JD Vance Called His OWN Iran Policy “Complete Idiocy”

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Bulwark

Episode Title: JD Vance Called His OWN Iran Policy “Complete Idiocy”
Date: June 24, 2026
Hosts: JVL (Jonathan V. Last), Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller
Podcast Theme: Political analysis and commentary with a pro-democracy focus, tackling recent political news, oddities, and behind-the-scenes stories with humor and candor.

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Episode Overview

This episode blends lighthearted banter with pointed political analysis as the hosts tackle topics ranging from mysterious weight loss drug rumors in D.C. to Trump’s ego-driven White House rituals. They discuss political sycophancy, the social dynamics surrounding Donald Trump, and touch on breaking party loyalty—including Tucker Carlson “quitting” the GOP. The tone is a mix of irreverent camaraderie and sharp critique, offering insight for listeners into both the news cycle and the behind-the-scenes weirdness of U.S. politics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Intro Banter and Ozempic Guessing Game

• [00:00-01:42] The show opens with playful teasing about Tim Miller’s flu-induced weight loss, shaping up to a humorous "Ozempic guessing game."
• Jokes about who among the political elite might be taking new weight loss drugs, especially following FDA reports of "Retatrutide" administered on a compassionate use basis.
• Notable Quote:
  • Tim Miller: “A mysterious 79 year old man that's well connected needed the fat shot.” [03:14]
• Sarah Longwell pushes back on "Trump is the patient" conspiracy theories, enumerating logical reasons why it’s unlikely, including Trump's aversion to injections and the many other elderly, connected politicians who fit the profile.
• Memorable Moment:
  • Sarah Longwell: “Donald Trump has a lot of weird health stuff... he doesn't like to put things in his body. That would be a point against it.” [03:54]
  • JVL: “That was April, we're now in late June and he hasn't gotten any skinnier.” [04:44]

2. Trump and the ‘Human Printer’—The White House Ego Ecosystem

• [05:44-09:37] The hosts react to a Vanity Fair story about Trump receiving adoring notes from aides—most notably Natalie Harp, dubbed the "human printer", who leaves love notes for Trump around the residence.
• Discussion on why staffers resort to such sycophantic gestures, comparing the acts to Cabinet members' public sycophancy.
• Notable Quote:
  • JVL: “The author of the letter was not, in fact, a historian. He was a golf caddy. But Trump's evident pride in the comparison revealed something...” [05:44]
  • Sarah Longwell: “Is this so different than when Trump walks people around the West Wing and … the Cabinet does when they sit down for a meeting? This is what they all do…” [08:03]
• Memorable Moment:
  • Tim Miller: “He has two golf caddies now. He has the one that does the tweets and the one that compares them favorably to Hitler and Stalin. And then he has a couple of young women that leave him mash notes... his ego gets fluffed.” [09:06, 09:28]

3. Tucker Carlson Quits the GOP

• [09:39-11:06] The hosts analyze Tucker Carlson’s fresh renunciation of the Republican Party, a decision positioned as being based on the party’s foreign policy and perceived priorities (specifically, regarding Israel).
• The group notes Carlson’s journey parallels their own, albeit years behind.
• Notable Quote:
  • Unnamed Guest: “How could I or any American voters support a political party that's not loyal to the United States, that puts the interests of a foreign country above those of its own citizens?...I think I voted Republican my entire life. I worked at Fox News, CNN, MSNBC...But there's no defending this because it's immoral...” [09:51-10:48]
• Memorable Moment:
  • Sarah Longwell: “Well, it's just a highly principled human resigning from a party that's let him down just like we did for the same.” [10:58]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tim Miller:

  • "A mysterious 79 year old man that's well connected needed the fat shot." [03:14]
  • "He has two golf caddies now. He has the one that does the tweets and the one that compares them favorably to Hitler and Stalin." [09:06]

• Sarah Longwell:

  • "Donald Trump has a lot of weird health stuff... he doesn't like to put things in his body. That would be a point against it." [03:54]
  • "Is this so different than ... what the Cabinet does when they sit down for a meeting? This is what they all do..." [08:03]
  • “Well, it's just a highly principled human resigning from a party that's let him down just like we did for the same.” [10:58]

