Bill Kristol announcement:

[Kingofalldems]

I’m pro-freedom, pro-law and order, pro-limited government, and pro-the Declaration and the Constitution.

And so today I’m a Democrat.

— Bill Kristol (@billkristolbulwark.bsky.social) 2026-05-16T01:05:37.367Z

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. Will wonders never cease?

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

19. Pigs fly today

[Ars Longa]

102. I guess that's one big Tent then!!

[Lovie777]

2. What the hell?....................

I saw a poll about Bibi, it's amazing that his approval is at 38%, basically the same as shithole. In Israel, Bibi's party is in trouble.

[chicoescuela]

3. Hope that SOB is in prison soon

[DavidDvorkin]

4. A major problem is that the Israeli opposition is so fractured

A strong, unified party would be in a good position to take over after the upcoming election.

[yardwork]

89. What does this have to do with Bill Kristol?

[yardwork]

97. Did you post this because Kristol is Jewish?

You've been asked why you posted this comment in a thread about Bill Kristol announcing that he's now a Democrat.

Thirteen other DUers so far gave this post a big thumbs up so they seem to know what you're getting at here.

Please enlighten the rest of us.

[irisblue]

5. Sod Off Kristol...",,Kristol is credited with launching Palin's career."

Source -https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2013/08/bill-kristol-doesnt-want-any-more-credit-sarah-palins-career/311984/


Forgot to add this...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Kristol

[FoxNewsSucks]

6. I seem to have missed his apology for all the shitty things

he said about Dems previously, and I didn't see his acknowledgement that he was wrong.

So if he helps us, great. But like MTG, I'll believe they're sincere when they show sorrow and contrition for what they have done.

[mountain grammy]

91. and he's still saying them but just "constructive criticism"

Of course he has advice, but enough already. Still, I'm glad to see him turn away from republicans.

[3Hotdogs]

16. What? Ya don't like comedy. Alcohol fueled, hockey mom was the funniest thing to come along in years. m

--- gave the. Republican Party a good, hard bite in the ass.

[CTyankee]

61. Her qualifications for VP: "I can see Russia from my house." (SNL made it her kitchen).

[reACTIONary]

7. Welcome to the big tent....

.... I guess.

[Dr. T]

8. Bill Kristol is just like Charlie Sykes.

He helped create the fertile conditions from which Dimwit Donnie emerged. He helped create the monster that he now disavows.

F**k Bill Kristol. Choke on it, bitch.

[wnylib]

78. Just another rat jumping a sinking ship.

[LudwigPastorius]

9. Your Antifa membership card is in the mail, Bill.

When you receive it, sign it and keep it in a safe place.

[swong19104]

10. Holy fuck

I’m not sure we want him. Just vote blue and don’t do anything else, Billy.

[betsuni]

11. Good.

I like The Bulwark, watch it all the time, because former Republicans know that the problem is Republicans and don't waste time nitpicking Democrats.

Supported and voted for Democrats in the last two elections and never lies about Democrats supposedly ignoring the working class and being bribed by billionaires and oligarchs -- that shit doesn't come from Never Trumpers who actually want and work for Republicans to lose.

[Wiz Imp]

14. "former Republicans know that the problem is Republicans and don't waste time nitpicking Democrats."

Excellent point and very true!

[Cha]

20. Yes, I like your important point.. and just

who does lie about Dems "not supporting the working class"?

Yeah, I wonder.

Mahalo, betsuni

[ShazzieB]

94. Hard agree.

I like the Bulwark, too. They are working as hard as anyone to expose Trump's uinfitness. I say more power to them!

[niyad]

12. Hey, anybody here remember the Clinton health care plan? He helped

stop it. PNAC?? He created it.

What has he done, or is planning to do, to make amends for the havoc he helped create?

[Susan Calvin]

55. Yep. He and those of his ilk

Appear to think they can just jump right in as if nothing happened. I'm with the person up thread who said vote blue and leave it at that, bud.

[RandomNumbers]

66. Yes, but maybe focus on the WHY he says he's now a Democrat

We don't have to give a shit about him as a person, given his history.

Note that all the reasons he says he switched to be a Democrat, are reasons the Rethug / MAGAT party give as things Democrats don't support.

