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Sarah Longwell
Wanna be a star?
Tim Miller
No problem. Anyone can shine on TikTok. Post your first video today. Real life, real story.
Sarah Longwell
Real you.
Tim Miller
Download TikTok and get started.
Sarah Longwell
Wanna keep up with everything trendy, from breaking news to shareable jokes, pop culture bites to viral food spots. It's all on TikTok. Download TikTok now to explore.
Tim Miller
You want Rubio and JD Vance to wear Trump like an albatross around their necks. And that is why the lower that Trump goes and the longer he stays there. Not only does it help with the midterms, it also helps with 2028. It also helps with the future. And that's why it's so important.
Sarah Longwell
That's why we want the dick line.
Tim Miller
That's right.
Sam Stein
Sorry.
Tim Miller
What's the thing you always make it about you?
Sam Stein
We're actually gonna do a taping of tnl.
Sarah Longwell
Okay.
Sam Stein
And I'm playing the role of jvl, I think.
Sarah Longwell
All right. Get dark.
Tim Miller
Yeah, you better be. Pure nihilism. Okay. Never getting out of this. Never getting solved.
Sam Stein
The people fucked us.
Sarah Longwell
Fuck the people. You did this.
Sam Stein
A lot of people handed us JBL stickers in line. All right, thank you. We're gonna get into it. News of the day. You guys reference this. This slush fund, it's just. It's just 1.8 billion. All right? Small little matter. Our acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche today said anyone, anyone, anyone could claim that they deserve the slush fund. It doesn't matter if you assaulted a cop. And if you want money, you gotta submit a claim. Even Democratic senators can submit a claim, which seemed to me like a bribe. Tommy Tuberville, not the brightest senator in the world. Wait a second. Easy on Tommy. Even he said that's too much. I don't think we should pay off the people who assaulted cops. And then they yanked the bill. The Senate Republicans yanked the bill. That it was supposed to be over this. It wasn't going to be. Touched this. So, Tim, you start. Is this thing ever going to see the light of day?
Sponsor Voice
I don't fucking know.
Sam Stein
I don't.
Sarah Longwell
I mean, like, how are we going to claw it back, you know? I mean, like, Trump has been an innovator. Like, my view of this is maybe slightly different. I'm really fucking mad about the 1.8 billion. I don't want any of these fuckers to get the money. It is totally outrageous. But there's also, like, a little part of Dark Tim. Maybe I'll do JVL if I'm here. A little part of Dark Tim's like, Let him give the fucking money away to people so that everybody else, as they start to struggle this summer at the gas pump, and they start to be like, wait a minute, he's giving out money to his fucking kids and to his fucking friends. Giving out my money, my tax money. That's one benefit. Benefit. Two is when Doug gets in there as president in 2029. I've got some. I've got some people I want to shake down for 1.8 billion. Who's on your list? I want to start. Well, Jeff Bezos is at the top of it, and I don't know, I want to start handing out some money. I want to do Robin Hood. I want to do. What was the movie Denzel was in when he was handing out money at Christmas off the back of the truck. We're in la.
Tim Miller
American Gangster.
Sarah Longwell
American Gangster. I want to be Denzel off the back of the truck. Throwing out 1.8 billion in 29. Maybe some of these people deserve it.
Tim Miller
Maybe sue for emotional harm.
Sam Stein
This is the.
Sarah Longwell
I've been emotional. Have you been emotionally harmed by Donald Trump? I've been fucking emotionally harmed, but I've got a rash.
Tim Miller
I don't think that was from Trump. No, that was.
Sam Stein
That was from pocket hoses
Tim Miller
in the green room. He's always showing me his rashes.
Sarah Longwell
So late night in San Diego.
Sam Stein
So your strategy is what we know as the touch the stove strategy.
Sarah Longwell
Yeah.
Sam Stein
Explain it.
Sarah Longwell
Well, people need to feel what they voted for. They don't think, would we be here if we had just let Donald Trump be Donald Trump last time? Maybe, I don't know. But all those fucking, you know, Gary Cohn's of the world and Reince Priebus, that was like, preventing him from being his worst self. Let's see it. I want to see unadulterated Trumpism. I want to see his naked body. I want to see his real skin. I want everyone to get. We got two and a half more years. I want everybody to experience the pain. I'm trying to do my jbl. It's the best I got.
Sam Stein
Do you want to see Trump's naked body, Sarah?
Sarah Longwell
Yes, kind of. I mean, think about how bad. I would love.
Tim Miller
There's a part of you that wants to be like. You stand there naked while we ridicule you and throw fruit.
Sam Stein
This is like Game of Thrones shame. Basically.
Sarah Longwell
Yes.
Tim Miller
Yeah. Do you think Tina Peters should get to touch the stone? Yeah. Shame, Tim. Shame.
Sam Stein
I thought we dealt with this last night.
Tim Miller
We did deal with it last night. I won. It was Fine.
Sam Stein
A couple senators, Republican senators have come out against this thing. Tom Tillis. Imagine that, a fund that is set up to compensate people who assaulted Capitol Police officers. How absurd does that sound coming out of my mouth? Mitch McConnell. So the nation's top law.
Sarah Longwell
Mitch McConnell's alive.
Sam Stein
He's alive.
Sarah Longwell
Really?
Sam Stein
So the nation's top law enforcement officials asking for a slush fund to pay people who saw cops utterly stupid, morally wrong. Take your pick. I mentioned Tommy Coach, Tommy Tuberville. This gets to sort of a larger issue, which is what's happening with these Republicans. How serious should we take this idea that they've seen some sort of light?
