The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich

Friends,

Heather is under the weather today so our Gen Z producer-director-techie and all-around talent Michael Lahanas-Calderón is kindly filling in. Today we try to explain the most perplexing thing about the home stretch of this election — why Trump is running neck-and-neck with Harris despite his awful debate performance, his bonkers comment that Jews will be responsible if he loses, his bizarre accusations that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, are eating people’s pets, and his growing incoherence about almost everything.

We also look at Trump’s and Harris’s economic plans. And we assess the ages of Supreme Court justices with an eye toward how much havoc Trump could wreak on the next generation if he’s able to pick three more.

So please pull up a chair, take our poll, and join us for today’s klatch. (And get better soon, Heather!)

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

As the 2024 election moves into its final stretch with Kamala Harris gaining a slim lead, Trump is losing it. His statements are even less coherent than before; his accusations, wilder; his lies, even more dangerous. He is starting to resemble a cornered animal.

Today, Heather and I assess where Trump is and what he might do. We examine what Trump loyalists are doing in the key states of Georgia and Pennsylvania, with an eye toward delaying and casting doubt on the results of the upcoming election. We look at the chances of more chicanery after November 5 in Congress, particularly if Republicans remain in control of the House. And we look at incitements to violence.

Notwithstanding all of this, though, we’re cautiously (Bob says “nauseously”) optimistic, and we hope you are, too.

Please pull up a seat, grab a cuppa, take our poll, and join us.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today is the third anniversary of the launch of this newsletter community, and I want to thank you.

Three years ago today I posted my first daily letter, not knowing who would be out there to receive it.

Heather Lofthouse egged me on. (A special thanks to her, as well. And to Alessandra Bosco, whose gimlet eye has caught misspellings and grammatical mistakes I’m too embarrassed to admit, and to Michael Lahanas-Calderón, for his technical help.)

I wanted to key off current news but didn’t want this to be a mere summary of what’s happened. I wanted to provide context and background. Connect the dots. Expose the uses and abuses of power.

A few naysayers told me it was impossible to do this every day, seven days a week, and I shouldn’t even try.

It is sometimes difficult. But you have responded beyond my wildest dreams, sustaining and inspiring me.

I’ve been amazed by how many of you have embraced this letter and formed a community around it. I’ve been delighted by the thoughtfulness of your comments.

I’ve been humbled that some of you are “taking” my 13-part UC Berkeley course on Wealth and Poverty, or following my series on economic myths needing debunking, on the common good, and on the Roots of Trumpism.

I’m thrilled that so many of you enjoy Heather’s and my weekly coffee klatch podcasts, our presidential (and soon-to-come, vice-presidential) debate watch-alongs.

And my Sunday caption contests — to which some of you have contributed fabulously memorable captions.

“And that’s why there’s no 45 button in elevators anymore.”

***

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this possible — for making this such a civil and insightful community and for your financial support to sustain this effort.

A few of you worry that I’m “preaching to the converted” and not reaching the people who need to be reached — people whose democratic convictions are wavering and who are attracted to Trump and Trumpism.

I sometimes worry about this, too.

Yet most of you share my belief that we must know the truth if we are to effectively persuade others.

And that it’s vitally important that we spread the truth about the threats to the common good, to our democracy, and to our planet. And that in these perilous times it helps to know we are not alone. In fact, we are the majority.

But I’m not going to sugarcoat it: The 2024 election scares the hell out of me.

Even if Trump is defeated, the months or even years following the election will not be easy. Trump supporters will not just go away. Nor will the forces that fuel them.

The Trump criminal trials — if they occur, and they must — will test the nation.

On the other hand, if Trump wins the election or prevails in its aftermath, democracy and the rule of law are likely to be more endangered than the first time he took office.

In either case, it will be more urgent than ever that we know the truth, spread the truth, and feel the strength of community.

All of this feeds my determination to keep going.

America is threatened both by lies from the authoritarian foes of democracy and by increasing amounts of big money in our politics from corporations and the ultra-wealthy.

I promise to keep standing up to these forces (including the richest man in the world, no matter how many names he calls me).

In the next 12 months, I’ll provide more content. More analyses. More critiques of the ultra-wealthy who are turning their wealth into political power. More personal history bearing on what’s happening today. More podcasts and drawings.

My goal is to keep this community going for everyone who wants to read, listen, and contribute, each day.

But please don’t feel compelled to pay to be a part of it. These are tough times for so many.