Kristol's declaration should be thrown in the faces of those Rethugs and MAGATs.

And as long as he votes Blue and writes in support of Democrats ... it may not repay all his past harm ... but I'll take every step forward he makes and be glad for it.

[aggiesal]

13. I blame him for getting us to this point ...

He was an architect to this mess during GW McIdiot's time & anti-O'bama during his administration.
Not going to get any pity from me.

[JHB]

15. 30-40 years too late and a lifetime of damage he helped create

He's one of the many right-wingers/"conservatives" who built the road to Trump, he brings no one with him, and by calling himself our name he diminishes us.

If he's willing to make phone calls to voters or send postcards, fine. But his opinion on anything weightier than the best fishing spot in his favorite stream is worthless.

I'll change my opinion if he provides dirt on people, telling what skeletons are in whose closets, and where bodies are buried. Otherwise he's just grifting for a new income stream.

[not fooled]

31. It's beginning to look as though

none of these former (perhaps) assh*les thought through to the logical conclusion of what their actions and policies would create.

[Dr. T]

49. That's symptomatic of all Repuglicans.

Knee-jerk reactions rarely produce the desired result but they always go with it anyway. They don't possess the ability to think three steps ahead so they f**k around and find out later.

[cab67]

90. And/or if he starts to advocate for policies he once tried to kill.

[live love laugh]

17. Uhm WOW ...

[Cha]

18. It's Never Too Late. Welcome to the

Actual Democratic Freedom Party, Bill Kristol..

Thank You!

[JHB]

24. Let him prove his worth before giving him welcomes

He's akin to Liz Cheney: embracing him is more likely to cost us votes than gain any.

[Cha]

28. Oh sorry... I'm welcoming him now.

I've read his call-outs to fascists for a while now.

[JHB]

36. Love ya Cha, but our points of view diverge on this

As far as I'm concerned, the only way he can reverse the damage he's spent his entire adult life contributing to is to pony up with dirt on his once-fellow Republicans and to go all-out in destroying careers. To get off the fence and expose things that will make his old friends hate him. It's not as if he was a peripheral figure--he was a major conservative political operator (and publisher of right-wing political media) for decades. The people who made up his old income stream won't have him, so he needs a new one. Will the number of voters his switch brings to the Democrats fill a school bus? And will his advertising himself as Democrat cost us more?

He's poisonous and self-serving, and needs to hand over tangible benefits before getting kudos for serving himself.

[Cha]

37. Backatcha, JHB. As Zambero pointed out

Kristol has always been a Never trumper.

And, I believe people can evolve over time.

I'm not going to turn away sincere people from our party.

There should be many others wanting to do the same thing, with or without mgaphones.

We have a whole Nation to win over to Shut Down The Nazis.

[CTyankee]

64. I agree. If he "relapses" we can always kick him out...

[lostnfound]

110. Also: enough of these defections can create an avalanche in the GOP nt

[broiles]

58. Look! We need all the help we can get.

[betsuni]

62. I don't know why people are upset. He's not running for office, has no influence on the party and policy.

Never Trumpers are working to elect Democrats now, right now. Meeting the moment. Standing up to Republicans. Fighting for democracy. Jeez, has everyone forgotten how to use people to accomplish a goal? The Democratic Party doesn't have to marry Bill Kristol.

[Cha]

104. Right? People can change .. look at

Graham Planter... So many are willing to forget his past.

Kristol was always a Never Trumper, and now he's a Democrat. We Do need all the help we can get.

[phxjurist]

21. Full circle. Dem, Rep, Ind, Dem

[Zambero]

22. Kristol was a never-Trumper from the get-go

So I would tend to accept his credentials as a Democrat over someone like Fetterman, who seems to be moving in the opposite direction.

[Cha]

29. Mahalo, Zambero!

[JI7]

32. And he was only a Republican on the whole wars for freedom bs

He wasn't conservative on any other issue.

[niyad]

77. I repeat. The Clinton Health Care program. PNAC. And those just off

the top of my head.

[JI7]

33. And he was only a Republican on the whole wars for freedom bs

He wasn't conservative on any other issue.

