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The Bulwark Daily
The Bulwark
Tim Miller and guests discuss the latest political news for the flagship podcast of the Never Trump movement and the reality-based community. Every weekday we provide insightful analysis, political hot-takes, an unabashed defense of liberal democracy and long-form interviews that cut through the "both-sides" BS. Plus a few laughs to help you wash down the crazy. Bulwark+ members can get a totally ad-free version of the show delivered right to their favorite podcast player.
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True85% confidence6 sourcesSep 29, 2026Joe diGenova and Kurt Olson have left their positions investigating former administration officials.Multiple reliable sources confirm that Kurt Olsen resigned from the DOJ 'grand conspiracy' probe on September 28-29, 2026, and that Joseph diGenova, who led it, had departed weeks earlier. The probe targets former government officials, so the claim's description matches the sources; the post's 'Cardolson' and 'Joe to Geneva' are garbled names for the same two people.True85% confidence5 sourcesSep 29, 2026Clark Construction is performing work on property that Donald Trump does not own.Said by BMultiple sources show Clark Construction was performing construction work on the East Wing ballroom site at the White House, and a D.C. Circuit opinion states that each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House, so the claim holds as of 2026-09-29. The post's separate allegation that the work is illegal is not part of the extracted claim and is not graded here.True75% confidence6 sourcesSep 29, 2026Donald Trump regilded the statues on the Memorial Bridge.Said by BMultiple sources report that the Arts of War statues on Arlington Memorial Bridge were regilded in 23.75-karat gold leaf under Trump's 'Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Again' initiative, and Trump personally shared photos of the work on Truth Social. The sources attribute the project to his initiative and the Interior Department rather than describing him as personally gilding the statues, but the standard reading of 'Trump regilded the statues' holds.True75% confidence5 sourcesSep 29, 2026Donald Trump used funds from the Secret Service and national parks to build a ballroom.Said by BMultiple sources, including two Senate press releases, report that taxpayer funds were redirected from Secret Service accounts toward the White House ballroom, and one reports NPS records showing money rerouted for projects on White House grounds. The sources differ on amounts ($300M to $1.17B), but the core assertion holds, and the national parks element rests on less direct reporting.True90% confidence7 sourcesSep 29, 2026The Trump administration performed a pocket rescission of $800 million across multiple programs.Said by BMultiple tier1 and primary sources (Reuters, AP, GAO-related reporting, Senate statements) report that the Trump administration announced a pocket rescission of roughly $800 million in Congress-approved funds across multiple programs and accounts (11 accounts across several agencies), so the claim matches the sources; the post's 'story over the last few days' wording is consistent with the late-September announcement.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True85% confidence6 sourcesSep 29, 2026The Chili Pad 2.0 provides temperature regulation from 55 to 115 degrees.Said by AAs of 2026-09-29, the Chilipad 2.0's stated temperature range was 55 to 115°F, confirmed by the manufacturer's product page (published 2026-09-22) and by independent reviews from Wareable, Mattress Clarity and others. One Business Insider review gives an upper limit of 110 degrees, a minor discrepancy that does not overturn the 55–115 range the other sources report.True90% confidence8 sourcesSep 29, 2026Evan Gershkovich spent nearly 500 days in a Russian prison on an espionage charge.Multiple sources agree that Gershkovich was held in Russian detention for roughly 491 days, which is 'nearly 500 days', on espionage charges that sources describe as baseless or false. The extraction dropped the word 'fabricated' from the post, but that is a dropped qualifier, so the claim is graded as stated.True70% confidence7 sourcesSep 29, 2026Peter Navarro directed a Department of War official to execute a contract involving Donald Trump Jr.ProPublica's reporting, relayed by NPR and cited in Senate Democrats' primary-source letters, says Peter Navarro asked Pentagon officials to approve the $620 million loan to Vulcan Elements, a company in which Donald Trump Jr.'s firm had taken a stake, and that staff were then pushed to move quickly. The claim's wording ('directed' and 'execute a contract') is slightly stronger than the sources' 'requested' and 'loan', but the core assertion holds; the Pentagon's denial concerns Trump Jr.'s role, not Navarro's.True92% confidence6 sourcesSep 29, 2026Evan Gershkovich moved to Russia in late 2017.Said by 3CMultiple sources, including Reuters and Gershkovich's own recorded remarks in a UCLA lecture transcript, state that he moved to Russia (Moscow) in late 2017, so the claim holds. The claim's referent matches the passage, where "I" is Gershkovich, and no source contradicts the timing.True93% confidence5 sourcesSep 29, 2026The Moscow Times was launched in 1992.Said by 3CMultiple independent tier-1 sources (AP and Reuters) state The Moscow Times was founded in 1992, and the paper's own retrospective gives an October 2, 1992 launch date. The claim matches the passage's wording and no source contradicts it. Some sources date the first edition to March 1992, but that still falls within 1992.True95% confidence7 sourcesSep 29, 2026Boris Nemtsov was murdered in the streets near the Kremlin.Said by 3CMultiple independent reliable sources, including Reuters, BBC, NPR, and a US Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe primary record, confirm that opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on February 27, 2015, on a street or bridge near the Kremlin in Moscow. The claim faithfully reflects the passage, which describes the same event, and the 'in the streets' wording matches reports of a street shooting.True85% confidence7 sourcesSep 29, 2026Russia passed censorship laws requiring the war in Ukraine to be called a special military operation.Said by 3CMultiple sources confirm that after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, authorities required media to call the war a 'special military operation' and made calling it a war risky under the March 2022 censorship laws. Reuters attributes the initial requirement to a Roskomnadzor directive, while AP and Freedom House describe it as a legal requirement, a difference in mechanism that does not reverse the claim.