"Some of these are steps that the DNC and its allies took in prior cycles. But what is different now is that no one is treating them as just boxes to check. Nor do they view the threat as theoretical."

"It's so ridiculous on its face, and there's ample history showing he will not give this money to charity, and if he does, it's gonna be like the Donald Trump Presidential Library." @samsteindc.bsky.social and @eggerdc.bsky.social on Trump's interview:

"The deliberate targeting of energy systems to impose suffering on noncombatants...is the context in which the world is supposed to take seriously the notion that a peace process is underway." We can still do something about it.

NEW SHOW ADDED: We added a second live show in Minneapolis on February 18 with @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social, @timmiller.bsky.social, @jvl.bsky.social, @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social and @samsteindc.bsky.social — and it's almost sold out. Get your tickets now: lnk.thebulwark.com/4akCRlf

"Imagine all of those venues and memorials stripped down to steel supports, to be rebuilt by the man who fancies himself the tastemaker for a nation of people who don’t know what good taste is until he foists his vulgar vision upon them. Sorry."

"The oath of scouting emphasizes honor, personal responsibility, service to others, citizenship, moral character, and physical, mental, and ethical development. What in God's name could the secretary of defense find wrong with any of those?" @markhertling.bsky.social and Ben Parker:

"One MAGA figure has dubbed it the 'trad hoe scandal.' Others have said it’s proof you can never trust an 'e-girl.' Many more are starting to suspect that their trad heroes may not be so trad after all." The latest edition of False Flag from @willsommer.bsky.social:

"What is your reaction to Pete Hegseth saying that Bezos is going to do plenty of winning?" "I found it nauseating." @postbaron.bsky.social talks Jeff Bezos, the Washington Post, and more with @timmiller.bsky.social in today's forthcoming Bulwark Podcast!

Back before Minneapolis, Democrats had three political justifications for failing to give the nationwide crackdown on civil liberties the attention it deserved. Now there are none. lnk.thebulwark.com/4ry65nB

Georgia's always on her mind. Just not the right one.

"In my conversations with the party’s top lawyers and strategists, it’s clear that Democrats are doing a lot to try and push back right now." @lauren-egan.bsky.social on defending the integrity of the midterms, in the latest edition of The Opposition: lnk.thebulwark.com/3ZfGgfZ

LIVE now, @samsteindc.bsky.social and @eggerdc.bsky.social react to Trump's latest craziness at the National Prayer Breakfast and his interview with NBC's Tom Llamas: lnk.thebulwark.com/3Ms7P2J

The ongoing campaign against Ukrainian civilians is not leverage for peace; it is evidence against Russia’s desire for it. All the while, Washington’s focus on this critical conflict continues to splinter. @markhertling.bsky.social on the state of Ukraine: lnk.thebulwark.com/3ZjlHPQ

"The center was named and established by Congress in 1964 as a living, permanent memorial—the only one in the nation’s capital—to an assassinated president who had loved the arts." There's nothing he can't wreck. @jilldlawrence.bsky.social on the Kennedy Center: www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-kenn...

"The elections are key. Getting rid of the illegals is good. But the important thing is staying in power. If my numbers keep going down, I’m not sure even we can rig the elections that much" - Trump? Today's Morning Shots from @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social and @eggerdc.bsky.social:

It’s now impossible for Democrats to change the subject from the United States’ descent into authoritarianism, and they shouldn’t want to. Voters do care about the state of our democracy. New from Matt Johnson:

"The free market will not save the Post, because its owner is immune to market signals. Politics will not save the Post, because so long as Republican voters demand authoritarianism, no one can own a media outlet without taking on outsized risk."

Faith the size of a mustard seed might not make landslide elections or congressional majorities. But it might help Democrats get there.

"'If Haitians are deported,' Pastor Carl Ruby says, 'it will set Springfield back fifty years.'"

"Nicolás Maduro and the evil CIA supercomputers" should be a third-string band, not an explanation for how Trump lost Georgia in 2020.

"Evangelical pastor Doug Pagitt of Vote Common Good helped me get a sense for how deeply local churches have been affected by immigration enforcement actions in the city."

The distracted boyfriend meme but it's Tulsi Gabbard looking at "nonexistent election fraud in Georgia the state" instead of "Real election fraud in Georgia the country" lnk.thebulwark.com/4kpR98M

The future of our democracy hasn’t been decided yet. It’s being determined right now, in state capitals, county offices, and courtrooms.

"If I were Stephen Miller, I'd be very unhappy with Trump right now....Trump does have a weakness as a dictator." Robert Kagan joins @timmiller.bsky.social on today's Bulwark Podcast:

"What happened to the Washington Post over the last three years happened for one reason and one reason only: Because Jeff Bezos wanted it to be so. Because he gets off on civic vandalism." lnk.thebulwark.com/4qiJnyH

Nonviolence is moral - and it also puts into stark relief who the bad guys really are.