[JohnnyRingo]

48. i read his articles in my local newspaper, and you're right.

I think he feels Trump is guiding the party into far right territory once reserved for White Nationalists, The Klan, and the religious fanatics.

Reagan is long dead to republicans.

[orangecrush]

67. THIS

[Cirsium]

23. Not me

I can understand the urge to flee a sinking ship, but I can't forget decades of bullshit from people like him, the nonsense from them that caused this catastrophe.

As soon as the ship is out of danger, they will all be right back to their old tricks. We have let them up easy too many times. Every time we "look forward" and forgive, they abuse us again. Not this time.

[Random Boomer]

65. Kristol never supported Trump or MAGA.

No matter how much I disagree with Kristol on so many issues, we both value the bedrock principles of this country back when it was a democracy: rule-of-law, checks and balances of power, and adherence to the constitution.

He's not "jumping ship" from the current administration. Kristol parted ways with the Republican party when Trump came to power and he's been a vocal critic of Trump & MAGA ever since.

The entire Bulwark team of ex-Republicans is working as hard as they can to counter Trump. Their voices reach an audience that is more resistant to Democratic messaging.

[Cirsium]

79. OK

We demand more of each other than we ask of these various conservatives, yet another example of how unlevel the playing field is. Hardly a day goes by without progressives getting bashed, but monstrous conservatives are welcomed into the tent on the slimmest of pretexts. He doesn't like Trump. Whoop dee doo.

The entire Bulwark team of conservatives is working as hard as they can to distance themselves from Trump. Their voices do not reach any audience that is resistant to Democratic messaging. Their voices reach an audience that is resistant to Trump's style of conservative messaging.

[Pompoy]

25. He is not a liberal, he just realizes what a mess we are in these days.

He understands that in order to survive this, we have to repudiate what MAGA is about. It's going to be a hard road.

[JI7]

30. He has always opposed Trump. He was never MAGA

[RockRaven]

26. *sigh*.......

How much influence does he have over... anyone really?

[tavernier]

57. Perhaps...

Depends on how many skeletons he can unearth.

[usonian]

27. I'll believe it when Trump delivers him plutonium pizzas.

Holding them close so that Iranians can't steal them.

[calimary]

103. Look at that makeup!

Does he REALLY think nobody notices the paint job? How come his ears are several shades whiter than the rest of his face?

[usonian]

108. He doesn't care. Because his cult doesn't care. It might, in fact, be a fetish with them, like a golden calf.

It emphasizes the "reality TV" aspect, because it's not real.
Fascist nations are built on unreality.

But the consequences are really real.

[Jack Valentino]

35. As any reasonable AMERICAN would now be, who has two brain cells

to rub together......




Welcome to the FIGHT, Bill !!!!
I look forward to what more you have to say about it !!!!

[Buddyzbuddy]

38. This is what has to happen for the Republican party to be no more.

He's not asking forgiveness and I'm not offering any. He's an intelligent person that recognizes a huge change is needed for this Country to heal. He's not switching parties to steal a political position. It's obvious he wants to influence policy from the inside. He could have just become Independent. But, he didn't choose easy. He knows the things he has said and done in the past will make the transition bumpy to say the least. I actually respect a person that knows they're lost and asks for directions. Actions speak louder than words. Let's watch and wait without allowing this to consume us. Also, maybe he knows where some of the bodies are buried.(not literally).

[niyad]

83. He was "independent" from 2021 to yesterday. He was registered

"r" for all of krasnov's first reign of terror.

[Ruby the Liberal]

40. Mr PNAC himself, aye?

May he lead a large group of followers in his wake.

[milestogo]

41. And are you pro-choice?

[Renew Deal]

43. I'm seeing some signs that he now is

There’s a self-described “pro-life” magazine saying he’s flipped on abortion and LGBT issues.

FWIW, I don’t believe that you need to change on choice to be a Democrat.

[Renew Deal]

46. I'm not commenting on the rightness or wrongness of it

And my first question was about his views on choice. But Democrats have always had an anti-choice wing but didn’t mind as long as they voted D in Congress. For a political talking head it matters much less.

[Renew Deal]

42. Wow. Not sure I expected that.

Is the Democratic Party the party for neo-cons or has Kristol had a change of heart?

