The vice president of the United States called a meeting in the Situation Room last year to discuss the administration's cover-up of the Epstein files. Never mind that there were allegations in the files that Trump had had sex with an underage girl in Epstein's child trafficking ring—and which somehow involved Trump's alleged nipple fetish. The Epstein victims and the underlying crimes were not a priority in the meeting; getting Ghislaine or Vance on a friendly podcast was. Plus, the perception of a deal with Iran seems to be more important than an agreement itself, cuck John Cornyn is not worthy of sympathy, Dems have got to stop walking on eggshells, advice for making the most effective campaign contributions for the midterms, POTUS thinks he is the culmination of what America 250 is celebrating, Tim likes the UFC Claw, and the worst Spencer Pratt takes of all.

Jon Favreau joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.

show notes

• Jon's 'Offline' podcast
• Tim's 'Triad' on the most effective campaign contributions
• Peter Hamby on America 250
• Tim's playlist

Trump shifts his position on the Iran war so often that it sure looks like he is using the same propaganda technique that Putin uses with abandon: Flood people with contradictory stories to confuse and exhaust them so they'll just tune out. That could be helpful for a commander–in-chief running a failed military campaign. At the same time, the only engagement the administration seems to want is from the online world—which they use to create an alternate reality. Plus, Russia is not winning the war in Ukraine and does not know how to, much of Trump's immigration policy is about performative cruelty, political oppression still continues in Venezuela, Kari Lake has a new gig, and new selections for the Anne Applebaum book club.

Anne Applebaum joins Tim Miller.

show notes:

• Anne's latest reporting from Ukraine
• Phillips O'Brien piece on Iran, "War Crimes Seem To Be Official US Policy Now"
• A Venezuela opposition leader on the continuing political oppression there
• Anne's reporting on Kari Lake running Voice of America
• Anne on Lake being nominated as ambassador to Jamaica
• Summer novel rec from Anne, "The Time of Cherries"
• Tim's summer novel rec, "My Tender Matador"

Donald Trump knows he is on target to lose the midterms, so he's busy laying the groundwork now for challenging the outcome in the fall. That's why he seized the 2020 ballots in Fulton County, why he's determined to get hatchet man Bill Pulte in place as director of national intelligence, and why he’s pushing the South to gerrymander back to the dark days of Jim Crow. This is not the time to despair or to outsource the fight for democracy to others. Sen. Warnock also talks about centering ordinary people in politics, the Supreme Court's deeply dishonest Callais ruling, the performative piety of JD Vance and Mike Johnson, the high likelihood that Trump mocks God—and doesn't believe in anything except his own self-enrichment. Plus, Tim on the deliciousness of Nancy Mace's fifth-place showing in the South Carolina governor's race.

Sen. Raphael Warnock joins Tim Miller.

show notes

• Sen. Warnock's new book, "The Crooked Places Made Straight," out next week