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Donald Trump’s drive to dictatorship continued in a week where he

Also on our political radar this week:

We look at the revolutionary remake of the Republican Party over the last two decades in this week’s guest segment. Jeff and Mark are joined by one of the best practitioners of the political arts, former Republican State Chairman Rusty Hills. Hills is a walking Wikipedia of Michigan Republican politics over the last half-century. He and Jeff Timmer worked side-by-side on multiple campaigns; Rusty and Mark were friendly rivals during his two terms as chair of the Michigan Republican Party. He was twice elected unanimously to serve in that job, spending every day trying to make Mark’s life as Democratic Party chair miserable! Before that, Rusty served ten years as one of Governor John Engler’s chief lieutenants following Engler’s electoral ouster of two-term incumbent James Blanchard in November 1990.

Hills now is a teaching professor in public policy at the Gerald Ford School of Public Policy of the University of Michigan, and serves as Chancellor and Founder of Holy Spirits Institute, a non-profit educational venture. His goal is to establish a quality, four-year liberal arts Catholic college, located in the Greater Lansing area.

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On the podcast this week…

Trump’s insane tariffs are now in effect … and the inflation surge is underway. Tomatoes, iPhones, Bananas, Automobiles, Coffee, Prescription drugs, Chocolate, Wine, virtually everything sold by Walmart and Amazon – prices are going up on just about everything. Economists at Yale this week estimated the impact on an average family at $2,400 per year.

Just to make things even worse, the Trump tariffs are pissing off all of our allies and increasingly isolating the United States from the rest of the world.

This last week included the 60th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. Both Trump and his Supreme Court are working to finish gutting the law for which a lot of people gave their lives.

Between walks on the White House roof, Trump is ramping up the heat on Republican-run states to increase the rigging of congressional elections. What started with his claim that Texas “owed him” five additional districts rigged to favor Republicans is expanding across the nation with talk of new gerrymanders in multiple Republican-run states. Democrats are fighting back in multiple ways. Later in the podcast we’ll talk with one of the leaders of the anti-gerrymandering crusade, Texas state representative Mihaela Plesa – the vice chair of the Texas House Democratic caucus who is currently on an extended out-of-state trip.

And the Supreme Court has decided it will hear arguments on challenges to provisions of the law which provide protections against racial gerrymanders.

Also on our radar this week:

We’re joined on the podcast by one of the leaders in Texas fighting against a bigger gerrymander of congressional districts, Representative Mihaela Plesa. Representative Plesa is a lifelong Texan serving the Dallas area. She is the first-generation daughter of Romanian immigrants who fled Eastern Europe. Now in her second term as State Representative, Plesa was elected the Vice Chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus. Representative Plesa owned and operated her own small business in fashion merchandising and design, focusing on Texas-made products while helping other entrepreneurs start and grow their own small businesses. Before running for the Texas House, Plesa served as a legislative director for three regular sessions and four special sessions. She currently is on an extended tour of an undisclosed location outside of Texas … rumored to be Chicago.

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On the podcast this week…

We’re recording on August 1, the day that was the unchangeable deadline for trade deals that changed. To no one’s surprise, Taco Don has done it again – announcing a 90 day extension of the deadline with Mexico.

The tariff-created damage has already begun. There’s anger and apprehension in Michigan’s auto industry. Both the UAW and Manufacturers’ Association say Trump’s sketchy tariff deal with Japan is devastating for domestic manufacturers, giving Japanese manufacturers an advantage over domestic producers. Some suppliers have already begun layoffs.

Trump traveled to Scotland to 1) promote his golf courses, 2) create the appearance of a tariff deal with the E.U., and 3) escape the daily questions about his onetime BFF Jeffrey Epstein. He cheated at golf, the announced tariff deal is probably an unworkable fantasy, and the Epstein story only got worse for him as his explanations kept changing. 

His top priority this week is getting Texas to expand its gerrymander to create 5 additional Republican districts.

Some of the other stories we’re tracking closer to home:

We’re joined on the podcast today by Jeff’s fellow warrior at the Lincoln Project, All Star campaign consultant Rick Wilson. Rick is a renowned political strategist, infamous ad-maker, writer, speaker, and political commentator. In December 2019 Rick co-founded the Lincoln Project. Their mission is to hold accountable those who would violate their oaths to the Constitution and would place their loyalty to others before their loyalty to the American people and democracy.

Rick has authored two New York Times bestsellers. His first book, the very prescient “Everything Trump Touches Dies”, shot to #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list in 2018. His second book, Running Against The Devil – A Plot To Save America from Trump And Democrats From Themselves, was released in January to rave reviews and opened at #4 on the New York Times bestseller list. Rick hosts the podcasts “Rick Wilson’s The Enemies List” and the Lincoln Project podcast.