That said, if you can support us to keep generating new content, we welcome it. If you’d like to become a paid subscriber with access to everything we’re doing, great.

A founding supporter, enormous thanks. Give a gift subscription, wonderful.

We do need help to sustain this effort. Your contribution allows us to post the vast majority of content without a paywall and ensures we keep getting the message out.

On to year four? You betcha.

All best,

Robert Reich

If you are a free subscriber and can afford a paid subscription, please consider supporting this venture. Paid subscribers allow us to continue to build and experiment while keeping most of our content free and open.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

It was quite a debate and quite a week. Today, Heather and I look back on both and do our best to peer into the future. What effect will the debate have on undecided voters? What does Kamala Harris need to do in the remaining weeks? What will Trump do? Why is Trump refusing a second debate with Harris?

We also examine the consequences of Taylor Swift’s endorsement (and Elon Musk’s grade-school bully boy response). And we take a look at yesterday’s 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act.

So pull up a chair and join us. And please take our poll.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today, Heather and I examine the upcoming Tuesday night debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

The American public knows Trump. He has forced himself into our minds for the last decade in every possible way. Yet much of the public doesn’t yet know Harris. Before Biden bowed out on July 21, she was a vice president who, like every vice president before her, was almost invisible.

Heather and I discuss whether it’s most important for her to define herself as strong and competent or define Trump as weak and incompetent? Emphasize law and order, while suggesting Trump is unlawful and disordered? Bait Trump into losing control? We also discuss the Trump trials, the U.S. economy, and other issues that have a bearing.

Please pull up a chair, grab a cup, take our poll, AND make a note on your calendars that Heather and I will host a watch-along of Tuesday’s debate, which you’ll find right here on this Substack.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Sharing is the key — with friends, relatives, and acquaintances.

Especially (but not exclusively) those who live in the “swing” states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada.

Nothing is more powerful than an encouragement from you to get the facts and spread the truth. Please do your part.

We must win this.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today, Heather and I take a deep dive into the week’s remarkable political news, as Kamala Harris and Tim Walz continue to rise in the polls, and Trump evidently has no idea what he should do. He’s gone on rants about windmills, bacon, trans boxers, Al Capone, and crowd size, and reposted crude racial and sexual slurs about Kamala Harris.

We review the Harris-Walz bus tour in rural America and Trump’s botched publicity stunt at the Arlington National Cemetery, as well as the revealing battle over turning off the mics during the upcoming presidential debate (Harris doesn’t want Trump’s mic turned off when she speaks — which tells you all you need to know).

Please join us (and take our poll).

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Many of you ask me what you can do to help ensure that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are elected on November 5, and that the House and Senate have majorities in support of economic and social justice.

In previous posts I’ve given you some ammunition — correcting some of Trump’s and Vance’s whoppers (such as Vance’s assertion last week that Trump’s tariffs generated revenue for America and created jobs), showing what Trump and his Republican lapdogs want to do if given the chance, and offering suggestions for what you personally can do in this critical election.

Starting next Friday, September 6, I’ll post here on my Substack a “video of the week,” produced by me and my talented young team of videographers, graphic artists, researchers, and writers at Inequality Media Civic Action — giving you facts, frameworks, and analyses to convince others why they should vote for Harris and Walz and down-ballot Democrats.

Research shows that our videos have changed peoples’ minds on critical issues — even the minds of Trumpers. So by sharing each weekly video with your family, friends, and acquaintances, you’ll be helping the cause.

Please watch for our Spreading the Truth about the 2024 Election series, beginning here on my Substack, Friday, September 6.

My thanks again for your help and support.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

Today Heather and I look at the real significance of this week’s Democratic convention — how well did it introduce Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to America? How powerfully did it set them up for the election? How effectively did it trounce Trump? And we look ahead to the debate on September 10 and Trump’s likely strategy between now and Election Day.

Please join us, grab a cup, pull up a chair, and take our poll.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe

Friends,

On Thursday, Trump was supposed to have had a press conference on the economy. Instead, it turned into another one of his rambling, incoherent rants against Kamala. On Friday, Kamala pointed the way to a new economy. Trump continues to melt down; she continues to surge upward.

Today Heather and I compare Kamalanomics and its focus on corporate power with the garbage economics Trump is peddling — at least when he’s not attacking Kamala — including his bonkers idea to eliminate taxes on Social Security.

Please grab a cup, pull up a stool, and join us. Also, please take our poll.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe