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Making Sense with Sam Harris
Making Sense with Sam Harris

#458 — The Bulwark Against MAGA

February 11, 2026

Summary

⏱️ 9 min read

Overview

Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller of The Bulwark join Sam Harris to dissect the transformation of the Republican Party under Trump. They explore how smart people rationalized supporting Trump, the rise of conspiracy-driven content creators like Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, and the toxic relationship between voters, right-wing media, and elected officials. The conversation examines the 'Republican Triangle of Doom,' post-January 6th normalization, and concerns about figures like JD Vance potentially representing the future of American conservatism.

Origins of The Bulwark and Never Trump Movement

Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller share their backgrounds in Republican politics and how they became prominent Never Trump voices. Tim recounts his journey from campaign operative for McCain, Romney, and Jeb Bush to becoming a spokesperson against Trump in 2016, which made him persona non grata in Republican circles. Sarah explains how she started doing focus groups in 2016 expecting to find appetite for primarying Trump, only to discover she'd fundamentally misunderstood the Republican base's actual desires.

  • The Bulwark started as an aggregator idea in 2017-2018 for Never Trump Republicans, later becoming a full media company after The Weekly Standard closed
  • Tim Miller worked on campaigns for McCain (2008), Romney (2012), and Jeb Bush (2016) before becoming spokesperson for anti-Trump efforts
  • Sarah Longwell began doing focus groups in 2016 to gauge appetite for primarying Trump but discovered voters actually wanted him
  • After The Weekly Standard was shut down for being insufficiently pro-Trump, the team launched The Bulwark as a proper media operation
" I was persona non grata in Republican politics after that. Then I was sad and angry and then Sarah called me. "

The Psychology of Trump Enablers

The discussion explores why smart, principled people went along with Trump despite knowing better. Tim identifies rationalization as a powerful drug, with people finding ways to justify support through tribalism, access to power, propaganda bubbles, and clinging to one or two issues they agree with while compartmentalizing everything else. Sarah introduces her 'Republican Triangle of Doom' concept explaining the toxic symbiotic relationship between voters, right-wing media, and elected officials that reinforces itself.

  • Rationalization is powerful - people can convince themselves of almost anything up until or past the point it causes them actual harm
  • Some Republicans grabbed onto single issues (border, Israel, anti-woke) to justify Trump support and feel morally righteous
  • The 'Republican Triangle of Doom' describes how voters, right-wing media, and elected officials create a toxic reinforcement mechanism
  • Trump caught everyone off guard because he'd been in people's living rooms for decades and they were tired of Clintons and Bushes
  • Many more Never Trumpers existed initially (even JD Vance called Trump somewhere between 'asshole like Nixon or America's Hitler')
" People don't want to feel like they're on the side of bad. People really do want to feel like they're on the side of good. And so that's how they convince themselves. "
" We are all looking at the same thing. And frankly, all of the things that you learned and I learned as young conservatives about personal responsibility, about character mattering, you're the one who's foregone all of that. "

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