• JVL:

  • “That was April, we're now in late June and he hasn't gotten any skinnier.” [04:44]
  • “The author of the letter was not, in fact, a historian. He was a golf caddy. But Trump's evident pride in the comparison revealed something...” [05:44]

• Unnamed Guest:

  • “I think I voted Republican my entire life ... But there's no defending this because it's immoral...” [09:51-10:48]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:00-01:42]: Lighthearted intro, “Ozempic guessing game”
• [02:26-05:11]: Weight loss drug rumor; discussion of which political figure is most likely the recipient
• [05:44-09:37]: Trump’s “human printer” and the West Wing atmosphere
• [09:39-11:06]: Tucker Carlson quits the GOP, parallels to hosts’ own departures from the party

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode balances sharp criticism and pop culture references with self-aware, irreverent humor. The hosts’ camaraderie is on full display, making for a fast-paced, engaging listen that brings the personalities of D.C.—and its odd political rituals—to life.

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For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This episode offers insider perspective on D.C.’s speculative rumor mill, Trump’s fascination with sycophancy, and the continuing realignment of conservative media figures—a snapshot of politics at its most absurd and revealing. If you want to understand both the personalities and the peculiarities shaping today’s American political conversation, this is a must-listen.

Transcript

[Sarah Longwell]

Just because Tim is skinny because he has the flu doesn't mean he gets to, like, go around just fat shaming all of the elected officials.

[Tim Miller]

I'm sorry, I throw it. I throw myself on the mercy of the court.

[JVL]

Hello, everyone. This is JVL here with my best friends, Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller of the Bulwark. Tim is, as we say in the business, strapping it on to be with us today because he is sick as a dog. But look at him here, grinding out content and I love it for him.

[Tim Miller]

Good news is I'm going to be skinny because it all came out last night, every end. So I'm going to be nice. Snatched.

[Sarah Longwell]

He just did this in the green room.

[Tim Miller]

I'm going to be snatched.

[JVL]

I don't know what that means. Okay, so, I mean, I think I know what that means in context. It makes no sense to me. Big show. A really fun show for you today because we have an Ozempic guessing game. We have. We have the human printer sending anonymous love notes to the president. We have Tulsi Gabbard basically as the Manchurian Candidate from some weird new age Hindu guru.

[Sarah Longwell]

This is the most incredible story I've ever read.

[Tim Miller]

Don't lump this man in with the Hindus. The Hindus have at least not a real Hinduism.

[JVL]

Look, these guys are Hindu. These guys are as Hindu as some of the super rad trads are Catholic. All of that, though, I preface before. Are you enjoying hearing Sarah Longwell talk about her book? Would you like to hear her talk about her book more?

[Tim Miller]

No.

[JVL]

You should go to the bulwark.com events and sign up to get tickets to see her on her cross country book tour. It's coming up sooner than you think.

[Sarah Longwell]

Oh, God. Production made you do that? I'm sorry. I didn't know you had to plug the book tour. Tim. JBL and I sold out the 92nd Street Y. Now we need a bigger venue.

[JVL]

Just FYI, starting with two pieces of candy. We won't spend long on these. We're going to whip through them, but I want everybody to have a taste.

[Tim Miller]

Do you know Sarah invited me to moderate her show in Seattle? I'm like, Seattle? Like, you want me to cross 3,000 miles across the country to go to moderate your event?

[Sarah Longwell]

Oh, I'm sorry.

[Tim Miller]

Could you not have had an event in, I don't know, New Orleans? I'll do it.

[JVL]

I got family in Seattle.

[Sarah Longwell]

Fine. JBL is going to come. We'll sell that out without you.

[JVL]

That's fine.

[Tim Miller]

Northwest.

[Sarah Longwell]

Big baby.

[Tim Miller]

I. Yeah, it's going to be raining. I have to get a coat.

[Sarah Longwell]

Stat.

