Is He Getting Away with It...Again?

Hey friends,

What a week, huh? Trump urged the Washington, D.C., football team to change its name back to “Redskins,” released confidential mortgage information on Sen. Adam Schiff, posted clips of bikini-clad women tossing a snake and a guy throwing trash into a dumpster from his second-floor balcony, and on and on and on. So glad he’s doing the serious work of the nation.🙄

What’s he really doing? Trying to keep our attention off the Epstein files, of course. And now he’s off to a fancy golf vacation in Scotland. How nice for him. Since he’ll likely wiggle his way out of this with the help of a deeply corrupt and almost comically politicized Justice Department, I don’t have much more to say than this: Fuck all pedophiles. Fuck Jeffrey Epstein, fuck Ghislaine Maxwell, fuck Donald Trump, fuck EVERY adult who participated in Epstein’s sex trafficking ring and who raped and sexually abused underage girls, fuck everyone who protects them or turned a blind eye.

And never forget the 1,000+ victims.

Joe

In Today's Issue

• The Social Briefing: Heroes of the Week

• Good Reads for This Week

• What Can You Do?

• The Social Share

• The Social Soundboard

This Week

• SUBSTACK LIVE: Open to all subscribers, unless noted. Don’t miss it!

  • Tuesday, 8pm ET (with Joe Thomas, click if you missed it!)

  • Wednesday, 8pm ET (with Miles Taylor, click if you missed it!)

  • Thursday, 8pm ET (Ask Me Anything! Paid subscribers only!)

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Amid all the bad, awful, dumb, stupid, absurd, insane, sickening, despicable, embarrassing, irresponsible, demoralizing, infuriating, outrageous, terrible, horrible, Constitution-defying, fascist 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!

• JEROME POWELL. World leaders suck up to him, media companies cave to him, universities settle with him, and everyone else coddles him. When he lies, nobody even corrects him. But Fed Chair Jerome Powell reminded us this week how to handle a pathological liar and a bully like Donald Trump—you punch back. Metaphorically, of course.

• SOUTH PARK. In the wake of a hefty payout from Paramount to settle Trump’s joke of a lawsuit against CBS News, the 27th season of “South Park” premiered on the network. Series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone did not disappoint. They shredded Trump and Paramount—and it was awesome.

• STEPHEN COLBERT. Another victim of CBS’s pathetic kowtowing to Trump is “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert. As CBS sought to finalize a merger with Skydance Media—and needed FCC approval to do it—Colbert bravely called his network’s settlement with Trump a “big fat bribe” on air. Sure enough, Colbert’s show got the ax, Trump celebrated and took credit for it, and within days, the FCC approved the merger. Fuck Trump.

• STATE DEMOCRATS. Democrats at the state level—from New York to Texas to California—are beginning to understand what fighting fire with fire really means. Good! Keep going.

• THIS WOMAN. I don’t know who she is, but this is the kind of kickass courage in the face of authoritarianism we need to see everywhere across the country. Kudos!

Did we miss anyone? Send your heroes our way!

Good Reads for This Week

• The Containment Dome —The Dispatch

• When Cults Collapse —The Great Transformation with Mike Madrid

• The Vance Conspiracy —The Dispatch

• It’s All Fun and Games Until Trump Has Obama Arrested —The Next Move

• Why I Call It Fascism —Notes from the Circus

• I Resisted Putin in Russia. Here’s the Right Way to Protest. —The Next Move

• Democrats in the Wilderness —The New York Times

• The Dem Brand in Key Counties —Steve’s Substack

• Young Dems: Idea of America? —Conor Lamb

• The 2028 Presidential Race Has Begun —The Atlantic

• Let America Be America Again —Stephany Gormley

• WATCH: Leaving the Trump Cult —Jayne Converse

What Can You Do?

JOIN THE #NOKINGS COMMUNITY! Let’s build a community of Americans who rally around and identify with this basic truth: we don’t have kings in America. I’ve changed all my profile pictures to #NOKINGS, and you can too. Grab a #NOKINGS graphic at www.oneflaginitiative.org for instructions on how to change your profile pics.

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, or become a Social Contract Founding Member, 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.

Sharing the hideous stories of the abductions and treatment of migrants is making a difference. Most Americans now believe the Trump Administration has gone too far with its mass deportations. So please keep sending the pictures, videos, and stories you see and hear to us, and we’ll publish them here. Then share them with your own networks.

Mercedes Chandler 17h Ice agents arrested an American citizen and told him he has no rights. They claimed he was illegal. 332 101

• ICE Moves to Shackle Some 180,000 Immigrants with GPS Ankle Monitors —The Washington Post

• What’s the Latest with ICE? —Los Angeles Times

• A U.S. Citizen and Army Veteran was Detained at an Immigration Raid and Held for 3 Days. His Family Scrambled to Find Him —CNN

• ICE Raids are Leaving Some L.A. Cats and Dogs Homeless —Los Angeles Times

• ‘It’s a Type of Torture’: Hear What it’s Like Inside ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ —CNN

• Puerto Rico ACLU Denounces Transfer of Immigrant Detainees to 'Alligator Alcatraz' —NBC News

• Trump Administration Moves to Rapidly Deport Migrant Children, Asking Teens if They Want to Leave —CNN

• Visa Integrity Fee: What to Know About New Travel Fee to Enter the U.S. —CNBC

• A Haitian Family’s Dream Home and Safety Imperiled by Trump's Threats —The Washington Post

Here’s what some of you are thinking about this week…

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your most important post today. THIS is the message Democrats so badly need to hear right now. There is nothing else that matters in this moment. Nothing.

