The Lincoln Project

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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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

Florida’s redistricting mess isn’t just shady—it’s straight-up unconstitutional, and they did it anyway. This week’s Elephant in the Room: a map so aggressively gerrymandered it looks like it was drawn during a blackout with a Sharpie and a grudge. Rick breaks down how Florida’s leaders ignored their own state constitution, carved up districts to rig the game, and dared the courts to catch up. It’s a masterclass in political overreach, legal brinksmanship, and “rules for thee, not for me” governance. This isn’t just about Florida—it’s a warning shot for what happens when power decides.
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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.