The Bulwark Daily
The Bulwark Daily

Adam Jentleson and Pablo Torre: This Country Is Being Scammed

September 8, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In a political environment where accountability for the ultra-wealthy feels scarce, the NBA just levied its most severe punishment ever—against the LA Clippers, owned by the $174 billion former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The investigation, sparked by reporting from journalist Pablo Torre, uncovered a scheme where the Clippers funneled money to star player Kawhi Leonard through a series of corporate partners including a scoreboard manufacturer, a tree-planting startup, and a wireless provider. For Torre, the case became a rare story about consequences for the richest people in society, and it frames a broader conversation about power, regulation, and the rules that govern American sports and money.

The Clippers Investigation: How a Billionaire Got Caught

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (02:28) **Introduction and Trump Fatigue** - Host Tim Miller welcomes Adam Jentleson; they discuss the upcoming Trump midterm convention and the state of the race.
  • 2 (08:09) **Gallup Party ID and the Democratic Brand** - The conversation turns to a Gallup poll showing Democrats up 10 points in party identification.
  • 3 (10:11) **The Thesis of "Super Majority"** - Jentleson pitches the core argument of his book about how Democrats can build lasting power.
  • 4 (11:31) **Lessons from the 2010 Midterm Backlash** - Miller and Jentleson dissect the Democratic losses of 2010 and question the narrative of inevitability.
  • 5 (14.07) **The Cost of Principle vs. Political Pragmatism** - They debate whether forcing red-state senators to take tough votes on the ACA was worth the cost.
  • 6 (15:52) **A New Map: Putting Red and Purple States in Play** - Jentleson argues Democrats are already breaking out of their electoral straitjacket.
  • 7 (18:20) **Skepticism and the Test Case of 2024** - Miller expresses skepticism, noting that 2024 should be the perfect cycle for Democrats to run up the score, yet he sees candidates like Dan Osborne tacking left rather than differentiating.

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Show Notes

From politics to sports, business, and tech, the rich are breaking the rules, looking out for their friends, and still getting rewarded in the end—maybe with the help of a little trip to the White House with a POTUS gift in hand. For the midterms and beyond, Adam is bullish in his new book about the Dems' prospects to win on a grand scale and pass the kind of policies that help regular people. Part of the trick is cooling it on the purity tests over fraught issues like Israel. And in this Trump era, when accountability is so scarce, Pablo shows with his Pulitzer-winning reporting on the LA Clippers that consequences are still possible. Plus: Trump fatigue seems to be settling in, Fetterman only cares about fighting with other Democrats, the NCAA doesn't like capitalism, and the WNBA may be on the cusp of a heyday.

Adam Jentleson and Pablo Torre join Tim Miller.

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