Tim Miller
Well, of course they haven't seen some sort of light. What they have seen is the beginnings of the Bush line. Donald Trump.
Sam Stein
You know, she can't stop talking about.
Tim Miller
You know, I've been getting questions recently now that this is becoming a popularized term. You know, I did one in going into the election, I talked about the double haters a lot, and that became like, a thing that everybody talked about. Unfortunately, this time, going into the midterms, it's gonna be about the Bush line. You know, there's people on TV being like, as Sarah Longwell calls it, the Bush line. Peter Hamby wrote about it in Puck, and I was like, anyway, though. But people. So people have been asking me, why does it matter? Why does it matter if he gets to 32%, what's the point? He's not running again. So who cares how low his poll numbers are? And the reason that it matters is, number one, if you're JVL and you think, boy, this guy's gonna run for a third term. He's not gonna run for a third term if he's at 28%, right? I mean, not put anything past him.
Sam Stein
Hold on. Why do you say that?
Tim Miller
I think he would understand that he's unpopular.
Sam Stein
No, Donald, no.
Tim Miller
All right, all right. Everyone stop yelling. Everyone stop screaming. Everyone stop screaming. More importantly, Donald John Trump, his. Donald Trump Jr More importantly, the other people in the Republican Party, the more unpopular his popularity is, the reason that they show so much fealty to him. The more unpopular he is, the more likely they are to start speaking out against things like the ballroom.
Sarah Longwell
This is true. This is why the stupid Bush line happens. Because, look, these guys just take us
Sponsor Voice
back a year, right?
Sarah Longwell
If we were in May of last year, there's no way that Thom Tillis or Tommy Tuberville or any of them are saying any of this, right? Because he seems so powerful. Everybody was cowering the law firms are cowering. The CEOs are cowering. People are doing the Trump dance. And that mattered. It did. There was a cultural moment where it felt like this was ascendant. But this year, it is different. And people are considering their political futures. They're considering whether or not that there's going to be blowback. And I don't think that these guys were worried about blowback. You think that Thom Tillis is worried that people are going to yell at him at the airport if he says that the stupid slush fund is dumb or the ballroom is dumb? No. And it's because, like, the vibes have shifted, and that's important. And I think that the more that. That the lower he goes, the more of this you're going to see. And, you know, that particularly gets, you know, becomes acute in the midterms.
Sam Stein
What is the Bush line? Like, what actually number is the Bush line?
Tim Miller
This is a great question. Thank you. Wait. Yes. All right. But here's why it's important. It's 32%, but that is. That is the number that George W. Bush was at when he left office. Okay. And the reason, again, that this is important is if you think about the historical precedent, when Bush left office, the Republican Party never recovered from his unpopularity. He had a bad war and he had a bad economy. That sounds familiar, right? And so when you have those things, what happened is then the Republicans went into the wilderness. They lost two national elections, they struggled with their political identity, only to have Trump then come in and completely revamp the party. And so, look, I am under no illusions. The Republican Party is never going back to something that looks anything like it was before. But the question is, is, can the Republican Party become something that is not a criminal enterprise, that is not like an authoritarian, fascist enterprise? Maybe, I don't know. But, like, the one way that it would happen. The one way that it would happen is for Donald Trump to leave office with America going, that fucking sucked. Like, we don't want to do that again. We want to discredit Trump and everybody in his administration. Right. You want Rubio and J.D. vance to wear Trump like an albatross around their necks. And that is why the lower that Trump goes and the longer he stays there, not only does it help with the midterms, it also helps with 2028. It also helps with the future, and that's why it's so important.
Sarah Longwell
That's why we want the dick line.
Tim Miller
That's right.
Sam Stein
Sorry, what's the deal?
Tim Miller
You always make it about you
Sarah Longwell
Richard Nixon hit 24.
Sam Stein
All right.
Tim Miller
Do you listen to our show, Sam?
Sam Stein
I do. It's all set up. It's a setup for this. Just going to read a few numbers. Quinnipiac. Today, Trump approval handling of his job is. 34 approved. 58 disapproved. Handling of the economy. 33% improved. 64 disapproved. Immigration, 40% approved 56 disapprove. Foreign policy. 35 approved, 60 disprove. In the situation in Iran. 33% approve, 61 disapprove. If you had to highlight one of those issues, that is the most problematic for him, I'm guessing.
Sarah Longwell
Economy.
Tim Miller
It's the inflation. Was inflation on there or did you
Sam Stein
just do it because. Sorry.
Tim Miller
It's okay. Because this is actually really important. So you see a lot of top line where people are like, the economy. Now, everybody thinks the economy is doing bad, but actually the more important numbers are inflation and cost of living. And when I look at Trump's numbers, I always think about how do you take his overall approval rating, which is sitting in most of the aggregations, up around like 37%. But his actual numbers on improving people's cost of living, that's down at 32% that the inflation numbers. In terms of people thinking about Trump's handling of inflation, that's down at 32%. So you want to close that gap for Trump where his overall approval is reflecting his numbers on people's lived experiences with the economy, not just.
Sarah Longwell
You're such a lib now. Lived experience.
Tim Miller
Yeah, man. I'm holding. Space.
Sarah Longwell
Repetitive. I'm holding. We don't need to do the woke thing for things. Experience is lived experience. We don't need to do that. Latinx.
Tim Miller
Let things.
Sam Stein
Is that what it is that the actual pronunciation?
Tim Miller
It's lat. Next.
Sarah Longwell
It's Latin.
Tim Miller
It doesn't matter because everyone should stop saying it.
Sam Stein
Okay, we're gonna have a. I can't get over there.
