View this post on the web at [link removed]

Hi folks,
It was just awesome to be at the Unite for Veterans rally [ [link removed] ] in D.C. yesterday. It was incredible to be surrounded by so many veterans, veteran spouses & families, VA doctors & nurses, and other Americans—all angry at and extremely concerned about Donald Trump’s war on the VA, his treatment of our veterans, and his reckless attack against public servants and those in this country who need help.
It was a hot day in D.C., but the vibe was super unifying and the mood was a fired-up determination to fight back against Trump and defend the care our veterans get.
It was the perfect end to a long week—my first as a Democrat.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend. See you next week!
Joe
In Today’s Issue
The Social Briefing: Heroes of the Week
Good Reads for This Week
What’s Your Take?
What Can You Do?
The Social Calendar
The Social Soundboard
This Week
SUBSTACK LIVE:
Tuesday, 6:30pm ET [ [link removed] ] (click if you missed it)
Tuesday, 8pm ET [ [link removed] ] (with SE Cupp [ [link removed] ], click if you missed it)
Thursday, 8pm ET [ [link removed] ] (click if you missed it)
Friday, 9am ET [ [link removed] ] (with Reed Galen [ [link removed] ], click if you missed it)
Friday, 12:30pm ET [ [link removed] ] (with Mike Nellis [ [link removed] ], click if you missed it)
CONVERSATIONS OF THE WEEK: If you missed my conversations with Gen Z in Delaware, they’re all archived in Conversations with Joe [ [link removed] ]. Check them out!
The Responsibilities of an American Citizen [ [link removed] ]
Tough Love [ [link removed] ]
A Skirmish Leads to Understanding [ [link removed] ]
SUPPORT OUR MISSION: If you enjoy this Substack and want to help me and my small, but fiercely pro-democracy team reach more Americans with our message, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription. Thank you!
Amid all the bad [ [link removed] ], awful [ [link removed] ], dumb [ [link removed] ], stupid [ [link removed] ], sickening [ [link removed] ], despicable [ [link removed] ], embarrassing [ [link removed] ], irresponsible [ [link removed] ], demoralizing [ [link removed] ], infuriating [ [link removed] ], outrageous [ [link removed] ], terrible [ [link removed] ], horrible [ [link removed] ], Constitution-defying [ [link removed] ] news of the past week, we have to acknowledge the heroes among us. The list is growing, as more and more of us are standing up to the tyrant. Courage is infectious. Be brave!
MILES TAYLOR. On April 9, Donald Trump issued a presidential memorandum ordering senior members of his administration to investigate Taylor, a former Homeland Security staffer [ [link removed] ], for his claims in 2018 that a “quiet resistance” was taking hold in the first Trump Administration. This week, Taylor filed formal complaints with the inspectors general at the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, requesting that they investigate whether Trump’s order violates existing law or constitutional protections. Taylor said he considers the requests a “test case” of whether independent government watchdogs have been co-opted by the current administration. Good for him!
BEN SCHRADER. The good news that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was being returned to the United States was quickly followed by reports that he would be charged with allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S. That led Schrader, who spent 15 years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nashville and was most recently the chief of the criminal division [ [link removed] ], to immediately resign, due to concerns that the case was being pursued for political reasons.
STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL. The top law enforcement officials from 19 states [ [link removed] ] have filed a federal lawsuit against Trump, arguing that his executive order calling for a sweeping overhaul of U.S. elections would step on states’ power to set their own election rules. In a filing supporting that argument, a bipartisan group of former secretaries of state said Trump’s directive would upend the system established by the Constitution’s Elections Clause, which gives states and Congress—not the executive branch—control over how elections are run.
JOHN MORALES. This Florida-based meteorologist [ [link removed] ] told it like it is, live on air, when it comes to Trump’s cuts to government and science and their effect on Morales’ ability to accurately forecast the weather. Watch [ [link removed] ].
FRIEDRICH MERZ. The German Chancellor [ [link removed] ] got caught up in the Elon Musk drama while in D.C. to ask Trump to show more support for Ukraine, days after its heroic attack on Russia [ [link removed] ]. Merz also had to remind the American President that the next day was the anniversary of D-Day. Trump cluelessly responded, “Not a pleasant day for you.” Looking straight at Trump, Merz corrected him, “This was the liberation of my country from Nazi dictatorship.” Trump is such a stupid man.
Did we miss anyone? Send your heroes our way [ mailto:[email protected] ]!
Good Reads for This Week
Why Letting Elon Musk Into the Democratic Party Is a Massive Mistake [ [link removed] ] —Endless Urgency with Mike Nellis
‘Was It All Bullsh-t?’ [ [link removed] ] —The Dispatch
Trump's Plan to Gaslight the American Economy [ [link removed] ] —The Banter
Trump Has a Gift for Identifying America’s Problems (And Making Them Worse) [ [link removed] ] —Matt Lewis & the News(letter)
My Ideology. No Bullshit. [ [link removed] ] —Notes from the Circus
Undoing the Damage: The Quiet Art of Deprogramming the MAGA Mind [ [link removed] ] —The Rational League
“If We Lose 2026, It’s Over” [ [link removed] ] —Michael Cohen
The White House Has a Blacklist [ [link removed] ] —Treason with Miles Taylor
Tyranny Has Invaded America Through the Immigration Enforcement Regime [ [link removed] ] —The UnPopulist
Is Mexico’s Judicial Reform a Democratic Innovation or a Constitutional Crisis? [ [link removed] ] —The Great Transformation with Mike Madrid
What’s Your Take?
