Skip to main content
The Bulwark Podcast

Susan Glasser and Jacob Soboroff: A Dangerous Lame Duck

69 min episode · 2 min read
·
Susan Glasser,Jacob Soboroff

Episode

69 min

Read time

2 min

Topics

Health & Wellness, Investing, Leadership

AI-Generated Summary

Key Takeaways

  • Presidential Authority Expansion: Trump operates without traditional constraints, asserting executive power internationally through Venezuela intervention and Greenland acquisition attempts. His cabinet members like Rubio and Bessent enable these power grabs rather than moderating them, marking a shift from first-term resistance to second-term facilitation of authoritarian impulses.
  • Greenland Acquisition Strategy: Trump views Greenland ownership as legacy-defining, comparing it to Louisiana Purchase and Alaska acquisition. He explicitly states psychological need for ownership rather than leasing, suggesting 30-40% probability of attempted acquisition. Congress legally must authorize territorial purchases, but Trump may proceed without authorization, testing constitutional boundaries.
  • ICE Enforcement Tactics: Border Patrol Chief Greg Bavino leads militarized operations using special forces equipment and ski masks to apprehend immigrants indiscriminately, not prioritizing criminals. Tom Homan predicted deaths would result from enforcement tone and tactics. Operations target day laborers essential to disaster recovery, with 40% of California construction workforce being undocumented immigrants.
  • LA Fire Recovery Obstacles: Wildfire destroyed 16,000 structures across communities three times Manhattan's size, requiring massive reconstruction effort. However, 40% of property owners sell to corporate investors rather than rebuild due to unaffordable insurance premiums and insufficient payouts. ICE raids on construction workers create chilling effect, slowing recovery despite critical need for labor.
  • Misinformation Impact on Disasters: Trump and Musk spread conspiracy theories about water pressure and DEI during LA fires, complicating emergency response when accurate information proves critical. Governor Newsom credits watching Musk's false claims in real-time as catalyst for aggressive social media pushback strategy. Local emergency systems failed in West Altadena, where majority of deaths occurred.

What It Covers

Susan Glasser and Jacob Soboroff analyze Trump's second term power grabs, including Venezuela intervention, Greenland acquisition plans, ICE enforcement escalation in Minneapolis following Renee Goode's shooting, and LA wildfire recovery complications from immigration raids.

Key Questions Answered

  • Presidential Authority Expansion: Trump operates without traditional constraints, asserting executive power internationally through Venezuela intervention and Greenland acquisition attempts. His cabinet members like Rubio and Bessent enable these power grabs rather than moderating them, marking a shift from first-term resistance to second-term facilitation of authoritarian impulses.
  • Greenland Acquisition Strategy: Trump views Greenland ownership as legacy-defining, comparing it to Louisiana Purchase and Alaska acquisition. He explicitly states psychological need for ownership rather than leasing, suggesting 30-40% probability of attempted acquisition. Congress legally must authorize territorial purchases, but Trump may proceed without authorization, testing constitutional boundaries.
  • ICE Enforcement Tactics: Border Patrol Chief Greg Bavino leads militarized operations using special forces equipment and ski masks to apprehend immigrants indiscriminately, not prioritizing criminals. Tom Homan predicted deaths would result from enforcement tone and tactics. Operations target day laborers essential to disaster recovery, with 40% of California construction workforce being undocumented immigrants.
  • LA Fire Recovery Obstacles: Wildfire destroyed 16,000 structures across communities three times Manhattan's size, requiring massive reconstruction effort. However, 40% of property owners sell to corporate investors rather than rebuild due to unaffordable insurance premiums and insufficient payouts. ICE raids on construction workers create chilling effect, slowing recovery despite critical need for labor.
  • Misinformation Impact on Disasters: Trump and Musk spread conspiracy theories about water pressure and DEI during LA fires, complicating emergency response when accurate information proves critical. Governor Newsom credits watching Musk's false claims in real-time as catalyst for aggressive social media pushback strategy. Local emergency systems failed in West Altadena, where majority of deaths occurred.

Notable Moment

Katie Miller called Jacob Soboroff during LA fires asking him to check on Stephen Miller's parents' house, which had burned down. Minutes later, Trump and Musk began spreading conspiracy theories about the fires, with Miller serving as Doge spokesperson while her in-laws suffered from the disaster.

Know someone who'd find this useful?

Episode Transcript

Rewards programs are a lot like pop culture. They can be hard to keep up with. But with Venmo's new rewards program, Venmo Stash, rewards are so easy because the more you do, the more you get. And you choose the bundle of brands you get cash back at. It's giving fiscal queen. It's giving star. It's giving up to 5% cash back at your favorite brands. Just pick a bundle of your go to spots to shop with your Venmo debit card and earn cash back at them. Do more, get more with Venmo Stash. The Venmo Mastercard is issued by the Bancorp Bank NA. Venmo Stash bundle terms and exclusions apply. Max $100 cash back per month. See terms at venmo.me forward slash stash terms. The number one resolution for people last year was to save more money, but nearly half gave up by February. Don't let that be you. Download Rocket Money to reach your financial goals this year. Track your spending, cut waste, and automate savings in one simple app. Rocket Money shows you all your expenses and categorizes them so you know exactly where your money's going and where you're overspending. From there, the app cuts waste by canceling your unused subscriptions and lowering your bills. No customer service needed. With that money freed up, the app will automatically set some cash aside for your goals, whether it's an emergency fund, paying off debt, or saving for vacation. Rocket Money's got you covered. Users love the app with over a 186,005 star ratings. And on average, users can save up to $740 a year when using all of the app's premium features. Make saving money a priority this year. Go to rocketmoney.com/cancel to get started. That's rocketmoney.com/cancel. Rocketmoney.com/cancel. Hello, and welcome to the Bullwork Podcast. I'm your host, Tim Miller. Two things real quick. I forgot to mention yesterday, on the mailbag, people were waiting for their Monday mailbag. We're kind of rejiggering how to do that a little bit to make it, smoother for everybody, both on the uptake and for you guys. So it's gonna be back. Just stick stick with us. Mailbag isn't going anywhere. Appreciate all your feedback. Also, yesterday on the board, takes feed, I did a breakdown of some of the community video and and on the ground reporting that we've seen, coming out of Minneapolis. Shout out particular to my girl Amanda at not turtle soup on x for some of the stuff she's been doing. If you are in Minneapolis, I'd like to hear more of this. I I just wanna caveat this by saying, real humans are reading these emails. So, like, folks can please be judicious. You know, if you're if you're in Cleveland and, you know, your cousin's friend heard something in Minneapolis, please don't send it to us. But if you're in Minneapolis, I'd love to hear the stories about what's happening on the ground. I've already gotten, some pretty harrowing things from, …

Get the full transcript (14,558 words) + summary by email — free

One-time email with the complete transcript and AI summary of this episode. No account needed.

One email, no spam. We’ll also show you what SignalCast does.

Browse all The Bulwark Podcast transcripts →

You just read a 3-minute summary of a 66-minute episode.

Get The Bulwark Podcast summarized like this every Monday — plus up to 2 more podcasts, free.

Pick Your Podcasts — Free

Keep Reading

More from The Bulwark Podcast

We summarize every new episode. Want them in your inbox?

Similar Episodes

Related episodes from other podcasts

Explore Related Topics

This podcast is featured in Best Politics Podcasts (2026) — ranked and reviewed with AI summaries.

Read this week's Health & Longevity Podcast Insights — cross-podcast analysis updated weekly.

You're clearly into The Bulwark Podcast.

Every Monday, we deliver AI summaries of the latest episodes from The Bulwark Podcast and 192+ other podcasts. Free for one show.

Start My Monday Digest

No credit card · Unsubscribe anytime