S2 Ep1010: Bill Kristol: Stiffen Your Spines, Democrats
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Who is Bill Kristol and what is the focus of today's discussion?
Hello and welcome to the Bulwark Podcast. I'm your host, Tim Miller. We got a proper Louisiana thunderstorm brewing outside my window. So, you know, if you get a little audio accompaniment of some thunderous noises, well, I think that's just appropriate for all the storm clouds we got on the horizon that we will be discussing here at the show. It's Monday, so of course... He's editor-at-large of The Bulwark and author of our Morning Shots newsletter. It's Bill Kristol. How are you doing, Bill?
Fine, Tim. And if we lose Tim, I'll just talk. It'll be no problem at all. It'll be one of the greatest Tim Miller podcasts, actually.
A Kristol monologue. I had many people bragging about Bill Kristol Mondays at the New Orleans Book Festival this weekend. It was nice to see folks at the New Orleans Book Festival. If you thought you were going to get demoted, I don't think it's happening. I think we are stuck with each other. Did you sell a lot of books at the New Orleans Book Festival? Actually, no, because they sold me out very quick, which was nice. I don't think that our mutual friend, Mayor Landrieu, Mrs. Landrieu, the Isaacsons, they didn't realize what they... what they had with me as far as book sales is concerned.
You know, it takes a while. The locals are the last to kind of catch up to true celebrity. You know, they still think that former Mayor Landrieu is kind of a more important person than Tim Miller in New Orleans, but they'll learn soon.
That is true. I would not try to outshine the Landrieus. Okay. Much, much, much to discuss. I'm kind of reluctant to have this as the first topic, but I think that we should do it in the right context. And that is that Donald Trump was on a call with Kristen Welker I mean, the press over the weekend where he started talking about the idea that he would run for a third term.
Is Donald Trump considering a third term?
A lot of people want me to do it, he said. But I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go. You know, it's very early in the administration. When asked to follow up about whether he wanted to do it, he responded, I like working. I'm not joking. It's far too early to think about it. He goes on to say there are a couple of options, including running as VP and then having the president resign. I think it's important when talking about this to say this is not legal and not going to happen, unless he wants to attempt a military coup. But it is noteworthy that he is openly talking about this without real pushback from within his own kind of party, actually the opposite. Without any pushback, right?
As a single Republican popped up to say, gee, that's not such a great idea. You know, the Constitution says otherwise, but that would be too much to ask. I don't have, I mean, I assume he won't, but I don't know. We've assumed he wouldn't do other things. He loves power. He loves being president. It does show a certain lack of confidence in his vice president, I would say. I'm a little sensitive to these things. I've been a vice presidential chief of staff, and occasionally there was a little lack of confidence that people thought. And Vice President Quayle from top Bush people. And if I were J.D. Vance's chief of staff, I'd be like, shouldn't he be saying in answer to this that, of course not.
I have a great air all teed up and ready to continue to advance the Trump agenda. But somehow that answer did not come to his mind.
No. It's worth noting just for the facts, if you're talking to your MAGA pal down at the bar. The 12th Amendment says clearly you can't be vice president if you're ineligible to be president. And the 22nd Amendment obviously has the term limits. So it's right there, plain text. So even the VP plan, which is the cutesy version of doing it, doesn't really work. I mean, it's like... My friend JJ McCullough tweeted, it's like, well, could this plan work for a five-year-old or a five-year-old runs as named VP and then the person resigns? Like, obviously not. So to me, the interesting side of this is part of this is him trying to stave off the lame duck element. And part of it is the fact that, you know, all things being equal, he would want to stay.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
Who is Bill Kristol and what is the focus of today's discussion?
0:08–1:51
2
Is Donald Trump considering a third term?
1:51–8:24
3
What is Elon Musk doing in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race?
8:24–15:45
4
Why are deportations to El Salvador causing controversy?
15:45–29:08
5
What is Joe Rogan's stance on the Venezuelan deportations?
29:08–34:08
6
Why are Democrats hesitant to address the deportation issue?
34:08–48:28
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from The Bulwark Daily
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Bill Kristol: A Blue Wave vs. the Toxic Red Tide
David French: MAGA Is Making America Less Free