Dear John,

This past week, culminating in the ruthless ambush of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by President Trump and Vice President Vance in the Oval Office, makes clear the stakes and terms of the fight we’re in. Even more reason to do all we can with what we have where we are. Here are three ideas for this week:

Support democracy over tyranny

Trump turns our foreign policy towards Russia as he turns his back on 80 years of U.S. global leadership. We can speculate on his motives, but the result so far has been an almost nihilistic destruction of our traditional alliances with fellow democracies, a near-fatal weakening of Ukraine (the front line of our common defense against tyranny in Europe), and an invitation to other authoritarian powers to invade and seize desirable territory on or near their borders (e.g. Taiwan). Left unchecked, this will destroy the world order that we have built, and which has disproportionately benefited the United States. It will strengthen our enemies and unleash chaos and war at an unprecedented scale.

If there are silver linings in the shameful attack that Trump and Vance launched against Zelensky on Friday, they are the following:

• We now know beyond a shadow of a doubt where Trump’s interests and sympathies lie. Not only did he openly ridicule and demean Zelensky in an attempt to humiliate him on the global stage, he also repeatedly echoed Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s talking points about the war. And then, perhaps more bizarrely, he ranted about his and Putin’s shared persecution at the hands of Joe and Hunter Biden. Trump is clearly personally aligned with Putin and now he seeks to align our country with him as well (if we needed any more official proof, the United States voted with Russia against Ukraine and all of our democratic allies last week as the United Nations sought to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine). This clarity should give us renewed purpose and perspective in our fight against this administration. No one can now pretend it is anything other than what it is. The lines are drawn, the choice is crystal clear.


• The European democracies have begun to rally in earnest around Ukraine. The reaction across the Atlantic to Trump’s behavior has been forceful and unified. The Europeans understand that Ukraine is the frontline in the fight against authoritarianism and further Russian territorial expansion. Now that the U.S. is the least reliable partner in the alliance, they will step up defense spending and the intensity of their resistance to Russia. They should have done this long before, but in the breach they have finally found their resolve.


• Everyday Americans, Republican and Democrat, are galvanized and will do what they can to support Ukraine and stop Trump’s mad march into Russia’s arms. They will push on their elected representatives, they will threaten political consequence at the ballot box, and they will provide the backbone missing from so many in Congress today.

To that end, here are two things we can all do:

1. From the excellent Tim Snyder (whose recent article on this issue you should read here (https://substack.com/home/post/p-158182338): “If you are thinking today about how to help Ukrainians, here are some possibilities: Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian NGO that supports soldiers on the battlefield and veterans; United 24, the Ukrainian state platform for donations, with many excellent projects); RAZOM, an American NGO, tax-deductible for US citizens, which cooperates with Ukrainian NGOS to support civilians; and BlueCheck Ukraine, which aims for efficient cooperation with Ukrainian groups and is also tax-deductible.” Amy and I have made donations, and I hope you will too.
2. Call your member of Congress. Demand that we stay true to our democratic values and to our allies who are fighting for their lives right now. 202-224-2131

Protect Kids from Measles

There is an out-of-control measles outbreak in Texas and surrounding states. Unvaccinated kids are getting sick and one has tragically died.

The response from America’s Health and Human Services Secretary? Don’t worry about it, this kind of thing happens all the time. (Except, this is the first death of a child in America due to measles in more than 20 years.)

The response from the Governor of Texas? Crickets. Maybe too scared of the “MAHA” movement to show the leadership that the moment requires.

So, in the absence of any kind of responsibility from those in positions of power and public trust, let’s all of us spread the word.

With only rare exceptions, every child should get the MMR vaccine against measles. It’s safe, it’s effective, and it’s necessary not only for your child’s health but the health of other children and vulnerable people in your community.

If you live in the South Plains of Texas (the epicenter of this outbreak) or know people who do, here are some community resources: United, Market Street pharmacies to offer MRR vaccine amid growing Texas measles cases

I interviewed one of the leading virologists and immunologists in the world, Dr. Paul Offit on these issues last week, please feel free to share our conversation here.

Volunteer on the ground with us

We had a big volunteer gathering last week, lots of people signing up to register voters, stay in touch with those targeted for suppression and intimidation and hold our elected leaders accountable.

Sign up to become a Powered By People volunteer if you haven’t already. We believe in person-to-person organizing — meaning, human physical presence where young and low-propensity voters are. It’s not too soon to begin the work for the 2026, 2028 or 2030 elections. In fact, it is absolutely necessary that we start now.

Here is the link: https://poweredxpeople.org/

Action is the key to victory and the antidote to despair. See you out there.

Beto