In this conversation, Lieutenant Colonel Alex Vindman and I talk about what it means to stand tall in an era of presidential revenge. No one knows the stakes better than Alex. He risked his career, safety, and reputation to call out Donald Trump’s abuses of power during the first impeachment.
Together, we dissected Trump’s flip-flopping foreign policy and whether Putin is finally embarrassing him into supporting Ukraine more forcefully; the chilling rise of intimidation politics; why institutions are folding; and why it’s ordinary citizens — not big names — who might save democracy.
I reminded Alex of something simple but powerful he told me long ago: “Intimidation works. That’s why they do it.”
But it only works if we let it. Give it a listen. Then pass it on.
(Thank you
, , , , , and many others for tuning in.)P.S. WHAT’S HAPPENING ON TREASON
A few things to put on your radar screen.
Tonight - MSNBC w/ Jen Psaki - Tune in around 9pm ET (as long as I don’t get booted by breaking news) — we’ll be talking about the acceleration of presidential revenge and why DEFIANCE is crucial.
Tomorrow / Wednesday (12noonET) - Subscribers Only - Weekly Wednesday Coffee - WITH SURPRISE GUEST - Join me for another coffee. For an opportunity to win a signed book, bring your questions to ask in the chat. Oh, and we’ll have drop-in guest you’re not expecting. You can join here.
Friday (5pmET) - Sue Gordon is back! - Donald Trump’s former spy chief — Deputy Director of National Intelligence Sue Gordon — is back on Substack LIVE with me this Friday to speak out about Trump’s most recent abuses of power. You can join here.