This week, I announced my decision [ [link removed] ] to join the Democratic Party. So what do you think? Be honest.
What Can You Do?
GET OUT THERE AND PROTEST! Our “No Kings” protest day, with protests taking place in every state in the country is taking place NEXT SATURDAY, JUNE 14. Please participate if you are able. We need to counter Trump’s military/birthday parade in HUGE numbers. More info at 50501 [ [link removed] ].
I’ll be at the event in Charleston, South Carolina (join me if you’re in the area!):
SHOW YOUR SOLIDARITY PROUDLY! Let the world know you stand with the No Kings movement with a #NOKINGS shirt!
To get yours, visit oneflaginitiative.org [ [link removed] ], or become a Social Contract Founding Member [ [link removed] ], and we’ll send you one for FREE (plus you’ll get an invite to a once-a-month Zoom with me and other special VIP events), with our thanks.
#NOKINGS merchandise sales directly support Conversations with Joe, my personal effort to restore the social contract across America.
Did you catch Walsh Wednesday, my weekly meetup with Michael Cohen? If you missed it, here it is:
THIS WEEK’S INTERVIEWS & QUOTES
Trump Is ‘Everything U.S. Founders Feared’ [ [link removed] ] —Times Radio
The MOVEMENT against MAGA is RISING with Joe Walsh [ [link removed] ] —Erich McElroy
‘A Tyrant Sits in the White House’: Joe Walsh Turns on Trump and Joins the Democratic Party [ [link removed] ] —The Daily Digest
Joe Walsh Joining Democratic Party Due To ‘Tyrant’ Trump [ [link removed] ] —Comic Sands
Joe Walsh Says He’s Becoming a Democrat [ [link removed] ] —The Hill
Why This Former Republican Has a Lot to Teach the Democrats [ [link removed] ] —The Nation
‘Stakes Are Too high’: Trump Drives Former Tea Partier into the Democratic Party [ [link removed] ] —Raw Story
Joe Walsh Might Run Again—As a Dem [ [link removed] ] —POLITICO
Former Republican Bashes Trump for ‘Spreading a Conspiracy Theory’ to Deceive His Base [ [link removed] ] —Alternet.org
Here’s what some of you are thinking about this week…
Mr. Walsh:
I respect your bravery in making this decision. It takes guts to embrace a party, a philosophy, that has been at odds with yours for your political life.
Being open to discussion and (that dirty word!) compromise is what created this country and our form of government. Some people at the extremes see compromise as surrender. They cannot be farther from the truth. In compromising, we seek the common good by giving up the extremities that keep us apart; we recognize that our parochial fetishes are hindering the goal, whether it be better education, lower taxes, or better healthcare.
I am not a Democrat. I am not a Republican. I have liberal ideals and goals. I have conservative points of view. I am reflective of almost a third of the voting population. We are the truly ignored. Perhaps with your bold action, some of our voice can be heard. —Daniel Patrick Beckfield
We welcome you with open arms and hearts. We need a strong voice like yours. Yours could be the voice that leads us out of the darkness that we find ourselves in. —Kelly Johnson
Welcome. I hope the Democratic Party is evolving into a true “big tent” kind of party where we can all agree on the fundamental purpose of government and on the guarantees of the Constitution, but have lively debates on how best to achieve those ends.
I consider myself very liberal, but I think over the last few years we have allowed the far-left progressives to dictate too much hardline party policy. All that accomplished was to give cultural ammunition to MAGA, allowing them to whip up cult frenzy whenever they wished.
Examples:
“Defund the police” — an absolutely terrible catchphrase.
“Cultural appropriation” — so you may not wear a sombrero as a Halloween costume if you are not “Latinx”.
While we’re at it, Latinx.
Pregnant “people”
Insistence on “pronoun” announcement by all
Insistence on universal public designation of every possible variation of gender (LGBTQIA+), and excoriation of any who dare leave out one of these gender balkanizations.
Shutting down far-right speakers at universities in the name of “free speech”.
Safe rooms for the easily-offended.
Et cetera.
At some point what started as a noble goal of personal freedom and opportunity for all Americans morphed into rigid purity tests, enforced by zealots in a way indistinguishable from the worst excesses of far-right cultural and religious fanatics.
We need to be better. —Mad Potter
Hey, I want to hear from you! Want to host a conversation with Joe in your town? Want to send us a 600-word op-ed or video clip on how we can mend our frayed social contract and rebuild an America that works? Want to appear with Joe on Substack Live? Just need to vent? Send it our way!
Tell us your story and share your feedback about our Substack community by emailing our editor at [email protected] [ mailto:[email protected] ]. We look forward to hearing from you!
The Social Contract with Joe Walsh is a citizen-supported movement resisting authoritarianism and restoring classic American values like civic engagement, tolerance, and mutual respect. To join our community, sign up to be a free subscriber. To support our mission, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Thank you!

Unsubscribe [link removed]?