Commentator Brian Tyler Cohen talks about his new book "The Day After" in which he argues that Trump is the endpoint of a 50-year campaign by conservatives to "wield power for the profit of the few"...and how Democrats let it happen. But the book offers a blueprint for how Dems can move forward.

Compared to the 1.4 million jobs added in Biden's last year, the entire first year of Trump 2.0 only added 181,000. Unemployment and gas prices are rising. Meanwhile Secretary of War Hegseth is spending up to an estimated TWO BILLION dollars a day to bomb Iran. Investigations are pending but it appears the U.S. is responsible for killing an estimated 150 Iranian elementary school girls.

New Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger delivered the Democratic response to Trump's bloviating in the longest ever State of the Union. She said, "The president did what he always does: he lied, he distracted, and he offered no real solutions to our nation’s pressing challenges — so many of which he is actively making worse,” She concluded with "We are working to lower costs, keep our communities and country safe and we are working for you." Click the button for the video. .

At the Feb. 11th House Judiciary Committee hearing, Trump's Attorney General Pam Bondi deflected questions from Democrats ("I'm gonna answer the question the way I wanna answer the question"), insulted lawmakers ("washed up loser"), refused to face the Epstein survivors sitting behind her, and claimed "we should be focused on all the great work that this president has done: the Dow is over 50,000 right now."

On her way to a doctor's appointment for treatment of a traumatic brain injury, Minneapolis citizen Aliya Rahman got caught in an ICE traffic jam and was assaulted by agents, detained, denied medical treatment and fell unconscious. She survived to testify before Congress and speak to news outlets like ABC.

MAGA podcaster Steve Bannon echoed Trump’s lie that undocumented immigrants corrupt the polls, saying that only about 20% of real voters select Democrats. "We will never again allow an election to be stolen." Historian Heather Cox Richardson reminds us that Republicans have been crying voter fraud since the 1990s...without evidence. She also looks back at North Carolina in the 1890s when white supremacists subverted voting rights.

The Boss wrote it on Jan. 24, released it on the 28th, and on the 30th, the song protesting the ICE killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti was #1 on iTunes. Hours later, Springsteen performed the song at a benefit concert in Minneapolis.

In a January 18th text message to Norway's Prime Minister, Trump said: "Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace." But Trump's claim of stopping 8 wars is wildly exaggerated. The Independent--a U.K. news source--presents the facts.

Historian Heather Cox Richardson considers the hallmark of the first year of Trump's second term: dismantling the country's constitutional system.

Mary Trump (the President's niece) asserts that it's not enough that Donald has everything, but anybody who stands up to him must have their lives destroyed.

Four U.S, soldiers died during a NATO training mission. When asked about it, Commander-in-Chief Trump said he had not been briefed. He has a history of no respect for service and today is gutting veterans benefits. Niece Mary Trump looks at Uncle Donald's upbringing where serving the country took time away from making money.

David Pepper began his "Trump Tracker"--a day-by-day accounting of Trump 2.0--on Dec. 1, 2024 before Trump officially became President again. Here is a recap of the 100 days since then.

John Oliver takes a frightening and infuriating (but hilarious) look at the destructive chaos of Trump's first month in the Oval Office for the 2nd time. BE WARNED--ADULT LANGUAGE.

Ohioan Alexander Sheppard who was released from federal prison after serving time for his part in the Capitol riot, believes all the Jan 6 insurrectionists should be pardoned; but an OSU sociologist says it's a bad idea and would vindicate the rioters' actions.

Convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records, President-Elect Trump is now a sentenced felon.

Attorney Joyce Vance reminds us that George Orwell's "1984" is "a warning, not just an instruction manual for would-be dictators." And she also reports on the letter two Senators wrote to President Biden urging him to issue a directive clarifying the deployment of the military under the Insurrection Act, concerned that Trump would follow through on his comments to invoke the Act "on his first day in office." FREE SUBSTACK SUBSCRIPTION TO "CIVIL DISCOURSE WITH JOYCE VANCE."

