S6 Ep38: America's 'House of Cards' Mentality (with David Frum)

The Focus Group Podcast

The Bulwark

News, Society & Culture, Politics

4.8 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 2 May 2026

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Usually, an assassination attempt outside a dinner with the president would be a HUGE news event. Instead, the voters in our focus groups weren't talking much about it, and when we brought it up, we heard a LOT of conspiracy theories. We also talked to some Republican voters about whether '86' is really a violent threat, as this week's indictment against James Comey alleges. Atlantic staff writer David Frum joins Sarah for a wide-ranging conversation on the week's events, voters' reactions, and keeping American democracy strong for the long haul.

By David’s wife, Danielle Crittenden: Dispatches from Grief: A Mother’s Journey Through the Unthinkable

By David Frum:
The David Frum Show
MAGA’s Strange Quiet After the Shooting

Get tickets to The Bulwark's May live shows in San Diego and Los Angeles!

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Indeed presents.
0:01.9	Hires, you can't afford to get wrong. Like payroll manager. Hi, I was just checking my pay slip and it's all in Japanese yen. Yes, you're welcome. Sorry? Given the exchange rate between the pound and the yen, you're technically a millionaire now. Don't spend it all in one place. I can't really spend it anywhere. This is a job for sponsored jobs. This is what happens when you don't sponsor your job on Indeed.
0:21.5	So the next time you need someone to get the job done right,
0:23.8	get matched with quality candidates with an Indeed sponsored job.
0:26.8	Visit Indeed.com slash next hire and sponsor your job today.
0:30.2	I'm interested in this idea that conspiracy is the price we pay
0:34.6	for getting smarter about stuff.
0:37.2	I'm going to think about, I will be haunted by that
0:38.8	statement. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Focus Group podcast. I'm Sarah Longwell,
0:47.0	publisher of the bulwark. And this week, we are going to grapple with a couple of news events
0:52.7	that have rocked Washington. First, there was the shooting
0:56.7	outside the ballroom where the White House Correspondence Dinner was being held this past weekend,
1:02.2	and I think the way our focus groups have processed this event says a lot about the state of
1:08.7	our information environment right now. Second, this week,
1:12.5	former FBI director James Comey was also indicted for posting seashells reading 8647 on Instagram,
1:21.4	which some, including the Department of Justice, says was a violent threat against the president.
1:30.1	Others, including some of the Trump voters we talked to, say 86 is a common slang word, often used in restaurants. We'll get into more of that.
1:38.1	Before I bring in my guest, go get your tickets for our live shows in San Diego in Los Angeles.
1:41.8	On May 20th and 21st, I'll be there with Tim Miller and Sam Stein and some extra friends. Go to the bulwark.com slash events to get your tickets right now. My guest today is the great, the good, the awesome David Frum, staff writer for the Atlantic, host of the David From podcast. David, my friend, thanks for being here. It's always such a pleasure to talk to you. Yeah, you're one of the best people to talk to.
2:02.2	I'm going to start this with a bit of a level-setting conversation because as we process
2:06.8	political violence in the various ways in which it's currently percolating, you have this
2:12.8	description of your podcast, which is, it says, to defend democracy, one has to believe in it.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Bulwark, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Bulwark and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.