Bonus Episode! Trump's Autocratic Agenda (w/Eric Cortellessa) | Bulwark Podcast

Eric Cortellessa joins Tim to discuss Trump's frightening plans for a second term -- election-denying loyalists, massive deportation operations, and state-level monitoring of women's pregnancies.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:55 - Eric Cortellessa’s Experience Interviewing Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago
3:45 - Trump’s Plans to Remove Guard Rails in Next Presidency
8:46 - Trump’s Extreme Immigration Agenda
10:54 - Is it Necessary to Call Trump “Sir”?
11:43 - Trump’s Plans for Monitoring Abortions
15:33 - Trump’s Feelings About Bibi Netanyahu
Send your mailbag questions here: [e-mail]
Join Sarah, Tim and JVL for a Bulwark Live event in Philly on May 1 and May 15 in D.C. with the George Conway. For information and tickets head to TheBulwark.com/events
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The Bulwark Podcast: Tim Miller and guests discuss the latest news from inside Washington and around the world. No shouting, grandstanding, or sloganeering. Conservative, conscientious, and civil.
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[@raymaiorana9514]

More reason why he should never step foot in the White House again!!!

[@luminyam6145]

"He's a smart man" no, he is cunning, there is a difference.

[@sawtooth808]

Clementine Caligula is like Dennis Hopper from Speed, he’s crazy…not stupid.

[@matttel]

Tim, I share this in hopes it’s a glimmer. I stopped over by my folks whom generally vote Republican. A few of their passing comments were about the trial that trump is in and how he needs to be punished, overall & especially to quote my mom “he won’t shut up”

[@debrasmith4675]

The people of the USA owe this reporter Eric Cortellessa a huge debt of gratitude. He got it straight from the guy’s own mouth.

[@bbybap4729]

This is if anyone is going to listen. If nobody votes, the minority of people who support him, will decide our fate. I am so nervous, and this article didn’t help

[@maryhalverson5713]

It's just a shame that mainstream writers didn't dissect the DNC's craven attacks against Sanders. If the will of the people hadn't been derailed at the primary level, Sanders would have won and Trump wouldn't be on our radar.

[@yvonneplant9434]

The Time report virtually explains most of what's in Project 2025.

[@yvonneplant9434]

​They aren't going to look at Project 2025. So this Time report is timely.

[@bbybap4729]

@@yvonneplant9434 I hope so.

[@norwegianzound]

Calling him, Sir. He doesn't deserve it.

[@TribalGuitars]

It does sucker him into opening his mouth, though. That being said, Cortellessa comes off as entirely too enamored with Trump. I didn't hear him throwing up red-flags about what Trump was saying.

[@lioness1575]

It is like reading "Mein Kampf" AND history books on WW2 - but ignoring everything (just a book?) and still having confidence in Trump. How can so many millions still look up to him? Blue November - is the only chance!💙💙

[@mistiecantey1]

What I found so frightening was his intention to take over Democratic cities in Blue States. What exactly is his position on States’ Rights?

[@yvonneplant9434]

Ll

[@yvonneplant9434]

They agree with everything he thinks and says.

[@sandraavalos5724]

Right? Now we know how the citizens of Germany allowed Hitler to happen.

[@knottybead4871]

Imagine the control the government would have to have over a woman to know when she gets pregnant. Think about that.

[@arcticgoddess]

Brett Kavanaugh was in favor of Immigration officials keeping Excel spreadsheets of Immigrant women and their pregnancies to deny them abortions. The story was on Maddow around 2018 and was part of the backlash of women who were against his nomination.

[@robinantonio8870]

Even more scary if they want to restrict birth control. All a woman can do is leave that state , not have sex, or carry to protect yourself from unwanted sex. And I can't believe lots of men want to pay child support for accidental offspring.

[@eshel1954]

Define the word "smart". Trump is media savvy.....not smart, not wise, not intelligent.

[@Mela_nine29]

Dude lost me at Trump is smart 😬

[@MH-js5eg]

You don’t have to keep calling him, sir while you’re doing this interview. There’s a difference between being smart or devious and conniving.

