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A
Hey, everybody, Tim Miller from the Bulwark, here it is Sunday afternoon. I hope you had a Sunday morning like me. I got to sleep in a little bit. I played with my daughter. We shot some hoops. I went to my ladies weights class. We got some smoothies. And amidst all this, Meet the Press was airing an interview with the President of the United States, Donald Trump. People kept telling me how crazy it was, how insane he seems.
B
And you're crooked and Meet the Press is crooked and so is abc.
A
And so rather than go back and punish myself with that, I figured that I would just come here and blind react to the interview with you guys. I'm hoping that many of you also had a lovely Sunday morning like I did and didn't spend it watching Donald Trump. And for those of you who are like me, we can kind of just experience this together. My guy Matt is here. He didn't have a great morning. He suffered through the Donald Trump interview and others. And so he's put together, you know, some of the lowlights, if you will. And so why don't we go through them one at one at a time. Here's the President of the United States on Meet the this Morning with Kristen Welker. The first clip. Wait, I don't know what it's about. You show me.
C
So is this a war as long as there's a naval blockade in place?
B
Well, we have a blockade. It's been extremely effective. And the reason we have it is they try to blockade and now we blockaded them and as you know, they're losing 4 to $500 million a day. It's not sustainable for them. They have an economy that's shot in addition to everything else. Their leaders are gone, their generals are gone. Their first tier and second tier are gone, of their third tier is gone. But they put up a blockade. And so we blockaded them and we have the ultimate blockade. I don't consider that a war, but if you want to define it as such, I guess you can.
C
Well, how do you define.
B
I don't define it at all. I don't think about it. I just do what I have to do.
A
I don't think about it. This is how blockades work, right? You know, you just blockade their blockade and then someone else blockade your blockade. And if you're blockading all the blockades, then you're not really in a war. It doesn't really solve any of the issues. I think that what you hear there from Trump is him trying to offer, I think what he thinks is his off ramp from this war. He doesn't want to go back in. He's been totally humiliated. It is now about 100 days since he demanded unconditional surrender from Iran for the war to end. Since then, we have been negotiating with them. We've been the ones that are changing our demands and lessening our demands. We're nowhere near unconditional surrender. Trump has been completely embarrassed. It's been a level of weakness unseen from a president in recent memory. And think about all the times that the Fox guys and the Hawks went after Obama for not following his red line in Syria. That is nothing compared to this when it comes to not backing up your words from a military standpoint. And so what he wants to do to get out of this is he hopes that they cry uncle via this blockade. But the blockade isn't really a blockade. The Strait of Hormuz is an open. Both Iranian and American ships are getting through a little bit. There's a trickle of them. They're both coming through. And so, you know, I guess that's. This is his hoping against hope that he doesn't have to win this war via war. And, you know, that he. There's, you know, he doesn't have to do anything else he doesn't want to do. He's hoping that they just cry uncle because of the blockade and not see a lot of evidence that that path is going to work out. But we'll see. All right, what else we got?
C
Saying you would consider sending some of the troops home, sir, some of the 50,000 troops who were sent there as a part of operation.
B
It costs us very little to keep them there. I don't consider them in dange. We have the best defense anyone's ever seen. We have the best offense anyone's ever seen. So I don't consider danger. I would say it would be foolhardy to do that because maybe we may use them. It's unlikely, but I think we'll keep them there until such time as we have a completion. And when we have a completion, you will see things like you've never seen.
A
A lot of lies there from the president. I first just want to start with Kristen Welker. I hate to nitpick, but I don't think that interviewers need to call him sir. He wants to be called sir. He has all of his imaginary sir stories. You don't need to do that. It's not necessary. He's not really earned that level of respect. Obviously, he's the president, so you can call him that, but it Just bugs me a little bit as to Trump's answer. The lies and the troops are in danger. Thirteen troops have died. We don't actually know the extent of all of the injuries that we have from our troops because the government's not being transparent with us. It seems like it's a lot worse than, than the public reports show, really, when it comes to, you know, how many, how much damage we've had to our military installations, our material, but also the injuries to troops over there. So they are, they are in danger. That's not, not true, what he's saying about them not being in danger. He also says it costs us very little to keep them there. Also not true. It is costing us ungodly amounts of money. It's significant just to keep the war going is, you know, day by day, is in the billions. But on top of that, all the damage that I just discussed, like, we're gonna have to rebuild our military. We are going to have to go out and procure more bullets and drones and missiles and everything, right? We've, we've incurred a lot of damage. All of that needs to be replenished and rebuilt. And so, like, the costs of this war are, are extensive, both to the budget of the United States, which is in trouble as it is, but also the cost to the American people, who are paying higher prices for things because of the war. So it is costing us a lot to keep, keep them there. They are in danger. And I don't even know what he means by when we have a completion, you'll see things never seen. I don't like hearing Donald Trump talking about his completions, but I don't, I don't think that there's anything coming at the end of this that is in any way benefiting America more so than what the status quo was before the war started. So there we go. What else we got?