Sponsor Voice
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Sam Stein
We're going to have a debate about whether there is a. So the setup here is that obviously, even amidst all this shit that Trump's going through, I mean, it's objectively true, he still has an incredible sway over the Republican Party and he's knocked a bunch of incumbent Republicans out of office in these primary elections. Bill Cassidy, soon to be John Cornyn, and Tom Massie in Kentucky. And Tim idiotically thinks that there's going to be. What do you call it? Tom Massey Lane.
Sarah Longwell
Concerning. Concerning.
Sam Stein
You got three people. Congrats.
Sarah Longwell
If there's anyone in here that's in favor of a Tom Massie Lane, that's a bad sign for Tom Massie's chances. And Trump 2028, you have four people
Sam Stein
for Tom Massey here. There's so much, not so much that you support Tom Massey, but will there be a lane for someone of that ilk to run as a Republican successfully or consequently.
Sarah Longwell
So this is my case for this, all right? Or this is what we're trying to. This is what we're aspiring to with the dick line. Okay? So just dream with me. People like dream with me. Do remember I worked for a guy named John Huntsman that finished in Last place in 2020 12. How's his name spelled Good question. So it could be a last place dream again. But just stick with me. When Trump won in 2016, he ran as like a direct attack on the previous Republican Party that was not popular anymore. And when Obama won in 08, he ran. It was kind of like a sideways critique of the Democratic establishment, particularly on the Iraq war. Right. Like on a particular issues. And honestly, it was foreign policy both times. Trump also on the war. And if this war continues to go as bad as it's going right now, and if it continues, and if the economy gets as bad as I think it's gonna get as the year goes on, Cause I think we're really just beginning to feel the pain. And you get into 2027 and even the Republican base is like, I thought I fucking signed up for America first. Like, I thought I signed up for caring about us and not these stupid wars over here. I thought I signed up for figuring out who the child fuckers were in the Epstein files. These were the things that I signed up for. And Trump betrayed me. I don't think it's crazy to think that those people might look for somebody that can offer a critique of Donald Trump on those issues. It's not gonna be a fucking woe. It's not gonna be Nikki Haley, it's not gonna be Jon Huntsman. It's not gonna be Jeb, exclamation point. Like, it's not that.
Sponsor Voice
Right.
Sarah Longwell
But could there be somebody who has like a lot of disgusting opinions about immigration and race, but who also believes that we should care about America first, we should not get into stupid Middle east wars and like. And critiques Trump aggressively on those grounds? And like, I think. Yes. And I think that the fact that Thomas and Israel. And also Israel, good point. And also Israel in particular, and our relationship with Israel. And Thomas Massie got 45% in fucking Kentucky in that primary. And if you end up in a multi way primary in 2028, like, that's, that's a pretty good base to start from. And I don't think that Thomas Massie is going to be the Republican nominee in 2028. But I think that ideally, where we get to a place where Trump is so unpopular and he's fucked up so badly that somebody of that ilk could actually run against his administration and potentially have a path.
Tim Miller
Let me ask you this.
Sarah Longwell
That's my optimistic future. Can we just dream together? Can we not have an optimistic future?
Tim Miller
But hold on. So the reason. So I agree with you that that lane, the contours of that lane are Real. I think the question is, is we say Thomas Massie, and what we mean is somebody who is at least principled in certain ways. Right. But as we have discussed ad nauseam, I think there is going to be a fracture between the America first wing and the MAGA establishment wing. But I don't understand why it would be Massey versus, like, it seems to me that Marjorie Taylor Greene and Tucker Carlson occupy the lane. You're talking about.
Sarah Longwell
Well, I would rather have Arby's in her pants. Marjorie Taylor Greene over Tucker. If I had to pick Massie is kind of my aspirational choice. Okay. I guess what I'm saying is, what I'm saying is the best case scenario is Thomas Massey. Okay? It's not getting better than that. All right? You're not going to have anybody you like any more than that. So Thomas Massey is the best case choice. But I obviously agree that Tucker is the more likely person to fill that. And that's disgusting. And we were trying to be positive, you know, at a live show. And so I was, you know, I was looking at the brighter side of America first.
Sam Stein
Counterpoint.
Tim Miller
Counterpoint.
Sam Stein
Sam, I think you're an idiot. There is literally nothing to suggest that that would happen.
Sarah Longwell
He had 45% and they spent 19 million against him. That's pretty good. Is 45% not nothing? That's good.
Sam Stein
One, did you ever see a campaign commercial from his opponent? Guy was like a fucking tomato candy. Zero personality. Two, you're like, oh, if Trump got to really bad approval on the economy in Iran and there's we're there, buddy. Like, we're there and he's already knocking off some.
Sarah Longwell
It's getting worse, though. 3.
Sam Stein
3. The man incited an insurrection on the Capitol and then they went down to Mar a Lago to kiss his ass. And there is nothing in our history to suggest that there is a viable lane so long as he is alive for a Republican. He will, he will, he will meddle.
Sarah Longwell
He is not. He will. Picture of health. No, you never know. I, I don't have a huge bruise on my neck.
Sam Stein
He will meddle in that primary. And I'm, I'm, Look, I, maybe because sometimes I'm occupying the seat, but I, I, I'm the JVL type here.
Sarah Longwell
Those little hickey joke. Sorry, I got going.
Sam Stein
It's so much, so many sex jokes on this scene. I will tell you. I, I'm, I, I've become convinced of JV's argument. Don Jr. I think he's a player.
Sarah Longwell
He's a Tomato can. You know, I think. You don't think Thomas Massey could take down Don Jr.
Tim Miller
Your perspective waited on the Don Jr. One.
Sarah Longwell
JVL convinced me he can't even open his eyes.
Sam Stein
You know what? Maybe not on Don Jr. Cuz I don't know if Trump, if his father loves him. Let's play a video clip. Let's play a video.
Tim Miller
That was your transition. Good. You're a real pro, man.
Sam Stein
Let's play a video of the President talking about his son's wedding, which appears to be coming up. This happened today.
Donald Trump
He'd like me to go, but it's going to be just a small little private affair and I'm going to try and make it. I'm in the midst. I said, you know, this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things. That's one I can't win on. If I do attend, I get killed. If I don't attend, I get killed by the fake news. Of course, I'm talking about now, but he's got a very person who I've known for a long time and hopefully
Sam Stein
they're gonna have a great marriage. All right. I just wanted to set the stage here. Relatable him talking about attending his own son's wedding.
Sarah Longwell
Second wedding.
Sam Stein
Second wedding. Saying he might get killed. Killed if he goes to the wedding. I will just note Donald Trump because he said, well, he's busy with Iran. Donald Trump has played golf 14 times since the war started. Not too busy to golf. But Don Jr's wedding might be the line.
Sarah Longwell
So would you go to. John, this takes right to the old Barack Obama joke from correspondence center. You have a Drink with Mitch McConnell. Stop telling me to. Would you go to Don Jr's wedding? I wouldn't.
Tim Miller
Is he marrying Kimberly Guilfoyle?
Sam Stein
No, they never got married.
Sarah Longwell
They broke up.
Tim Miller
They broke up.
Sam Stein
They broke up. She's now our ambassador to Greece. I don't know who he's married.
Tim Miller
You know what?
Sarah Longwell
This is why Gavin Newsom will never be president.
Tim Miller
You know that, right? You cannot keep. Do you know how many times I'll show this picture of Gavin Newsom on the bearskin rug with Kimberly Guilfoyle. Guilfoyle me once, shame on you. Guilfoyle, me twice.
Sarah Longwell
So you're saying it's Eric. He might be turning to Eric. Ivanka, no. Too woke. Too big on his.
Sam Stein
You mentioned Gavin Newsom. He was in D.C. this week at this ideas festival. He was asked about this idea of should Democrats impeach Trump by Who? I don't know. Some gag. Who cares? Some gaggled reporters. And it wasn't me.
Sarah Longwell
I thought it might have been you.
Sam Stein
No, it wasn't me.
Tim Miller
Oh, you didn't ask him?
Sarah Longwell
I thought you were there.
Sam Stein
I was there. This is insignificant to this point.
Tim Miller
You just kind of hyped this earlier like it was you who asked him.
Sarah Longwell
It's a little confusing.
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Sam Stein
Gavin says no. He says, I fear that if you don't have the Senate where you're producing except a lot of headlines and fundraising appeals, to the extent accountability comes in many different forms. But we've been there, done that on multiple occasions. I know the base. I know a lot of people feel very strongly about that. But if there is an agenda that I would be promoting, that wouldn't be on the top of my agenda.
Sarah Longwell
And I actually, he said very strongly.
Sam Stein
That's a direct quote. Yeah, people feel very strongly about that. Do.
Tim Miller
At some point, his performance art is going to become his real life. Like, the mask is going to grow to fit him and he's just going to be this bizarro version of Trump.
Sam Stein
Gavin.
Tim Miller
Yeah.
Sam Stein
Okay. Do we think impeachment should be on the table? Yes or no? And seriously, because this is a fissure.
Sarah Longwell
What do you guys think? Do you want to impeach him?
Tim Miller
Hold on, wait, wait. Time out, time out, time out.
Sarah Longwell
Really?
Tim Miller
Everybody who thinks you should impeach, impeach Trump, say yes. Everybody who thinks you shouldn't, shouldn't impeach Trump, say no.
Sarah Longwell
Wow, it's split.
Tim Miller
Yeah. I mean, the yellow.
Sarah Longwell
We have a very considered audience, you know, at the Bulwark.
Sam Stein
All right, what do you guys think?
Tim Miller
Do you want to take. Okay, okay. So I do have, I have a strong feeling on this, but it is not because I don't want to impeach him. Right. This is a big, this is a bit of an issue sometimes with whether we're talking about the courts or, or anything else is that I understand everybody's feeling really tight and there's like a pressure valve that everybody wants to release and JBL is like, let's just do it, let's just do it. Let's whatever the thing is that makes people feel better and release the anger. But let me ask you a question. Different question than the one I asked before. If you impeach Trump, could you get a conviction?
Sarah Longwell
Maybe.
Tim Miller
Okay, okay. Not the point. I heard you, I heard you say that. Okay, here is what we have seen this before and I do think we should learn from recent history, which is that if you do not have the votes to convict him, as you definitely don't, what you have done is you have created a rally round Trump effect, which we have seen a number of times where people suddenly say, you know, oh, look, here's the libs coming after him right now. We are watching him destroy himself. And I am not sure we should interrupt it by reminding people that the Democrats are there to know be against him.
Sarah Longwell
You know, it's interesting. I was on the fence about this, but that case was so bad that now I'm strong for impeachment. Just listening to that. You, man, let's him him. Let's impeach him 10 times. How many months will we have left?
Tim Miller
I'm glad.
Sarah Longwell
24 months. Let's impeach him 24 times. One impeachment a month.
Tim Miller
I'm glad you're. I'm glad you're taking a strong.
Sarah Longwell
What else are we going to do?
Tim Miller
Okay, good. I've got some. I've got some. I've got some questions then. I've got some questions. Will it be the Democratic Party impeachments? That's great. Will it be the Democratic Party doing the impeaching?