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The Epstein saga continues to dominate Donald Trump’s admittedly minimal attention span as he throws out all sorts of invitations to talk about anything else. Just this week, that list of distractions included 

Joining the podcast this week is 10th district congressional candidate Tim Greimel. Michigan has multiple congressional races that could determine which party controls the House beginning in 2027. One of the most nationally significant races is in Macomb County. John James narrowly won the seat in 2022. Prior to becoming Mayor of Pontiac, Greimel served in the Michigan legislature from 2012 to 2018. During four of those years, he was the Democratic Leader of the Michigan House of Representatives

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Donald Trump celebrated Taco Tuesday bigly:

Some of the Michigan political news on our radar this week:

Mid-Michigan will be at the center of one of the most hotly contested congressional races in the country. First-term Republican Tom Barrett is seen as very beatable, especially after his vote to take away healthcare from tens-of-thousands of his constituents. There’s a third candidate running to take on  Barrett. The first candidate to enter the race: former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink. Brink has served in the U.S. Foreign Service for 30 years, most recently as United States Ambassador to Ukraine. She was nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate shortly after her nomination in 2022. Prior to her role in Ukraine, she was the U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia from August 2019, to May 2022.

Brink’s tenure in Ukraine coincided with the Russian invasion, which began in February 2022. She actively supported Ukraine, advocating for U.S. military aid and signaling strong support for the Ukrainian government. Brink announced her resignation 3 months ago, citing disagreements with the Trump administration’s policies, which she felt pressured Ukraine while softening the stance towards Russia.

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This week’s guest is a leader in the battle over the exorbitant cash being donated for political campaigns. A coalition of state nonprofits is hoping to ban some of Michigan’s largest corporations from donating massive amounts to politicians. Under the effort, regulated utilities and those with government contracts in excess of $250,000 would be unable to make political contributions. It hopes to put the question to voters next year.

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As Donald Trump’s poll numbers continue to sink to new record lows, his anger grows. He’s been lashing out at media reports that his Iran War didn’t end Iran’s nuclear program, signs of opposition to his Big Bad Budget Bill among Republicans in Congress … and possibly having his golfing schedule interrupted by his war in the Middle East.

Michigan political news on our radar this week:

And we can now officially say “goodbye” to “Big Balls.” 19-year-old Edward Coristine, one of the first teenage Ninjas hired as part of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is no longer working for the federal government according to multiple media reports.

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The Trump administration’s latest anti-democracy tactic is arresting the opposition. Trump’s masked brownshirts have now moved from arresting immigrants who haven’t committed crimes to arresting elected officials and threatening their staffs with arrest for the crime of disagreeing with Donald Trump and Stephen Miller. Adding to the terror: threats and acts of violence aimed at politicians and government workers, with the horrific murder of a Minnesota legislator and her husband the most terrifying attack of all. We are joined by a senior leader in the Michigan Legislature who has served the public for 30 years: Senate Majority Floor Leader Sam Singh.

And we can’t overlook the pathetic, under-attended and over-priced birthday parade that was so boring even the birthday boy himself fell asleep as the soldiers marched by…while five-million or so pissed off Americans took to the streets for peaceful protests over the full panorama of Trumpism.

Also on Michigan’s political radar this week:

We begin with the first guilty plea in what’s likely to be a growing campaign spending scandal: the funding of the Unlock Michigan campaign which threatens former state Senate GOP leader Mike Shirkey. The original complaints about the financing of Unlock Michigan were filed by longtime GOP activist Bob Labrant and with the assistance of Mark and Jeff: Jeff as a witness, and Mark as attorney for the trio.

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Donald Trump made his first visit to the now Woke-Free Kennedy Center this week for a performance of his favorite musical, Les Miserables. He apparently failed to see the irony in how the musical’s plot mirrors the week in Los Angeles: the people rising up to protest a militaristic autocracy intent on smashing their rights and who ultimately overturn the ruthless militaristic autocracy. The French resistance barricades the streets and light fires. And, as we record this week’s show, a member of the United States Senator is assaulted and handcuffed by Kristi Noem’s security detail – sparking outrage on the left, and lies on the right.

There’s also a lot of Michigan political news on our radar this week:

We’re joined by Bridge Michigan political and state government reporter Jordyn Hermani for a deep dive into the politics of Michigan’s budget and the multiple 2026 races that have national importance. She is an Emmy-nominated journalist whose byline has been featured in several publications including POLITICO, The Detroit Free Press, Indianapolis Star and now Bridge Michigan. Her coverage of Michigan politics throughout the years has seen me featured on a host of networks such as CNN, CBS News, Fox News, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and NPR. Jordyn also has been featured in the Columbia Journalism Review and Washington Post.  Outside of politics, she is an avid trail hiker and estate sale enthusiast. Her passions include cats, horror movies, hockey and her husband… but she quickly adds “not necessarily in that order!”

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