatin [03:25]

“Instead of the United States at least claiming to be the protector of freedom and free transit, we’re now... just like, you know, Iran’s like, ‘we have the power to shut down the strait, so we’re going to charge you money.’ And America comes in and says, ‘we’re going to do exactly the same thing, except for us.’” – Will Salatin [04:24]

3. Trump’s Quick Reversal

[04:24]

The tone shifts to examining Trump’s abrupt reversal, attributed, in the hosts’ summary, to massive pushback both at home and from international partners.
A forthcoming clip of Trump in the Oval Office explaining his reversal is teased (the exact clip is not included in the provided transcript).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the Feasibility of Trump’s Policy Changes:
“I had assigned a story already asking folks to figure out if this was feasible. But no, it's gone.” – Sam Steinman [00:23]
Mafia Comparisons:
“If you’re familiar with The Sopranos or any other organized crime show, that’s what they do...” – Will Salatin [01:53]
On Policy Whiplash:
“What is going on here?” – Sam Steinman [03:24]

Important Timestamps

[00:09] – Overview of Trump’s three major setbacks in a single day
[01:43] – Will’s pick: Strait of Hormuz story breakdown
[02:31] – “Goodfellas” analogy and the cycle of policy chaos
[03:25] – Discarding the liberal world order; shift to America First mindset
[04:24] – The new world of “might makes right” and Trump’s policy reversal explanation

Summary

In a rare day of political backpedaling, Trump was forced to retreat from three aggressive moves: a mafia-style Strait of Hormuz toll plan, finally paying E. Jean Carroll, and ICE backing off deportation traffic stops. The hosts expound on how Trump’s fleeting, transactional worldview upends decades of American policy—drawing colorful analogies from mafia lore to drive home the sense of lawlessness and chaos. Ultimately, these moments capture both the volatility of Trump’s leadership style and the ongoing erosion of the rule-based global order previously championed by the United States.

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Transcript13 lines

[00:00]
A
Hey, everyone, it's me, Sam Steinman at the Book. I'm here with Will Salatin with the bulky headphones. Today.
[00:06]
B
I got these from Mars. They're imported straight from Mars.
[00:09]
A
They're good. It's a good look for you. We're here to talk about the rare triple L for Trump. Three setbacks, three retreats today. That doesn't normally happen, and if it does, it's usually like one in a day. But today was three big ones. I'm going to list the three and I'm going to let Will have the dealer's choice on which one he wants to talk about first. 1. Trump backed off within a day. This idea that he had floated, that the US was going to start charging 20% on all fleets and ships going through the Strait of Hormuz, that is no longer an operative policy. It vanished before we could properly assess it. In fact, I had assigned a story already asking folks to figure out if this was feasible. But no, it's gone. So that's 1.2E. Jean Carroll finally did receive her $5.62 million defamation payment from Trump. After a years long litigation process in which Trump did pretty much everything to not pay this, he ends up paying this. And then three. The most substantive one, I would argue is that ICE abruptly has stopped or ordered a stop, vehicle stops for deportation efforts, roundup efforts. This comes on the heels of two very high profile killings in the past week, including one that happened tragically in Maine yesterday. All right, three major setbacks of different varieties for Trump. Will, which one do you like the best?
[01:44]
B
Okay, I. I know you said that the ICE one is the most substantive. I would go with the Straight of Hormuz.
[01:49]
A
I.
[01:50]
B
Okay, let's go with that because this was just fucking nuts. This is the. We started this war and we said we were going to make sure that the Strait of Hormuz was open. Nobody, everybody in our government, Marco Rubio, even J.D. vance, everybody said nobody should be able to charge a toll. These are international waterways. And then Donald Trump says, no, we're going to take it over and we're going to charge everybody 20%, which if you're familiar with the Sopranos or any other organized crime show, that's what they do, right? Hey, we're going to protect you. We're going to protect you. We're going to charge you a little fee. So it was nuts from the beginning. I'm glad it's gone. For now.
[02:32]
A
I draw my inspiration from Goodfellas, where they take over the restaurant, they give them A loan to help keep the restaurant afloat. And then they take fees, obviously, and they take free food and free booze and they're just taking stuff from the restaurant. And then when they finally run out of cash, they burn the restaurant down. In this case, I'm not sure they're going to burn the straight down. But I will say it is kind of notable that we started prior to the war with the strait being open, no tolls, totally fine. Then the war starts, Iran mines the strait, strait gets shut down. They have the memory of my understanding. Strait is opened. It's really not because in the MoU there was like a provision that literally said Oman and Iran would agree on the structure of the strait, just be open for 60 days. Iran then attacks more ships in the strai.
[03:17]
B
Straight.
[03:17]
A
Trump then says, ah, we're gonna actually charge for this straight. And now we're back to status quo. Anti. I don't know, like, what is, what is going on here?
[03:25]
B
Well, you know, so before Donald Trump, there was this whole, you know, there was kind of a liberal world order. There was we, the United States and the Western Europe and we said we all stood for free markets and freedom and all this stuff. And then came the America first people. And the America first people were like, hey, we're not gonna be chumps, you know, we're not gonna have any of that stuff. We're gonna take what's ours.
[03:45]
A
And.
[03:45]
B
And they just kind of discarded that whole world order. And part of what they discarded was this assumption which was the pre war, pre Iran war Strait of Hormuz of, you know, international waters and international law. And you know, when you do that, this is kind of what you end up with. You just end up with the rule of whoever has the power. And so instead of the United States at least claiming to be the protector of freedom and free transit, we're now the people. We're just like, you know, Iran's like, we have the power to shut down the strait, so we're going to charge you money. And America comes in and says, we're going to do exactly the same thing, except for us.
[04:24]
A
He did reverse his position. Here's him in the Oval Office explaining why he reversed his position.