Survey Sponsor: American Research Group, Inc.

The American Research Group has been conducting national surveys of consumers since 1985.

Sample Size: 1,100 completed interviews among a random sample of all adults age 18 and older living in households in the continental United States (see methodology for details). There were 315 Republicans, 330 Democrats, 361 independents, and 94 non-voters in the sample.

Sample Dates: June 16-20, 2026

Margin of Error: ± 3 percentage points, 95% of …

The warehouse remains. The money is gone. The plan is dead. But the stench of this spectacular government fiasco refuses to disappear.

There is something rotten in Social Circle, Georgia.

Not in the town itself. The people of Social Circle appear to have been the only adults in the room.

No, the rot came from Washington. More specifically, it carried the unmistakable perfume of Kristi Noem and the fingerprints of Corey Lewandowski.

For months on …

What began as a simple pool renovation somehow evolved into a $15 million political whodunit featuring peeling paint, suspicious grass, alleged saboteurs, and algae.

America has always loved a good political scandal.

Not because we enjoy corruption. Not because we celebrate incompetence. But because scandals reveal something uncomfortable about power. They pull back the curtain and expose the absurdity lurking behind the polished speeches, carefully staged photo ops, and taxpayer-funded promises.

Half a century ago, …

Iran is moving the goalposts before the game has even started. Trump sees it, and the consequences could shake the world.

There is an old adage that those who play with fire are doomed to get burned.

Right now, Iran seems determined to test whether that warning still applies.

Less than forty-eight hours after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran, a deal that was supposed to calm markets, …

After fifty-three years of waiting, the Knicks finally stand atop basketball again. The celebration should belong to the fans, not political arguments.

As I sit here writing this morning, New York City is already awake.

Not the usual New York awake. Not the hurried, coffee-fueled rush of commuters squeezing onto packed subway cars. This is something different.

Outside my window, I can hear the unmistakable sound of metal barricades being assembled. Workers have been at …

The fight over Iran exposes a troubling truth: in modern Washington, changing the name may be easier than following the law.

When did laws become suggestions?

Not recommendations. Not guidelines. Suggestions.

Because that increasingly feels like where we are as a country. We pass laws. We debate them. We vote on them. Presidents sign them. Courts interpret them. Civics teachers explain them. Law students spend fortunes studying them. And then, somewhere along the way, the …

While most birthdays end with candles, Trump's featured UFC history, diplomatic breakthroughs, and the possibility of peace across multiple global flashpoints.

Most people spend their birthdays hoping for something modest.

Maybe dinner with family. Maybe a nice bottle of wine. Maybe tickets to a concert. Maybe a gift card you’ll eventually forget to use.

Some people dream bigger. A new car. A vacation. Front-row seats to a Knicks game.

And then there’s Donald Trump.

On …

I know what government weaponization looks like because I lived it; through leaks, lies, intimidation, solitary confinement, and a campaign that devastated everything I built.

For months now, politicians, pundits, legal analysts, and cable news talking heads have been fighting over President Trump’s Anti-Weaponization Fund. Critics want it shut down. Supporters view it as long overdue. Meanwhile, speculation has run rampant about who may ultimately qualify as a beneficiary and whether the fund itself is …

Rejected by Canada and ghosted by Greenland, America may have found its next complicated relationship just ninety miles from Florida.

Remember when foreign policy used to be complicated?

You know, alliances, diplomacy, negotiations, intelligence briefings, carefully weighing consequences. The boring stuff. The stuff that required maps, experts, and occasionally someone who had actually read a history book.

Today, it feels more like we’re scrolling through Zillow looking for countries to invade.

Canada? We tried that. …

For one historic evening, America plans a celebration. The forecast, however, suggests Mother Nature may have plans of her own.

There are moments in this country when everyone waits for a judge.

Will the injunction stand? Will the appeal succeed? Will the Supreme Court intervene? We sit glued to cable news watching legal analysts draw arrows on touchscreens as though constitutional law is a branch of meteorology.

But every so often, a far older authority …

High prices, endless chaos, war, and exhaustion have Americans on the ropes. But history belongs to those who refuse defeat.

There are days when America feels exhausted.

Not the kind of tired that a good night’s sleep fixes. Not the kind where you grab another coffee and power through. I mean soul-tired. Spiritually exhausted. The kind of fatigue that settles into your bones after years of chaos, division, bad news alerts, economic anxiety, and the …

FIFA promised a global festival, but visa denials, travel bans, and airport interrogations are transforming soccer's grandest stage into a geopolitical minefield.

There was a time when the World Cup meant one thing: the world.

