America Looks Weak Right Now (w/ Bill Kristol) | The Bulwark Podcast

Trump is a terrible president, and he deserves to be criticized, even in personal terms. Our pro-democracy movement has shown time and time again that we can oppose him—and oppose any attempt at violence at the same time. Even putting aside POTUS's own hypocritical calls for violence or his celebrating the deaths of his enemies, Saturday's shooting was related to mental health issues and too easy of access to guns. Plus, Zelensky is the new leader of the free world, Trump looks like he's headed to a humiliating defeat in Iran, the left should work harder to not be false flag cranks, and a look at the Senate map in the context of America Firsters feeling betrayed by Trump's stupid wars and his attempt to redesign D.C. in his image. Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller. Listeners to our show get 20% OFF their first purchase when using the code THEBULWARK at checkout at https://fastgrowingtrees.com/thebulwark use code THEBULWARK Get 60% off your first order, plus free shipping and free treats for life, when you head to https://Smalls.com/THEBULWARK Show Notes: Monday's "Morning Shots": https://open.substack.com/pub/thebulwark/p/no-violence-no-demagoguery-no-kings-trump-white-house-correspondents-dinner-attack-shooting-fisa-dhs-ice-border-patrol-filibuster?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web Ken Klippenstein's reporting on the shooting suspect that Tim referenced: https://open.substack.com/pub/kenklippenstein/p/assassin-wasnt-on-fbis-radar-sources?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web David French on Zelensky: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/26/opinion/zelensky-ukraine-trump-nato-leader.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eFA.bANs.aPDRa7IjqvW_&smid=url-share Tickets for our Bulwark Live shows in San Diego and LA in May: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bulwark-events Chapters: 00:00:17 White House Dinner Incident And Reaction 00:02:15 Nonviolence And The No Kings Movement 00:04:09 GOP Response And Policy Opportunism 00:04:58 Trump Ballroom And Authoritarian Impulse 00:07:44 Why The Press Dinner Still Happens 00:10:27 Ad Break - Smalls Cat Food 00:12:17 Rhetoric vs Violence Debate 00:15:25 False Flag Conspiracies Debunked 00:20:31 Iran War Update And Strategy 00:26:36 Ad Break - Fast Growing Trees 00:30:01 Economic Costs And Global Fallout 00:30:20 Zelensky And Global Leadership Shift 00:33:15 Trump Political Decline And Polling 00:44:08 Senate Map And 2026 Outlook Become a Bulwark Youtube Plus Member here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG4Hp1KbGw4e02N7FpPXDgQ/join