C
Gas is up, diesel is up.
B
It's all coming down as soon as the war's over.
C
70% of farmers say they can't afford fertilizer. Advisor, what's your.
B
Farmers are doing very well.
C
Let me ask you, what is your message to farmers, many who support you, but who are struggling, who say there's
B
nobody, but better to farm. You know, I gave farmers last term $28 billion because China took advantage and other people and, you know, paid for it. China, last term, you know, I had a great first term. I had the greatest economy ever. And you know what? This one's blowing it away.
C
What's your message to farmers, though, Mr. President? Who say they are struggling. They're struggling to make ends.
B
Am I allowed to talk? You keep asking questions and you don't listen to the answers. I love the farmers, and the farmers love me. The farmers trust me. In the first term, I had something very similar. China and others were in Canada, which was brutal. They were taking advantage of our farmers. They don't take advantage of it anymore. I gave them $28 billion split up. They never had a payday like that. And the farmers loved me. And they came back and they voted for me in record numbers. You know that nobody's ever even come close.
A
Well, a lot of those farmers are having some regrets right now, in case you, like me, didn't watch this interview. So apparently this was taking place outside at a farm in Wisconsin. They're trying to have a pro ag messaging event, and it started raining. So that was on the tin roof. There so many lies with what he's saying. This stuff is not. I guess if the war is over, it would come down slightly, but it's not coming down for a long time. I mean, we've had gas experts here on this channel who will tell you.
Podcast: The Bulwark
Episode: Trump Completely Loses It During Bizarre NBC Interview
Date: June 7, 2026
Host: Tim Miller
Key Guest Clips: President Donald Trump on NBC's "Meet the Press" with Kristen Welker
This episode features Tim Miller's real-time, "blind" reaction to President Donald Trump’s interview with Kristen Welker on NBC's "Meet the Press," which aired earlier that Sunday. Rather than watching the entire interview in advance, Tim, with the help of producer Matt, reviews and reacts to selected "lowlights" from what has been described as a "bizarre" and "insane" performance by President Trump. The episode examines Trump's comments on the ongoing war with Iran, the status and safety of U.S. troops abroad, economic impacts of the conflict, and his relationship with American farmers.
[01:08–01:49]
"This is his hoping against hope that he doesn't have to win this war via war... I don’t think that there’s anything coming at the end of this that is in any way benefiting America more so than what the status quo was before the war started."
— Tim Miller [01:49, 04:11]
[03:38–04:11]
"The lies and the troops are in danger. Thirteen troops have died. We don't actually know the extent of all of the injuries that we have from our troops because the government's not being transparent with us."
— Tim Miller [04:11]
"He wants to be called sir. He has all of his imaginary sir stories. You don't need to do that. It's not necessary. He's not really earned that level of respect."
— Tim Miller [04:11]
[06:28–07:38]
"A lot of those farmers are having some regrets right now, in case you, like me, didn't watch this interview." — Tim Miller [07:38]
"I don't define it at all. I don't think about it. I just do what I have to do." [01:44]
"It is now about 100 days since he demanded unconditional surrender from Iran for the war to end. Since then, we have been negotiating with them. We've been the ones changing our demands and lessening our demands. We're nowhere near unconditional surrender. Trump has been completely embarrassed.” [01:49]
"I don't consider them in danger. ... It costs us very little to keep them there." [03:47]
“He wants to be called sir. He has all of his imaginary sir stories. You don't need to do that. It's not necessary.” [04:11]
"Am I allowed to talk? You keep asking questions and you don't listen to the answers. I love the farmers, and the farmers love me. The farmers trust me.” [07:07]
This episode serves as both a fact-check and an emotional processing session for listeners fatigued by Trump-era political drama. Tim provides context and corrective analysis, exposing the gap between the administration’s rhetoric and on-the-ground realities—especially regarding military engagement and economic hardship. The tone is conversational but pointed, mixing policy critique with candid commentary.
Listeners come away with a clearer understanding of the interview’s key moments, the disconnects in Trump’s statements, and the broader implications for American foreign policy and domestic political accountability.