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- [00:00]
A
I challenge all of your listeners. Join me in dreaming very big right now for yourself and your country. What you want to build, what you want to leave behind, the seeds of change, the seeds of hope you want to plant now. Because I promise you, there is a future of freedom. There is a future where there's a historical record of what we're all living today. And there is going to be the judgment of history, where people look back, where your grandchildren are going to ask, what did you do in those moments? Who were you?
- [00:43]
B
Hello and welcome to the Politics Girl podcast. I'm your host, Lee McGowan. Let's get into it today. I am joined by Andrea Chalupa, a Brooklyn based journalist, author and filmmaker who is also the host and producer of the Webby Award honoree podcast, Gaslit Nation. A student of Soviet history at the University of California, Davis, and Ukrainian history at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, I had Andrea on right after the election because unlike most of us, she wasn't surprised by the results. Andraya is an author, writer and director whose works include the graphic novel in the Shadow of Stalin, Dictatorship, It's Easier Than youn Think, and the documentary the Stalin's Secret Genocide. A frequent speaker on global affairs and US Politics and democracy, I find she has a perspective that few of us in America have, and I love her insight. Today we're going to discuss Trump's new administration and the days of shock and awe. So without further ado, please welcome my guest writer, producer and passionate warrior against fascism, Andrea Chalupa. Welcome back, Andrea.
- [01:44]
A
Thank you so much, Lee.
- [01:45]
B
Well, thank you for coming. I wanted to have you on at the beginning of this new administration because despite the fact that you were born in America, you are the child of immigrants who were born in European displaced person camps after World War II. You are American, but you're also Ukrainian and an expert on Russia and US Politics and democracy. But you have this incredibly strong perspective on a country and how it functions under authoritarian rules and under dictatorship. So I have to ask you, what do you think? Because we are a week into this presidency and Trump's already trying to suspend the constitution to end birthright citizenship. He's signing executive orders to roll people he doesn't like don't exist. He's pardoned all his supporters of their crimes, from the January 6th insurrectionist, no matter how violent, to the drug deal hitman, son of a major libertarian leader to super violent unhinged anti abortion activists. And it's all happening pretty fast. So what are your thoughts the first weekend?
- [02:43]
A
I think that all of us have to find a way collectively, individually, to grieve what's happening to our country. Because it's incredibly scary and it's just the beginning. And I think one of the most liberating things you can do for yourself is accept the fact that fascism is here. This is very much going to be a dictatorship. The checks and balances that were supposed to protect us all failed. The norms that Merrick Garland clung onto were essentially elite criminal impunity, which, you know, he wasted two years in appointing a special prosecutor, for instance. So the people in charge who are supposed to be the final wall against the flood of Russian backed MAGA domestic terrorism acted like business as usual. They clung to a status quo that was corrupt from the inside and deeply broken. And now here we are. And they depended on the American people to process all of this information, all of the news, like what we saw on live TV with Trump inciting a violent attempted overthrow of our democracy on January 6, leading to several deaths, including of several police officers. All of that that we saw in our eyes and ears, all the information that we had access to, the trials that they breathlessly covered, the institutions like the doj, left it to the American people as the final wall of defense against this. And how are we supposed to protect ourselves in an age of rampant disinformation driven by the social media giants that had front row seats at the inauguration, as well as Jim Crow coming back with voter ID laws and polling places being shut down on college campuses? And on and on the list goes. And then Trump himself said that Elon Musk did something with the vote tallies in Pennsylvania, that wonder kid, Elon Musk. And it's like we all have questions about that. And so I think everyone will do themselves a huge favor and just not expecting some savior to step forward, something to block him and just accept that we are, yes, this is dictatorship, this is fascism. It's here, it's now. And now. What can you do to protect yourself? The most important thing you can do, number one, have a daily practice that connects you with something larger in the world. Whether that's spirituality, whether that is nature taking a nature walk, breathing in nature, saying good morning to the sun, thanking the sun, a gratitude journal. Have a daily practice that connects you to your true inner being, your inner light, your inner force that is unstoppable, that was put on this earth for this moment, for a reason. Connect to that on a daily, daily practice that you hold as sacred, because that is going to carry you through and helping you Stay grounded, because their chaos is part of the strategy of how they're trying to steamroll what's left of our democracy. So if you stay strong, if you stay grounded, if you find your inner peace and cultivate it with little, little small daily practices, that is going to pay back big time. And you will find your superhero strength doing that. I could not have made it this far without my. And so I strongly recommend that that's where your humanity comes from. That's where it shines forth. And I study people that resist authoritarianism, and they all have that to some degree. They all have that. I want to say I've been looking a lot at Joan of Arc. She's one of my historical mentors. And if you don't have a historical mentor, get one. Joan of Arc is one of many that I turn to. I read her trial transcripts that were basically her, like, slapping back at these wannabe, you know, traitors of her country. And one thing I want to say about the Middle Ages, when the Black Death came and wiped out half the population of Europe, what was the result of that is that people started turning towards inner work, towards spirituality. Colleges, universities were expanding, and the number one subject people were pursuing was theology, spiritual subjects. And you saw an increase of women as well, of being spiritual leaders. So what I'm telling you now, there has to be this larger force that we all depend on. And as the child of Ukrainian immigrants, I'm very blessed that my grandfather, who was born and raised in Donbass, a part of Ukraine that's been under occupation for the last 10 years by Russia, he was born in Donbass, eastern Ukraine, SPEAKING UKRAINIAN THINKING IN UKRAINIAN and all of that changed when Stalin came along and engineered a famine that mass murdered millions and then over time, replaced that area with Russians. And now it's Russian speaking. And that's why Putin. One of the justifications Putin had for invading there first. But my grandfather, he left a memoir what his life was like under Stalin. And all the events that he lived through were basically captured in George Orwell's Animal Farm. Witnessing the Russian Revolution as a small boy, being going through the holodomor, the terror, famine as a. As a young man being arrested and tortured as a young father with an infant son during Stalin's purges. And one of the most remarkable moments that he writes in his memoir is how he had committed after surviving just the kind of torture you see being done by Russians against Ukrainians today under captivity, that kind of torch, like hung up by his arms, beaten, hanging There being beaten. He wrote in his memoir that he had committed to giving the devils his body, but God would have his soul. And when he was sentenced to death row, like, he was praying, praying, praying. And a former communist official on death row with him tapped him on the shoulder and said, could you teach me how to pray? I forgot. And so my grandfather spent what he thought were his final moments teaching this man to pray. And then when he stood before the tribunal that was going to sentence him to death, they instead sentenced him to the gulag. And he just stared back at them, like, perfectly calm. He's like, all right. And they looked at him very petty, and they're like, oh, you're happy about that? You're fine going to the gulag. We're going to free you instead. And that's how he got released from prison. Just the absurdity of that, you know, that razor thin story of survival. And so what I'm telling you is that the only way through these times is to embrace your inner strength, cultivate your inner strength, and that is going to give you the superpower, the empathy that you need to. Because in an age of cruelty, empathy becomes a beautiful act of rebellion.
