The Lincoln Project

The DNC autopsy is finally here—and it’s a brutal admission that Democrats spent 2024 fighting online culture wars while voters were worried about inflation, paychecks, rent, and the future of the country. Rick Wilson breaks down the Democrats’ redacted internal report, the consultant class cashing $40K checks to lose elections, the identity politics obsession that alienated working-class voters, and why normal Americans tuned out the party’s messaging. This is the Democratic Party’s postmortem on how they lost the economy argument, lost swing voters, and lost touch with reality.
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Rick Wilson is on X at @TheRickWilson, on Bluesky at @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and you can check out Rick's Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. You can check out more of LP's work at www.lincolnproject.us and on X at @ProjectLincoln.

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Trump spent years chasing the approval of America’s richest weirdos, fame-hungry celebs, and billionaire clout goblins — and now the whole MAGA celebrity ecosystem is melting down in public. Rick Wilson is joined by legendary comedian Margaret Cho to break down her Choligarchy tour, Hollywood’s transformation into a Trump validation machine, the rise of MAGA influencers and celebrity brain rot, and why so many famous people traded integrity for attention. From celebrity culture and authoritarian politics to Trump’s obsession with elite approval, Rick and Margaret unpack how comedy helped create this broken media circus — and why comedy may be the only thing sharp enough left to fight it. Celebrity meltdowns, billionaire cringe, political chaos, dark humor, Trump, MAGA, Hollywood hypocrisy, fascism, influencers, cancel culture, propaganda, and the collapse of American fame culture — it’s all here.
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Margaret Cho’s “Choligarchy” tour is happening now! Find a show near you at https://margaretcho.com/. 

Rick Wilson is on X at @TheRickWilson, on Bluesky at @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and you can check out Rick's Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. You can check out more of LP's work at www.lincolnproject.us and on X at @ProjectLincoln.

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Donald Trump’s high-stakes meeting with Xi Jinping was supposed to project strength. Instead, it exposed exactly how weak, desperate, and dangerously unprepared he is for a real geopolitical showdown with China. This week, Rick's ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM breaks down Trump’s humiliating “Chyna” summit, his obsession with personal grift over American power, and why even before the cognitive decline, Trump never had the foreign policy discipline, strategy, or attention span to negotiate with Beijing. From trade wars and tariffs to global instability, Xi Jinping saw exactly what America’s allies and enemies now see: a fragile ego wrapped in chaos. Rick Wilson tears into Trump’s surrender politics, dictator worship, economic self-sabotage, and the terrifying reality that America’s global influence is shrinking while Trump keeps bowing for applause, leverage, and money. This is the collapse of American credibility in real time — and Beijing knows it.
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Rick Wilson is on X at @TheRickWilson, on Bluesky at @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and you can check out Rick's Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. You can check out more of LP's work at www.lincolnproject.us and on X at @ProjectLincoln.

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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is fighting to protect the First Amendment, because it protects you. Visit www.ffrf.us/lincoln, or text "LINCOLN" to 511-511, to learn more, or join, today.  #ad

Actor-turned-crypto-whistleblower Ben McKenzie joins Rick Wilson for a brutal, no-bullshit takedown of the crypto industry just as Congress barrels toward two major crypto bills hitting the floor this week on Capitol Hill. From meme coins and “decentralized finance” scams to billion-dollar rugpulls, political bribery, and money laundering dressed up in Patagonia vests and TED Talk jargon, Rick and Ben break down how crypto became the preferred playground for grifters, oligarchs, libertarian weirdos, and every guy who says “bro” before pitching financial collapse. They unpack why Washington suddenly wants to legitimize the casino after years of fraud, who’s cashing in, and why the American taxpayer always seems to end up holding the empty bag while crypto bros flee to Dubai. It’s the great Ponzi scheme of our time — powered by hype, corruption, influencer cults, and vibes-based economics — and the wheels may finally be coming off in public.
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Ben McKenzie is on X @@ben_mckenzie. His movie, ‘Everyone is Lying to You for Money,’ is playing now in select theaters. His best-selling book, ‘Easy Money,’ is out now, wherever fine books are sold. 