[JVL]

News reports this week that Eli Lilly and the FDA allowed a patient to gain access, a single patient to gain access to the drug Retatrutide, which has demonstrated drastic weight loss potential through its, the FDA's compassionate use program. Court quote, this person was a 79 year old man at the time the request was made in April, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Those sources, who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisals, said it drew the interest of top health officials, suggesting the person receiving this drug was well connected. The White House insists it wasn't Donald Trump, which I think is a giant red flag. Just very quickly, do any of you want to throw a conspiracy theory in on this?

[Sarah Longwell]

No.

[Tim Miller]

A mysterious 79 year old man that's well connected needed the fat shot.

[JVL]

Needed a brand new fat shot that nobody else can get. Needed an experimental rich person fat shot.

[Tim Miller]

Needed an experimental fat shot put straight into their belly. I mean, it seems like Donald Trump's one of the top candidates for that, right? Are there other obese 79 year olds that are well connected I'd have to go through?

[Sarah Longwell]

First of all, yes, lots.

[Tim Miller]

I need somebody with a BMI above 26 who is exactly 79 years old and who has, you know, high level contacts.

[Sarah Longwell]

Okay, can I, can I just push back on this really quickly? I understand why it's fun to think this is Trump. Yes, I do get to put, okay, number one, it could be any member of Congress or the Senate. Like it's filled with 79 year olds. There are 79 year olds aplenty in our government, number one. Number number two, Donald Trump has a lot of weird health stuff about these things. Like he doesn't like to put things in his body. I don't think so. I'm not, I, that would be a point against it. Like he doesn't like it when people touch him, all that stuff. Number one. Third point, you can already get these drugs. Like if he wanted to take these drugs, he could get high doses of these of the existing drugs which have enormous weight loss potential. Not sure why he'd need the experimental one. Fourth, if he really, really wanted it, he would just go in a drug deal to RFK Jr. And get it. He wouldn't go through some proper channels. Those are all my reasons why I think this isn't Fifth.

[JVL]

That was April, we're now in late June and he hasn't gotten any skinnier. These things do tend to work. I'm just saying if he'd been taking it since April, he probably would have lost.

[Tim Miller]

Jerry Nadler's 79. He could probably use the fat shot, maybe that.

[Sarah Longwell]

I think Jerry Nadler's lost a ton of weight.

[JVL]

Good for him.

[Tim Miller]

You think I uncovered it. All right. Second of which, good luck to George Conway tonight in The New York 12 primary to replace Jerry Nadler.

[JVL]

Second piece of candy. Before we get started with the real show, Vanity Fair has an interview out today with.

[Tim Miller]

I'm sorry, Jim Baird is 79 and he. That is a big boy. Ooh, Indiana fourth. We'll keep an eye on him as well.

[JVL]

Claude's just spitting out fat old Republicans for you, isn't he? Okay, that's great.

[Sarah Longwell]

Just because Tim is skinny, because he has the flu doesn't mean he gets to, like, go around just fat shaming all of the elected officials.

[Tim Miller]

I'm sorry, I throw it. I throw myself on the mercy of the court.

[JVL]

From Vanity Fair today. When Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan sat down with President Trump in the Oval Office earlier this year to interview him for their new book, Regime Change Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, he eagerly produced a two page letter from a supporter he described as a historian. The letter's premise was extraordinary, that Trump was more powerful than some of history's most consequential figures, including Napoleon, Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler. The author of the letter was not, in fact, a historian. He was a golf caddy. But Trump's evident pride in the comparison revealed something to the two New York Times reporters. Here's Jonathan Swan. Trump was visibly in a state of pleasure to be in their company. That's nugget one. Nugget two. There are details about his company of Hitler, Stalin, Napoleon.

[Sarah Longwell]

Oh, okay. Not Jonathan Swan and Maggie.

[JVL]

Not Jonathan Swan and Maggie Abrams.

[Sarah Longwell]

Okay.

[Tim Miller]

He was visibly excited to be in the company of another golf caddy. That sucks up to him. He was getting stuck. Escavino.

