Tom Nichols: America's Problem Child

The Bulwark Podcast

The Bulwark

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 8.9K Ratings

🗓️ 29 August 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Trump is like a dysfunctional 8-year-old whose parents are always in the principal's office arguing that their son is a good boy. The media, CEOs, and Wall Street keep giving him a pass for his behavior while his supporters and apologists explain why he just had to set the school on fire. At the same time, he's empowering ideologues behind the scenes who are dismantling the government and executing their policy wet dreams. Plus, Joni Ernst's Senate tenure has been a sham, Vance tries Mickey Mouse Stalinism on for size, and what's going on with the bruising on Trump's right hand? The public has the right to know about the health of a president. Tom Nichols joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.

Tom Nichols joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
show notes

Tom's newsletter installment, "President Homelander"
JVL's Thursday 'Triad'
Tom calling Trump 'unmanly' and Vance an 'ass****'
The film, "The Death of Stalin"
Felicia Schwartz's piece on Steve Witkoff
Tim's playlist
Bulwark Live in DC and NYC at https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bulwark-events. Toronto is SOLD OUT

Transcript

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0:00.0	Building a coffee business?
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0:17.9	Visit sumup.co. UK to learn more.
0:34.6	Hello and welcome to the Bullwark podcast.
1:14.2	I'm your host Tim Miller and boy do we need this guest today because I just, I'm so, I was so mad for Oasis that I felt like I needed to see him one more time. And so I flew to Chicago for the night. And so I'm not at 100% today. I'm just going to be honest with everybody. I'm not at 100. But luckily, we've recruited somebody who hopefully will carry me and who is a skilled podcaster, who you enjoy. He's Professor Emeritus of the Naval War College, staff writer at the Atlantic. His books include The Death of Expertise. It's Tom Nichols. How do you say Tom Nichols in Russian? Well, you know, they would say Tom Nichols, but actually what they would call me is, because my father's name was Nick, the respectful way to address me is Foma Nikolaevich.
1:15.6	Fomo Nikolaevich.
1:16.9	Well, Fomone.
1:18.3	Timofi, Timofevich.
1:19.7	So nice to see you.
1:21.8	So nice to see you.
1:24.2	We're all going to be Russian eventually.
1:26.5	Are you an oasis man, Tom?
1:29.4	You like, you like a radio rock? You like a little radio rock. Dude, I'm 64 years old. Too old for Oasis? They came around when I was already
1:34.6	starting to have to take like statins and stuff. Okay, well, you can still find new joys in old age,
1:40.9	Tom. You don't, you don't only have to listen to music from your, this, that came out
1:45.1	when you were 17, you know, you can expand. I've heard, I know, I've heard Wonderwall and all the greats and I, I know who they are. I just find them to be a little on the light and fizzy side. They're fizzy. And I was busy last night. So here we are. work you
2:00.0	I think we have a new topic.
2:04.1	There were two busy and I was busy last night. So here we are. Oh, I think we have a new topic.
	...

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