[@viewer12319]

Goodness. Cortellessa says, at 14.51, "Look, [Trump's] a really smart guy." And Tim was expressionless, which is impressive. Cortellessa also did an in-depth, analytic interview and was not sugarcoating Trump's plan, so he wasn't exactly flattering Trump at other moments. So he must believe in this smartness- and also that he insists on calling T "sir." He got some important information- including a pretty full description of the horrors Trump intends for his second term. Maybe Cortellessa's being strategic so as to land follow-up interviews.

[@anneporter123]

Stunning evaluation of the Dumpster.

[@ttacking_you]

Idk if I'd let him back on? That's a credibility destroying statement

[@eschwarz1003]

IKR I lost all respect for anything that guy thinks or says after that

[@strugglemonkey]

Definitely some brown nosing vibes.

[@delta5297]

Trump's not stupid. He's evil, but not stupid.

[@steve-real]

Trump reminds me of the infamous Perón from Argentina, especially his policies, which tanked the Argentinian economy for decades.

[@lhoward9593]

Deporting 11 million undocumented workers will definitely tank our economy as will his loading our civil service with loyalists who don't have any qualifications. And a 10% tariff - Americans will _love_ the resulting inflation. What a nightmare a 2nd Trump term would be.

[@-Gramps]

Tim, SIR, I believe that your guest was a bit star struck by the presence of the *former* president. I read his article in Time Magazine, & IMHO, it was obvious that he was willing to pull (obvious) questions in order to get the interview. I believe it probable that his questions were pre-screened. Obviously, it worked out for him, but I didn’t walk away feeling any more informed-by the magazine piece- in regard to any Trump *policy proposals* than I’ve gained from CNN news clips. I wanted you to push him harder, but finally decided, what would be the point? Thanks!

[@abortretryfail9350]

I give you credit for reading it, in my humble opinion, virtually any piece written about trump has, of necessity, to basically be a puff piece, because he's unlikely to sit for anything else. Interviewing him at all at this juncture, smacks of complicity to me....

[@ttacking_you]

Oh shit! THIS is the guy who calls asshole "sir!"

[@blaisemacpherson7637]

Tears rolling down his face

[@laurahavranek9422]

Prisoners choir of “patriots” singing The National Anthem makes me 🤮

[@anneporter123]

Hmmmmm I wanna barf.

[@delta5297]

Real patriots vote for the Democrats.

[@DennisMoore664]

Their hypocrisy knows no bounds nor limits.

[@kated3165]

I mean... its not like its HIS master plan. He says what he wants, and the people around him work to make it happen. We are talking about the guy who constantly brags about passing a cognitive test, and goes on about how ''hard'' it was because he had to remember 5 animals... What he does have is instinct and the ability to read a room and con people by telling them what he knows they want to hear so he can manipulate them into getting what he wants from them. That's not much of a surprise though, as narc.issists pretty much do only that of their lives... he has had some practice! Narcs are extremely vulnerable to flattery and shmoozing, so pretend like you're impressed by him and he's likely to sing like a canary about anything you want.

[@lindaflesch7303]

Chilling...

[@pugmom1958]

Imagine the state monitoring your pregnancy.

[@mireillelebeau2513]

Eric Cortellessa should read Trump's meeting with David Cay Johnston. Johnston wrote that Trump said he knows everything about Casino's business. But when the journalist said a stupid thing about Casino's business to test Trump's understanding, Donnie just agreed with him.

[@dlcs1406]

Great job Eric and thank you for publishing unbiased

[@KatySueWho]

Remember during Covid how he kept saying that the States had to get their own supplies of PPE & ventilators & tests? Remember how he made sure that the red states with high electoral votes were getting their orders filled, & even getting more than they requested, but blue states & red states with low electoral votes were getting shafted? I definitely remember, as I live in Utah. One governor was forced to secretly buy supplies from a different country for his constituents! Not mine, it was in the New England area I think. All of the “The states will make those decisions” rhetoric on abortion reminds me of 2020 when he used to say “The states are running their Covid responses.” It’s just his way of saying “I have no idea how to handle this, so I’m going to delegate it so I don’t accidentally screw the pooch in front of everybody & display my incompetence to the people.”

