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Republicans Have a Choice to Make After Trump’s Crushing Defeat (w/ Mike Murphy) | Bulwark on Sunday

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Kristol, W. (2026, November 8). Republicans Have a Choice to Make After Trump’s Crushing Defeat (w/ Mike Murphy) | Bulwark on Sunday. The Bulwark. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/republicans-have-a-choice-to-make

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The Bulwark · collected 2026-11-08 · by William Kristol commentary

Quick Summary

Bill Kristol and Mike Murphy discuss the implications of Donald Trump’s perceived defeat in recent midterms for Republicans. They analyze internal conflicts within Trump's administration, Stephen Miller’s increasing influence, Pete Hegseth’s uncertain position, and speculate on a potential Nixon-like resignation scenario. The podcast also considers future political prospects, including JD Vance’s challenges ahead.
Written by AI on 2026-11-08, from this article's own text only.

AI analysis

Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans left (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans left for article 136039 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-11-08

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
8
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
25%
2 of 8 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
expected in commentary, which argues a position · beta estimate
Publisher signals
not measured
these signals count newsroom corrections; Commentary has none to count
Outlets on this story
unclustered
not grouped into a story yet
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-08 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Bulwark · 635 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

William Kristol
30 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Bill Kristol and former Trump aide Sarah Matthews discuss why Miller could become the de facto president, how his appointment could reshape the balance of power inside the administration, and whether Pete Hegseth’s desperate displays of loyalty can save his job as the Iran war drags on.
2026-11-08 · assertive framing · Stephen Miller May Now Be the De Facto President
🔮 After Trump’s crushing midterm defeat, could Republicans finally decide they’re better off without him?
2026-11-08 · mixed framing · Republicans Have a Choice to Make After Trump’s Crushing Defeat (w/ Mike Murphy) | Bulwark on Sunday
🔮 Next year, it looks like America will have 56 Democratic senators, around 260 House members, and the governorships of 13 of the 14 largest states.
2026-11-06 · assertive framing · Trump Got One Thing Right: We’re Not Tired of Winning
🔮 “The Almighty has His own purposes.”
2026-11-02 · assertive framing · It Won’t Be a Blue Tsunami. It’ll Be an Orange Crush.
🔮 How Bad Could It Get for Republicans? (w/ Sarah Longwell) | Bulwark on Sunday A recording from The Bulwark’s live video
2026-11-01 · speculative framing · Three Days Until the Midterms. How Bad Could It Get for Republicans? (w/ Sarah Longwell) | Bulwark on Sunday
🔮 One might even call what happened this year a Brew Wave.
2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Is This Heaven? No, It’s the Midterms.
🔮 Most billionaire political donors would be content to throw their lucre into a PAC to buy up a bunch of ad time and call it a day.
2026-10-28 · assertive framing · How Do You Solve a Problem Like Elon Musk?
🔮 The 2006 precedent could serve as something of a warning.
2026-10-27 · assertive framing · Wave Goodbye to a Republican Congress
🔮 A recording from The Bulwark’s live video With one week until Election Day, Bill Kristol and Andrew Egger break down the Senate races that could deliver Democrats a historic midterm wave.
2026-10-27 · mixed framing · Morning Shots: James Talarico Takes Direct Aim at Elon Musk
🔮 They discuss Trump’s disastrous polling, the GOP’s crumbling coalition, the possibility of election interference, and what a crushing Republican defeat could mean for Trump’s billionaire allies and the future of American politics.
2026-10-18 · mixed framing · James Carville’s Midterm Predictions | Bulwark on Sunday
Also by William Kristol
Stephen Miller May Now Be the De Facto President
2026-11-07 · The Bulwark
Trump Got One Thing Right: We’re Not Tired of Winning
2026-11-06 · The Bulwark
It Won’t Be a Blue Tsunami. It’ll Be an Orange Crush.
2026-11-02 · The Bulwark
Three Days Until the Midterms. How Bad Could It Get for Republicans? (w/ Sarah Longwell) | Bulwark on Sunday
2026-11-01 · The Bulwark
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 30 articles by William Kristol →

Topics

Republican Republicans The Bulwark Washington White House

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 3× Mike Murphy PERSON · 2× Republicans NORP · 2× Bill PERSON · 1× Bill Kristol PERSON · 1× Mike PERSON · 1× Republican NORP · 1× The Bulwark ORG · 1× Washington GPE · 1× White House ORG · 1×

Narrative

Bill Kristol and veteran Republican strategist Mike Murphy examine the growing turmoil inside Trump’s White House, Stephen Miller’s rise to power, Pete Hegseth’s uncertain future, and the possibility of a Nixon-style collapse.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-08
🔮 After Trump’s crushing midterm defeat, could Republicans finally decide they’re better off without him?
2026-11-08 · The Bulwark
Republicans Have a Choice to Make After Trump’s Crushing Defeat (w/ Mike Murphy) | Bulwark on Sunday · mixed framing

Claims (8 extracted, 2 hedged)

Republicans Have a Choice to Make After Trump’s Crushing Defeat (w/ Mike Murphy) | Bulwark on Sunday asserted
Republicans → have → Sunday
There’s a difference between reacting to the latest headline and understanding how Washington actually works. asserted
Washington → ’ → headline
Bill and Mike have been through enough political upheavals to recognize the warning signs, and that’s the kind of perspective we want to bring you at The Bulwark. asserted
we → recognize → Bulwark
Your membership makes these conversations possible. asserted
conversations → make → ?
And you’re in luck—we’re running a 20% off flash sale that ends tonight. asserted
that → ’re → sale
After Trump’s crushing midterm defeat, could Republicans finally decide they’re better off without him? uncertain
they → decide → him
Bill Kristol and veteran Republican strategist Mike Murphy examine the growing turmoil inside Trump’s White House, Stephen Miller’s rise to power, Pete Hegseth’s uncertain future, and the possibility of a Nixon-style collapse. asserted
Kristol → examine → collapse
They also look ahead to 2028 and explain why JD Vance may have a much tougher road than anyone expects. uncertain
anyone → look → road
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