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In this week’s Two Brothers Talking, Don Lemon and I spotlight President Trump’s post bragging about meeting with Russell Vought, “of Project 2025 fame.” Trump said they will decide which “Democrat agencies” to cut during the shutdown and whether those cuts should be permanent.
Yesterday, I wrote an article outlining how Trump and Vought would exploit the shutdown to accelerate Project 2025. Today, Trump basically posted the premise.
Don and I connect that admission to the broader Project 2025 plan: purge nonpartisan civil servants, slash programs, and twist the federal government into a tool of the far-right. We also spell out why Democrats’ focus on expiring ACA subsidies is smart—but why they should widen the frame and expand beyond healthcare to include critiques of Trump’s broader authoritarian agenda.
We talk strategy and stakes: how to meet voters everywhere (cable, social, podcasts, streaming), why unscripted clarity beats poll-tested mush, and how to use Trump’s own words against him. We also push back on the right’s political-violence narrative and discuss why this outrage economy masks a brittle movement that needs constant escalation to survive.
If you want the big picture on the shutdown and the messaging that could actually move people, this conversation has you covered.
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