- [09:08]
B
Yeah, it does, for sure. I think we need to remember what you said earlier before, that the speed and excess of what this group is doing is the point. It is designed to overwhelm us. It's designed to shut us down. But it's also weird. Like, I find it weird. I mean, like, here's the thing. I thought that this fire hose of bad things, which I expected, I expected all of this. Like, there's no part of this that I'm like, what? Like, I'm like, yeah, I mean, yeah, that's what they said they were going to do. And they're doing it right. Like, but I, I, I thought it would be completely overwhelming, but I'm almost having the opposite reaction. Like, it's too much to take in. So I'm kind of numb. And in many ways, that's made me capable of thinking straight. Like, I'm like, these people are nuts. Right? Like, and I just need to make sure enough other people recognize that fact and then fight back. Because some of the things that are coming up with, I'm like, are you kidding me? Like, that, you know, people are upset right now because there's a congressman who has now, you know, filed a law that Donald Trump can run for a third term. And, like, there's no part of me that feels outraged by that. I feel like, of course, like, of course, like, this is, this is classic playbook stuff. So I think it's really interesting that it's kind of like, yep, yep. And I think if you weren't paying attention, this might feel just overwhelming and shocking. But I want people to know that those of us who were, it feels much more like, yeah, this is what they're doing and we just need to be aware of it and kind of move forward.
- [10:36]
A
Absolutely a trillion percent. It's self reliance time. Nobody is going to step forward and save us. I really hope that. Obviously there's those wonderful grassroots organizations, there's Amanda Littman's Run for Something, there's the States Project, Indivisible Black Voters Matter, Emily's List, all of those grassroots organizations, they are partner groups. They still matter. Do not spend the next two years in suspense waiting to see if we still have free and fair elections come the midterms, come 2028. Start building something now. And what you need to, it's self reliance time. So you, you need to know for yourself, how do you know about recalls of dangerous products? How do you know about toxic spills where you live? How do you know about food recalls and food safety where you live? How are you going to be more self reliant, Grow your own food? I know that sounds so prepper, but what they are proposing and everything that they're shutting down in terms of urgently needed communication with the public is a sign of what's ahead.
- [11:45]
B
And if those of you don't know what, what Andrea is talking about currently, they are not. The government has ruled that health agencies and food agencies are not allowed to telling us information they have on diseases, on what's coming, on food that needs to be recalled, on drugs that need to be recalled. They have to pass it through the administration before they can speak to us.
- [12:06]
A
Yes, exactly. And so for weeks now I've been collecting practical hand holding resources on how to meet this moment, how to protect yourself and your family, where you should be spending your time and how books to read, to light your soul on fire, to to own your inner power. And I'm putting that all together in a brand new action guide on gaslit nationpod.com available to you. It's all there. So accept that this is it America. This is the moment that we've all been training for. Dictatorship Project 2025. It's here. We tried to stop it. We didn't have enough institutional support and now we're here. I want to also brace everyone for the fact that as bad as you expect it to be, it's going to be a lot worse. Trump is inviting the Saudis, a murderous millennial mbs, Right, who killed a Washington Post writer, Jamal Khashoggi, for speaking out against his regime. And so with Trump inviting the Saudis in, that means the Saudis have access to all sorts of intelligence, which means their dissidents are not safe. And any groups that the Saudis are aligned with, like Russia, their dissidents are not safe either. And so that's going to really, obviously, clearly, among other things, strain intelligence operations between the United States and our NATO partners and other allies around the world, because then their dissidents are not going to be safe. Peter Thiel. Peter Thiel, one of the fascist Silicon Valley PayPal mafia guys. His Palantir maps criminal networks, and it could also be used to map activist networks. And that was put into the DOJ under the first Trump administration. A prosecutor at the DOJ told me that they depend on Palantir now. That's thanks to Trump. And so we need to unite collectively and have conversations in our resilience groups, meaning our groups of friends that we know, love and trust, who also see what's happening and are ready to meet this moment. We need to have sincere conversations collectively with the institutions that are still doing good work about how to protect ourselves from the AI prison that is coming. We need to pull the plug on AI. The US Government is the greatest threat to our civil liberties right now. And the Atlantic Charter that was supposed to keep the values of democracy and global cooperation and alliances safe since FDR and Churchill met during World War II, that's gone. Now Trump is deliberately killing it in order to entrench himself as a dictator, enrich himself, and sell off America to the highest bidder.