Rick Wilson is on X at @TheRickWilson, on Bluesky at @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and you can check out Rick's Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. You can check out more of LP's work at www.lincolnproject.us and on X at @ProjectLincoln.

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The elephant in the room this week is bluffing — and Democrats still haven’t figured out Republicans only win when nobody punches back. While the GOP openly gerrymanders districts, manipulates election rules, floods the zone with outrage, and treats politics like a blood sport, Democrats keep showing up with 700-page climate white papers, polite speeches, and “norms.” Rick Wilson breaks down why 2026 should be the easiest midterm cycle in modern political history — if Democrats stop acting like this is a graduate seminar and start fighting like democracy is actually on the line. From blatant election tactics and MAGA power grabs to weak messaging, consultant brain rot, and the endless addiction to process over power, this episode is about one thing: stop bringing a throw pillow to a gun fight.
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Rick Wilson is on X at @TheRickWilson, on Bluesky at @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and you can check out Rick's Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. You can check out more of LP's work at www.lincolnproject.us and on X at @ProjectLincoln.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is fighting to protect the First Amendment, because it protects you. Visit www.ffrf.us/lincoln, or text "LINCOLN" to 511-511, to  learn more, or join, today.  #ad

The Supreme Court was meant to be the last guardrail—the final check when everything else fails—but what happens when that guardrail starts to wobble? This week, Rick Wilson sits down with legal analyst and author Sarah Isgur to break down the modern Court from the inside out: the personalities driving decisions, the growing reliance on the shadow docket, and the myth of pure judicial objectivity. They unpack how power actually works behind the robes, why the justices’ individual worldviews matter more than ever, and how diversity of experience—not just race or gender—shapes the outcomes that ripple across the country. In a moment where Congress is gridlocked and the executive branch is aggressively asserting its power, the Court has become the ultimate referee in America’s biggest fights—but whether it’s equipped for that role, or cracking under the pressure, is the question hanging over everything.
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Sarah Isgur is on X @whignewtons & on Instagram @sarahmisgur. Her new book ‘Last Branch Standing,’ is available now wherever fine books are sold. 

Rick Wilson is on X at @TheRickWilson, on Bluesky at @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and you can check out Rick's Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. You can check out more of LP's work at www.lincolnproject.us and on X at @ProjectLincoln. 

Build credit fast and get your first month for just a dollar at getkikoff.com/lincolnproject today. Thanks to Kikoff for sponsoring us! #AD

Elon Musk’s ex and former MAGA social media influencer Ashley St. Clair joins Rick Wilson to expose the truth behind the MAGA influencer ecosystem—how it works, who profits, and why it’s starting to fall apart in real time. From clout-chasing grifters to coordinated messaging and manufactured outrage, this episode breaks down the business model behind right-wing social media and the hypocrisy fueling it. As the MAGA movement fractures and influencers turn on each other, this is the inside story of a political media machine built on clicks, cash, and chaos—and what happens when the audience finally sees through it.
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Ashley St. Clair is on X @stclairashley, on Instagram @asc.sys, and on TikTok @ashstc. 

Rick Wilson is on X at @TheRickWilson, on Bluesky at @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and you can check out Rick's Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. You can check out more of LP's work at www.lincolnproject.us and on X at @ProjectLincoln. 

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Rick Wilson sits down with Andrew McCabe to unpack the stunning politicization of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under Kash Patel, the firing of 12 counterintelligence agents tied to the Mar-a-Lago documents case, and the staggering national security consequences of purging Iran specialists as conflict escalates. Drawing from McCabe’s new CNN series Standoff: The FBI, Power and Paranoia, Rick and McCabe expose how paranoia, incompetence, and political loyalty tests are corroding America’s premier law enforcement institution from the inside. This is a conversation about weaponized government, self-inflicted chaos, and what happens when you fire the people who know where the threats are—right as those threats become real
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Andrew McCabe’s new CNN series, ‘Standoff: The FBI, Power and Paranoia,’ now streaming on the CNN app. 

Rick Wilson is on X at @TheRickWilson, on Bluesky at @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and you can check out Rick's Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. You can check out more of LP's work at www.lincolnproject.us and on X at @ProjectLincoln. 

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