"Wow. Corporate centrist sellout cuck Andrew Egger just wants things to get a little better for people. You just want things to get better. God." @timmiller.bsky.social and @timmiller.bsky.social:

Tactical success and military power without strategy or a plan should sound familiar, and not in a good way.

"Some of my friends who are highly placed advisers and so forth are saying, well, we'll be able to make a difference in food policy. I don't care, you're still supporting what I believe is ultimately a fascistic regime." @marwilliamson.bsky.social joins @timmiller.bsky.social on today's Bulwark Pod

"There just seem to be very few people that have moral red lines in the elite, people that are just willing to say, no, not for me." Whether it's Saudi Arabia, or Jeffrey Epstein. @timmiller.bsky.social:

"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed Pirro, while Kyle Rittenhouse called for her firing. Pirro recorded a hostage video–like apology on Tuesday, insisting to angry gun owners that she wasn’t talking about *them*."

Llamas: “Scott Bessent is the head of the IRS. Pam Bondi is the head of the DOJ. They're going to defend the IRS against you…Are you going to tell them to pay you? You're the boss.” Trump: “I would tell them to pay me, but I'll give 100% of the money to charity. I don't want any of the money.”

Trump: "I'm starting to get great polls on the economy." Llamas: "The polls on the economy, they're not great."

"'Two of them specifically talked about that in the last days and weeks of their lives, that this is how they wanted to make a difference on earth, by getting this bill passed. This gave them a feeling of purpose.'" It finally did:

Llamas: "If you look at the polls most Americans say they don't like how you've handled immigration…How do you change their minds?" Trump: "I don't believe the polls."

Trump: "It bothers me that somebody is going after Bill Clinton. I still like Bill Clinton."

Llamas: "Why is Tulsi Gabbard there?" Trump: "I don't know, but a lot of the cheating…it's international cheating." Llamas: "You tweeted out some theories about Italians and satellites. Do you believe that stuff?" Trump: “No, I didn't tweet. I sometimes will re-Truth."

"Over the last year the Post has been involved in almost monthly car wrecks." From July 2025! The only question - which has gotten easier to answer since - is whether Jeff Bezos is killing it by accident, or on purpose. @jvl.bsky.social from the archives: lnk.thebulwark.com/3Mb8Bks

"In one year, they destroyed the federal government....We are used to the fact that the Justice Department is now a wholly owned legal service for going after Trump's enemies." Robert Kagan joins @timmiller.bsky.social on today's Bulwark Podcast:

"There’s only one reason why the director of national intelligence would go to the state of Georgia, not the country of Georgia, to investigate purported election violations." That reason has a capital T.

What Speaker Mike Johnson "described as the thing that looks fraudulent is otherwise known as counting votes." @timmiller.bsky.social on the endgame of Johnson's voter-fraud lies:

"The courts remain a crucial backstop, but we cannot rely on courts alone to resist presidential overreach. State and local election officials need our support." It's all hands on deck to safeguard the integrity of our elections.

"'The idea that they want to protect people’s freedom to worship and yet sit outside and specifically target their churches in the sixty days since they’ve been here goes against their argument.'" That's a nicer way to say it than they deserve.

Q: “Does Alex Pretti and his family deserve an apology from the vice president?” Mayor Frey: “I apologize to the family of Alex Pretti because he did not deserve to be killed…That should not have happened at the hands of a government.”

"Unless an institution is explicitly designed to counter authoritarianism, it will end up aiding the authoritarians. Either on purpose, as is happening at the Post and CBS News (more on this in a minute) or by accident." lnk.thebulwark.com/4rnIHc8

Mayor Frey: “The continued presence of 2,000 federal agents in a city that only has 600 police officers is still not de-escalation…The restoration of peace…throughout our city depends on one main thing, which is for ICE to leave.”

"The world of politics had always offered her disappointments. She wasn’t aware of how to respond when it produced a breakthrough." But Congress did an actually good thing: lnk.thebulwark.com/4c9wymS

If a newspaper’s publisher makes a bunch of decisions that lose money, and then the owner keeps the publisher while firing the staff who puts out the paper—none of this is really about the money, is it?

It's worth noting that the Washington Post wasn't utilizing the talent it had, even before it lost them or laid them off. @maxtani.bsky.social joins @jvl.bsky.social and @samsteindc.bsky.social:

If this were a draft story for a political comedy - a national security official who shows no interest in national security, and obsesses over a domestic locality with the same name as a country she's supposed to care about - it would be too on the nose.