- [15:00]
B
Well, that's a cheery thought, Andrea. Thanks for that. That's. That's horrifying. I'm already horrified by AI and we're definitely going to have to do an entire AI series on this show because I don't think people realize how fast it's moving. But can we back up a little bit and talk about who's really in charge here? Like you, you mentioned about the front row of the inauguration, right? With all the billionaire tech bros and their now proximity to power. You're talking about Peter Thiel. We watched Elon Sig Heil from the stage and then we watched the right wing media, with an assist from legacy media, try and gaslight us into thinking we didn't see what we saw. We're seeing policy after policy and executive order after executive Order coming directly from the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, after Trump swore up and down that he had nothing to do with that it would never be policy in America. So who do you think is really running the show? Because I, I know the bottom line is Trump thinks he's running it, and Trump will get what Trump wants. And people are tripping over themselves to curry favor with him, but it also feels like there's a lot of other people who are really doing the work.
- [16:01]
A
Yeah. So Trump is just a bulldozer for the oligarchy. He's just their figurehead. It's all of darker forces who want regulations rolled back. There's a saying that I heard when I lived in Ukraine, which is the oligarchs see the people as the shit we grow our money in. And so that's basically what we're facing now. And if I sound dark, that's because what's happening to America is what has happened to Ukraine under Kremlin backed corruption. And I've witnessed a lot of beautiful civil society resources, resilience and resistance and persistence, and we have that in us too. So I feel it's empowering to stare the abyss in the face, to look at, to accept the reality, because therefore, I can be prepared and I can get into action and to do my part as part of the larger collective movement to confront these issues and try to do something about it. The European Union, for instance, Elon Musk and Bannon, they may be the two sort of kingmakers in Trump's White House who are at odds with each other, obviously. And that civil war is delicious and it's going to serve our interests. And I think everyone in the press should exploit the hell out of that and get under their skin and their egos. But Bannon and Musk, who are, I would say, are in charge of that Trump administration, along with Ivanka and Jared, are they're also going to be a power center that's coming up just like they were in the first time around, enriching themselves. But Bannon and Musk are dangerously united when it comes to undermining the European Union, which is one of the strongest regulators in the world, and protecting us against big tech and AI.
- [17:47]
B
Yeah.
- [17:47]
A
So there is hope in the world, and right now it's with the European Union. So if you have a European audience, listen to me. You need to protect your democracies, you need to fight against your far right candidates. You need to not take for granted granted what you have, because you, by standing strong as a United Europe are going to protect us against our oligarchs here at home with your regulations and showing that a better world is possible.
- [18:14]
B
Yeah. And I will say this is why you see people like Mark Zuckerberg aligning himself with Trump, because he keeps talking about how the European Union has too much censorship of tech and how he wants to use America's power to force the European Union to get rid of their regulations. And it's true. The European Union is standing when the rest of the world is kind of kowtowing to what the tech overlords want. And I think that most of us would be very smart to recognize that and, like you said, support EU leaders that realize that we need this kind of regulation. Can we talk a bit about these pardons? Because it feels like Trump is just mass pardoning everyone, right? With the January Sixers, it feels a bit like laziness. Like he just didn't want to go through all those cases and figure out who would be pardoned and who shouldn't be pardoned. So he was just like, fuck it, pardon them all. Right? Like, danger to the community be damned. But clearly the whole thing sends a message that violence and other illegal actions committed in service to Trump or for his agenda will now, much like himself, be above the law. It essentially creates this kind of get out of jail free card for anyone Trump might ask to do something. Right. So on a small scale, of course, he has created a violent and hateful, emboldened personal army who are completely devoted to him, like his own brown shirts, if you will. But it also set a precedence for anyone in the future. And one of the things that people kept saying, I think that to make themselves feel better after the Supreme Court made the president above the law, was that no one else is above the law. Right? Like, the Trump could be above the law, but like everyone else, is beholden to the law. And I think what we're seeing now is, no, you gave a criminal the power of the pardon. So if anyone does something to break the law because he asked them to, he can just pardon them. Right? So unless they committed at the state level, it seems like everybody is free to do what they want as long as they're working for Dear Leader. Does it seem like that to you? Okay, so we're going into February, and some people panic about Valentine's Day shopping for their man. You might want to get something he'll look cute in, but also something he will actually want to wear. Lately it seems like all guys are in jogging pants all the time. And that's not a great look for date night, which is why I'm happy to tell you about Public Rec. You might remember me talking about how I bought my dad their best selling Day Maker pants and Polo for Christmas and honestly, he still can't stop talking about how comfortable the pants are. I actually got my husband a pair and he said they felt so comfortable they were like sweatpants, but they look great on a golf course or casually going to dinner. Sean also said they felt luxurious. That's the word he used. Like they were expensive and had been made well, and my dad really cannot stop going on about them. So if you have an older man in your life who just wants to be wearing soft pants at this point, you might want to get him a bunch of these. Plus, usually when you order comfortable pants, you only get to pick from small, medium or large. But with Public Rec, you get to select the exact width and length for the man in your life. Whether he's a 30x32 or a 44x36, you can find your perfect fitting pants. And from navy to dark olive to stone gray, you're going to be sure to find the right color for the man that you love. So maybe your hunt for the perfect Valentine's Day gift is over. For a limited time, our listeners get 20% off when you use the code politicsgirl at checkout. That's 20% off with the code politics girl@publicrec.com after you purchase, they're going to ask you where you heard about them. And as always, please support the show and tell them we sent you. That's publicwrec.com happy gifting. So on the comments for the Mark Elias podcast, which if you haven't listened to it, I would highly recommend you go back and check out, someone wrote I know this has nothing to do with this episode, but I just wanted to tell you how much I love laundry Sauce. Thanks for telling me about it. And I laughed because I talk about laundry sauce a lot because they're a sponsor, but also because they really just kick ass as laundry pods. They're very sophisticated, high quality scents and our family genuinely loves these laundry pods. And I was kind of psyched that someone who had tried it out did too. Like, listen, laundry isn't everyone's favorite activity. I'm not going to tell you that this great detergent makes Laundry laundry so fun to do because it doesn't. It's laundry. But Laundry Sauce does kind of elevate the experience a bit. Their laundry pods are four times more concentrated, so they have more cleaning power per ounce than typical detergents. But they also smell incredible without being too heavily scented, which is a fine line to walk. I was already picky with my detergents because I like to be good to the environment and I'm not into chemical smells. But Laundry Sauce partnered with the top of the line fragrance house to bring beautiful, complex aromas from high quality ingredients and they just happened to put them into a powerful stain fighting laundry pot. We actually just ordered more scents because we wanted to see how the other one smelled. And honestly they are all good. Plus their boxes are so cute and high end and glamorous if you know laundry can be glamorous. So if you want to try laundry sauce for yourself for a limited time, our Link will get 20% off their entire order when they use the code politicsgirl20@laundry sauce.com that's 20% off your order@laundry sauce.com with the promo code politicsgirl20. And after you purchase they'll ask you where you heard about them and as always, please support the show and tell them that we sent you. Smell good, look good, feel good. With Laundry Sauce everybody is free to do what they want as long as they're working for Dear Leader. Does it seem like that to you?
