Dear John,

For more than seven months, Donald Trump has run roughshod over the Constitution and the rule of law. Congress, universities, law firms, and countless other institutions that should know better have rolled over rather than fight back.

But now something is changing. I know the signs. Donald Trump’s grip on power is slipping.

In just the last week:

• Seven universities rejected Trump’s extortion compact, which offered preferential treatment for federal funds in exchange for a pledge to support Trump’s agenda.
• More than a dozen airports rejected Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s illegal propaganda video attacking Democrats for the government shutdown.
• 30 news outlets refused to sign Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s media loyalty oath.
• Then, last Saturday, more than 7 million of us poured into the streets for No Kings protests all over the country.

Now we need to ramp up our efforts to resist Trump’s authoritarian takeover, but we need your help. We’ve spent the last several months testing the most effective and persuasive messages, and some of our most recent videos are moving people by as much as sixteen points in scientific A/B tests.

Now we need to get those videos in front of as many people as possible, and that’s why I’m asking you to start a monthly donation to help expand our efforts, educate the public, and stop Trump’s authoritarian power grab.

I’d like to explain a bit about how we work here at Inequality Media Civic Action, so you’ll know that if you donate, your money will be well spent.

The first step is to choose a target audience. Usually we’re focusing on persuadable conservatives, independents, and/or young people. In other words, the people we need on our side to effectively block Trump’s authoritarian agenda.

Then we begin brainstorming various videos and scripts aimed at shifting their views in our direction on key policy issues, such as inflation or immigration.

When we feel like we have a good set of concepts to develop, we go into production. That’s when our talented team of artists, writers, and filmmakers really shine — creating some of the most eye-catching, entertaining, and informative videos you’ll ever see. (And I give them all the credit.)

Finally, when we have a batch of finished videos ready to go, we test them out with real people in the real world to see whether they are effective at shifting people’s opinions. The experts we work with tell us that if you can move people by 2 to 3 points, that’s good. But in recent months, we’ve been able to move the needle by double digits, and with your help, we’ve been able to push those videos out to tens of millions of Americans via social media.

Now here’s where you come in: In order to fund this operation, we need your help.

We don’t need to raise tens of millions because our team is small and scrappy, and we save money on advertising by harnessing the organic virality of our content. But what we do isn’t free, and the last thing we want is to be dependent on a handful of super-wealthy megadonors with their own agendas.

So please, start a monthly donation today to help expand our efforts to educate the public and defend democracy. I truly believe our organization is one of the best places to donate to help stop Trump’s authoritarian power grab.

Thank you,

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action