[@maryhalverson5713]

To be fair, every political player at the time was confused by all the bamboozling going on, and those ventilators you referred to ended up being deadlier than the "disease."

[@robynnordstrom7799]

Directly from the reporter’s transcript: “So last follow-up: The Biden Administration created the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, a permanent office in the executive branch tasked with preparing for epidemics that have not yet emerged. You disbanded a similar office in 2018 that Obama had created. Would you disband Biden's office, too? Trump: Well, he wants to spend a lot of money on something that you don't know if it's gonna be 100 years or 50 years or 25 years. And it's just a way of giving out pork. And, yeah, I probably would, because I think we've learned a lot and we can mobilize, you know, we can mobilize. A lot of the things that you do and a lot of the equipment that you buy is obsolete when you get hit with something. And as far as medicines, you know, these medicines are very different depending on what strains, depending on what type of flu or virus it may be. You know, things change so much. So, yeah, I think I would. It doesn't mean that we're not watching out for it all the time. But it's very hard to predict what's coming because there are a lot of variations of these pandemics. I mean, the variations are incredible, if you look at it. But we did a great job with the therapeutics. And, again, these therapeutics were specific to this, not for something else. So, no, I think it's just another-I think it sounds good politically, but I think it's a very expensive solution to something that won't work. You have to move quickly when you see it happening.” As the bird flu is now infecting cows and farm workers, this should be terrifying.

[@yvonneplant9434]

​@@maryhalverson5713What? Well at least you're not an antivaxxer.

[@maryhalverson5713]

@@yvonneplant9434 - Like RFKJr and ethical members of the medical community, I have faith in all of the responsibly tested vaccines that have prevented disease, rather than the neweŕ, eugenicist-funded variety that cause foot long blood clots, myocarditis, & cancer.

[@calliew311]

Nah, he's just saying that because of how wildly unpopular the overturn of Roe v Wade, so now he has to say he won't interfere. However, he purposely put pro life judges on the bench, and told us so. This is just so he doesn't have to back down, so he says he's leaving it up to the States.

[@pedro1970maya]

He's going for broke, either prison or tyrant. I don't think he's even making a secret of putting it directly on the table.

[@yvonneplant9434]

Classic psychopath.

[@Beitownit]

Trump plans on criming away, so he'll need all the absolute immunity he can get. Yes, I said criming. 😂

[@precious5663]

Good thing he's going to lose.

[@tommonk7651]

Smart guy, my ass....

[@michaelbonanno7476]

It does take a lot of intelligence to keep track of all the lies. That doesn’t mean he’s a moral person… or even a caring person. I wish people could see that a President doesn’t have to break the law to get things done. But Trump always finds a way - and doesn’t care how he gets it.

[@TribalGuitars]

He can't even keep track of the lie he started at the beginning of a sentence all the way to the end these days.

[@SgtTibbsTX]

CAN YOU IMAGINE MTG as Sec of State? 😮😮😮

[@Dina_Darling]

🤯

[@katherinea.rodgers8366]

🤮

[@anneporter123]

Hahahahahaha Definitely WWIII

[@arcticgoddess]

Horror

[@tommarney1561]

So, being delusional is a job requirement.

[@JamieValero]

My dad, when he was still alive, had a subscription to TIme magazine, and it really is a big deal at that time to be in its covers.

[@yvonneplant9434]

It really used to matter in years past.

[@StacySalles55]

Tim, I would love to be a fly on the wall at Mara Lago. I too am curious.

[@arcticgoddess]

Trump was so obsessed with being on the cover of Time magazine that he framed a fake cover of him on one that was on the wall of Trump tower for 20 years. He would give up a lot to get it.

