<description>&lt;div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Donald Trump—as a private citizen—sued our government, which he runs, and then "settled" the lawsuit with $1.8 billion that he stole from the U.S. Treasury. See, he needs a secret fund of taxpayer money so he can pay not only reparations to his band of Jan 6 rioters, but also to incentivize future (election) criming on his behalf. In a special emergency TNL, Tim, Sarah, and JVL break it all down. Plus, Martha explains how Iran’s demands for money may be why Trump won’t officially end the war. And she discusses Zelensky's resiliency, along with her new book about the 9/11 generation that fought our wars.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Martha Raddatz, Jonathan V. Last, and Sarah Longwell &lt;/strong&gt;join Tim Miller.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;show notes&lt;br&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Hero-Next-Door/Martha-Raddatz/9781668093801"&gt;Pre-order Martha's book, "The Hero Next Door: Stories of Patriotism and Purpose" &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/thebulwark/p/how-to-rob-taxpayers-of-1-8-billion-congress-lawsuit-settlement-irs-trump-corruption-fund-weaponization-justice?r=af2rj&amp;amp;utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&amp;amp;utm_medium=web"&gt;Monday's "Morning Shots" &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-illegal-news-with-sarah-longwell/id1725387804"&gt;Sarah's ‘Illegal News’ podcast; interview with Andrew Weissmann out Thursday &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria&lt;/strong&gt; and our own MAGA culture expert, &lt;strong&gt;Will Sommer&lt;/strong&gt;, will join the gang on stage at &lt;strong&gt;Bulwark Live: San Diego this Wednesday&lt;/strong&gt;. And on &lt;strong&gt;Thursday at Bulwark Live: LA&lt;/strong&gt; our friends Jane Coaston, Jon Favreau, Erin Ryan from Crooked Media, The Ringer’s Van Lathan and progressive commentator Brian Tyler Cohen will join Sarah, Tim and Sam on stage. Grab your seats today at &lt;a href="http://thebulwark.com/Events"&gt;TheBulwark.com/Events&lt;br&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;One thing to pack, five ways to power! Get up to 40% off @Ridge during their Father’s Day Sale at &lt;a href="http://ridge.com/THEBULWARK"&gt;ridge.com/THEBULWARK&lt;/a&gt; #Ridgepod &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>

Donald Trump—as a private citizen—sued our government, which he runs, and then "settled" the lawsuit with $1.8 billion that he stole from the U.S. Treasury. See, he needs a secret fund of taxpayer money so he can pay not only reparations to his band of Jan 6 rioters, but also to incentivize future (election) criming on his behalf. In a special emergency TNL, Tim, Sarah, and JVL break it all down.

Sarah Longwell, JVL, and Martha Raddatz: Trump Is Looting Us in Broad Daylight

<description>&lt;div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Sadly, it’s taken some time, but voters seem to be figuring out that Trump only cares about himself, his ballroom, his blatant corruption, and his unquenchable desire for revenge. 2026, so far, has been bad for his approval ratings. And his continued weakness on the world stage, especially when it comes to Iran and China, will only drive his numbers down more. At the same time, Trump has done permanent damage to our standing among our allies. Plus, Dems need to get serious about AI as well as a stock-trading ban for public officials—including presidents—Trump has far too many unexplained medical conditions, and Tim explains his support for commuting Tina Peters’ prison sentence.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bill Kristol &lt;/strong&gt;joins Tim Miller.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;show notes&lt;br&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/thebulwark/p/its-trumps-party-and-hell-crash-if-he-wants-to-polls-midterms-approve-disapprovegop-republicans-rededicate-250-mall-maga-christianity?r=af2rj&amp;amp;utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&amp;amp;utm_medium=web"&gt;Monday's "Morning Shots"&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/thebulwark/p/its-trumps-party-and-hell-crash-if-he-wants-to-polls-midterms-approve-disapprovegop-republicans-rededicate-250-mall-maga-christianity?r=af2rj&amp;amp;utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&amp;amp;utm_medium=web"&gt;Lauren on how the Dems should respond to an aging Trump's health issues&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/thebulwark/p/the-real-reason-kamala-harris-lost?r=af2rj&amp;amp;utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&amp;amp;utm_medium=web"&gt;Bill's "Bulwark on Sunday" with Rob Flaherty, Kamala's deputy campaign manager&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;div&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria&lt;/strong&gt; and our own MAGA culture expert, &lt;strong&gt;Will Sommer&lt;/strong&gt;, will join the gang on stage at &lt;strong&gt;Bulwark Live: San Diego this Wednesday&lt;/strong&gt;. And on &lt;strong&gt;Thursday at Bulwark Live: LA&lt;/strong&gt; our friends Jane Coaston, Jon Favreau, Erin Ryan from Crooked Media, The Ringer’s Van Lathan and progressive commentator &lt;a href="https://open.substack.com/users/110233861-brian-tyler-cohen?utm_source=mentions"&gt;Brian Tyler Cohen&lt;/a&gt; will join Sarah, Tim and Sam on stage. Grab your seats today at &lt;a href="http://thebulwark.com/Events"&gt;TheBulwark.com/Events&lt;br&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Start your new morning ritual &amp;amp; get up to 43% off your @MUDWTR with code THEBULWARK at &lt;a href="http://mudwtr.com/THEBULWARK"&gt;mudwtr.com/THEBULWARK&lt;/a&gt;! #mudwtrpod&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>