Click the button and scroll down to page xiv to read "Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise." The goal is "to deconstruct the Administrative State." Candidate Trump denied having anything to do with it, but President Trump has embraced Project 2025.

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller passed away at the age of 81. He also conducted the investigation into the Trump campaign's connection to Russian interference in the 2016 election. The report "does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him" So, Trump celebrated Mueller's death in a [Un]Truth Social post. MS NOW's Rachel Maddow reports.

Since 2020, Trump has constantly claimed that Democrats cheat to win elections. He reiterated that lie in the State of the Union to Republican applause. Bulwark journalist Will Saletan examines Trump's lies about Democrat cheating over the years and concludes that the President plans to delegitimize any wins by Democrats in the midterms this year.

ADULT HUMOR AND LANGUAGE

How did the bloated Department of Homeland Security get started? What are puppy killer Kristi Noem's qualifications to run it? How do you get to be an ICE agent? How are other critical agencies affected by DHS's focus on deporting immigrants? John Oliver answers those questions and more on "Last Week Tonight."

After Trump declared on a podcast "Republicans ought to nationalize the voting," democracy experts say there is little doubt about the President’s desire to interfere in elections this November.

The White House said it removed a video repeating the lies about the "stolen" 2020 election reposted on Trump's Truth Social account depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. An official said a staffer "erroneously made the post."

Federal Judge Ana Reyes blocked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s bid to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in the U.S...including the plaintiffs: a neuroscientist researching Alzheimer’s disease; a software engineer at a national bank; a lab assistant in a toxicology department; a college economics major; and a full-time registered nurse--all Haitians. Read the extraordinary 83-page ruling where the judge calls out Noem and Trump at length: https://reason.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/gov.uscourts.dcd_.283214.124.0_1.pdf

The Australian Broadcasting Corp, analyzes Trump's text to the Prime Minister of Norway complaining about not being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He went on to claim "The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland." Despite the fact the U.S. has signed treaties over the past 100+ years recognizing Denmark's sovereignty over Greenland, Trump said "There are no written documents."

Commentator Marilou Johanek examines the Administration's response to the ICE killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, focusing on the "repulsive spectacle" of J.D. Vance's press briefing when he claimed--contrary to the video evidence--"she tried to run somebody over with her car! And the guy defended himself." Vance also declared that shooter Jonathan Ross is "protected by absolute immunity."

In his 4th book about Trump, ABC Correspondent Jonathan Karl writes about the 2024 campaign that returned Trump to the White House and how his second term as President is different, especially with its focus on getting back at his enemies.

The Economy, Inflation, Tariffs, even Immigration...Americans' approval of Trump's actions are dropping after only 100 days. And in a televised interview, Trump insists that a made-up photo of Abrego Garcia's knuckles with tattoos of "MS 13" is real.

A Democratic polling firm provides the most comprehensive post-mortem on the '24 election. It reveals that many GOP voters believe Trump over clear facts; they trust Trump more than Democrats.

Sam Stein, Managing Editor of The Bulwark, is joined by two Bulwark contributors in reacting to the shouting match at the White House meeting between Trump and the President of Ukraine. It began when V-P Vance accused Zelenskyy of being ungrateful. One of The Bulwark analysts concludes that "The United States has crossed the line from the good guys to the bad guys."

It may not fit the dictionary definition, but Elon Musk with Trump's blessing is staging "a new kind of coup" against the American government.

Jack Smith and his team believed they could have secured a conviction according to the 130-page report. You can read it for yourself.

Mary Trump writes about her experience on Jan 6, 2021 and the failure of American Democracy.

As he begins to analyze what happened with the election, David Pepper looks at it from a historical perspective...and calls attention to the issue on which the right wing "got absolutely destroyed." FREE SUBSTACK SUBSCRIPTION TO "PEPPERSPECTIVES."