- [23:40]
A
100%. And there's no bottom to it and no one is safe. So if people think they're going to get through these years by being white, privileged, better off than most, it comes for you. Authoritarianism comes for you eventually. Because if you allow immigrants to get rounded up by ice. And again, on the Gaslit Nation Action Guide, we have advice on what to do if you spot this in your neighborhood, how you can be a good ally. And so what you have to understand is dictatorships are consolidating sadists. They're bringing together all the statists, all the criminals. And so the best thing that the good men and women in law enforcement, including prosecutors, can do is get these J6 criminals off the street for other related crimes. I mean, that's already happened. One was rearrested, another had been found for child abuse, child sexual assault. So once a criminal with, with these guys, like they're committed domestic terrorists. So keep an eye on them. That's what the law enforcement has to do. There's solutions to these problems. Like there's ways to still curb his abuse.
- [24:56]
B
Yeah, no, I'm glad to hear that. I mean it's the excessive of it. Like it's not just the Day six. Like I really have a problem with this. Founder of The Silk Road being set free. He was in jail for, you know, a double life sentence. He was convicted of running an underground online marketplace used by thousands of drug dealers to sell illegal drugs using Bitcoin. Trump literally spent a huge part of the campaign talking about the dangers of fentanyl and these drug dealers bringing in drugs at our border and poisoning our children. And then he just pardoned a man who created the platform to sell drugs to kids because his mom was a big supporter of Trump. Right? And Trump went from death penalty for drug dealers to let this guy free because his mom is a fan. And I feel like it's kind of that old dictator playbook. Like I think of the Peruvian General Benavanitas saying, for my friends, everything, and for my enemies, the law. And I feel like, what are we supposed to do if we no longer have a rule of law? How do we manage that? Because it makes the world feel upside down. To me, it sounds a lot like what happens in Russia, right? Where the leader and those who support the leader can literally do anything, right? They can murder people, they can traffic people, they can steal, they can sell drugs, but they will get away with it because they're connected to the government somehow. Am I wrong in thinking that that is dictatorship 101?
- [26:17]
A
It's arbitrary. And what you're experiencing is called gaslighting. And so the first thing that we all have to do when. And look, it's really hard to be up against an enemy that's so shameless. You cannot shame these people. It's a shamelessness that overwhelms you. So that feeling you described is just like they're just shameless. And so the way around that is to still hold on to confronting the law enforcement, do your job, still confronting the Constitution, still confronting lawmakers, and to again, build your resilience groups and your communities to be on high alert and keep yourselves safe. Because we're just in the early days. And the best thing you can do for yourself and your community is adopt an issue. You can't do it all. You'll emotionally exhaust yourself and deplete your finite resources. Adopt one single issue on how you plan to keep yourself and your community safe and own that issue. Be an expert on that issue. Get Google alerts on that issue, buy books related to that issue. You're an expert now in that issue. And whether that's immigration, the environment, a specific part of the of keeping the environment safe, trans rights, gay rights, gay marriage, whatever. It is like a vulnerable issue that's coming up. Abortion, healthcare, Just contribute by becoming a new expert on the front line in being alert and being on guard and springing to action when needed. On that one issue, you cannot do it all. You need to find your lane and stay in your lane, and that is where you're going to soar. And again, commit to building something in this time. Don't just be in despair. Everyone I know is collectively depressed. They're not marching. And I went to People's March in Washington, D.C. i went with my dad. We had a beautiful time. I met an amazing doctor who was instrumental in protecting Obamacare all these years, and she's going to be on the front lines again in protecting her healthcare. All these legal cases are coming out against what they plan to do. Taking away our basic, basic right to healthcare.
- [28:26]
B
Yeah, that's. That's my issue. That's the issue. I'm adopting. Yeah.
- [28:29]
A
I mean, but that's. I met this woman at the march, and now she's coming on my podcast. And now I have this wonderful resource on how I can help all my community that care about this issue find their place in it. So please march. Please go to protests. Protests matter. It's psyops, what they're doing to us. They want us all to be home alone, depressed, succumbing to our dread and fear. Like, oh, my God, the AI is going to get me. No, it's not. There's still so much resistance and creativity coming out of China, for instance. I know China is like this entrenched dictatorship, but I have friends who are out, who are, you know, from China who are doing wonderful things and living their lives out loud. And so there it is possible to build a counterculture to what the dictator wants you to accept. And that is where our safety will lie. And we are going to ultimately get through this. We are. We have to believe in that. And we have to every day do our daily practice of breathing and staying sane within ourselves, because if we don't, if we fall apart, that's when they win.