I really can’t tell if this change is good or not. I don’t know if the party has gotten worse or he has gotten better. I think he’s enjoyed his time in the left wing sphere and wants to stick around. There’s a bunch of people like him on the Democrats side now and many of them are in the Bukwark wing. Tim Miller, Sarah Longwell, possibly David Frum, and others. I like what some of them bring to the party but I will always be skeptical of Kristol.

[Soul_of_Wit]

75. Neoconservative Neoliberal

A neoconservative is just a neoliberal who also reserves the right (pun intended) to make "liberal" a curse word. I dare say that many a DUer has voted happily for a neoliberal.

[jfz9580m]

44. Limited govt, pro freedom, no mention of climate change

Let alone any other issue. Regulation - hell no.

That is okay. Its only the only home planet we have to trash the way we or rather you trash human brains and lives the world over.

[Renew Deal]

47. It's weird to judge when you don't know the answer.

[BradBo]

50. Good ol' Bloody Kristal... fuck off.

[Botany]

51. If Bill Kristol had any honor he would go out to his garage and start his car and let it run without

Last edited Sat May 16, 2026, 12:33 PM - Edit history (2)

… opening any doors or windows. He and his PNAC shits brought us the Iraq war, ISIS, one
of the largest human refugee crises in history, and Dick Cheney became a billionaire off
the stolen oil and KBR’s no bid cost plus contracts with the Pentagon thanx to his “outsourcing”
deal he got down as Sec. of Defense.


Fuck that big tent shit. He is a despicable human being.

His Iraq war cost this 2 year old boy’s life. Alan Kurdi.



The Iraq war gave rise to ISIS after the Kristol, Cheney, and PNAC’s war broke up the Iraqi Army
and that got us ISIS which ran over Syria causing Alan Kurdi’s family to try to flee the fighting
and their small boat flipped and this young man drowned.

[leftstreet]

56. +1

[mountain grammy]

93. All the things he said Democrats were against

and now he admits he was wrong.. that's him admitting he was wrong..

but I'm glad to see it and I'm here for it!

[BillJoeBobBeauregard]

52. We need all the support we can get

I, too question him

[kentuck]

53. Is the Democratic tent that "big"?

We need a bigger tent but how far do we go?

[Joinfortmill]

54. Ha! Hell Hath Almost Frozen Over.

[ColoringFool]

59. Well, At Least He Didn't Equivocate And Turn "Independent."

[niyad]

82. He was listed as independent from 2021 to yesterday.

[ColoringFool]

96. Fine. But Today Is Today, Is It Not? Meanwhile, We Heap Praise On Liz Cheney....

And Adam Kinzinger, neither of whom has registered as a Democrat.

[niyad]

99. Today does not exist in a vacuum, and I have a fairly decent, and

highly unregulated, memory. Also, I would kindly ask that you not include "me" in the "we" about "heaping praise" on republicans, former or otherwise.

[czarjak]

60. Weren't you going...

“To drag US kicking and screaming to conservatism”?

[NNadir]

63. If Franklin Roosevelt could work with Joesph Stalin...

...I think we can embrace Bill Kristol.

The enemy of my enemy can (perhaps temporarily) be my friend.

[City Lights]

68. Wow!

Welcome aboard, Bill!

[obamanut2012]

69. The World Turned Upside Down

[a kennedy]

70. In the words of Elaine, FAKE, FAKE, FAKE, FAKE.......Ok, if this is true.......Hell HAS FROZRN OVER.

😳 😵‍💫 😳

[3825-87867]

71. Democrat now? Belief?

Only if there are live MSM Cameras on all channels actually watching his vote as it's cast!

[Glaisne]

72. Regarding Government, Democrats believe

that government can and should be a positive force for ordinary people. Government should provide a safety net for people to guard against unfortunate events, should provide retirement security, health care, protect our air, water, environment, guard against predatory companies and financial institutions, provide for the general welfare, and so on. Being for limited government means oligarchs and giant corporations take over and run everything. The irony being that oligarch government is not limited except for them, but rather intrusive and oppressive for the benefit of the oligarchs. Democrats believe in government that serves the people's interests not the interests of money, regardless of size.