Sarah Longwell
Well, mostly, you know, the ones who
Tim Miller
just did the autopsy.
Sarah Longwell
Well, hopefully it won't be Ken Martin.
Tim Miller
You know, we think and we think. We think, we think this will be done.
Sarah Longwell
Well, I mean. Well, that's the case for doing nothing, though. I don't know. We don't think anything will be done.
Tim Miller
Well, no, no, no, no. I'd never make the case for doing nothing.
Sarah Longwell
Okay, well, let's hear it.
Tim Miller
I do make the case for doing the things that are smart that drive Trump down so that Democrats can win elections. When. When would you suggest impeaching him?
Sarah Longwell
The first day that we can. The very first day that we can.
Sam Stein
I ask a question. What's the. What's your favorite impeachable issue?
Sarah Longwell
Boy, that's a good question. Probably. Probably the golf course. I don't know. I don't know why he did to
Sam Stein
East Potomac was just so wrong.
Sarah Longwell
Probably El Salvador. I don't know. Let's just. We'll take him one at every committee can do one. You know, the Immigration Committee can do one. The Foreign Policy Committee can do one. In the war, we can do one. We can do.
Tim Miller
Maybe we can do 12 together. Like a white noise.
Sarah Longwell
What, what else are they going to do? I mean, I guess, but like, there's not. You can't do anything.
Tim Miller
You can do lots of things. You can do lots of.
Sarah Longwell
Investigate them.
Tim Miller
You can do investigation. The Epstein files, guys, sometimes we should impeach him for.
Sarah Longwell
Recover. For covering up the Epstein files.
Tim Miller
Why don't you just release the Epstein files in all the ways that he's.
Sarah Longwell
We don't have them yet. We got to get them from doj so we can do that during the impeachment proceedings if they're in charge.
Tim Miller
I just, I think this is sort of like how I feel about the court expansion is like there's a whole bunch of other things you could do that I think would be more effective than just reaching. Sometimes we get attracted to certain levers and I'm like, we tried the impeachment twice and it didn't work. So let's make the case to the American people. And by releasing the Epstein files, by demonstrating all the corruption, by showing all the pardons, the handouts.
Sarah Longwell
And this is why you gotta vote for George Conway in New York 12. Cause he's the one man who has the strength to IMPEACH Donald Trump 24 times. Between 20.
Tim Miller
He'll be up there making the case, being like, he's a narcissist sociopath and we should impeach him on those grounds. Like, do I want the 25th amendment? Of course I want the 25th amendment.
Sarah Longwell
Do we.
Tim Miller
Does anybody know the mechanism for getting the. He's. He qualifies for the 25th Amendment. He qualifies for it. He's clearly decomposing in front of our eyes. And he's launched a war without Congress.
Donald Trump
He.
Tim Miller
And he's creating a slush fund. And he won't release the Epstein files and the economies in shambles. What does it take to get the 25th Amendment done? His cabinet. Are we getting it from his cabinet? No. Are we going to get impeachment? No.
Sam Stein
All right.
Tim Miller
The Cabinet. Oh. So here. Now we're thinking. Now we're thinking, you know, you get the Democrats. Why don't they go after Hegseth first? Right? Like, now we're talking. Now we're talking instead of making it about Trump.
Sarah Longwell
Trump. Hold on.
Tim Miller
There's a bunch of strategies.
Sam Stein
Hold.
Tim Miller
I like a brainstorming session with the crowd.
Sam Stein
It actually does.
Sarah Longwell
We want Hexeth. Hold on.
Sam Stein
This is the perfect segue.
Sarah Longwell
We want to get rid of Exeth so he's a better secretary of war.
Sam Stein
Hold on.
Sarah Longwell
No. Keep Eggseth in there. No.
Sam Stein
Get out of here.
Sarah Longwell
What are you doing now?
Tim Miller
Your opinion is terrible.
Sarah Longwell
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Sam Stein
We're gonna put this back on the rails here. This actually is a good segue to our next segment. Tim and I do this on occasion where we rank our. We rank the worst cabinet members. Send one to Sarah. Now.
Tim Miller
I forgot about this section. I don't remember all their names.
Sam Stein
I have a list for you. Don't worry, I'm gonna go through the names.
Sarah Longwell
Holy. Secretary of labor is Keith Thunderling.
Sam Stein
I had no idea. That one did surprise me. All right, so I'm gonna read the names and then I'm going to read Tim and I. The last ring he's read we have for your consideration. You don't have to boo or anything. Don't worry. The Mayor of San Diego, Scott Besson, Secretary of Treasury. Guys, you're going to be booing a lot. Okay, you can save it.
Sarah Longwell
Let's roll.
Sam Stein
Todd Blanche. Doug Burgum.
Sarah Longwell
All right.
Sam Stein
Doug Collins.
Sarah Longwell
All right.
Tim Miller
He's the Secretary of Veteran Affairs. I know. You don't know who he is.
Sam Stein
Our guy. Sean Duffy. Secretary of Transportation. Tulsi Gabbard. DNI. Jameson Greer. Trade Representative. Pete Hegg. Seth Robert Kennedy Jr. Kelly Loeffler.
Tim Miller
I forgot about her for sure.
Sam Stein
Howard Nutlik. Linda McMahon. Mark Wayne Mullen. John Radcliffe. Brooke Rollins. Marco Rubio. The esteemed. The esteemed Keith.
Sarah Longwell
Who's this guy?
Tim Miller
Keith?
