Snapshot · The Bulwark Podcast
Qatar gave the United States a plane Trump is now using as Air Force One, which Kristol and Miller describe as accepting a bribe from a foreign government with regional interests in ongoing conflicts.
Where this was said
At 15:00 · chapter starts 13:50
Kristol traces the etymology of 'banana republic,' noting it partly derives from American corporations like United Fruit bribing Central American governments — and that the US eventually passed laws in the 1970s to stop such behavior. The bitter punchline: we are now on the receiving end. Qatar has gifted Trump a plane serving as Air Force One, even as the US is supposedly negotiating a final Iran deal in which Qatar has direct interests. Miller adds another layer: Trump is simultaneously in business with the UAE on crypto ventures while Qatar provides the presidential aircraft. Kristol's framing is devastating — Qatar is now the old United States, and America is the bribed government. [1] — Bill Kristol "The US once passed laws in the 1970s to stop American companies from bribing foreign governments. Now Qatar has gifted Trump a plane servin…" 13:55 The conversation briefly pivots to the Iran war, which Kristol notes has entirely vanished from public discourse despite Trump and Pete Hegseth's triumphalism. His verdict: the silence reflects a humiliating military defeat.
Kristol noted that 'banana republic' as a phrase partly derives from American companies like United Fruit bribing Central American governments, and that the US passed laws in the 1970s to stop such practices.
The US once passed laws in the 1970s to stop American companies from bribing foreign governments. Now Qatar has gifted Trump a plane serving as Air Force One while the US is embroiled in Middle East conflicts where Qatar has direct interests. Kristol's punchline: Qatar is now the old United States, and America is the country getting bribed.
Trump and Pete Hegseth celebrated the Iran strikes as an unprecedented military achievement. But Kristol notes that by the July 4th celebration, no one was talking about it anymore — not even Trump in his own speech. Kristol's verdict: it was a humiliating defeat, and the silence is telling.
A total of 8 states have filed lawsuits against social media platforms, including an ongoing case in Tennessee, using product liability and public nuisance theories to seek accountability.
France built 56 nuclear plants in the 1970s and now has the cheapest energy in Europe, making it independent of Russian or Middle Eastern energy geopolitics.
Estonia has a single tax form, a law preventing the government from asking citizens for the same information twice, and a flat rate of tax — enabling competitive taxation.
Portugal's Lisbon, once a city with a major heroin problem, legalised drugs and redirected enforcement spending into rehabilitation and housing, dramatically reducing crime.
The first Boland Amendment banning CIA and Defense Department funds for the Contras passed the House unanimously — yet the Reagan administration ignored it.
Over just two years, Saudi Arabia alone donated $32 million to the Contra rebels, giving loosely affiliated factions millions they had no way to spend on arms.
The National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty raised $6.3 million for the Contras but only $3.3 million reached them — a shockingly low 52% program expense rate.
Richard Secord and Albert Hakim marked up their arms shipments to the Contras by as much as 300%, making enormous personal profits from the covert operation.
Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, tapped to run the entire covert Contra support operation, had no prior experience in covert operations whatsoever — he was learning as he went.
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