Dear John,

I’m afraid that the attacks on the media are not going to get better in a consequential election year in 2026. The Trump administration and a pliant GOP are modeling their behavior on other authoritarian countries who ruthlessly suppress independent media because it challenges their power and allows them to control the narrative. 

We’ve seen cracks in the facade. Trump and the GOP have lost convincingly in a series of special elections and are poised to lose at least one house of Congress in the 2026 midterms. Trump’s approval rating continues to remain at historic lows as voters understand that you can’t just tariff-and-post your way out of an affordability crisis. 

This creates a dangerous situation for independent media, which is crucial for a functional and free society. As things get worse for Trump and the GOP, they are going to ramp up attacks on their perceived enemies and anyone who dares to challenge their narrative —  especially independent media organizations like The American Prospect. They have a number of tools at their disposal. A weaponized IRS could attempt to revoke our nonprofit status, as my colleague Bob Kuttner wrote in June 2024.

At the same time, we’re also seeing dangerous consolidation of media power into Trump-friendly hands. CBS News has been co-opted by a Trump-friendly oligarch who now has his eyes on CNN. We need to not just protect independent media in the face of a historic threat, we need to grow it if we’re going to fight back against the rising tide of authoritarianism and threats to a free press. We are dangerous to them because of our independence, and what gives us that power is you, our readers. 

For our end-of-the-year fundraising campaign, we’ve set an ambitious goal of $100,000 — more than the Prospect has ever raised in a single campaign. I set this goal because I believe now is not the time to retreat, not the time to cower and lick our wounds, but the time to fight. We’ve got to wake up every morning and write, report, and tell stories about ideas, politics, and power because that is one way out of this crisis. Bold, truth-telling reporting at a time when the country needs it the most. Will you stand with us?

Onwards,

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