Sam Stein
Keith. Scott Turner from hud. Russ Boat. Chris Wright and Lee Zeldin. All right, before we go to your rankings, the last rankings we had in Myron, definitely gonna change. I had Ruby at 5, right? At 4, Besson at 3, RFK at 2, Hegseth at 1. That's worst. That's least. Worst to worst. Tim had Rollins at 5, RFK at 4, Blanche at 3, Ruby at 2, Hegseth at 1 1. Sarah, you are a new participant to
Sarah Longwell
shout out to the one person that really hated Jameson Greer.
Tim Miller
I know somebody in there was really. I. I've never even heard of Jam.
Sarah Longwell
Jam Greer. No, I hate him too. So shout out to you. We should hang out after.
Sam Stein
All right, I can go first if you guys want to take your time,
Sarah Longwell
cuz I. Yeah, please.
Sam Stein
All right.
Tim Miller
Can I have your pen?
Sam Stein
I have a marker. Here you go. All right. My number one remains. Okay. Whoa. All right, should I go, Should I go least worse? I'm just going to go my worst. The worst of the worst. Pete Hexeth, my man. I just don't think he's doing a good job on Iran.
Sarah Longwell
So let's just. Let's just stick with our number ones and discuss it out. Because I've been thinking about this and I'm switching. I had feet hex at number one before, but I should have done this last time. It's the worst is Marco. It's Marco's fucking fault that we're in this fucking war. It's not Pete Hegseth's fault. Pete Hegseth is too stupid to do this. Marco convinced Trump that he had supernatural powers and could go around the world and put whoever he wanted in charge of the countries that Marco hates. And Marco hates Venezuela and he hates Cuba and he hates Iran. That is why we're doing this. Because Marco did this and it's a massive fuck up. And Marco's trying to pretend like he's the slave responsible one in there. He's like, he's the guy you can trust. He's the guy that goes on Martha Raddatz's show on the weekend and it's like, no, Marco. This is a massive fuck up. If Marco is not in there, we would not be doing this. I don't think. I don't. Well, bb. BB and Marco. Is Bibi a cabinet member? Can we count BB if BB's not in the cabinet? I'm sorry. Marco is the stand in for bb and Marco is the worst cabinet member.
Sam Stein
You got Rubia one, I got Hexith one. Sarah, I only just your.
Tim Miller
I only say my number one for now. Oh man. I was going to go through all of them.
Sarah Longwell
Well, we're going to get through them.
Tim Miller
No, it's fine. But I'm going to. I'm going to really swerve. Sean Duffy is my pick for number one right now.
Sarah Longwell
Boom.
Tim Miller
Okay, stop.
Sarah Longwell
It's a terrible pick, okay?
Tim Miller
Let me tell you why.
Sam Stein
There's so many worse.
Tim Miller
Yeah, I know, but you guys already know. I had Scott Benson, Scott Bessant at 5. I had Robert Kennedy Jr's 5. 4. I had Pete Hegseth is 3. Marco Rubio is 2. Because I agree with you on Rubio, but I picked Sean Duffy for the following reason. I. Wait, what was that? I'm a practical lesbian. That's true. No, it's because I am a 90s kid who watched a lot of reality television, okay?
Sarah Longwell
And it personally.
Tim Miller
Yeah, okay, but here's the thing. Sean Duffy and Rachel Campos. Duffy, okay? She was on the Real World San Francisco. Remember? She kissed Puck and he was disgusting. And then he. Sean was on Real World Boston, and he told Elka she had crusty underwear. The black woman, and then accused her of talking like Hitler.
Sarah Longwell
Racism.
Tim Miller
And then they met on the Real World Road Race Rules Challenge. That's where he and Rachel met. I watched this whole thing happen, okay? I watched it all happen.
Sarah Longwell
Your rationale for this ranking is something that happened in 1993.
Tim Miller
It's not irrelevant. I'm getting there.
Sarah Longwell
1993.
Tim Miller
Nope, there's more. There's more. And then. And then she goes on to be the Fox News host. They have 12 children. He becomes a congressman, then he becomes Secretary of Transportation, where he shits on Pete Buttigieg, who is my love. The person I love, okay? And then he shits on him for what? Taking some time off because he had twins and one of them had a health event as a. As a baby. And then Sean Duffy goes on a seven month taxpayer road trip with his family that is both on our dime because he's supposed to be making sure planes don't fall from the sky and our grass gas prices are low, while also getting sponsored for his seven month road trip by the very agencies that he is supposed to be regulating. Okay? All in the service of he and his wife being back on reality television, only now it has real world consequences.
Sarah Longwell
Oh, Honestly. Honestly. 11 out of 10 rant. 2 out of 10 choice. All right, because he's ninth on my record.
Sam Stein
Yeah, go back to your. I just reread your five, because I have. I couldn't. I can't agree with any of them.
Tim Miller
It was. Scott Besant was 5. RFK was 4. Pete Exeth was 3. Rubio was 2. Duffy is 1.
Sam Stein
First of all, Todd Blanche is not on your list. What the. This guy's overseeing a $1.8 billion.
Tim Miller
You know, I thought about this. I did think about this. I did think about this.
Sarah Longwell
Okay?
Tim Miller
He's an interim.
Sam Stein
What difference does that make?
Sarah Longwell
He's still doing it.
Tim Miller
It made a difference in my ranking, okay?
Sarah Longwell
He's the worst of the interims,
Sam Stein
my number two. Because I swore to myself in my heart that I can never Put him below 2.
Sarah Longwell
RFK.
Sam Stein
We have Ebola. We have hantavirus.
Tim Miller
You have Ebola.
Sam Stein
I do not personally have Ebola. This man has decimated the fda. There is an article that just came out. Did you guys see this one about this tobacco company that gave $5 million to Maga, Inc. And they're like, yeah, we'll do flavored vapes. Sure.