Not a portion of it. Not the countries that passed a background check. Not the fans whose passports happened to win the geopolitical lottery. The whole world.

Yet here we are in 2026, watching what may become the most ironic …

For all our technology, power, and sophistication, civilization still depends upon one surprisingly fragile concept: remembering what day it is.

If there is one lesson every American learns before they even learn long division, it’s that deadlines matter.

Your homework is due Friday. Not Saturday. Not whenever you feel emotionally prepared to turn it in. Friday.

Back in the day, the classic excuse was, “My dog ate my homework.” Today, thanks to modern politics, we …

As missiles fly, oil routes choke, and diplomats scramble, the world's most dangerous ceasefire edges toward collapse—with consequences reaching every wallet and household.

Every morning lately starts the same way. I roll over, grab my phone, and search for one word: ceasefire.

Like millions of people around the world, I’m hoping to see headlines announcing that the war with Iran is finally over. I’m hoping the Strait of Hormuz is open. I’m hoping oil tankers …

A cage on the White House lawn. A president in the spotlight. A nation cheering. What could possibly go wrong?

Next Sunday, like millions of other fight fans, I’ll be watching UFC Fight Night 250.

Not because I agree with where it’s being held.

Not because I think turning the White House lawn into a gladiator arena is the ideal way to celebrate America’s upcoming 250th birthday.

And certainly not because I’ve suddenly developed an …

After years inside Trump's orbit, I've learned one uncomfortable truth: sometimes the greatest threat to political judgment isn't the man, but the hatred.

There was a time in America when political opponents argued over ideas.

Taxes.

Foreign policy.

Healthcare.

The size of government.

Today, we argue over whether the President of the United States blinked too slowly during a meeting.

Progress.

This week, Democrats and anti-Trump commentators once again found themselves racing toward a familiar …

The first rule of opposing Donald Trump is simple: don't make mistakes. The second rule is even simpler: assume he's waiting for one.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when discussing Donald Trump is assuming that his enemies list only matters if someone is innocent.

That’s nonsense.

In fact, the truly dangerous enemies list isn’t the one that targets innocent people. It’s the one that waits patiently for guilty people, careless people, arrogant people, …

By Robert Reich

The mess at the Reflecting Pool as a metaphor for his many other messes

Friends,

Referring to the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall, Minnesota governor Tim Walz commented on X: “Found an imaginary problem, said only they could fix it, didn’t listen to experts, hired buddies who grifted millions, failed miserably, bragged how great it went. The entire Trump presidency in a nutshell.” (Walz could have added: “blamed others for his …

By Robert Reich

Until we throw the bums out and limit Trump's reign of criminality, corruption, cruelty, and treachery

Friends,

To you fathers, and to those of you who have or have had fathers, Happy Father’s Day.

For the next 135 days, our first and most important goal is to end Republican control of Congress, thereby limiting Trump’s reign of criminality, corruption, cruelty, and treachery.

This is a moral imperative for every one of us …

By Robert Reich

We need to hold him accountable for this, too

Friends,

In December 2025, Trump axed today’s holiday — Juneteenth, the official celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation — from the free admission days at the more than 100 national parks across America. He also axed Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a free admission day.

Instead, he substituted his own birthday, June 14, as a free admission day.

There you have it: the …

By Robert Reich

The underlying question goes well beyond Platner

Friends,

I keep having conversations with Democrats and progressives who disagree with each other about a fundamental issue. I’ll call it the “Platner Paradox” because the current controversy surrounding the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate from Maine exemplifies the disagreement, although it goes well beyond Graham Platner.

The underlying question is how important are attributes such as personal history and character relative to a candidate’s …

By Robert Reich

Friends,

Once a year — around our mutual birthdays — I have a long and prized phone call with a dear old (and getting older) friend. This year’s came yesterday.

One thing about dear old friends is they’ll tell you things about yourself no one else will tell you — stuff you probably already know but don’t want to admit.

My old friend didn’t disappoint yesterday.

“You’re getting up there,” he laughed.

…

By Robert Reich

What Trump and his "manosphere" are trying to tell us with their public displays of testosterone

Friends,

Tonight, Trump is throwing an 80th birthday bash for himself (he says it’s in honor of the 250th birthday of the United States) with a “Freedom250” Ultimate Fighting Championship cage match on the South Lawn of the White House at 8 p.m. ET.

It will be a bloody gladiator fight taking place inside a 600-ton, …

By Robert Reich

Of course he did. Here's the record. And he — and congressional Republicans who encouraged and enabled his war in Iran — should be held to account for it.

Friends,

Sometimes I provide you with information that I hope you’ll find helpful in making arguments with others. I don’t expect that what I share with you will change the minds of committed Trumpers, but the facts and the evidence may have some …

By Robert Reich

And what must be done to stop it

Friends,

I received the following from Richard Gephardt, who represented Missouri in the United States House from 1977 to 2005 and served as House Democratic Leader from 1989 to 2003, and Tim Wirth, who served in the U.S. House and Senate from Colorado from 1975 to 2003 and as the first U.S. Secretary of State for Global Affairs.

I have worked with both and …

By Robert Reich

Tomorrow's I.P.O. of SpaceX could turn out to be the universe's largest Ponzi scheme, and you and I are paying part of the price whether we like it or not.

Friends,

Elon Musk’s SpaceX goes on the market tomorrow. Rather than provide a range and then price the deal based on demand, as is customary in Initial Public Offerings, Musk has set a take-it-or-leave-it price of $135 per share.

He anticipates that …

By Robert Reich

He believes that his legal client is Trump, not the United States

Friends,

Let me get right to the point. The Senate should not confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general.

Blanche, who used to be Trump’s private lawyer, has treated the Justice Department as Trump’s private law firm. He still believes that Trump — rather than the United States — is his client.

At the very least, the Senate should insist, as …

By Robert Reich

Was he just stressed, or is he laying the groundwork for contesting the midterms, or is he showing increasing signs of dementia?

Friends,

Yesterday I asked a group of eight specialists who have closely watched Trump over the years — two clinical psychologists, a psychiatrist, two medical doctors, and three political advisers — about their reactions to Trump’s interview that aired on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.”

Here’s the part of the interview …

By Robert Reich

So don't break out the champagne about Friday's jobs report

Friends,

Friday’s jobs report — showing that America added 172,000 jobs in May — stimulated a lot of celebratory bullsh*t.

Trump said, “It’s raining jobs!” White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett claimed the job market is "hitting on all cylinders.” The mainstream media called it a “blowout jobs report,” “stronger-than-expected jobs data,” the labor market’s “best three-month stretch in more …

By Robert Reich

Trump has shown us why we need a good and decent government

Friends,

I detest him and everything he does or says. Ditto his despicable aides and Cabinet members, his unprincipled sycophants and suck-ups.

But it’s possible that someday we’ll look back on this horrendous era and say we needed Trump. We needed to see how horrible it could get before America was able to revive its ideals.

Please hear me out.

…

By Robert Reich

Hint: I was in his class

Friends,

I focused this morning on Chevron and the Big Oil monopoly — and the importance of antitrust enforcement. I’d like to give you a bit more background on what happened to antitrust in America.

Whether it’s Big Oil, Big Ag, Big Tech, Kroger and Albertsons dominating the grocery market, or Big AI (Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX), corporate concentration is on the rise.

And its social …

By Robert Reich

Hint: It's not taxes or environmental fees

Friends,

Trump and his Republicans say gas is hugely expensive in California because of state taxes and fees (mostly related to the environment).

Here’s the sign you’ll see at Chevron stations:

This is total rubbish. See my video, above.

Gas prices are higher in California because giant oil corporations like Chevron have more monopoly power in California than they have in other states, which gives …

By Robert Reich

Trump's Strategy for the 2026 Midterms requires us to prepare now

Friends,

To remind you, here’s what Trump said on “Meet the Press” that aired on June 7:

“The [2020] election was rigged. It was a dirty election … And it’s happening again right now in California…. they’re cheating on the election. … they’re crooked…. You know that these elections are rigged. … Your elections in this country … are like a …

By Robert Reich

Trump and Musk are dominating our economy and our politics, which tells us something about the era we're living through

Friends,

Elon Musk has just become the world’s first trillionaire. Donald Trump is America’s first dictator. But they have more in common than their economic and political dominance.

To describe both as selfish narcissists would be a wild understatement. Both are maniacally obsessed with increasing their own personal wealth, power, and control.

…

Midias+
Guest article by Dina Doll

Trump told Americans to "get on to something else." New Mexico said no.

While the White House has spent months trying to bury the Epstein files, a small bipartisan commission in Santa Fe just fired 14 subpoenas at the people and institutions that allegedly let it all happen. They are going after Epstein’s own estate. They are going after the FBI and the DOJ. They are going after Deutsche …

By Robert Reich

His power is whooshing away

Friends,

No, he’s not over over. I wish he were. But something important has changed.

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to direct him to withdraw U.S. forces from Iran or win approval from Congress to continue the war. It was a remarkable rebuke. Four Republicans sided with Democrats.

His “short-term excursion” into Iran, which he promised in late February would last no more than “four …