Chapter 1: What are the implications of Trump's 'Board of Peace'?
Hello and welcome to the Bulwark Podcast. I'm your host, Tim Miller. Delighted to welcome back a veteran political strategist of McCain, Schwarzenegger, Romney, Jeb, and many others. He's a co-host of Hacks on Tap, co-director of the Center for Political Future at USC. He runs the American EV Jobs Alliance, and he's coming at us. coming to us, rather, from Equality Inn in Fresno or Bakersfield.
It's Mike Murphy.
Well, don't tell him, Tim. I'm on the run from the Trump Peace Committee. It looked like a War Crimes Rico case when I saw who he's lined up for that damn thing. But yeah, I'm moving quick here.
Are the blinds drawn there in that motel?
I am so far off the grid, there's no grid. But anyway, it's great to be on a fantastic podcast. Good to see you, pal.
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Chapter 2: How does Mike Murphy assess Trump's foreign policy adventures?
Man, good to have you back. I just noticed this is by accident. We do this every five months. I went to look at our old Murphy interviews. It's like five months ago, 10 months ago. So, you know, we have a little every, you know, almost half year we have a little date. I guess I just kind of want to hear you cook in general on Trump's Davos performance, kind of the whole thing.
I mean, we menaced Greenland and then back down and got nothing. He's, I think, creating an alternate U.N. of only countries that are in the Russian sphere of influence. It's unbelievable.
It just, it's, we're right in, it's strange lovey and you know, no fighting in the war room. Now the board of peace. All right.
Chapter 3: What criticisms does Murphy have about Trump's approach to the auto industry?
You guys wash the blood off your hands and report to the photo op.
I was doing some research on some of the countries. I didn't know a whole lot. I was like, what's happening in Uzbekistan lately. And it seems like human rights violations is what's happening there.
And in most of the countries that are on the board of peace, but this is a very old poll for your senior citizen, uh, but there used to be a fantastic political cartoonist named, uh, Jeff McNally for the Chicago trip. And in the Carter era, he did all these great UN cartoons. And he was kind of a conservative. And he'd draw the UN as this rogues gallery of guys with a frying pan on their head.
And that's what came to mind when I saw these jokers, you know, the whole thing.
Did you see the Turkish minister that kind of looked like Hitler?
Yeah.
That was fine.
I think he shops at Bogino Menswear, which is a hot new Trumpian outlet for that kind of Hugo Boss, you know, take over the Polish ghetto outfit.
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Chapter 4: What does Mike Murphy think about the Democrats' recent DHS funding vote?
So the old record for astonished, cynical foreign leader watching a semi... idiot American president at international gathering was George Clemenceau, the tiger of France, who said he wanted to be buried standing up facing Germany. Anyway, he sat there with a million casualties after World War I, listening to Woodrow Wilson, 14 points of, you know, blah, blah.
And he turned over to Lloyd George from Britain and said, you know, Jesus Christ only had 10. Well, that has now been surpassed by what I think all the foreign leaders were saying in a wonderful orchestra of different language, which is what the fuck? Because we now have the superpower that they rely on, the metronome beat of Western democracy run by a crackpot, egomaniac child.
I'm sure they all had to go like take a double whiskey and get a dentist or a bit lip when they're just listening to this lunatic. But it's dangerous. I was over there right after Trump first got elected in Europe and A couple of, you know, big, rich guys had hired Erskine Bowles and I to do a little presentation on what's what.
And they say, don't you guys understand you're the orchestra conductor? And when you like take the baton and like, you know, stick it in your head, screws up the whole damn thing for all of us. And the bad guys went. So, yeah, we're living a nightmare right now.
Chapter 5: How does Gavin Newsom's strategy impact his political future?
It's got a shot clock on it, but it's a nightmare.
it's the tiniest silver lining of the board of peace for me is that shot clock. It does seem like he is positioning himself to be, you know, kind of head of the new world order after he leaves, which is nice. Like I wanted, I want him to have an exit plan. I don't think this is great for the world. Um, you know, cause the charter of this thing has him having veto power over everything.
But, um, the fact that he seems to be eyeing, uh, you know, some kind of position for himself in his 80s, you know, kind of an honorarium. That's nice. It'll be a Bond movie.
They'll have an island with guys with burp guns and orange jumpsuits driving around on golf carts underground and he'll have a master plan. You know, the other thing is...
Anything.
I said, let's steal in the old Al Franken seniors in space bit. Let's tell him we build a Death Star for him and just put him into space one way and figure it out later.
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Chapter 6: What are the potential consequences of Trump's influence on the Republican Party?
The whole thing is just so sick. I do think if you look beyond the cartoon optics of the Board of Peace, I mean, the big idea, other than flatter Trump's ego and he can wear medals, is now they own Gaza. Who wants to own Gaza? What are we going to do, put American boots on the ground in Gaza? We'll make Vietnam look like a Sunday school picnic.
So on every level, it's not only just evil and egotistical and corrupt, it's relentlessly stupid. And that often is kind of the real logline on this Trump stuff. It's either greed or stupid greed.
What do you make of the Carney kind of speech about the rupture? And, you know, I think that's related to this kind of that there's a shot clock on it. But by the time the shot clock expires, I guess, are things going to be too far gone? Do you think that there's a permanent reorientation or do you think that's a little bit of bluster or, you know, we muddle through and see what happens?
Yeah, it's a great question. I think there's going to be permanent damage. And the next president who might have read a book is going to have a lot to dig out of.
Chapter 7: How does the conversation address the California wealth tax proposal?
But the Europeans are going to want them to dig out of it. We're key to their jam, so to speak. The problem is in the short term, if you're the Germans, you've got two choices. Get close to the Chinese or the Russians, which is even worse. And meanwhile, quietly developed the capacity to have an atomic bomb because that's the insurance policy and the world goes crazy.
And that's true of about 20 countries now. So there's going to be a lot of damage. But ultimately, the Atlantic alliance is such a naturally beautiful and smart thing. I think it'll come back together, but it's going to have dents and dings. It's going to cost us. I mean, we'll be cleaning up Trump horseshit all over geopolitics, the economy, everywhere else.
You know, some of the appointees thought works for a while. That was an avoidable tragedy. But here we are. And of course, we have a gutless parliament of my beloved former party, the Republicans.
Chapter 8: What insights does Murphy provide on the state of American politics?
You know, we don't ask these guys to land on Anzio Beach just to defend the Constitution. That appears to be way too much for them.
I hate this question to ask you because I get it every time I go anywhere and it's like, you know, what more is there to say about these guys? But it is pretty striking that even, you know, the Dan Crenshaw's, the Marco Rubio's, the people that seem to have a genuine view about the value of American strength in the world and the value of, you know, democracy, promotion and all that.
Everybody is fully on board with this program. It's hard to understand why. Maybe they just kind of they've deluded themselves into thinking that there aren't any real consequences of Trump's words. And I don't know. How do you explain it?
You know, I call it the no better caucus. And they deserve a special hot seat when we have the Home Improvement Commission hearings afterward. I mean, it is unbelievable. I mean, take Marco Rubio. I've known Marco a long time. I was one of his first donors when he ran in the primary for U.S. Senate.
And can Marco watch this ICE stuff and not remember that his dad ran away from thugs like that with nothing to America to be free and broke his back as a bartender his whole life? Marco used to tell that story when he needed your vote. I wonder about the quiet moments of Marco even has any anymore when he remembers some of that. He used to be On the right side of it.
So, yeah, a huge puzzle to me, too. I guess those cheap haircuts in the house barbershop are really excellent. I think there is going to be a little forward bump. And I will say my expectations now creep along the floor. But as we pass filing deadlines, I think there's going to be a little bit.
I won't call it bravery potion, but you're going to see some of them, when they're outside of a primary threat, kind of scuttle off to the high grass a little and try to get a little distance from Trump, particularly in the House, where they're looking at a massacre. But that's self-preservation just of another flavor, just like they're sucking up to Trump, most of them.
Now, privately, they're all, you know, everybody's a patriot, but we're going to wait till the Americans come. Then we're going to hit the streets and get those Germans out of Paris. The Vichy Republican Party, unfortunately.
One more just thing on his performance over there. And some of this, right, is speculative, right? It's like, feels like there's going to be some damage when it comes to us, you know, alienating our allies. But there is also substantive things happening in which he has deviated from more traditional orthodoxy. Ukraine, for starters, right, where they're now going through this freezing winter.
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