đ„đșđž SPARK & FLAG
A weekly briefing from The All American. See through the flash. Avoid the traps. Move the majority.
Each week, weâll break down the stories, signals, and spin shaping American politicsâand 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 âfounded by
, , and âlifelong organizers, strategists, and builders working to forge a new majoritarian movement rooted in patriotism and universalist values.Thanks for reading. Letâs get to it.
WEDGE OF THE WEEK: Government Shutdown Shows Cracks in the Authoritarian Coalition
Whatâs Going On: The federal shutdown is now the second-longest in modern history and reality is starting to hit. SNAP, the supplemental nutrition assistance program that helps feed over 40 million Americans, ends on Saturday. Programs serving mothers and children are beginning to run dry. Tens of millions of Americansâmany of them red state voters as GOP Sen. Josh Hawley concedesâcould go hungry as the President refuses to tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds. At the same time, notices of rising health care premiums are landing in peopleâs mailboxes, and air traffic controllers and other federal employees have started missing paychecks.
đ§ Big Picture: Trumpâs coalition is beginning to fracture under the weight of real-world consequences. The working-class families who believed in his economic populism are seeing the truth of it in the form of cuts and callousness. Nearly 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries with SNAP and nearly 6 in 10 Americans are âextremelyâ or âveryâ concerned about rising health costs next year, with over 24 million who rely on coverage that is now at risk. Businesses suffer when flights get cancelled and meetings have to be postponed. Past shutdowns have shown that when voters start to feel the pain directly, political loyalty fades fast. And with polls showing Republicans getting more blame than Democrats, the opposition must continue to hammer home the impact of Trumpâs chaotic leadership on peopleâs pocketbooks.
đ„ Wedge Play: This moment demonstrates the power of reality. Across the country, people who are usually siloed by the media they consume are all feeling the real-world costs of this shutdown. As much as right-wing media dominates Americansâ attention, opponents are cutting through by uniting behind a single narrative that speaks to peopleâs everyday lives and struggles. Democrats can frame this as a simple moral contrast: they are fighting to keep healthcare affordable and families afloat, while Republicans are holding the country hostage to protect Trumpâs lawless agenda. The more this message carries across sectors and communities, the harder it becomes for Trumpâs supporters to defend their position and a president who is - at the same time - demanding a nearly quarter billion dollar payday from taxpayers.
Unconstitutional Third Term: The Emerging Authoritarian Strategy
Whatâs Going On: Trump and his MAGA allies are, again, openly telegraphing plans to extend his rule into a third term in clear violation of the Constitution. Former adviser Steve Bannon declared a dictatorial vision that Trump âis going to be president in â28,â describing it as part of a plan to make the âAge of Trumpâ permanent. Simultaneously, Republicans are advancing extreme redistricting efforts that would entrench Trumpâs control of Congress should he seek to override constitutional term limits.
đ§ Big Picture: This isnât just bluster. As Trump has made abundantly clear, he will never willingly leave office. When Trumpâs Supreme Court majority gave him immunity from criminal prosecution, his presidency became a shield against accountability and a massive profit center. It is now an instrument of power and corruption that enriches Trump, his family and circle, and protects him and his enablers. As Anne Applebaum argues in âAutocracy Inc.â corruption is not just a side effect of Trumpâs authoritarianism, âbut a central mechanism for its maintenance.â
â ïž Why This Matters: Swing voters who backed him in 2024 are beginning to see the direct connection between Trumpâs broken promisesâto lower prices and protect Medicare and Social Securityâand his epic corruption. A third term is not âpolitics as usual,â but a direct attack on democracy and the rule of law. Voters who believed that Trump would deliver for regular people are seeing the reality that the President is delivering, and intends to go on delivering, but only for the few who are in on Trumpâs crypto grift, sweetheart trade deals, and billionaire tax cuts.
The East Wing Demolition and the Imperial Presidency
Whatâs Going On: The Trump administration has completed demolition of the East Wing to make way for a new 90,000-square-foot ballroom that will dwarf the White House itself. The $300 million cost will be covered by Trumpâs network of donors and billionaires including Silicon Valley tech giants, crypto bros, and the nationâs largest military contractors. CNN and Axios report that public reaction has been overwhelmingly negative, with polling showing most Americans oppose the move.
đ§ Big Picture: Itâs easy to dismiss the demolition as keeping with past White House renovations, but it is more troubling than that. Trump ignored the laws and procedures that govern the disposition of official government buildings, treating the White House as his own personal property. The destruction of public heritage to build a private ballroom for elites fits the pattern of every decision this administration makes, consolidating wealth and power around a single man. As David Kurtz in Talking Points Memo put it, âIn our new gilded age, everything is for sale.â
â ïž Why This Matters: The East Wing demolition is a microcosm of the authoritarian project itself. Weâre witnessing the replacement of public service with private enrichment, and the transformation of democratic symbols into personal brand platforms. Trump has turned the presidency into his property, and for a public growing weary of his excess, the imagery is powerful. If a president bulldozes part of the White House to build a ballroom, whatâs stopping him from bulldozing the Constitution as well? This moment crystallizes the stakes of the fight ahead and whether this remains the peopleâs government at all.
THE FLAG
Each week, weâll share one thing worth watching, listening to, or reading.
Ilyseâs Recommendation: As I was running an errand this morning, I caught a piece on NPR that talked about how ICE agents are switching, or even removing, license plates from their cars in order to avoid being identified by observers and held to account for their actions. As regular readers know, weâve tried to drive home the costs of allowing ICE to act with impunity on human rights and the democracy in which they are situated. After I got home, I read this piece by 404 Media on ICE circumventing process to occupy property, even on a University campus. While the example of ICE refusing to cede a lease in a building designated for educational study in Wisconsin may feel small bore, itâs indicative of an emerging system where the interests of a rogue force that answers to no one but this President is taking over our streets and our institutions.
Peterâs Recommendation: In keeping with the theme of this weekâs Spark & Flag, Iâm recommending Ben Raderstorfâs âCorruption is not a sideshow.â As I talk with friends and colleagues I keep hearing things like, âwell, heâs only got three more years,â or, âthank goodness heâs a lame duck.â We need to move past this stage of denial. Redistricting, DOJ âmonitoringâ elections, troops in the streets, even the new ballroom; these are not separate stories but aspects of the same story that we all saw unfold on January 6, 2021. Trump doesnât intend to let go of the worldâs most powerful tool of personal enrichment and aggrandisement - ever.
Sethâs Recommendation: A friend recommended Inside the Hidden Conservative Network Bankrolling an âEcosystemâ of Right-Wing News because they knew I was researching what it takes to build the sort of communications architecture that can shape public opinion. This article shows how a single foundation, the Orwellian named âInforming America Foundation,â set up an echo chamber starting in 2021 that now includes, âmore than 2,000 hyperlocal platforms and 10 national platformsâ reaching an audience of more than 50 million people.â This echo chamber is a big reason why so many Americans live in an alternate reality.