[@joleree1]

So now Trump is openly spouting Project 2025 talking points

[@bevtaylor5466]

He has been openly talking about those policies in his speeches to his MAGA crowd for quite a while.

[@blaisemacpherson7637]

HOW IS TIM EVERYWHERE AT ONCE

[@brianvanhaaren2713]

He is a force of nature

[@lawrencepinck86]

hey, Adolph was chancellor to f Germany. i guess he deserves to be called “Sir” also.

[@barbaraofferman4245]

Thank you for the insight.

[@davidroberts766]

"A really smart guy." 🤣

[@andiestewart7423]

Trumps plans are truly terrifying. He cannot win! This time we need to cheat “like no one has ever seen before “ 😂😂😂

[@laurahavranek9422]

tRump has to do much better to impress me with the expression that “he’s really smart”.

[@Mykey404]

He may be smart, but he sure is ignorant

[@anneporter123]

Come on now, we know smart is not the adjective for Trump.

[@KatySueWho]

He’s a former employee of the federal government. That’s it. He’s Donald.

[@SublimeWanderers]

I love when this guy said Trump is smarter than some people give him credit for. Well, yeah, he'd have to be. The way he behaves in public would suggest he shouldn't be trusted with safety scissors.

[@klantic2]

Great interview!

[@Philpenes]

Awesome interview Josh will imo be a serious candidate in prez election 2028

[@bobbynichols7202]

Unwilling that he (Trump) lost in 2020 election is beyond poor sportsman ship. It's about his EGO and that is the bases of longing for power over everyone in America.

[@deborahmoore2801]

Also, Eric really shouldn’t have called him “Mr President!” Though I did think Eric did a pretty good job. Reading the transcript was fascinating. TFG got off track a lot, asked for questions to be restated, repeated himself over & over (“states rights”), and spoke mostly in incomplete sentences & unconnected phrases, using partially coherent thoughts.

[@deborahmoore2801]

Tim, please link the interview transcript released by Time.

[@NickGorton]

Tim, this is the 2nd time someone on the bulwark recently made this error: Mifepristone (+Misoprostol) is to terminate 1st trimester pregnancy. The morning after pill is (most commonly) levonorgestrel (though you can use increased dose of different birth control pills for the same purpose). Can you send a memo?

[@donalobrien9422]

Don’t be calling these a-hole politicians sir. No interviewer in my country address anyone as “sir”

[@emerycandy326]

Trumpian obsession. I couldn't have said better myself.

[@lararupp7112]

Great interview (both Times and here) and show!

[@user-os4ed9hd7z]

DJT doesn't think Reps & Dems should work together for the people. He believes it's all or nothing, no compromising at all

[@laurahavranek9422]

I listened earlier but like the video better

[@cynthiaparsley3511]

Oh gosh all I would like to know as a voter is trump “SMART” or “VERY SMART” Eric could you please establish where that intelligence lies? CAUSE I’M NOT SEEIN IT. Congrats on the interview you certainly are a very patient and I would say VERY SMART, that’s the stuff I want to see in my president. Thank you for the piece 👍🏾

[@noahbirch1357]

Seems to be a good read, however, we shouldn't confuse cunning with intelligence. Trump is cunning, but shows very little evidence of intelligence.

[@BrrGrrDelux]

Trump is intelligent? Covfefe. Now, cunning... Intelligence reflects cognitive abilities and knowledge, the former of which is in obvious rapid decline. Rarely a week goes by without President Biden being referred to as Obama, and we're not going to talk about how he may lead us into World War II. The lack of the latter is demonstrated by Trump's appalling ignorance of history and the current world. Trump claimed that Andrew Jackson had strong thoughts about the Civil War - even though he died 16 years before the conflict broke out. Trump claimed that Korea “actually used to be part of China,” (to China's surprise) and that Germany owed “vast sums” to the United States for NATO. (No NATO member pays the United States and never has.) After arriving in Israel from Saudi Arabia, Trump said he had just come from the Middle East. (He'd never seen a map, apparently.) Trump called Xi Jinping the President of the “Republic of China” - which is the island of Taiwan - rather than the leader of the People’s Republic, the Communist mainland. “The sheer scale of his lack of knowledge is what has astounded me-and I had low expectations to begin with,” said David Gordon, the director of the State Department’s policy-planning staff under Condoleezza Rice, during the Bush Administration. Now, cunning... Cunning involves skill in achieving goals through deceit or evasion. Okay, I'll buy that.

[@architypeone8646]

Even if you can't stand Biden, the alternative is unthinkable. People better take Mango Mousellini at his word. Vote blue of the blood is on you.

[@HD46409]

Please God let there be tapes that can be played around September on Biden commercials.

[@JosephHuether]

….and it will all be done while he’s riding around in a golf cart all day and sitting in bed watching TV and rage-Tweeting all night. A new definition of “the American Dream”.

[@cmcordoYT]

What type of smart is Diaper Don, Eric C.? Is he a smart Alec? Is he a smart bully? Sometimes bullies are smart in a way where they know how to intimidate and threaten people. I don't like bullies and they're not actually smart in the normal way of thinking.

[@kimeppenstiner404]

BTW. he’s a CRIMINAL DEFENDENT. The main”take” on this guy is trumps intelligence. FOR GODS SAKE.

[@markdaly1648]

Koch brothers own time magazine

[@bmt-zo1ue]

I wish a journalist would ask DT if he has ever paid/ forced a woman (or girl) to get an abortion. He avoided the question when asked in 2016. (I'm guessing dozens given his behaviour towards women.)

[@TheLoneWanderersBunker]

Do you every have to plan any subscriber meet ups?

[@JamieJobb]

It's so easy to get "out over your skis" in this kind of speculation. I imagine a dictator who is so busy meddling into my life that he must insist on the brand of breakfast cereal I eat every morning. It's so hard figuring out how to tell everyone what to do all the time, ya know what I'm sayin? It makes for a miserable job, I tell ya what. When I did it, I couldn't get past breakfast ... What's a dictator to do with all those subjects awaiting orders?

[@almaslabber5587]

Is Eric giving the same exposure to Biden

[@Babarudra]

wow, that is one big, deep stick he's got.

[@user-os4ed9hd7z]

If DJT wins you will need ID and to fill out a form to get a pregnancy test. Plus he will allow states to start monitoring girls period in middle school

[@philchurch1115]

With his legal battles he will lose..

[@cuthbert2546]

trump isn't smart : he's wiley.

[@hjohnston3534]

Eric’s opinion that defendant trump is smart blows my mind. While I think defendant trump is good at scheming and knows how to read people and push their buttons, but smart? I have a hard time with that. Very good interview, Tim (sir). 😊

[@jamesbutler1831]

You can tell this guy is voting for the Disaster in Chief..."Oooh he's sooo smart"

[@ladycheme1415]

Tim- Do you agree with Eric that TFG is very intelligent? I mean, I had great hope for Eric as a future reporter of truth until he said that....

[@twopawsuphappycampfordogs5866]

He is the smartest crook that we all know. His intelligence has been used to skirt the law, to manipulate people, to get out of doing the right thing, and to serve his own selfish needs. What part of that don’t you get Eric?

[@bevtaylor5466]

If he were the smartest crook, he wouldn’t be sitting in court with losses in civil court cases behind him and more criminal trials to come. A smart crook would never have run for president because of the scrutiny.

[@ttacking_you]

I don't like this guy. I won't be clicking on anymore Bulwark episodes withJoe cortese over here 👎

[@hagancs]

Nothing shocking about it.

[@gregoriancatmonk6904]

My question is who gave him that plan, lets face it Trump is ruthless enough for the plan hes just not smart enough to have made the plan. Who whispered the plan in his ear?

[@markdaly1648]

Nobody buy time magazine anymore.

[@karlahemphill3414]

SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER.

[@TechnoLawyer]

Tim, are you aware that KZbin CONSTANTLY plays Turning Point USA ads during Bulwark vids?

[@user-cz5lj2vx1f]

Trump ads also play before Meidas Touch--which is giving non-stop coverage to TRUMP ON TRIAL.

[@damiannunez416]

💙🧞‍♂️💙

Riffing on Trump's characterization of himself as a "very stable genius", for many years now I have referred to him, in conversations with friends, as "Vum", which stands, of course, for "very unstable moron". (And also relieves me of the discomfort of having to say or speak his name.) Therefore, it was unsettling to hear Eric Cortellessa talk about Vum as being a smart person. If he is smart, that makes him even more dangerous, I fear.

[@kenaustinardenol1338]

Time and time again something comes up which should make Trump look worse and worse as next president. Time and time again it is still a close call. In the financial world countries get a monetary rating based on the health of their economy. I wonder what happens with the US if countries also would get a rating based on the general mental health of its population. The US is not seen in a good light because of the achievements of the current presidents, but seen as bad because of the idiotic behaviour of about half its people. It scares the rest of the world shitless

[@thejp6713]

He's very smart? Like in a Jim Jones kinda way...?

[@louannkyle602]

It would be anarchy we are a rebellious people we aren’t known for sitting and taking it the sleeping giant is a real thing not just a phrase

[@cowgirl1163]

Smart criminal

[@WhittyPics]

Calling Trump "sir" is a stretch

[@Check-it-out]

Hey Eric ! Trump is a smart guy ? Remember the wildfires in California ? Trump: “You should rake those woods”. Covid. Trump: “inject bleach !” Covid. Trump: “Light ? Light is good. We can work with that.” Trump, the man who can change the path of a hurricane with nukes and a sharpie ! No Eric. I would not call him ‘sir’ either…

[@SobriquetF1]

T r 7 mp isn't "threading a needle" on anything. He's a dog who caught the car and freaked right TF out when he and the party realized it's going to cost them the election.

[@majoroaksun]

The unnecessary use of "sir" is incredibly grating - another piss-weak access journalist.

[@justinlinnane8043]

Note to Time Magazine . Don't sent young, immature , ambitious reporters to interview Trump !!

[@kfckillie1]

A plan you say he has a plan, the election, is that the plan. FJB, F Ukraine, F Palestine....🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇮🇪🇬🇧🇺🇸🇮🇱

[@kathytoler9152]

If Trump is smart why does he talk stupid and a lot of hate 🤔

[@thinkitthrough8555]

Trump gets an actual sexual charge out of being called "Sir."

[@louannkyle602]

Trump strategic lol the man can’t think beyond McDonald’s and Diet Coke yeah there are strategies but he ain’t part of it he just likes sitting in the oval with his red button acting like a president not being one

[@blaisemacpherson7637]

Tim Miller isnt real. He is based on an old dutch folktale called Timinmiller people dress up like him all over the world and do podcasts.

[@jessicafalstein]

lol 😂

[@krakhedd]

I'm sorry, as much as I agree w/ his negative impressions, I cannot take anybody seriously who consider Trump to be intelligent or possess any sort of intelligence

[@basketballsteve54]

If you came away from listening to Trump's answers to your questions with the idea that "Trump is a really smart guy" i question if what you did was anything more than stenography.

[@DennisMoore664]

Calling Trump smart and continuing to call him sir all the time outside of the interview - dead giveaway... dead giveaway.

[@chelseyd8599]

Nope nope nope. I love this podcast but you lost me when he said Donald Trump was smart. 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 Pu-lease. Trump has the intelligence of a 5 year old. No offense to 5 year olds.

[@lidelloste3317]

OK. This guest lost all credibility from me on continuing to refer to trump as president whilst referring to the actual president as Joe Biden, calling him sir and saying how smart trump is. He is not

[@colchiandragon7396]

It is shocking and disappointing that Tim lets Eric’s outrageous claim that “Trump is smart” go unchallenged. Shame on Tim.

[@valgehiir]

This host is waste of time, never anything to say, bit he keeps talking