Sadly, it’s taken some time, but voters seem to be figuring out that Trump only cares about himself, his ballroom, his blatant corruption, and his unquenchable desire for revenge. 2026, so far, has been bad for his approval ratings. And his continued weakness on the world stage, especially when it comes to Iran and China, will only drive his numbers down more. At the same time, Trump has done permanent damage to our standing among our allies.

Bill Kristol: Voters Are Realizing Trump Doesn’t Care About Them

<description>&lt;div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If the IRS goes ahead and gives in to Donald Trump's demands for a MAGA slush fund, it would be outright theft of the public's money and corruption on a scale that we've never even contemplated in this country. What would stop him from plundering even more from the American people? Plus, Kash's ghoulish snorkel at Pearl Harbor, the Supreme Court's VRA ruling gave permission to practice discrimination, MAGA loves the racism and sexism of the 1950s, and the penile implant expert managing the Hantavirus outbreak. And in his new book, Weissmann explores whether the lies of politicians and political candidates can be criminalized.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Andrew Weissmann&lt;/strong&gt; joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;show notes&lt;br&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Buy Andrew Weissmann’s book, "Liar’s Kingdom." &lt;strong&gt;Use code Liar15 &lt;/strong&gt;at checkout to receive 15% off and a signed bookplate from Weissmann. Offer expires 5/19/26. Click &lt;a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/liar-s-kingdom-how-to-stop-trump-s-deceit-and-save-america-andrew-weissmann/e79cc4410e81f719?ean=9780316601306&amp;amp;next=t"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://blackpowerwarroom.com/dayofaction/"&gt;"All Roads Lead to the South" for Saturday's National Day of Action for Voting Rights &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-illegal-news-with-sarah-longwell/id1725387804"&gt;Sarah's "Illegal News" podcast &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/james-comey-we-cant-trust-the-doj/id1447684472?i=1000767445403"&gt;Tim's interview this week with Comey &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://x.com/GitaGopinath/status/2054907301652287954?s=20"&gt;photo from the summit in China and not one woman at the table &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0dApY6YT48kTh6j9xFDQch"&gt;Tim's playlist&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Just announced: San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and our own MAGA culture expert, Will Sommer, will join the gang on stage at &lt;strong&gt;Bulwark Live: San Diego &lt;/strong&gt;on May 20.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And on May 21 at &lt;strong&gt;Bulwark Live: LA&lt;/strong&gt; our friends Jane Coaston, Jon Favreau, Erin Ryan from , The Ringer’s Van Lathan and progressive commentator Brian Tyler Cohen will join Sarah, Tim and Sam on stage.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Grab your seats today at: &lt;a href="https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bulwark-events"&gt;https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bulwark-events&lt;br&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;</description>

If the IRS goes ahead and gives in to Donald Trump's demands for a MAGA slush fund, it would be outright theft of the public's money and corruption on a scale that we've never even contemplated in this country. What would stop him from plundering even more from the American people?

Andrew Weissmann: Is Trump Going To Raid Fort Knox Next?

