The Splintering MAGA Media Rage Machine

The Splintering MAGA Media Rage Machine

Will Sommers, author of The Bulwark's "False Flag" newsletter, sits down with Tommy to talk about the MAGA media world — including the right-wing personalities who may be considering a political future (Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens), those whose influence is crumbling (Ben Shapiro), and some of the most troubling — and strangest — rising voices. Tommy and Will then break down the ways some of MAGA's leading voices are abandoning the president, what their world will look like and whether it can even survive in a post-Trump future.

Trump's Versailles on the Potomac

President Trump announces yet another D.C. construction project — a renovation to the Lincoln Memorial dubbed "The Trump Promenade" — as well as the nominations of his former personal lawyer Todd Blanche for Attorney General and shitposter-turned-FHA Administrator Bill Pulte for acting Director of National Intelligence. Alex Wagner joins Jon Favreau to discuss the latest, including California's torturously slow primary tallies, new allegations against presumptive Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner, and Scott Pelley's dramatic last stand at CBS's "60 Minutes." Then, Jon reveals how he was accidentally invited to the UFC fight on the White House lawn. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/X89jFJfcD1M]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date

Trump and Pod Save America Agree: JD Is Lame

Donald Trump thinks JD Vance is a bit of a loser and he's worried he may not be presidential enough to be the 2028 Republican nominee, according to The New York Times. After a series of court losses, the White House signals that it's about to ditch its $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund." Trump is reportedly "getting very bored" with the Iran negotiations. Democratic voters head to the polls to decide a series of contentious primaries in California and Iowa. Then, Senator Andy Kim talks to Jon about the atrocious conditions at Newark's Delaney Hall Detention Center. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/2WkIHp8Fmjg]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

What Does it Mean to Be an American?

Jon sits down with our own Ben Rhodes to talk about how American leaders tell the story of who we are — and who they think we should be — through the speeches they give. The two go through the seminal speeches Ben selected for his new book "All We Say," discussing their power for good (Frederic Douglass on human rights) and evil (Alexander Stephenson on the "moral truth" of white supremacy), and their own memories of writing presidential addresses for Barack Obama when the stakes were highest. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/IbO21T_-Duo]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

Is It Gay to Flip Texas?

After Ken Paxton's victory in the Texas Senate Republican primary runoff, the MAGA faithful set their sights on James Talarico, attempting to disqualify him for being too much of a beta male for Texas. Will it stick? The White House is on the verge of getting Iran to the table to negotiate, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismisses concerns that the U.S. economy is heading toward stagflation, and Trump accelerates his quest to stamp his image on Washington, covering statues in gold and attempting to create a $250 bill with his own face on it. On the presidential family front: ProPublica reports that the administration funneled millions to a company owned in part by Donald Trump Jr., while Dr. Jill Biden finally speaks candidly about her reaction to her husband's infamous 2024 debate performance. Then, Scott Colom, the Democratic nominee for Mississippi's U.S. Senate seat, stops by the studio to talk to Jon about why he believes the deep-red state is in play. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/rVydkslzee0]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.