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Hello and welcome to the bulwark podcast. I'm your host Tim Miller. We have a double header today. In segment two, I'm going to play the interview I did yesterday on a substack live with Corrine Jean-Pierre. She's got a new bookout called Independent. It gets a little spicy. So stick around for that. But first, one of our faves is back. He's a contributing editor at New Lines Magazine and a reporter for the Insider, a Russia-focused media outlet. He's got a substack called Foreign Office. He's written some books. It's Michael Ice. What's up, man? Hey, man. Good to see you. Good to see you, too. Are the birds? The government shutdown. The birds are silenced. The birds are silenced. I told Katie, don't worry.

It sounds menacing when I say it like that. The birds have been silenced, but no, they're not squawking. Crows have been silenced. Murder on the dance floor. Exactly. Yeah. Happy government shut down. The TSA situation is getting bleaker and bleaker in New Orleans. I don't know. I don't know about everywhere else. So we'll see how long it lasts.

But not as bleak as the east wing of the White House. Jeez. What did you think about that? Just a little bit on the nose for symbolism. Yeah, bit on the nose for symbolism, I'd say. You know. He said he wasn't going to destroy anything, but there you go. I can't wait to see this ballroom.

Christ.

It's going to be like the Overlook Hotel.

What is the view from abroad?

What do you think the diplomats are thinking about the wrecking ball going through the White House?

It's a little ominous.

Yeah, I think they probably would have reckoned it be the Russians or the Chinese to do something like that at this stage.

The Brits are kind of like probably feeling a slight twinge of jealousy that they don't get to do it again because they were the last ones to do it.

And, you know, I mean, apparently now we're just giving away real estate to people who speak the language of the metropole.

So I guess we can all rejoin the United Kingdom

if Donbos is going to Russia, right? Like them's the rules. I don't make them. I just repeat them.

So maybe it's time to rejoin the United Kingdom. Nice transition. Speaking of the rules,

the state of play in Russia. Trump is so schizophrenic on this.

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