<description>&lt;div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Chinese have long envied America's power, influence, and market share. But after Trump's failed trade war, his attacks on allies, and the embarrassment in Iran, the view from Beijing has shifted: It now sees us as a nation in decline. Plus, inflation is creeping back up, the stock market is out of whack, new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is screwed, and the ag community is feeling the pain of Trump's policies. And for the view from the Democratic resistance, Rep. Garcia tells Tim that Dems are not finished with their own redistricting and that Gavin's greatest strength is his obsession with winning. And he says Dems are going to fight like hell to win the House so they can investigate the Trump family's corruption and the Epstein case—the single largest government cover-up in history. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rep. Robert Garcia&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;Catherine Rampell &lt;/strong&gt;join Tim Miller.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;show notes&lt;br&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.thebulwark.com/s/receipts"&gt;Catherine's newsletter, "Receipts"&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Ftrump-getting-mogged-by-xi-v0-g90dhzzxq01h1.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D1080%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D79e7d7c0ed39a449cd800cd71686a31d2deb6167"&gt;A grimacing, sweaty Trump getting framemogged by Xi&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-housing-forum.html"&gt;Ezra Klein's town hall with Katie Porter's answer to CA's housing crisis&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Just announced: San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and our own MAGA culture expert, Will Sommer, will join the gang on stage at &lt;strong&gt;Bulwark Live: San Diego &lt;/strong&gt;on May 20.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;Get 15% off OneSkin with the code BULWARK at &lt;a href="https://www.oneskin.co/BULWARK"&gt;https://www.oneskin.co/BULWARK&lt;/a&gt; #oneskinpod&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;</description>

The Chinese have long envied America's power, influence, and market share. But after Trump's failed trade war, his attacks on allies, and the embarrassment in Iran, the view from Beijing has shifted: It now sees us as a nation in decline. Plus, inflation is creeping back up, the stock market is out of whack, new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is screwed, and the ag community is feeling the pain of Trump's policies. And for the view from the Democratic resistance, Rep. Garcia tells Tim that Dems are not finished with their own redistricting and that Gavin's greatest strength is his obsession with winning.

Catherine Rampell and Robert Garcia: China Is Starting to Eclipse the U.S.

<description>&lt;div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;p’s recent insomnia-induced, Obama-obsessed posting spree showed a level of paranoia and delusion that should be raising real concerns about the mental health of our commander-in-chief. The new blotch on his neck to go with the giant bruises on his hands is not helping matters. Is the DOJ mulling a $10 billion IRS settlement with Trump to try to ease his emotional distress over his seeming loss in Iran? Plus, Gorka’s half-baked “official” counterterrorism strategy, Tim &lt;em&gt;did &lt;/em&gt;ask Comey about the Hillary email investigation in a previous interview, and the poll numbers for POTUS are worse than they were after Jan 6.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tom Nichols&lt;/strong&gt; joins Tim Miller for a special LIVE pod.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;show notes&lt;br&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/05/trump-sebastian-gorka-counterterrorism/687148/?gift=AO0MhSsTDaHgiP_RxFGfB8lKc7nqoq2JAmkwUGOaiRQ&amp;amp;utm_source=copy-link&amp;amp;utm_medium=social&amp;amp;utm_campaign=share"&gt;Tom on the administration's counterterrorism strategy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/thebulwark/p/james-comey-uncomfortably-numb?r=af2rj&amp;amp;utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&amp;amp;utm_medium=web"&gt;Tim's interview with Comey last year&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Just announced:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria&lt;/strong&gt; and our own MAGA culture expert, &lt;strong&gt;Will Sommer&lt;/strong&gt;, will join the gang on stage at &lt;strong&gt;Bulwark Live: San Diego on May 20&lt;/strong&gt;. And on &lt;strong&gt;May 21 at Bulwark Live: LA&lt;/strong&gt; our friends Jane Coaston, Jon Favreau, Erin Ryan from Crooked Media, The Ringer’s Van Lathan and progressive commentator &lt;a href="https://open.substack.com/users/110233861-brian-tyler-cohen?utm_source=mentions"&gt;Brian Tyler Cohen&lt;/a&gt; will join Sarah, Tim and Sam on stage. Grab your seats today at &lt;a href="http://thebulwark.com/Events"&gt;TheBulwark.com/Events&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Join at &lt;a href="http://functionhealth.com/THEBULWARK"&gt;functionhealth.com/THEBULWARK&lt;/a&gt; or use gift code THEBULWARK25 for a $25 credit toward your membership.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;</description>

Trump’s recent insomnia-induced, Obama-obsessed posting spree showed a level of paranoia and delusion that should be raising real concerns about the mental health of our commander-in-chief. The new blotch on his neck to go with the giant bruises on his hands is not helping matters. Is the DOJ mulling a $10 billion IRS settlement with Trump to try to ease his emotional distress over his seeming loss in Iran? 

Tom Nichols: There’s Something Wrong with the President

<div>Tim Miller and guests discuss the latest political news for the flagship podcast of the Never Trump movement and the reality-based community. Every weekday we provide insightful analysis, political hot-takes, an unabashed defense of liberal democracy and long-form interviews that cut through the "both-sides" BS. Plus a few laughs to help you wash down the crazy.<br>
<br>
Bulwark+ members can get a totally ad-free version of the show delivered right to their favorite podcast player.</div>


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