[Tommy Carcetti]

73. The world turned upside down.

The things my 2003 self would not believe.

That and the son of Robert F. Kennedy being a bootlicker for fascists.

But hey, I'll take what we can get.

Always knew Trump was a piece of shit, though. Even before he turned political.

[SergeStorms]

74. They're ice skating in hell right now.

After all, Bill, you helped pave the way for that grifting scumbag to be in the White House.

Oh, and I don't trust you one iota. You'd turn your back on all of your "transformation" in a nanosecond if it meant you were closer to the reins of power. 🖕

[yardwork]

76. Ugh. After helping to wreck democracy, now he's sorry?

[Ritabert]

80. Call me skeptical of anything Mr. PNAC says.

[Soul_of_Wit]

81. The Democratic Party is now the conservative party

Democrats are now trying to preserve the small-L liberal gains of the past century. It is the radical right trying to undo the 250-year experiment that is America. Some of the never trumpers are realizing that the republic is threatened by their old political party.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

84. .

[Nanjeanne]

85. I don't give a shit. I guarantee Kristal would never support the democratic policies I want in the Dem platform.

He has to got to add a lot more “Pros” to his resume to become a real Democrat.

[niyad]

87. Like "pro-choice", "pro-19A", etc., etc.,

[Nanjeanne]

109. Not sure what policies are considered "etc. etc." As I said I want more than those 3 policies he already mentioned.

It’s lovely that he hates Trump and isn’t happy with the Trump MAGA group. He made it so he should fight to get rid of it. But I guarantee he would choose any Kasich, Romney etc etc came along he’d be right there with them. Im quite sure he views Ronald Reagan as the model he’d like to follow. Not the Democrats that I contribute to. Before Trump 2.0 he was a strong voice of the conservative movement and traditional Republican policies. He championed limited government, free markets, "hawkish" foreign policy, and social conservatism. Not my kind of Democrat

You are free to welcome him in with your open arms. As you can read I said I don’t give a shit. Not YOU.

[Renew Deal]

113. Would Democrats support those policies?

[Dawson Leery]

86. kick

[themaguffin]

88. It takes alliances in politics sometimes, doesn't mean I trust him beyond the alliance

[J_William_Ryan]

92. Democrats are advocates of limited government.

What Republicans have always failed to understand is that limited government is far much more than just reckless, irresponsible tax cuts and deregulation.

[GoodRaisin]

106. Kristol may say that, but what really has happened is his party can no longer legitimately call themselves

Republicans. They do not support a republic form of government. They clearly support a fascist form of government.

Their party has changed, not Bill Kristol, and ideologically speaking he has no party to go to.

[ZZenith]

95. Smarmy weasel.

“I am thoroughly opposed to this awful mess in which I had a large part creating..”

[mwmisses4289]

100. Forgive me if I am highly skeptical.

[MurrayDelph]

101. To paraphrase The Politics Bar

You're welcome to ride the bus with us, for now, but you have to do some amend-making to prove you're legit before we let you near the controls.

[Deminpenn]

105. Perhaps this portends a political realignment of

The US from center-right to center-left. The new GOP would be the never-Trumpers, " Rockefeller" , Rs and conservative Dems. It would be more liberal and open-minded than it is now.

The new Dems would be much more progressive and in the FDR model of sweeping changes.

Most of MAGAs would throw in with the Libertarians and other fringe parties.

[Festivito]

107. Isn't Bill Kristol always wrong?

Well, never say always.

[WarGamer]

111. Historically the neocons started out as dems...

Not exactly a flex I'd be proud of, Bill!

Neoconservatism originated in the late 1960s and 1970s as a movement of disillusioned, anti-communist Democrats. Originally New Deal liberals, these intellectuals rejected the Democratic Party's leftward drift, the counterculture, and the non-interventionist foreign policy that emerged in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

[QueerDuck]

112. What does he mean? "so just-for today" or "so starting today"

[Maru Kitteh]

114. I've become a regular listener of Bill Kristol. Which initially felt SO WRONG.

I once recoiled at the sound of his voice. Now I actively listen to his take on latest developments. How strange this world is become.