- [29:36]
B
Yeah. Let me ask you, because you know Russia so well, and you know dictatorship so well. I feel like this kind of like, like for my friends, everything for my enemies. The law isn't the only Russia, like, behavior that we're seeing now. Right? Like, we already have our oligarchs, we have the billionaires taking over our media, bowing to the leader's whim. Three days in, we had, like I said, that congressman proposing that Trump, you know, stay in office for a third term. I mean, it all feels like Putin core, right? Like, they're all, like, just trying to be the Putin playbook. And it, it, it shouldn't surprise me. I don't. I'm not surprised that they want to keep him in power indefinitely. I think I'm actually surprised they're trying to go through the proper channels to do it. And I want to tell people, like, to be clear, they can't just change the Constitution like that. It's actually quite hard to amend the Constitution. You need two thirds of the House and Senate, three quarters of the states to ratify. So there's no way that's going to happen legally. But it. I think I want people to remember that it is still crazy. They're suggesting it, and we should never stop pointing that out.
- [30:36]
A
Yeah. I mean, Trump didn't want to leave the White House the first time around, so he's not going to want to leave again.
- [30:42]
B
He's probably.
- [30:43]
A
He's staying. And so they'll find some way for him to stay. They'll find some way for Baron or Ivanka, you know, sorry, J.D. vance. Like, you know, they're, they're going to create a dynasty. And that's, that's not hyperbole. Like, that's really what they're after. And it's very important that people understand when we say that Trump and MAGA are like Russia, this is what that means. Russians that support Putin because all dictators have a base. Russians that glorify Putin see Putin as their protector, their savior, just like the MAGA cult sees Trump. It's an enslaved mentality. It's an enslaved mentality. The tension of our time, when everyone talks about America's in a civil war, it's really a tension between the free states, you know, full of people that are determined to have a good quality of life and the rule of law and to hold their elected leaders accountable versus the. In the slave states where they, you know, they don't mind living in poverty as long as black people are in poverty, too. And it's very much a slave mentality. That's what people have to understand. The end game here is for Trump and his family, his inner circle, to be the elites, the royalty, looking down on everyone else, including their own followers. That is what Putin built in Russia. I'll give you an example of that. Alexei Navalny released a YouTube video showing Putin's massive castle that he built for himself with stolen money. This thing was elaborate. When this video was released, Putin's palace, it was just the, the wealth was shocking. How did average Russians respond? That's My czar. Look at how he's living large. They enjoyed it, they took pride in it, because they have an enslaved mentality. Why is that? Because they feel by supporting the strong man, they are in the in club, and that shine of the strongman shines on them. And so what Trump is doing as part of his cult of dictator is he's creating an in club, which is all his MAGA supporters who are proud how he breaks the law, proud how he enriches himself. Trump had so many fraud cases and investigations against him. He had Trump University brought to justice. He and his family were banned from charities and businesses in New York State. The man was like walking, talking corruption and fraud. Six bankruptcies he had after being born a trust fund kid. And yet when he released a meme coin, all of his cult supporters overlooked that, refused to believe the investigative reporting, and threw hundreds of thousands of dollars, some of them, at Trump, buying up that meme coin, which he then dumped and it became worthless. So some hardcore Trump supporters were out like, 200 grand. They lost on that meme coin pump and dump scheme, which Melania did as well with her own meme coin. And they don't care because that's their king. That's his right. And so it's. I'm telling you, we're entering a time now of slavery versus freedom, slavery versus freedom. And that's what a cult has. People in a cult will hurt themselves as it makes the cult leader happy. And that's how he's groomed Americans to be. And that's how Putin and the KGB dictatorship that brought him to power have groomed Russians to be.
- [34:23]
B
Wow, that's crazy. I mean, you've seen this before, obviously. Then, like, so what do you think is going to happen to states like California and Illinois, where the leaders there are clearly not going to toe the line, which, honestly, according to our constitutional rule of law, they shouldn't have to. Trump is clearly chomping at the bit to punish Gavin Newsom, who is everything he is not. And he's going to punish all of California, particularly Los Angeles, to do. And we're seeing this play out by Republicans in Congress who are already demanding California meet all these requirements before they get disaster relief. That was something that's never happened to any state before. So what do you think we're going to be seeing with these blue states or these free states? So I love my coffee, but some people don't. Some people are super sensitive to caffeine and end up feeling jittery and off for the rest of the day if they have one. One which is why I'm telling you about Mud Water. Mud Water is a fantastic coffee alternative made with a blend of organic, functional mushrooms that keep you sharp and energized without the caffeine crash that people get from coffee or, God forbid, those energy drinks. Mud Water's got ingredients like lion's mane, which supports focus and mental clarity Reishi, which keeps you calm and balanced. There's also Chaga for its antioxidant benefits and cordyceps, which boosts energy and stamina which is very helpful on long work days. Their OG blend has a rich, earthy flavor with hints of cacao and chai. You can drink it hot or iced or use the frother Mud Water sends along to froth up some milk and drink it like a latte. No caffeine spikes or crashes, just steady, focused energy. Plus, every single ingredient in mud water is 100% USDA certified organic, non GMO, gluten free, vegan and kosher. There's no sugar or artificial sweeteners, so it's just a clean, natural source of energy that doesn't mess with the system. Ready to make the switch to a cleaner energy drink? Head to mudwater.com and grab your starter kit today. Right now our listeners get an exclusive deal up to 43% off your entire order, plus free shipping and a free rechargeable frother when you use the Code Politics Girl. That's right up to 43% off with the Code Politicsgirl at M u d w t r.com and again after they purchased. If they ask you how you found them, please support the show and let them know we sent you. Keep your energy natural and refreshing all year long with Mud Water because life's too short for anything less than clean, delicious energy. So I still haven't fixed the blinds in my bedroom, but it is on my radar now. As I said last week with all the ugly in the world, I have been spending a limited amount of downtime looking at bedrooms online to get inspiration for something pretty. And I am starting with the windows. Which is why I'm happy to tell you about three Day Blinds, who are the leading manufacturer of custom window treatments in the US who make upgrading your blinds and shades and shutters and drapery easy, breezy and painless. You're not handy? No problem. Their team handles all the heavy lifting, design, measurements, installation. You just get to sit back and upgrade your windows. You want help deciding what fits best in your home? Their professional design consultants, each with over 10 plus years of experience will guide you to the perfect solution from the comfort of your home. Plus they will give you a free no obligation quote that same day. Right now you can get a buy one, get one 50% off deal on custom window treatments. So whether you're looking for modern motorized blinds that sync with your smart home or chic roman shades that tie a room together, or you just want to upgrade to something a little better than you chose, like me 20 years ago, Three Day Blinds has thousands of options for every style and budget. Right now, get quality window treatments that fit your budget with 3 Day Blinds by heading to 3dayblinds.com politicsgirl for their buy one get one 50% off deal on custom blinds, shades, shutters and drapery for a free no charge, no obligation consultation. Just head to three day blinds.com politics girl and one last time, that's buy one get one 50% off when you head to the number 3D a Y blinds.com politicsgirl what do you think we're going to be seeing with these blue states or these free states?
