America’s Most Powerful People Are Caving to Trump (w/ Richard North Patterson) | Bulwark on Sunday

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Kristol, W. (2026, September 13). America’s Most Powerful People Are Caving to Trump (w/ Richard North Patterson) | Bulwark on Sunday. The Bulwark. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/americas-most-powerful-people-are

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The Bulwark · collected 2026-09-13 · by William Kristol commentary

Quick Summary

Bill Kristol and Richard North Patterson discuss in an episode of Bulwark on Sunday how America's institutions and powerful figures have largely failed to resist President Trump, leading to his influence extending into his second term. They analyze the transformation of the GOP, economic uncertainties, and the capitulation of business and legal elites while also finding hope in grassroots resistance movements. The article is an opinion piece that encourages readers to support Bulwark by becoming paid members for continued access to such content.
Written by AI on 2026-09-13, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Bill Kristol and Richard North Patterson discuss in *The Bulwark* how America has shifted from a conventional political system to one where Donald Trump holds significant power during his second term. The authors argue that key institutions and influential figures, expected to act as safeguards against Trump's influence, have frequently capitulated instead of resisting him. They examine the Republican Party’s evolution, economic uncertainties faced by Americans, and the submission of business and legal elites under Trump's rule. Despite these challenges, Kristol and Patterson highlight hope from grassroots resistance movements like “No Kings,” noting millions of ordinary citizens are actively participating in such initiatives to oppose authoritarian tendencies.

Written for “Trump Influence Declining” on 2026-10-28, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Influence Declining
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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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
0%
0 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
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
110
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-13 · how these are computed

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Publisher

The Bulwark · 536 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
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Topics

America Americans Bulwark GOP Tripwires

Subjects

America GPE · 3× Bulwark ORG · 3× Richard North Patterson PERSON · 3× Trump PERSON · 3× Bill Kristol PERSON · 2× Americans NORP · 1× Bill PERSON · 1× GOP ORG · 1× Richard PERSON · 1× Tripwires ORG · 1×

Narrative

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Claims (8 extracted, 0 hedged)

America’s Most Powerful People Are Caving to Trump (w/ Richard North Patterson) | Bulwark on Sunday asserted
People → cave → Sunday
Bill Kristol and Richard North Patterson trace how America went from a seemingly conventional political system to Trump’s second term, where the institutions and powerful people expected to serve as guardrails have often failed to stand up to him. asserted
institutions → trace → him
Bill Kristol and Richard North Patterson trace how America went from a seemingly conventional political system to Trump’s second term, where the institutions and powerful people expected to serve as guardrails have often failed to stand up to him. asserted
institutions → trace → him
They look at the GOP’s transformation, economic insecurity, the capitulation of business and legal elites—and why the millions of ordinary Americans showing up for “No Kings” and other grassroots resistance give them reason for hope. asserted
millions → look → hope
A quick note: Bulwark on Sunday gives Bill the space to step outside the daily news cycle and have longer conversations about how we got here—and where the country goes next. asserted
country → give → conversations
If you value having that kind of show in the Bulwark lineup, become a paid member and help us keep making it. asserted
us → value → it
A subscription gets you: - Unlimited access to articles and newsletters including The Triad by JVL and Receipts by Catherine Rampell. - Ad-free editions of our shows (with transcripts) and member-only shows like The Secret Podcast. - Plus community chats and commenting features. asserted
subscription → get → Podcast
Your support helps keep our work sustainable and available to those who cannot afford a membership. asserted
who → help → membership
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