The Dark Forces Conspiring Against Democracy (w/ Bill Galston)

Eric and Eliot discuss the newly released National Security Strategy's flaws, highlighting its incoherence and hostility to Europe. They note the strategy's unwillingness to identify Russia, China, and Iran as enemies of the United States and the abdication of the U.S. role in maintaining global order. The pair also discuss the latest pressure on Ukraine to capitulate to Russia before welcoming returning guest Representative Jim Himes for a conversation about the Trump Administration's Venezuela policy. Eric on the NSS in The Bulwark: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-national-security-strategy-foreign-policy-defense-allies-china-russia-iran-north-korea Eliot on the NSS in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/12/national-security-strategy-incoherent-babble/685166/?gift=KGDC3VdV8jaCufvP3bRsPhY0neK1oFmUu2ila2ZbOTc&utm_ The 2025 National Security Strategy: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eric and Eliot return from Thanksgiving to dissect the revelations from the Washington Post about the double-tap strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in September. They discuss whether the strike was a war crime, the resignation of SOUTHCOM Commander Admiral Alvin Holsey, and the administration’s larger objectives in Venezuela. They also address the Department of Defense IG report on Signalgate, and explain why it does not constitute a ‘complete exoneration’. They conclude with a discussion of the Witkoff-Kushner “mission to Moscow”, the corruption crisis in Ukraine that ousted Presidential Chief of Staff Yermak, and the Wall Street Journal’s coverage of the Trump cronies lining up to do business deals in Russia once the Ukrainians can be forced into submission. Show Notes: Former White House Counsel Bob Bauer on the Venezuela boat strikes: https://www.execfunctions.org/p/the-boat-strike-presidency Wall Street Journal Report on Witkoff & Kushner's Plans for Peace: https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/russia-u-s-peace-business-ties-4db9b290? Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eric and Eliot reflect on the memorial service for Vice President Dick Cheney and welcome Brigadier General (ret.) Ty Seidule, author of Robert E. Lee and Me and A Promise Delivered. They discuss the Commission created by Congress in 2020 to replace Confederate commemorations with tributes that better reflect American values, the pushback it faced, and why renaming military bases does not “change history.” The conversation also explores the post-Reconstruction myths behind these commemorations, the enduring appeal of the Confederate battle flag in certain right-wing circles, and the current controversy over reverting base names following efforts by Trump and Hegseth to overturn the Commission’s work. Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause: https://a.co/d/6H1iMaJ A Promise Delivered: Ten American Heroes and the Battle to Rename Our Nation’s Military Bases: https://a.co/d/b99Nvzv Take our quick listener survey and help us make The Bulwark even better. https://bit.ly/bulwarkaudio 

Eric welcomes Michael Hunzeker, associate director of the Center for Security Policy Studies at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, to discuss his new book America’s Taiwan Dilemma, co-authored with Mark Christopher. They explore why a nation’s reputation for credibility matters for deterrence and alliance management, and whether U.S. treaty allies in East Asia truly want Washington to defend Taiwan at all costs. The conversation also examines Taiwan’s globally essential semiconductor industry, the fate of Hong Kong following its integration into China, and how the Trump Administration is reshaping America’s East Asian system of bilateral alliances. America's Taiwan Dilemma: Allies' Reactions and the Stakes for US Reputation: https://a.co/d/6sgYh3D Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eric and Eliot pay their respects to the late Vice President Dick Cheney before welcoming their guest Laura Field to discuss her book Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right. They explore the origins of the effort to create an intellectual ecosystem for Trumpism starting with the Claremont Institute and Michael Anton's infamous "Flight 93" article in the Claremont Review of Books. Laura explains the influence of philosopher Leo Strauss on these early efforts as well as Strauss's student Harry Jaffa. They discuss the emergence of post-liberalism, Catholic integralism, and the arguments made on behalf of these positions by Patrick Deneen and Adam Vermeule. They also discuss national conservatives, techno-monarchists, and advocates of Red Caesarism like Peter Thiel and Curtis Yarvin. Finally, they touch on the openly theocratic efforts of Christian nationalists to fit into the Trumpist universe, and the overlaps and contradictions among these various Trumpist movements. Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right https://a.co/d/eeTmFrT Eric's Reflections on Vice President Dick Cheney:  https://thedispatch.com/article/dick-cheney-conservatism-republican-party/

