Bill Kristol: Voters Are Realizing Trump Doesn’t Care About Them
The Bulwark Podcast
The Bulwark
4.6 • 11.6K Ratings
🗓️ 18 May 2026
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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.
Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.
show notes
- Monday's "Morning Shots"
- Lauren on how the Dems should respond to an aging Trump's health issues
- Bill's "Bulwark on Sunday" with Rob Flaherty, Kamala's deputy campaign manager
- Start your new morning ritual & get up to 43% off your @MUDWTR with code THEBULWARK at mudwtr.com/THEBULWARK! #mudwtrpod
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the Bullard podcast. I'm your host Tim Miller. It is Monday. So of course, we have editor at large, author of the Morning Sh Shots newsletter, Bill Crystal. Bill, you had some almost optimistic notes in the newsletter this morning, I guess. |
| 0:30.6 | If bad news for Trump is good news for America and the pro-democracy movement. You were focused on the polls, |
| 0:39.0 | but you framed Trump's bad poll numbers up first |
| 0:41.6 | by talking about what's happened down here in Louisiana. |
| 0:43.4 | So let's start there. |
| 0:44.7 | Bill Cassidy finished third in the Senate primary gear. |
| 0:49.4 | I should know quick aside for the Louisiana people. |
| 0:51.5 | Jeff Landry put five ballot initiatives on the ballot, all went |
| 0:56.2 | down. No, no, no, no, no. So I think that's another good sign about where things are politically |
| 1:02.9 | in the country. But Lindsey Graham said over the weekend about Cassidy's loss, if you try to destroy |
| 1:08.2 | President Trump, you're going to lose because this is the party of Donald Trump. And that in itself may be the problem. Talk about what you, |
| 1:15.5 | your little meditation on the newsletter on that. It's just kind of amazing. Isn't it that a Republican |
| 1:20.2 | senator, been in the Senate quite a long time, the House before it. There's only some attachment to |
| 1:25.0 | the broader party, its principles, ran against Trump, obviously in in 2015, 2016, just says it's the party of Trump. |
| 1:31.5 | And it's not saying it regretfully or so sadly or, you know, in a melancholy way. That's just a fact. And you know what politics is about him? |
| 1:40.5 | Politics is about is adjusting to whoever's in power and just sucking up to him |
| 1:45.2 | shamelessly no matter what he does. So Bill Cassidy, I don't know if Lindsay is close to Bill |
| 1:49.8 | Cassidy. They've served together quite a long time. But no regrets. He goes down because he voted |
| 1:55.3 | five years ago to impeach Trump for what he clearly deserved to be impeached for the January 6th insurrection. |
| 2:03.1 | Cassidy, unfortunately, then spent the next five years basically sucking up to Trump, |
| 2:06.8 | so I have limited sympathy for him, honestly, including, of course, the key vote to confirm |
| 2:11.5 | Robert of Kennedy Jr. and before the committee, which I guess Cassidy's chairs, right, |
... |
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