The Cruelty, the Chaos, the Casualties
The Bulwark · C · trust 41/100
Jim Swift September 5 Upgrade to listen 4 minutes 286 8 22 Happy Saturday! In case you missed it this week: A young Haitian student stripped of his TPS status in Ohio died by suicide this week, the tech bros’ alliance with MAGA is falling apart, leaks from Pete Hegseth’s “book” reveal a national-security crisis, and Trump is helping keep Venezuela’s dictatorship in business.
PIERRE DAMAS BEL CAME TO THE UNITED STATES legally, using the Biden-era CBP One app that allowed migrants to request asylum upon arrival. A temporary protected status (TPS) recipient from Haiti, he migrated in 2024 at the age of 18, joining his parents who had fled the violence-torn country. Pierre had big dreams for what he could achieve in America, and his Instagram account chronicles his successes—and his pride at making good on some of those dreams. He played high school soccer in Springfield, Ohio, where he was a member of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC), went to prom, and received academic awards. He received a scholarship and was recruited to play soccer at Wittenberg University. After graduating from high school with honors, he posted a photo to Instagram with a caption that read, “No matter where you end up in life, never forget how far God brought you.”
COME HANG WITH THE GANG —Sarah, Tim, JVL, Sam and friends—during our Bulwark LIVE: Good Fight Tour this October 16-20:
🎤 Friday, October 16 at The Senate in Columbia, S.C. —Will Sommer joins the gang on stage. Is Columbia ready for the Trio?
🎤 Sunday, October 18 at the Carolina Theatre in Charlotte, N.C. — special guest Pete Buttigieg joins the gang with Catherine Rampell and Lauren Eagan.
🎤 Tuesday, October 20 at The Eastern in Atlanta, Ga. —Gen. Mark Hertling and the Morning Shots duo—Andrew Egger and Bill Kristol—join the gang for this final stop. Tickets are on sale now through the links above or through TheBulwark.com/Events . At Bulwark LIVE we can promise you a night of fellowship and politics with lots of laughs—and maybe a few tears too. I hope to see you there!
IT WAS HARD TO MISS the American tech elite’s MAGA makeover. Tech CEOs poured money into Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and later his inauguration. Elon Musk alone spent a staggering $288 million to help elect Trump and downballot Republicans. A who’s who of tech CEOs flanked Trump at his second inauguration in January 2025, with better seats than most of his cabinet picks.
The Leaks from Hegseth’s ‘Book’ Are a Warning Mark Hertling · Sep 1 THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTED SUNDAY that several of America’s senior military commanders have warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that continuing the current pace and scale of operations against Iran risks weakening the military’s ability to respond to crises elsewhere. The …
Join Trump Is Keeping Venezuela’s Dictatorship in Business Will Saletan · Sep 3 ON WEDNESDAY, FIVE DAYS AFTER Donald Trump announced a deal that would give the United States a stake in Venezuelan oil fields containing an estimated 65 billion barrels of oil, Energy Secretary Chris Wright went to Caracas for a meeting with Delcy Rodríguez, the country’s acting president.
🚨 OVERTIME 🚨 Happy Labor Day! I hope you’re taking time for a well-earned rest this labor day weekend. I’m biting my fingernails off with the Guardians in this AL Central pennant chase, but went to bad doubly satisfied last night as the Guards had two comeback wins over the Tigers in the Friday twin bill.
Heartbreak in Springfield… I hope you’ll take a moment to read Adrian’s piece on Pierre Damas Bel. Bloodshed has, sadly, come to Springfield. Last Sunday, a day before his death, I joined Bill Kristol on The Bulwark on Sunday to discuss what I heard from local faith leaders.
I appreciate the emails about my coverage and your generosity to charities in Springfield. They need every penny.
A couple of visits ago, Carl Ruby told a group of reporters that, based on a meeting with ICE officials, he believed they intended to make life for Haitians “so unbearable that people will leave on their own.” I haven’t stopped thinking about that phrase: leave on their own. RIP.
Bulwark Book Club for September: Send in your comments for Mona Charen and Sonny Bunch on the Odyssey ! Then, mark your calendars for the livestream on September 16 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time for Bulwark+ members.
This week’s chat prompt: An old baseball coincidence held that an American League champion favored Republicans and a National League champion favored Democrats. It has gone just 3-for-6 in the last six midterms, so is there anything to it? Do you believe in any baseball augury? 1
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I personally do not believe in baseball augury, but I do believe that if I attend a World Series and cheer for a team, they will lose. (I am 3 for 3.)
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