Tim Miller
To be fair. Outlawing flavored vapes. There it is.
Sarah Longwell
The best thing they've done so far. Mango. Mango.
Tim Miller
Jewels were the champ.
Sam Stein
This is Sarah and I back on this one.
Tim Miller
Finally.
Sarah Longwell
They did one good thing and you're ranking them second worst in the cabinet for it.
Sam Stein
All right. Ark is my.
Sarah Longwell
Let us live.
Sam Stein
Blanche is my three. And it's a very close three. Because even if he's interim, the absolute degradation that he's overseen of the DOJ is unreal, unforgivable, and almost unrepairable, I would argue.
Sarah Longwell
So.
Sam Stein
He is my number three.
Sarah Longwell
Shameful. He's also. So we're.
Sam Stein
What's your. Well, I'm four or five in a second.
Sarah Longwell
But what's your. Two? Three. Yeah. No, so I'm Rubio Hegseth. Because the Iran wars, just by far the biggest fuck up of the administration. And then. And then Blanche. Three. So we're the same on the top three, just the order.
Sam Stein
You're four.
Sarah Longwell
Four's tough, you know, because I do have the personal distaste for Scott Besant for soiling the homosexual kind of people. You know, he's an embarrassment. But I can't. I can't do that. You know, I can't do it. And you know how much I hate Brooke Rollins and Jameson Greer. And I do want to put them in there as well, but I can't do that. And I've got to do a surprising number four.
Sam Stein
I know who it's gonna be.
Sarah Longwell
You do?
Sam Stein
Say it.
Sarah Longwell
Chris Wright. Oh, no, it's that guy, Chris Wright. Why the Secretary of Energy?
Sam Stein
Go on.
Sarah Longwell
He went. He. He's going on TV talking about how gas prices are going to be better in two weeks. Like, they got like, we're gonna be. You fucking. You guys. You guys should hate Chris Wright the most. You guys are gonna be paying seven buck a gallon gas until your fucking grandkids are old. All right? Chris Wright is out there fucking him up.
Tim Miller
I have never seen this person in my life.
Sarah Longwell
Well, you're obviously you're not watching CBS Sunday show because Barry's putting them on a lot. Yeah, he's out there. And I don't like what. I don't like what he's got to say.
Sam Stein
Here's my four. It's a bit of a wild card and it pains me.
Sarah Longwell
Mark Wayne.
Sam Stein
Nope. I give him time. I'm sure he'll get cracked up. I've Doug Burgum.
Sarah Longwell
Doug.
Sam Stein
Doug Burgum.
Sarah Longwell
You're going after Doug.
Tim Miller
What's happening in the interior right now?
Sam Stein
This guy is shot chilling for the fucking reflecting pool. He's taking over East Potomac. He's building the stupid arch near the Arlington cemetery. Do some real work. Stop doing this bullshit. The reflecting pool looks like shit. And they're like, oh, we got the fountains to work in dc. Aren't we great? I don't care about fucking fountains. Like, DC sucks right now because of what Trump did. So Doug's my four. And I will say Chris Wright, number five. No. Keith Sunderland. No. I gotta go. Sean Duffy at five for all this.
Sarah Longwell
Russ boat is obviously number five.
Sam Stein
I haven't really seen him. Russ in a little bit.
Sarah Longwell
Well, he tore down the whole government, so where does he have to be?
Sam Stein
That was. That was so long ago.
Sarah Longwell
Okay, he's number five for me. All right, well, that's been fun.
Sam Stein
All right, we got one last.
Sarah Longwell
Brooke Rollins, though nobody had luck.
Tim Miller
But Nick.
Sam Stein
Well, yeah, good point.
Sarah Longwell
Nick's been pretty good. I. Besides going to Epstein island. And he did go to Epstein.
Tim Miller
He's laying low right now, actually.
Sam Stein
I would say the ones who are kind of lingering out there are Mark Wayne, Mullen. And no one talks about Tulsi anymore. Honestly, she's out of the.
Tim Miller
I believe she hasn't been fired. Especially because he is firing all the women first.
Sam Stein
Yeah.
Tim Miller
And so it seems like she'd be on the.
Sarah Longwell
And if cash was in the cabinet, he would be for.
Sam Stein
Yeah.
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Sam Stein
All right, we got one more little gimmicky thing before we call it a pod. She'll get there.
Sarah Longwell
Don't worry about Glenda.
Sam Stein
All right, Tim. You guys might not know this about Tim. It's a bit of an oddity, but as Trump has redecorated the Oval with an insane amount of vomited gold, Tim has been.
Tim Miller
Tim likes it.
Sam Stein
Tim's been really impressed.
Tim Miller
It's his worst take.
Sam Stein
Tim thinks the Oval looks good.
Sarah Longwell
I'm sorry. The Oval looked awful before. Okay? You look at a picture of Gerald Ford in there, it looks drab and sad and dispiriting. It's kind of like going into, like, a Pier 1 or like the Cracker Barrel after the rebrand, and like, that's what the Oval Office looked like, was the post Cracker Barrel rebrand Oval Office before. And then Trump got in there, and it's like Cracker Barrel chic. Okay. It's a lot. It's everything. We got tchotchkes, we got pictures. It's gold. Sorry, sorry. It looks better. It's an upgrade.
Tim Miller
See, this is where gay men go really wrong.
Sarah Longwell
It's like a Liberace.
Tim Miller
Yeah. It's like they're like, oh, well, it looks like Liberace threw up in here. So it's nice all of a sudden. Do you know why the Oval Office is. It's supposed to have austere. Yeah. Majesty.