[JVL]

He needed a new caddy again from Vanity Fair. There are details about his. That's Trump's peculiar existence in the White House residence and portraits of the figures around him, like Natalie Harp. That's the human printer, the devoted aide who writes, quote, adoring letters to Trump that she leaves in his private spaces, including one declaring, quote, you are all that matters to. That's a thing the President of the United States has going on.

[Tim Miller]

No lies detected there about Natalie. I mean, she is Trump's human printer. So I don't know what else would matter to her. I don't know. Maybe the stock of the paper. I Guess that's in service of Trump having a nice, firm stock.

[JVL]

But the idea of just, like, leaving little mash notes, like, just. It's. It is very high school, right? Like, with your high school crush, you slip one into his locker, and then you get to class early and leave it on his desk, and then when he's not looking, and drop one into

[Tim Miller]

his backpack, and, oh, the captain of

[JVL]

the football team's gonna notice me.

[Sarah Longwell]

You know what? We can make fun of her, but honestly, is this so different than when people walk. When Trump walks people around the West Wing and he walks into Marco's office and Marco says, sir, you're the greatest president. Like, how is what she does any different than what the Cabinet does when they sit down for a meeting? This is what they all do, because

[JVL]

those things are at least prompted. This is unprompted.

[Sarah Longwell]

I bet it's prompted. I bet this is part of her job. I bet there's a senior staff person who's like, here's how you can make the president love you. Leave him little love notes telling him how wonderful he is around his office. I used to do this to my dad to get him to quit smoking.

[Guest or caller (possibly a former Republican commentator)]

I would.

[Sarah Longwell]

I would invade his office. Yeah. I'd go into his office and leave him little sticky notes. It's like, don't smoke. I love you so much because I was very sweet. 10.

[Tim Miller]

That's very sweet. That's emotional manipulation from a. I know.

[Sarah Longwell]

Well, he quit.

[Tim Miller]

That's emotional blackmail.

[Sarah Longwell]

It's not emotional blackmail. I loved him. I would, like, wanted him to live forever. And now he. Now he is.

[JVL]

Oh, boy. That's so great.

[Sarah Longwell]

I'm just saying these are things we do for people we love.

[Tim Miller]

Well, then, Natalie. Natalie, the human printer does love Donald Trump. And I guess that's really the only point like, that. Trump has people around. He has two golf caddies now. He has the one that does the tweets and the one that compares them favorably to Hitler and Stalin. And then he has a couple of young women that leave him match notes, and they just stay around him and try to make sure his.

[Sarah Longwell]

His ego gets fluffed.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah. Because, you know, he doesn't want his mood to get too down or else who knows what might happen?

[Sarah Longwell]

We could go to war with. Start a war without a plan.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah.

[JVL]

All right, so here we go. Tucker Carlson has quit the gop.

[Sarah Longwell]

Amazing.

[JVL]

Little weird. I thought Tucker had quit the GOP over the Iraq war, but maybe not.

[Guest or caller (possibly a former Republican commentator)]

I would not support the Republican Party. There's no chance I would support the Republican Party not going to support the Democratic Party. I don't know what I'm going to do. But at this point, you know, how could you support, how could I or any American voters support a political party that's not loyal to the United States, that puts the interests of a foreign country above those of its own citizens? Like, that's, that's, you know, it's not

[JVL]

possible, Israel, to vote for people talking about going to.

[Guest or caller (possibly a former Republican commentator)]

I think I voted Republican my entire life. I worked at Fox News, CNN, MSNBC. I've been a consistent defender for 35 years of the Republican Party. I mean, very consistent defender. But there's no defending this because it's immoral. And it's exactly the opposite of what a political party in a democracy is charged with doing, which is representing its own voters, its own citizens, its own nation. And they're not doing that. So, no, I'm out. And if I'm out, then I think a lot of other people are out.

[Tim Miller]

No, do it.

[JVL]

You can do the slow clap. I, I bring it to you guys. What do you make of this?

[Sarah Longwell]

Well, it's just a highly principled human resigning from a party that's let him down just like we did for the same.

[JVL]

I know a lot of people summit the Bulwark who left the Republican Party. I mean, a little earlier, it was 2016, 2015 when they did it. But he's on the same journey as we are.