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Trump Made an Insane Bet on a Risky War (w/ Derek Thompson) | The Bulwark Podcast

2026-03-05 News & Politics
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Description

Not only is Trump failing to provide any clarity on why the United States went to war against Iran, the administration is also sticking to its habit of declaring an emergency based on some arcane legal provision that supposedly gives the executive branch the power to do whatever it wants. It's almost as though the American legal system can justify authoritarianism if a lawyer can dig deep enough. And Anthropic is currently feeling the sting of this monarchical-style power grab. Meanwhile, the tech overlords wanted free rein on AI under Trump, but they got a Maoist approach instead. Plus, Mamdani's embrace of abundance, the movie industry's troubles, and how parents fall in love with their children. Derek Thompson joins Tim Miller. Go to https://helixsleep.com/thebulwark for 27% Off Sitewide. Your emotional wellbeing matters. Find support and feel lighter in therapy.  Sign up and get 10% off at https://BetterHelp.com/THEBULWARK Show Notes: Derek's interview with Karim Sadjadpour on the "Plain English" pod: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-four-ways-that-the-iran-war-could-end/id1594471023?i=1000752864357 Derek's Substack: https://www.derekthompson.org/ Tickets for our LIVE show in Austin on March 19: http://thebulwark.com/Events Become a Bulwark Youtube Plus Member here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG4Hp1KbGw4e02N7FpPXDgQ/join

Top Comments (10)

@Carole-l1n 2026-03-05

Trump doesn’t care about democracy in the US. Do you think he really cares about democracy around the rest of the world.

198 7 replies
@anniehubbard5315 2026-03-06

Didn't y'all read Project 2025? For fucksakes, it was laid out.

152 16 replies
@petersapienza697 2026-03-05

I think the country is dangerously close to finding out what he was doing with young girls and children

138 10 replies
@Clarkssman 2026-03-06

When Derek said that Trump thought he could send in some drones then "poof, a democracy" I had to do a double take. Dump does not want a democracy anywhere. He wants a dictator that will help him become wealthier.

110 1 replies
@MrNiceNSmooth 2026-03-06

I know everyone hates comparisons to weimar germany but one of the key precursors to the rise of Nazism was the normalization of the government using emergency powers to get its way.

57 2 replies
@alainnbailey5608 2026-03-06

These people are venture capitalists. They are not tech geniuses. They use the glamor of tech to make themselves into something they are not. They invented nothing, they just threw huge amount of money to consolidate the innovation with their businesses.

52 3 replies
@stevendurrant1724 2026-03-05

Anyone who thinks only 6 ‘suckers and losers’ have died probably believe infrastructure week and a healthcare plan are just around the corner.

51 8 replies
@tcov22 2026-03-06

The desire of Congress to take no responsibility for solving problems and instead cede power to the Executive is at the root of much of this. In my opinion, Congress should reserve powers in general and hand off power to the Executive only in specific circumstances and times. Congress can and should reverse this situation.

51 1 replies
@contentconnects 2026-03-06

Americans fail to acknowledge that the U.S. is the most violent country in the world -- at home and abroad. Why?

27 4 replies
@caroldunlevy8033 2026-03-06

We have zero idea how many Americans died.

14

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