So, so happy to have you on our team, Joe! —Marley Shipps

Hi Joe,

I’m one of your paid subscribers, and it’s the best money I ever spent. Your passion for our country is truly an inspiration.

I have put together a few ideas about fixing Social Security. I know it may seem a bit simplistic but none of it would affect people collecting now. Any part of it could be implemented over time. Where or why am I wrong?

Here are three proposals I believe are worth serious consideration:

• Adjust the wage base: Starting in 2027, incrementally raise the income threshold on which Social Security taxes are collected. For example, apply withholding from $0 to $500,000, pause it between $500,000 and $1,000,000, then resume collection above $1,000,000.

• Offer a tax incentive for forgoing benefits: Create an optional tax incentive for individuals who choose not to collect Social Security. I suspect many higher-income Americans might be open to this, particularly if structured with flexibility and fairness.

• Raise the full retirement age, with exceptions: Increase the age for full benefits to 70, but acknowledge the physical demands placed on certain workers. For those in manual labor or physically demanding roles, allow retirement under current age guidelines to ensure equity.

These steps could go a long way toward addressing the projected shortfall. No solution will please everyone—but we’ll never make progress unless we’re willing to try something. —Letitia Krauer

Dear Joe,

I am a trans woman and am also on the autism spectrum. It’s very hard to make friends, and I even lost friends since coming out. It’s getting harder now with the way MAGA is going after the LGBTQ+ community. New Jersey is going to have an election for governor in November of this year. The MAGA candidate named Jack Ciattarelli is using anti-trans talking points. How trans men and women should not use bathrooms that are not aligned with birth sex. Many trans men and women change their aligned sex when we change our names, even if we choose not to go through surgeries to change our anatomy parts.

Trans men and women still use HRT, with or without surgeries. HRT stands for Hormone Replacement Therapy. I usually have that checkout every 3-4 months through bloodwork to see where my hormone levels are at. This is done through my doctor. It’s like any other kind of bloodwork that you have done. If Jack Ciattarelli wins, all of the treatments and surgeries will most likely get harder to get, because he would go after hospitals and doctors that perform surgeries and provide HRT.

I have been on HRT since 2017. I am still trying to decide if I want to get the necessary surgeries to be more like a woman. Most people don’t know how long it can take for a person to get the money necessary for HRT and surgeries, because some insurance companies don’t cover any of the cost. I am very lucky to have insurance that is under my parents job that can cover all of this, due to my autism. If the Supreme Court takes any LGBTQ+ case and rules against the LGBTQ+ community, there are going to be a lot of people who will not be here anymore to put it nicely. We need these meds and surgeries from not letting that happen.

I want to thank you, Joe, for all that you do. One day, I will be on Substack to write and talk about issues that are important to me. —Alexandrea M.

Hi Joe,

I enjoy listening to your podcast. Please keep up the good work.

Two quick issues. Trump and his administration believe each state should be responsible for disaster, response, rescue, relief, etc. Someone needs to ask Trump and Noem this question. We all know that Texas is one of eight states with no state income tax. We all witnessed the tragedy and disaster that just occurred. Where will the funding come from to aid the residents of Texas, if not from the federal government?

Second issue. We recently learned that Trump intends to hire 10,000 new ICE agents. It’s impossible to hire that many quality and qualified personnel in a short period of time. This will end in a law enforcement agency nightmare. See article, Rotten to the Core: Your One-Stop Shop for Hollywood Police Corruption by Bob Norman, Broward Palm Beach New Times.

I appreciate all your work. You are a member of a unique group of high-profile Republicans who refused to surrender their character and integrity. When all is said and done, that’s all any person has left as to how they will be remembered. You will be just fine, my man. —Ruben Paul

Hello,

My husband and I listen to your podcast. One thing we hear often is about the 2026 elections. Many pundits believe that Trump will do something (Insurrection Act, martial law, or Russian interference in results) to prevent the midterms. We don’t hear any of that from you. Do you really believe with the advanced destruction occurring with our democracy that the elections will occur, and the results will be fair and unchallenged? We don’t believe Trump will still be in power in 2026 because of his continued cognitive decline since Inauguration Day. The 25th Amendment should already be invoked since he can’t answer basic questions. We can’t get the Republican fools to impeach him for his lawless behavior either. I would argue JD Vance is more dangerous than Trump, but he doesn’t have the cult following of MAGA, so time will tell on how that would play out.

We are both former Republicans who never voted from Trump because of the person he is. We ended our affiliation with the Republican Party on January 6, 2021. I went independent and now Democratic, while my husband remains independent. It isn’t just left liberals who are disgusted by what is happening! How the people who elected him could look the other way after this event, we will never understand. This includes all of our family in Nebraska and many friends.

We really hope that something can be done to stop his evil regime. We have never seen a cast of more incompetent, evil people in power in our lives, which is 60+ years. We are most distressed about the loss of our standing on the world stage and how he is treating longtime allies. Reprehensible…

Keep up the fight. I join all the nationwide rallies to fight and write to Congress on a regular basis. Both are something I had never done before this monster took office! —Nancy Knihnisky

Here’s a big thank you for your great pro-democracy/resistance work. I’m an active subscriber to your podcasts, Substack, etc. As a lifelong Republican, Trump, Musk, and MAGA’s extreme efforts have pushed me to be an independent. My daughter lost her job due to the Musk/DOGE cuts! Many of us in the pro-democracy movement feel discouraged. Daily looking for more courage and motivation to keep being active advocates. The five Hands Off/No Kings protests I joined have helped a lot, and I'll continue protesting and contacting representatives!

Thanks so much for all you do for us and America! —Peter

Hey, I want to hear from you! 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]. We look forward to hearing from you!