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, …

When presidents ignore limits, Congress faces a defining choice: defend the Constitution, surrender its authority, or watch the rulebook become meaningless forever.

For most of our lives, the rules are pretty simple.

From nursery school onward, we are taught that rules matter. Red means stop. Green means go. Don’t hit your classmates. Don’t cut the line. Raise your hand before speaking. As we grow older, the rules become more sophisticated, but the principle remains the …

As drones fill the skies and missiles cross the Gulf, one question remains: is the ceasefire real, or merely wishful thinking?

For anyone keeping score at home, we are apparently at war, not at war, in a ceasefire, not in a ceasefire, negotiating peace, preparing for escalation, and somehow doing all of it simultaneously.

Welcome to Day 96 of the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, where reality changes faster than a Rubio press release and where yesterday’s diplomatic …

A billion-dollar fund frozen by the courts, condemned by both parties, and fueled by speculation exposes Washington's crisis of trust, transparency, and accountability.

If you’re an American taxpayer trying to figure out what exactly is happening with President Trump’s proposed $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, congratulations. You have officially become the ball in the world’s most expensive game of political ping pong.

Back and forth it goes.

One day the fund is alive. The next day …

Between brunch, tefillin, and fifty thousand proud marchers, I found something social media rarely permits: nuance, coexistence, and a community refusing to disappear.

Sunday started exactly the way New Yorkers dream Sundays should start.

My wife and I grabbed brunch downtown at Croft Alley. We shared a breakfast burrito and almond flour banana pancakes, because marriage, at least a successful one, is largely the art of splitting calories and pretending you’re making healthy decisions while …

A $620 million Pentagon deal, a presidential son, a White House intervention, and a familiar question: where does national security end and political access begin?

In politics, appearances matter.

Actually, let me correct that. In politics, appearances are often the scandal long before anyone proves there was one.

That is why the latest revelations surrounding a $620 million Pentagon loan to Vulcan Elements, a North Carolina startup linked to Donald Trump Jr., should make every …

Everyone assumes Trump's fund is destined for January 6 defendants. The actual documents say something far different, creating a legal problem critics cannot ignore.

There is something remarkable happening right now, and it has very little to do with President Trump.

For once.

The outrage machine has locked onto the creation of the Trump Administration’s new Anti Weaponization Fund, and like most outrage machines, it appears to have skipped a rather important step: actually reading …

Behind closed doors, Pam Bondi returns protected by Trump’s machine, while survivors, victims, and Americans searching for truth are handed another carefully scripted disappointment.

There is a familiar ritual in Washington whenever there is an issue concerning President Trump. The lights go on. The cameras show up. Congress schedules a hearing. Republicans pretend to care about accountability. Democrats sharpen their soundbites. Cable news runs dramatic countdown clocks. And then, somehow, magically, everyone leaves with less …

In the world’s richest nation, millions of Americans silently battle hunger, humiliation, and hopelessness while politicians argue, markets soar, and empty kitchen tables multiply nightly.

The truth about America is that we only care about hunger when politicians need a backdrop for a campaign commercial. That’s when the cameras roll into food pantries. That’s when candidates suddenly discover the existence of struggling families somewhere between Iowa diners and factory floor photo ops. Until then, hunger …

Democrats smell victory while Trump quietly tightens his grip on the Republican Party, proving once again that MAGA loyalty still outweighs scandal, ideology, and experience.

For the better part of the last year, I have warned Democrats, pundits, donors, consultants, and every over caffeinated television analyst who starts hyperventilating the second a poll drops two points against Republicans, about one dangerous habit: taking victory laps before voters ever cast ballots.

And yet here we are …

As fresh wars spread across continents, Memorial Day becomes less about history and more about the terrifying possibility that tomorrow’s graves are already chosen.

Memorial Day was never supposed to become another three-day mattress sale wrapped in red, white, and blue balloons. It was meant to be sacred. Solemn. A pause. A collective exhale for a nation built on sacrifice and stained, time and time again, by the cost of war.

So before anything else, …

America’s deadliest contagion isn’t spreading through coughs or bloodstreams, but through rage, political obsession, and hatred turning presidents, bystanders, and democracy into targets.

There is a real epidemic running through America right now, and it’s not COVID, hantavirus, or Ebola. It’s something far more dangerous because it infects the mind before it destroys the body. It’s hate. The kind of blind, irrational, brain-rotting hatred that convinces people the answer to political disagreement is a bullet …

Tulsi Gabbard says family comes first after her husband’s cancer diagnosis, but inside Trump’s unraveling White House, Washington suspects a far more political goodbye.

There are moments inside every White House when the official explanation and the whispered explanation begin wrestling each other in the hallways. One gets printed in press releases. The other gets traded over steak dinners in Georgetown, encrypted Signal chats, and nervous conversations outside cable news green rooms. The resignation of …

After years of being smeared, surveilled, financially exposed, imprisoned, and silenced, I will file a claim asking whether America’s justice system became America’s political weapon.

Everyone has an opinion these days. Social media practically demands it. One side screams conspiracy, the other screams cover up, and somewhere in the middle are actual facts, sitting alone at the bar wondering why nobody invited them to the conversation. Opinions are fine. Hell, America was built on loud …

As Stephen Colbert exits late night television, America confronts a darker question: when comedians become political enemies, has entertainment quietly transformed into ideological warfare?

There is an old expression about not poking the bear. It exists for a reason. Bears are powerful, unpredictable, territorial creatures that tend to react when provoked. The phrase has always served as a warning about escalation, about what happens when tensions rise and nobody wants to back down.

Lately, though, …

While Democrats celebrate polling fantasies and independents drift uneasily, Trump quietly tightens his grip on Republican power, reminding America that political death remains greatly exaggerated.

Donald Trump has spent nearly a decade turning political obituaries into campaign literature. Every few months, another poll drops, another panel of overconfident pundits appears on television, and another chorus of political “experts” announces that this time, finally, Trump is finished. Last night’s Republican primaries should have shattered that fantasy …

Peace talks mask a darker reality: Iran wants survival without surrender, America wants denuclearization without endless war, and the world keeps pretending both are compatible.

The fantasy being sold to the American public is that peace with Iran is just one diplomatic handshake away. One more summit. One more backchannel negotiation. One more carefully staged photo op where everyone smiles while secretly reaching for the knife under the table. That fantasy is nonsense.

The reality …

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

A brief conversation on the way to breakfast

Friends,

Someone I didn’t know approached me early this morning on my way to breakfast. He looked about 60 years old, with dark hair graying at the temples. He was dressed in a tie and jacket.

He asked me if I was Robert Reich. I admitted to it.

“Well, I just want to say …” he began, but nothing more came out of his …

By Robert Reich

Four possible directions

Friends,

Anthropic — the artificial intelligence company behind the chatbot Claude —confidentially filed yesterday for an initial public offering. Soon, SpaceX and OpenAI will be doing the same. The three I.P.O.s could mark a once-in-a-generation creation of giant AI firms, and huge money for a relative handful of people (including the world’s first trillionaire, Elon Musk).

But this giant AI wave is also likely to spell the end of …

By Robert Reich

It's a propaganda extravaganza that will cost you

Friends,

In light of my post yesterday about Trump’s plans for a Trump rally on the mall to celebrate the start of America’s 250th birthday festivities — designed, in his words, for “patriots” and promising to be “wild” — several of you wanted to know more about how it’s being planned and paid for.

This year’s 250th anniversary events, commemorating America’s founders’ refusal to …

By Robert Reich

But the gap continues to widen, and it's now on the verge of exploding

Friends,

It’s impossible to understand American politics without also understanding the American economy (and vice versa). Politics and economics may be different disciplines, but they’re two sides of the same coin.

This came home to me again when I saw Thursday’s report on the U.S. gross domestic product.

Numbers can be pretty boring, but bear with me. Worker …

By Robert Reich

The $1.8 billion fund was only the final straw

Friends,

When the history of the sordid and cruel megalomaniac who now occupies the Oval Office is written, it may well be that his deal with himself to set up a $1.8 billion fund for reimbursing anyone he feels was harmed by the federal government is chronicled as the final straw.

Why not Trump’s absurd tariffs, which are really import taxes passed on …

By Robert Reich

Trump's physical deterioration is accompanied by increasingly aggressive, chaotic, erratic, and irrational behavior. They're two parts of a disintegrating whole.

Friends,

I do not wish Trump ill. While he hasn’t shown a shred of compassion for anyone other than himself, this doesn’t justify our lacking compassion for him.

It’s also in the interest of America and the world that he be physically and mentally able to discharge the duties of his office.

…

By Robert Reich

And what are the consequences?

Friends,

Trump’s war in Iran is entering its third month. Gas is $1.50 more at the pump than it was before February 28. Other prices are rising. The American economy is showing signs of the dreaded stagflation (the combination of inflation and stagnation that’s difficult to overcome). There’s a loud outcry over revelations about Trump’s self-dealing, including his $1.8 billion slush fund and permanent immunity from any …

By Robert Reich

An Appreciation on Memorial Day

Friends,

Robbie was the kindest person I ever knew.

I met him in our dormitory the day we entered college in 1964. He saw me struggling to carry my big luggage crates up the two flights of stairs to my dorm room and, without saying a word, grabbed one and hauled it to the second floor.

“Thank you!” I stammered when we reached the landing.

“Don’t mention …

By Robert Reich

It's a LONG way down from Stephen Colbert to his replacement

Friends,

I watched Stephen Colbert’s last The Late Show episode last night with a mixture of laughter, sadness and anger — anger at the cowardly and craven executives of CBS and its new corporate owner, Skydance. And at Skydance’s robber-baron, Trump suck-ups Larry and David Ellison.

CBS says they canceled Colbert for financial reasons, which is utter bullshit (they made gobs …

By Robert Reich

A memo to Democratic candidates on connecting Trump’s lousy economy to his corrupt regime.

Friends,

Here’s a memo to Democrats as they begin campaigning in earnest for control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections. (Please send to any candidates you care about.)

***

TO: Democratic candidates in the 2026 midterm elections

RE: Connect Trump’s lousy economy to his corrupt regime.

The purpose of this memo is to help you …

By Robert Reich

Have we given up on a central goal we sought to achieve more than two centuries ago?

Friends,

I was born just after the end of World War II. The first half of the 20th century marked a particularly difficult, violent era.

But the 21st century so far has been, well, one trauma after another.

It started with 9/11, followed by the grim wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then the Wall Street …

By Robert Reich

The Trump critic and satirist has also been one of the most thoughtful, funny, and genuinely decent people on television

Friends,

Stephen Colbert’s last show is this Thursday evening.

CBS refused to renew his contract, and you know exactly why: He mocked and criticized Trump.

CBS says it’s ending “The Late Show” because the show was costing CBS some $40 million a year. That’s utter bullsh*t. Colbert allowed CBS to charge higher …

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 …

By Robert Reich

An essay by Asli Aydintasbas from December 1, 2024 — mere weeks before his second regime began — is as fresh and useful as it was then.

Friends,

I sometimes share with you perspectives about what we’re up against from non-American writers and journalists. Asli Aydintasbas, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., and a former journalist, published this short essay, titled “Trump Will Overplay His Hand: Here’s How …

By Robert Reich

A Reflection on Memorial Day

Friends,

I keep hearing that one of America’s biggest problems is we’re “divided and polarized.” For example, New York Times columnist David French: “We’ve known for a long time that America is deeply polarized, and we’ve known the problem is only getting worse.”

This is bullsh*t. The problem is not that we’re divided and polarized.

The problem is that a significant portion of America is buying Trump’s …

By Robert Reich

What they have to teach us about effective communication in the time of a neofascist

Friends,

I’ve been spending much of the last month watching and listening to Democrats trying to find their core message for the upcoming midterms.

The sad truth is that (with a few exceptions, such as Bernie, Elizabeth Warren, and AOC) a clear Democratic message isn’t getting through about the dangers Trump poses to America and the world, …