Sarah Longwell
Because this is.
Tim Miller
It should be about the person in the office is the thing that's supposed to elevate it.
Sarah Longwell
And so the gold Ford was not very elevating.
Tim Miller
That's fine. But, you know, they can't all. But like, at least Donald Trump. The gold is like, hey, Donald Trump is ripping you off, and we just put that gold on the walls of the money he stole from you.
Sarah Longwell
It's not real gold.
Tim Miller
So what the point is is like, instead of a golden age, it's a gilded age. And we all feel that's gross.
Sam Stein
All right.
Tim Miller
And tacky. It's tacky.
Sam Stein
All right.
Sarah Longwell
I like tacky. What's wrong with tacky? We're America.
Sam Stein
So the game we're gonna play here, the game we're gonna play here is if you could keep one renovation Trump has made to Washington D.C. to Washington D.C. which one would you keep? You have to take one. The ballroom, the Kennedy center, the reflecting pool, the rose Garden that's been completely paved over.
Sarah Longwell
Not the Panera bread rose Garden. That is the worst shit he's done.
Sam Stein
Or the arch. All right, you gotta take one. Which one are you gonna keep?
Tim Miller
Yeah, I guess you're right. Like, the reflecting pool looks stupid, but, like, it's not the end of the world.
Sam Stein
All right, there you go.
Sarah Longwell
I answered already. The Oval Office redesign. I'm keeping the Oval Office, keeping the same design. We're fucking burning down the ballroom. The ballroom.
Tim Miller
Did you guys listen to tnl where we were talking about Chris Hayes, like, theory that Trump is building the ballroom as a bunker to, like, live in for the rest of his life.
Sarah Longwell
It's an adu.
Sam Stein
He's just going to go down there and.
Sarah Longwell
Yeah, it's like, he's a grandpa. He needs an ADU. Don Jr's not going to let him live in his adu. He didn't even go to the wedding.
Sam Stein
Is this like one of those post nuclear bunkers where he just doesn't come out?
Sarah Longwell
He's got to live in there and
Tim Miller
he's going to go golf when yeah,
Sarah Longwell
he's gonna live in the bunker.
Tim Miller
He's gonna walk around a tattered, you know, bathrobe, come out screaming about how the election was stolen for the rest of his life.
Sam Stein
Go play golf on his newly redesigned East Potomac golf course.
Sarah Longwell
What are you keeping?
Sam Stein
I'm keeping the golf course. I like it. Of all the things I think, oh, God, it's so tough.
Sarah Longwell
Boo.
Sam Stein
I guess it's really horrible.
Sarah Longwell
The ballroom is awful.
Sam Stein
The Kennedy center is atrocious, and it's an offense to the arts. Reflecting pool looks ridiculous. I don't know if you've seen the pictures. It's like different shades of blue. It's all patchy.
Tim Miller
It's really. It does. It makes you think, like, let's go for a dip.
Sam Stein
I'm going to avoid that. I guess. I guess the arch. I don't know. It's like, you want the arch?
Sarah Longwell
I don't know.
Sam Stein
It's very.
Sarah Longwell
Samstein wants the arch.
Tim Miller
Wait, can we just talk about the Kennedy center for one second? Here's the thing. It's not just that it's about the arts. The Kennedy center is a memorial. It's a family memorial.
Sam Stein
Yeah.
Tim Miller
It's like being like, you know what I'm going to do is like, renovate Arlington Cemetery.
Sam Stein
Oh, do you know what my kids joke is? We drive past the Martin Luther King Memorial and they're like, is he going to rename that the Martin Luther Trump? Is that going to happen? I don't know. All right.
Tim Miller
I have a dream that one day this goes away and we never have to listen to him again.
Sam Stein
All right, folks, that's it for tnl. Thank you, everybody.
Sarah Longwell
Everybody.
Host: The Bulwark (Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller, and guest Sam Stein)
Date: May 22, 2026
In this high-energy, banter-filled episode, Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller, and guest Sam Stein dissect the latest chaotic developments in American politics under Donald Trump’s administration. With a tone blending deep exasperation and gallows humor, the hosts analyze the consequences of Trumpism, the GOP’s internal fractures, and whether long-term reputational damage to the party is inevitable. They debate cabinet-member dysfunction, legislative scandals, impeachment strategies, and even rate the gaudy “renovations” Trump has imposed on Washington D.C. Amidst the camaraderie and sharp takes, the episode delivers a pointed warning: the legacy of Trump’s leadership might “tarnish the GOP for years to come.”
[01:20 – 04:00]
[04:14 – 05:25]
[06:12 – 10:30]
[33:08 – 44:20]
[14:27 – 20:37]
[25:14 – 30:45]
[46:44 – 51:33]
| Segment | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------------------------|--------------| | TikTok ad intro | [00:00 – 00:30] (skip) | | Trump slush fund scandal & Republican fallout | [01:20 – 04:10] | | “Touch the Stove” — Letting the public feel Trumpism’s pain | [04:14 – 05:25] | | Bush Line Explainer, Trump’s lasting damage | [06:12 – 10:30] | | Approval polls, Trump’s liabilities (economy, Iran, immigration) | [10:31 – 12:30] | | Possibility of a non-Trumpist “Massey Lane” | [14:27 – 20:37] | | Don Jr., family intrigue, wedding jokes | [21:00 – 22:32] | | Debate: Should Democrats impeach Trump? | [25:14 – 30:45] | | Who are the worst Trump cabinet members? | [33:08 – 44:20] | | DC Renovation rankings, Oval Office gold, Trump “Gilded Age” | [46:44 – 51:33] |
If you missed this episode, here’s what to know: