💥🇺🇸 SPARK & FLAG

A weekly briefing from The All American. See through the flash. Avoid the traps. Move the majority.

Each week, we’ll break down the stories, signals, and spin shaping American politics—and offer a sharp, usable perspective on how to push back against rising authoritarianism and build a democracy that actually works.

This newsletter is brought to you by The All American, the communications arm of American Futures —founded by Ilyse Hogue, Peter Teague, and Seth Flaxman—lifelong organizers, strategists, and builders working to forge a new majoritarian movement rooted in patriotism and universalist values.

Thanks for reading. Let’s get to it.

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TRAP OF THE WEEK: Epstein Files and Not Getting Lost in the Conspiracy Spiral

Each week we will either shine a spotlight on a MAGA “Trap of the Week,” and how to neutralize it. Or, we’ll amplify the “Wedge of the Week,” a crack in the MAGA coalition to capitalize upon.

What it is: The Epstein files remain front-page news, with MAGA hardliners and Democrats alike tempted to use unproven theories about Trump’s involvement as political ammunition. Trump, who has a track record of flipping damaging narratives (see: the Steele Dossier), is already working to reframe the conversation as a “witch hunt” and rally his base around claims of political persecution.

🧨 Trap Avoidance Play: Daniel Friedman’s piece in Mother Jones makes the case for why Democrats should not take the bait. We should heed his advice and not overreach. The smart move is to let Trump’s documented association with Epstein speak for itself. There’s plenty of damning evidence, from the WSJ letter to video of Trump and Epstein in each other’s company. The real danger lies in getting sucked into advancing conspiracies that can’t be substantiated, which will only fuel Trump’s narrative of political persecution. Stay focused on his real impact and damage he has done to voters—Medicaid cuts, ICE militarization, etc—and keep Epstein as a backdrop that proves Trump is part of the swamp, and not the outsider he claims to be.

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National Guard Backlash Over Trump’s LA Immigration Deployment

What’s going on: Trump’s decision to flood Los Angeles with National Guard troops has led to low morale and concern over the mission of their deployment to aid in the administration's deportation efforts. In interviews with the Guard in The New York Times, members questioned the legality and use of force to police their own communities. One went so far to say, “The moral injuries of this operation…will be enduring.”

🧭 Big Picture: Trump’s decision to deploy military force to enact his political will has all the makings of anti-immigration zealot Stephen Miller’s hardline enforcement strategy, and we are seeing the ramifications of cities around the country being targeted, and community members being told to police an inhumane effort against their neighbors. Using the Guard as his personal muscle erodes the local oversight of this emergency military force and the natural check it is meant to have against tyrannical leaders who would use it for political agendas. Trump circumventing state control of the Guard sets the stage for targeting anyone who stands in his way, not just immigrants.

⚠️ Why This Matters: According to the Times story, California National Guard retention rates post-deployment are at 21%, compared to a national average of 60%. This ultimately makes us way less safe, hollowing out one of the nation’s most crucial defense and relief forces, and creating vulnerabilities at home when members refuse to re-enlist because they feel they’re being weaponized as a political tool. This is more than just an immigration story. It’s a wedge moment with working-class and Latino voters, and even veterans and military families, who see Trump’s actions as violating core democratic principles. We can highlight the cost of turning neighbors into targets, and expose how Trump’s plan blurs the line between civilian law enforcement and militarized authoritarian control.

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Private Equity Handout Hidden in Trump’s Tax Bill

What’s going on: Buried in Trump and Republicans’ abominable budget bill is a tax break that hands billions to private equity firms—the same Wall Street titans who buy up companies, saddle them with debt, slash jobs, and often drive them into bankruptcy. Reporting from The Lever shows this carve-out was a top priority for private equity lobbyists, many of whom are major Trump donors.

🧭 Big Picture: Most of the attention has been focused on how the bill guts healthcare, but don’t miss these subsidies for corporate takeovers that gut jobs, cut wages, and hollow out Main Street businesses and the Middle Class. It’s a policy handout for hedge fund CEOs at your expense.

⚠️ Why This Matters: While Trump pretends to be the populist defender of working people, his policies keep rewarding the same corporate predators responsible for shuttered factories, bankrupt retail giants, and crumbling hospital networks. We need to make this hypocrisy crystal clear: Trump isn’t fighting for workers—he’s selling them out to Wall Street.

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THE FLAG

Each week, we’ll share one thing worth watching, listening to, or reading this week.

Ilyse’s Recommendation: The influence of tech culture over our political economy was undeniable, even before billionaires like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk started using their vast wealth to tilt election outcomes. In his strongly argued piece for techdirt “Fascism for First Time Founders,” Mike Masnick levels the argument that a “tech-friendly” dictator is good for innovation and rallies new founders to the fight for democracy.

Seth’s Recommendation: I'm obsessed with why everything (but especially food) is so expensive and shitty in America, and so affordable in Europe. I have a feeling that monopolies and private equity have a lot to do with it and plan on educating myself over the next few months -- this Wired interview with Megan Greenwell put her new book "Bad Company" on my radar.

Peter’s Recommendation: In A United Opposition For America Mike Brock explains why, in this time of crisis, ideological purity has to give way to democratic solidarity. “We are in a battle for democratic survival. And while anti-Trump conservatives, liberals, and progressives may be enemies in certain respects, they must have the capacity to recognize their shared interests. If you are too morally puritanical to manage this thought, then you unwittingly serve the interests of democratic decline.”