- [38:31]
A
Well, all of the free states, and that's what we should call them now, they're free states. Their leaders are basically seen as threats to Trump. Right? Because just like Ukraine presents an alternative to Russians on how much better life can be, the average quality of life in Ukraine was much higher than in Russia. And so therefore Russia had to invade Ukraine, punish Ukraine, or else Russians would want that at home and overthrow their czar. So all of these free states where quality of life is just naturally higher, we have, you know, a more educated working class, more, you know, more money, more investment, higher taxes, because we put that money into roads and schools and hospitals. And so the quality of life is great compared to Louisiana and Mississippi, Republican hostage states, slave states, free states. They're threats to Trump because they present an alternative of how America could be, how people could live. And plus their charismatic leaders are seen as political opponents to Trump. So I'm not surprised by some of the reporting that there are arson fires that are contributing to the disaster in Southern California. I'm not surprised by that at all. I'm sure there was some domestic terrorist MAGA supporter that contributed to that. I wouldn't be surprised. Right?
- [39:48]
B
Yeah. No, there's a number of fires that have been set by people for sure.
- [39:52]
A
They're trying to undermine Gavin Newsom because Trump sees Gavin Newsom as the one most likely to run against him and challenge him. So Gavin Newsom has to be smart. He has to unite the people of California to, you know, they're the sixth strongest economy in the world. They have the might to do this, to rebuild as much as they can independent of the federal government, keep the people of California strong and happy, and hold the federal government, Trump's regime, accountable for not following proper protocol and basic empathy. And I don't want to see the United States fall apart. I don't want to see that. The Russians would love that. They would, you know, the apartheid South African tech bros like David Sachs and Elon Musk would love that because they would see it as revenge for the Soviet Union collapsing. They'd see it as revenge for apartheid finally being brought to justice. And so they want to see America fail and they want to see us break apart. But at a certain time, the free states, they have to hold the line. They have to hold the line and use everything they have at their disposal. And I'm not saying let's have Brexit style referendums for California and New York to Brexit out of here, because the reality is we have some really deep pockets in these states. The reality is that on Long island during America first, the first time around in the 1930s, there was a Nazi youth camp, right? So all states have mixes, right of purple. But these free states have to be as strong and creative and aggressive as possible in keeping their people united, together, strong, healthy, and getting all their resources to their own state in whatever creative way they can to keep the quality of life up and keep their political power, so they can show an alternative to the destruction that Trump is bringing. He's going to create so many victims among his own supporters, he's going to kill off his own supporters, just like he did with his disastrous mismanagement of the pandemic. He's setting us up for another pandemic. And so his own supporters are going to die in large numbers again. That's where this is headed. And we have to be ready for people waking up, finally being radicalized by reality. And they're going to need a place to go. They're going to need to see an alternative. And that's where these free states and almost free states, the purple states, that's where they come in, showing we have an alternative here, we have another way of life. We are strong, we are resilient, and we're going to defy this.
- [42:26]
B
It's also very important that people get proper sources of information, because living in California right now, the amount of disinformation and straight up lies to make the current government look like they're Making the mistakes that they are not. It has been beautifully handled here. But if you just read the news or listen to Fox, I have family members that are very right wing and they're like, how are you even handling it with it being so badly managed? And I want to be like, like, it's being beautifully managed. Like they're doing such a good job. The firefighters are doing a good job. The coordination is amazing. They're already changing rules so that you can build faster and do things better. And I think the thing is we have to work against the disinformation on top of that because it's a propaganda campaign to make these blue state leaders look incompetent so that they can replace them with people that will toe the line 100%.
- [43:14]
A
I mean, the disinformation machine that the far right has built now rivals what the Russians have and how they've brainwashed so many people to be enslaved and work against their own interest. So on the disinformation front in the U.S. it's incredibly scary. And I think what that forces us to do is to invest in independent media, support independent media. Like your show.
- [43:38]
B
Like your show.
- [43:39]
A
Yes, our shows. And really build a strong network among independent media. And also all of us have to learn Media literacy 101 and speak our own truth, report on what we're seeing, where we live and not be afraid. I'm seeing people meet this moment by succumbing to paranoia and scrubbing their social media and going underground. That is not how you do it. If you read Tim Snyder's On Tyranny, he says, be visible, be visible, stand out. Show your humanity, show who you are. That's what we need. We need you to be public facing. We need you to be a human being, conn with other human beings and using whatever platforms you have securely, safely to document what you're seeing. Believe your eyes and ears, become a trusted voice in your community. Have in person events, bring people together. Meet with the editors of your local newspaper, if you still have one, subscribe to that newspaper. Build your own media. This is what Ukrainians did. Ukraine is known for having one of the strongest civil societies in the world because they've gone through censorship, their leaders have been killed, beaten, tortured, and they still keep going because they build, build, build. They build their own organizations, they build their own news networks. And that is why the country has survived so long. And that's what we need to do now. We need to build our own media, our own films, our own books, our own resources, our own Communities. It's on us, us now. No one is coming to save us but us.
- [45:14]
B
Yeah. And I think we have to remember as much as they're trying to speed this process along, I know that there's federal employees that are receiving emails telling them to turn in their, you know, co workers if they're still using DEI practices or they think they might have been hired for DEI reasons. It reminds me of kind of neighbors turning on neighbors, stuff of things we heard about in, in history. But this is all stuff that Project 2025 was ready for, right? They were ready, ready for all of this. They wanted to purge the government really fast and fill it with loyalists rather than civil servants. Everything we said was going to happen is happening and we're already in the rewriting history phase. Right. They're trying to rewrite January 6th as his day of love and they're going to write books on it and stuff like that. And like you said, we have to believe our eyes and ears. We have to speak to each other. We have to remember the way things were. We can't stop sharing the truth just because it feels scary, right? Like, it is scary to watch the head of the proud boys and the head of the oath Keepers who are both convicted of seduces, conspiracy, caught on tape conspiring against the US Government with arsenals of weapons ready to go to be used against the American people. And we're like, yep, they're just free now to start their own militias again. Right? Like, this is scary stuff, but I don't think we should shut down from it. I mean, if anything, we have to stop the momentum, right? We need to get in the way of everything they're trying to do by suing them when they do things wrong. Like if you're trying to stop birthright citizenship, that lawsuit was already in power the day he was inaugurated, Right. By not complying, when they tell you to do something, be like, no, I don't think I have to do that. And like, make them show you that you do. Right? Like, most of the time they won't have a warrant. They won't have the things they just expect us to comply in advance by telling ICE who come into our neighborhoods to collect our neighbors, that we don't know who the immigrants are, right. That we don't talk to our neighbors. I don't know anybody who's an immigrant. Like, I don't know anything. Like, no, you can't come into my home. Like, do you have a warrant? That kind of thing. What else do you think we should be doing, because I know we need to be supporting the organizations who are already on the ground fighting back. I know we need to be supporting the people that are suing the administration. I know we need to be out there speaking up for the rights that are already being taken away. But what else do you think we should be doing?
- [47:19]
A
Well, I think one of the best things you could do is sabotage, and there's a lot of ways to do that. So if you are in a position of power in a corporation that is funding some of, you know, these horrible things or wants to deregulate essential services that we all depend on and that could potentially. And that those deregulations could potentially poison communities. What you need to do is learn right now how to leak safely to protect yourself. And there's organizations like freepress.org, which gives you all the tools on how to leak safely and how to have a VPN. We have an entire security page on gaslitnationpod.com that was put together by security experts who are in our community of listeners. We've gotten together in resilience groups, groups. Once a week we meet to share best practices. One listener is getting into ham radio. Right. That's an interesting area because then you can listen to the police scanners and then you can know what's really going on beyond the media filter. And that's going to be your first line of defense of knowing, is there really a pandemic if suddenly there's an uptick of all these emergency room visits and so and so on. So there's a lot that we can do. If you ever had a terrible boss, now is the time to cosplay that person. If you work in the federal government or for a conservative, you know, judge, or again, in a corporation that's trying to poison us. So now is the time to be blissfully dysfunctional and stay where you are. Do not resign. Stay where you are and just be a bumbling idiot and have so much fun doing it. Because they're stupid, too. They might not even notice that you're being stupid. Because they're stupid, too.
- [49:06]
B
Yeah. Like, if you are in charge of ordering things for the concentration camps they're building, don't quit. Maybe just screw up the order so there is one door instead of 475 doors. That kind of thing, you know, like, make mistakes that will slow the, you know, some of these terrible things that are happening.
- [49:27]
A
I want to say really quickly about the concentration camps, the prison camps that they're building. The holocaust began with mass deportation they are blacking out these people who they're detaining. They cut immediately a DOJ program that provides federally funded attorneys to the detained so they know their rights and can know how to navigate a scary situation. That's gone now. And so the end game here is when they want to build all these prison camps, that is just a black hole of sadistic corruption, abuse, sexual abuse, men, women and children. It doesn't matter. That is a rallying ground of for status to go for these Rambo. You know, we've talked about that on your show. But also the end game is expanding slave labor for the corporations that are gleeful that he's back.
- [50:17]
B
Yeah. And listen, I want people to understand, like we're calling them, you know, detention camps or private prisons, but we don't need to miss words. These are concentration camps because they're going to be concentrated groups of people who are around it up without constitutional rights held indefinitely. And we need to be clear that this administration will not be deporting these people. They're not planning to get a whole bunch of planes and ship them back to the country of their birth, blah, blah, blah. They are planning to use them, as Andrea saying, as slave labor. Private prisons make money off taxpayer dollars for each detainee. Right. That funds the detainees. So the government, our money is going to be used to keep these people in prison. Then the government will make money leasing these human beings back to the industries that they destroyed by ripping all these people out of the economy at once. So our farming, our construction, we're planning to use these people as per our Constitution that says if you are in, you know, if you are in prison, we can use you. And as labor, it's a new form of slavery, and we can't pretend that it isn't happening. But I do want to draw attention to the fact that people are already out here fighting back. I don't want people to feel so demoralized by what's going on that they think it's not happening. I mean, we talked about this right after Trump was elected. We can't lie around despairing. Right. We have to roll up our sleeves and we have to get ready. Like, I want people to know that a minute after 12 o'clock on inauguration Day, the exact time that the President should have been putting his hand on a Bible but chose not to.
- [51:47]
A
Democracy Antichrist.
- [51:49]
B
Yes. Because it would have probably caught us all on fire. Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit against the Department of Government Efficiency Doge, challenging their, their operations in General Just after 10 on Inauguration Day, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the president's attempt to end birthright citizenship. That case has already been to a court where the. The judge was like, why are you even bringing this to me? This is so clearly unconstitutional. This is like a joke that you brought this here. Right. The day after the inauguration, the National Treasury Employees Union filed a lawsuit challenging Trump's Schedule F executive order, allowing him to go after every public worker who doesn't kiss the ring. So there's a lot happening. And we had Marc Elias on the show last week, and he was like, don't discredit the courts. There are a lot of good judges, a lot of good people still working in the court system, even though we see the courts as corrupted because of the Supreme Court. Right. I think the most important thing we can do right now is to keep reminding people that he is not doing what he said he do. He's not working for them. He works for the billionaires. He does not work for you. And I feel like that's a working oppositional plan. Like, yes, okay, he is rounding up illegal immigrants, which is what his base is like, dying for. Right, right. But he also explicitly told his voters that he would make prices lower, they are higher. That he would get them houses. He will not like. No one talked about taking over Panama or Greenland or Canada during the campaign. And now that's where we are. Right. Like, the Gulf of America is not going to bring egg prices down. And I think we have to keep hammering that home. Right. Because I think people are going to be upset that they're not getting what they want. And we should make them even more upset.
- [53:27]
A
Yeah, absolutely. Without question. There was a young woman Trump supporter online who was cheering all of these immigrants being kicked out of the country. And she was saying, great, now you can put that money into the va. I hate my health care at the va. What did Trump do? He froze any hiring at the va, making a crisis their worst. And he's making moves to force. So the VA offers better health care than a private plant. And so it looks like Trump is going to get rid of the VA health plan or force more veterans to be on more expensive, lower quality private health plans. And so these people, the Trump supporters, screwed themselves, and they're going to wake up to this fact. And he has a base that he conditioned for violence. That's not a base you want to. You don't want to destroy these people's lives because you've taught them that violence is okay and that violence, violence is the solution. So while we have these next two years before the midterms, and I do believe we're going to have elections in two years, I think it's going to be very tight. I think they've got a lot working for them, as we've already seen. But the elections do matter in two years. But. And in two years, reality is going to hit the fan for Trump voters, and we're going to see where they are. And when they start realizing how much he screwed them over, he's going to be dangerous because he's going to feel cornered and he's going to start becoming frantic and panicked, and that's when he's going to align himself, you know, surround himself in a deeper moat of criminals even more than he has been. A corner dog fights back viciously again, I challenge all of your listeners. Join me in dreaming very big right now for yourself and your country. What you want to build, what you want to leave behind the scenes. Seeds of change, the seeds of hope you want to plant now, because I promise you, there is a future of freedom. There is a future where there's a historical record of what we're all living today. And there is going to be the judgment of history, where people look back, where your grandchildren are going to ask, what did you do in those moments? Who were you? And I've studied the French Resistance, and I'm telling you, it was full of. Of regular men and women who did not know they had that in them. And they did, and they showed up for each other. And that is what we're going to do now. So in an age of cruelty, empathy, Empathy is what we all need to shine bright right now. Empathy is the ultimate act of rebellion. So hold on to your humanity. Know who you are. And by doing that, you're not just freeing your own mind, you're freeing so many other minds out there, and you're giving the people around you permission to be brought grave. You're giving the people around you permission to speak out and do something of value. And that's what we need right now. Dream big for yourself. Dream big for your country. No, it is not over. They are cowards, they are cruel, they are dumb. And ultimately, we're going to prevail.
- [56:27]
B
Ah. From your mouth to the universe's ears. I want to thank you for joining us today, Andre. I always love your perspective. You are very unflappable, which. Which I think is very important these days. Please tell people how to follow your work moving forward so they can follow what you're doing.
- [56:40]
A
Check out the Gaslit Nation Action guide on gaslit nationpod.com we also have a security guide and we also launched a new survey called Reject Hypernormalization which means that none of this is normal what we're going through. So we're calling on people to answer a couple of basic questions to document what they're seeing. That is not normal because that is the anecdote to gaslighting. So go to gaslitnationpod.com Take the hyper normalization survey. Check out the security guide. Make sure your tech is secure to protect yourself, especially if you've got the goods and you want to leak to journalists on signal. Do it. We need you to and also the action guide all on gaslit nationpod.com make the most of this time. Do not curl up in despair that that only helps that them it's time to shine bright. You're going to do big things now and it's going to be part of the historical record. History will remember you.
- [57:35]
B
History will remember you. Thank you Andrea. So that was Andrea Chalupa reminding us that this is self reliance time. We need to build partner groups, our own media ecosystems and thicker skin. Whether we want to believe it or not, we are in the early stages of a American dictatorship with free states and people who are enslaved. We can grieve what happened to our country that our institutions didn't save us, but we can't cling to the status quo or disconnect from our society alone and depressed. As Andrea says, be involved. Pick an issue and become an expert in it. Figure out how to keep yourself and your community safe with your expertise. There is a future where we return to freedom, but we need to work. We need to be visible, to stand out, to show our humanity. Because as Andrea says, in an age of cruelty, empathy is an act of rebellion. I want to thank Andrea for joining us today and you for caring enough about the future of this country to be here. Now go check out gaslitnationguide.com and find out how you can start fighting back. Until next week. PG out. Before you go, I just want to say if you're a premium member of this podcast then thank you. And if you're not a member, then please consider supporting my work. As Andrea said, we have to build our own media. We are almost completely overwhelmed by state supporting media and propaganda at this point. But we still have to be out here supporting those bringing you the facts. So if you aren't a member of Politics Girl Premium, please consider going to politics girl.com and signing up. You'll get this podcast ad free, along with my rants and bonus content sent directly to your inbox. So even if my work is silenced on social media, you will still get access to the truth and facts. There is a link to sign up in the bio of this episode, but also on politicsgirl.com and as always, please like and share these podcasts so we can grow our audience, because the more people who have access to the truth, the better. Thank you for your time and your support. The Politics Girl podcast is written and performed by me, Lee McGowan in partnership with the Midas Media Network and produced and edited by Happy Warrior Entertainment. All rights reserved.