July 17, 2026

Trump and his team are throwing the weight of the government behind a far right conspiracy, The preoccupation with communism leads to a claim that all political positions designed to regulate business and provide a basic social safety net reflect a left wing radicalism, cost tax dollars, redistribute wealth, and are a slippery slope to socialism, Reactionaries have demonized Black Americans, people of color, and women, But the modern government has broad support, Trump and his loyalists are trying to push a fantastical vision of current conditions in the US that has been debunked, Trump pointed to documents to say that China had created an election security nightmare that was downplayed by the “deep state,” but the documents Trump released showed nothing of the sort, just evidence that Russia tried to influence the election on Trump’s behalf, Demands that states run voter rolls through a federal digital tool have been blocked repeatedly, Steve Bannon called for immediate action against “communists,” Stephen Miller resorted to claims that protestors were ugly and deformed.

Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-

Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

You can also find me:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson