There’s FINALLY A Trump Scandal that Voters Understand (w/ Lis Smith) | Bulwark Podcast

Lis Smith argues that Trump's Iran policy, which has led to increased instability and rising gas prices, is a uniquely understandable and damaging issue for voters. Unlike more complex scandals, the direct connection between foreign policy and pump prices makes it a 'scandal that voters understand' and can hold Trump accountable for, directly contradicting his campaign promises to lower costs and avoid wars.

Donald Trump ran on two big things: 'I'm going to lower your costs, and I'm going to, you know, stop getting into wars.' And he is getting us into wars, and as a result, raising our costs. So, it is It's a very clear connection. This is not just some like amorphous thing that's happening across the globe, hard to follow. It is directly connected to the price that people are paying for gas at the pump.

The hosts express outrage over reports that the DOJ opened a criminal perjury investigation into E. Jean Carroll's testimony regarding her lawsuit funding. They frame this as a 'sick' and petty act of retaliation by the administration against a sexual assault victim who won a civil case, questioning if this is an appropriate use of DOJ resources and setting a dangerous precedent.

CNN reported that DOJ opened a criminal perjury investigation into her testimony during her deposition about how her lawsuit was funded... It's so disgusting, you know, to think that E. Jean was victimized by Trump. They took it to a jury of their peers. There was a result. And now he becomes the president and he's trying to victimize her again.

Drawing parallels to aggressive Republican oversight during the Obama years (e.g., Benghazi hearings), Smith advocates for Democrats to proactively and relentlessly expose the 'brazen' corruption within the current administration. She cites examples like Trump's alleged personal investments in companies receiving government contracts (Dell) and his family's foreign dealings, arguing that this corruption is 'so much worse' than previous scandals and needs to be communicated effectively to the public.

The Republican oversight during the Obama and Biden years, Obama in particular, was aggressive and like bloodthirsty and relentless... The corruption is so much worse, so much more brazen. I was last night I was reading through all the Trump stuff. It is crazy. Like have you ever just tried to read it out on this show? Like it would take forever. Like the billions and crypto stuff, the family deals... Trump as part of that like at a press conference is like go buy a Dell. Like go buy Dell... he bought like 5 million in Dell stock. And this week Dell got a $9 billion Department of War contract.

Miller and Smith express skepticism about the 'populist left' approach, which advocates for 'Bernie-style economics' and dismisses other models for winning swing voters. They argue that this model has not consistently delivered general election victories in purple or red states and that its focus on 'revolution' can be 'terrifying' to voters seeking stability and tangible economic relief, rather than abstract ideological battles.

My point is like they haven't done it. Like they haven't won There aren't the reason that there's no bench of populist lefties is cuz they haven't like recruited successfully a candidate to go out and win a general election in a purple state or a red state... what people say is they don't want a revolution. They want stability. They want people who understand that they wake up in the middle of the night like concerned about losing their job, like being one health emergency away from, you know, being bankrupt.