Saturday Dose of Democracy:

MAGA chaos erupts as Joe Rogan refuses to endorse Trump, praises RFK Jr.
Podcasting provocateur and libertarian comedian Joe Rogan seemingly endorsed avid roadkill collector Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for president, but after drawing anger and scorn from the MAGA faithful, he appeared to half-heartedly backtrack. During a taping of his podcast, Rogan said the rabid anti-vax conspiracy theorist "is the only one that makes sense to me." Trump and his definitely not weird fans were predictably very, very not happy. Right-wing influencer johnny maga called the news "sad," while fellow influencer Catturd attacked Rogan, calling him "the podcast equivalent of a dumb blonde joke." Even the convicted felon and MAGA cult leader himself chimed in, wondering just how loud Ultimate Fighting Championship crowds will boo Rogan the next time he enters the Octagon®. Imagine losing your memory or waking up from a long coma and trying to make sense out of literally any part of this story. What a wild, wild world.

Take Action: Pass President Biden's “No One Is Above the Law" constitutional amendment!

Chopper whopper: Willie Brown shoots down Trump’s bullshit helicopter story
In his beyond-bonkers press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, Donald Trump's stream of invective, wild claims, and outright lies included a story about a brush with death during a helicopter ride in 2018 with Willie Brown, a veteran California politician who once briefly dated Kamala Harris. Claiming to "know Willie Brown very well," Trump said: "In fact, I went down in a helicopter with him. We thought, maybe this is the end. We were in a helicopter going to a certain location together, and there was an emergency landing. This was not a pleasant landing, and Willie was … a little concerned. So I know him pretty well." Trump also said Brown told him "terrible things" about Harris and was "not a fan of hers very much at that point." Both anecdotes, of course, were total bullshit. It quickly became clear after the news conference on Thursday that Trump was talking about a helicopter ride with Jerry Brown, then the California governor. Governor-elect Gavin Newsom was also on board. "I call complete BS," Newsom said while laughing out loud. "Trump did repeatedly bring up the subject of crashing," Newsom said, adding "We talked about everyone else, but not Kamala." Furthermore, when asked Willie Brown had nothing bad to say about Harris. Shocking, we know.

Take Action: Ban murderous bump stocks ASAP!

Vice President Harris needs YOU to help turn out the vote
Relentless: We are less than 90 days away from the 2024 election, and the stakes couldn't be any higher. Reproductive rights, a fair tax code, our public schools, LGBTQ protections, our very democracy itself — everything we hold dear is on the chopping block if Trump and his minions behind Project 2025 get back into power. You can do your part to help defeat Trump by becoming a Voting Ambassador and helping your community make their voices heard! Will you apply now to make a difference this election season? Compensation will be provided.

Heritage president's unreleased book uses revolutionary rhetoric: "It’s time for a conservatism of fire"
Media Matters has obtained a galley copy of Heritage Foundation president and Project 2025 architect Kevin Roberts’ now-delayed book, Dawn’s Early Light: Taking Back Washington to Save America. A review found that the author repeatedly invoked revolutionary rhetoric, echoing previous comments he made on Steve Bannon’s "War Room" podcast which seemingly prompted an attempt by Donald Trump to distance himself from the initiative his own people authored specifically for a theoretical second term. Republican vice presidential nominee and Ohio Sen. JD Vance wrote the foreword to Roberts’ book, calling his ideas "an essential weapon" in the "fights that lay ahead." Vance has also said Roberts is "somebody I rely on a lot who has very good advice," and is closely connected with the Project 2025 manifesto, which, in addition to The Heritage Foundation, is also backed by a coalition of more than 100 conservative groups. But yeah, sure, Trump has no idea what's in it or who wrote it.

Trump is freaking out about Kamala Harris’ surging poll numbers: "It’s unfair"
For a purported billionaire real-estate tycoon and self-proclaimed very stable genius, the disgraced ex-president has a seemingly limitless deck of victim cards to play. Apparently very unhappy about the transformative turn of events at the top of the Democratic ticket, the convicted felon reportedly complained, "It’s unfair that I beat [Biden] and now I have to beat her, too." For the record, Trump definitely did NOT beat President Biden. He lost the 2020 general election by more than seven million votes, a feat we should all do our damnedest to help Harris surpass in November.

Take Action: Stop selling bullets in vending machines!

Megyn Kelly’s claim that Gov. Tim Walz "forced" tampons into boys bathrooms debunked by Minnesota journalist
You will not be surprised to learn that conservative talk radio host and very serious journalist Megyn Kelly is peddling absolute nonsense about Vice President Harris' newly minted running mate. Minnesota Star Tribune journalist Jill Burcum slammed Kelly’s claim that Gov. Walz "forced 4th grade boys to have tampons in their school bathrooms" after her reporting debunked the narrative. When you've got nothing, you'll make up anything.