Eric and Eliot discuss the GOP’s ongoing Nazi problem and the growing danger of anti-Semitism on the right. They debunk President Trump’s false claims about America’s nuclear arsenal, then pivot to a conversation about alliance management. Eliot shares insights from a recent trip to Canada, highlighting the damage Trump has done to America’s relationship with its northern neighbor. They broaden the discussion to other allies, including the “special relationship” with the UK and the often-prickly partnership with France. Finally, they examine the administration’s lawlessness at sea and its refusal to allow Congressional oversight as it escalates pressure on Venezuela. Show Notes: Eric & Frank Miller's latest on arms control: President Trump, Don’t Fall into Putin’s Arms Control Trap Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eric and Eliot discuss appeasement and the striking similarities between Putin’s recent demands and Hitler’s insistence that the Czechs surrender the heavily fortified Sudetenland. They then turn to the latest idiocy coming from the administration, including Trump’s demolition of the East Wing, the Pentagon’s new exclusively right-wing press corps, and the live-fire Marine exercise that sent ordnance onto I-5 in California during a salute to Pete Hegseth and JD Vance. They also examine Putin’s phone call with Trump and the situation in Ukraine, along with Trump’s accelerating campaign of regime change in Venezuela. They end the week’s conversation with thoughts on the No Kings protests and the daunting prospects for a sustained ceasefire in Gaza. Show Notes: - Appeasement: Chamberlain, Hitler, Churchill, and the Road to War: https://a.co/d/awNtPTM - Eric & David Kramer’s latest on Ukraine: https://thedispatch.com/article/trump-putin-budapest-ukraine-tomahawks/ Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eric and Eliot welcome William Galston to Shield of the Republic to discuss his recent book, Anger, Fear, Domination: Dark Passions and the Power of Political Speech. They explore why liberal-democrats tend to underestimate the importance of these forces and the special peril they might present to representative government. They also talk about why the dark passions seem to be so predominant in politics globally and the different schools of thought regarding democracy's staying power in the long run. Anger, Fear, Domination: Dark Passions and the Power of Political Speech: https://a.co/d/8B6dFfk Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eliot and Eric welcome back friend of the show Barry Strauss, the Corliss Page Dean Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. They discuss the series of Jewish revolts against Roman rule in 67-70 AD and the subsequent Roman siege of Masada, as well as the later Diaspora and Bar Kochba revolts situating them in the geostrategic competition between the Roman and Parthian empires. Barry explains the complications of the ethnic and religious divisions in Judea as well as the role of Jewish apocalyptic and messianic thinking on the protagonists of these serial rebellions. He also touches on the reasons why Judea was seemingly so hard to govern for the Romans, the divisions among Jews, and the degree to which archaeology and numismatics can add to the surviving literary accounts of the wars between Rome and the Jews. Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World's Mightiest Empire: https://a.co/d/9xfsZOd Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eric welcomes historian Tim Bouverie, author of Allies at War: How the Struggles Between the Allied Powers Shaped the War and the World, to Shield of the Republic. They discuss Tim’s fascinating account of the interplay among personalities and larger forces during the Second World War. They touch on Anglo-French relations and the role of Charles de Gaulle, Britain’s failed efforts to bring Turkey into the war as an ally, as well as the diplomacy of FDR, Churchill, and Stalin at the wartime conferences at Tehran and Yalta. They discuss the relative success of British and American diplomacy during World War II as well as lessons from the record of wartime diplomacy for alliance management and coalition maintenance today. Allies at War: How the Struggles Between the Allied Powers Shaped the War and the World: https://a.co/d/caX7je6 Appeasement: Chamberlain, Hitler, Churchill, and the Road to War: https://a.co/d/6cPWr7G Tickets to Bulwark Live in DC (10/8) with Sarah, Tim and JVL are on sale now at https://TheBulwark.com/events Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.