The Lincoln Project

With four days to Election Day, Rick Wilson reveals the "secret" of this midterm cycle: Trump never took it seriously, but the electorate cares intensely about him because of the economic, military, and corruption fallout. Rick runs through what early voting is telling him, why Republican candidates are begging Trump to stay away, and why he thinks the tariffs and the Iran war never got a course correction. Then a state-by-state tour: Florida, Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Alaska, Montana, Nebraska, Mississippi, and Alabama. He also has a message for anyone worried about intimidation near the polls: record it, report it, and stay in line. VOTE THIS WEEKEND or make your Election Day plan.
•
•
•
•
Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.
More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

It’s a doubleheader for the last episode of the Lincoln Project Podcast before the 2026 midterm election. Rick is joined by two Democrats running in deep-red territory: Stephanie Arne (D-SD) and Justin Pearson (D-TN). Stephanie Arne, a former host of “Wild Kingdom,” is running for the South Dakota House in Sioux Falls with a grassroots, door-knocking campaign that has reached thousands of her neighbors. Justin Pearson is the Democratic nominee in Tennessee’s 9th District, whom Trump called a “radical” and whose state legislature redrew the maps to try to beat him. Two candidates, two red states, one message: We are more alike than we think! One week until Election Day. GO VOTE!
•
•
•
•
You can find more information about Stephanie Arne's campaign at http://stephanieforsd.com.

You can find more information about Justin J. Pearson's campaign at http://votejustinj.com.

Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.
More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

This week’s EITR is an ad from Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign that features the estranged birth mother of Democratic nominee Amy Acton. Rick has made hard-hitting negative ads for decades, and he explains why he sees a firm line between tough contrast ads and attacks on a family member who isn't a participant in the race, and why he believes this ad denies Acton's documented history of childhood abuse. He takes on JD Vance's response, the Republican leaders who offered only mild criticism, and the consultants behind political attacks like this one. His message to Ohio voters: turn your anger into a vote.
•
•
•
•
Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.

More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

This week, it’s a Florida DOUBLE-HEADER on the Lincoln Project Podcast. First up: retired Army Brigadier General Leela Gray, the Democratic nominee running against Rep. Anna Paulina Luna in Florida's 13th District. Gray breaks down the cost-of-living crisis squeezing Pinellas County, Luna's refusal to hold town halls or debate, and the anti-corruption agenda she wants to take to Congress, including a REAL ban on congressional stock trading. Then, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried explains how the party rebuilt from a 19-point statewide loss into a year-round organizing machine called Pendulum, going toe-to-toe with a Republican money advantage fueled by billionaires and no-bid contracts like ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ. Fried digs into the Hope Florida scandal, the insurance industry's shell-game finances, Byron Donalds' campaign for governor, and the congressional seats Democrats are targeting in November.
•
•
•
•
•
You can find Leela Gray and all of her socials on her website, https://LeelaGray.com

The Florida Democratic Party's website is https://FloridaDems.org.
Nikki Fried is on X @NikkiFried & Blusky @NikkiFried.bsky.social.

Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.
More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

With 18 DAYS to Election Day, reality is finally setting in. Republicans are watching the House slip away. Trump's supporters are staring at a visibly declining leader. And MAGA voters are learning that $5-plus diesel, lost health insurance, and data centers in their backyard WERE the deal all along. Rick's warning: don't get complacent, VOTE EARLY. Then he looks past November to a long, patient accountability process, modeled on France's postwar purge rather than a tidy Nuremberg fantasy, led by state attorneys general. And his challenge to incoming Democrats: don't chase normalcy, stay on the economy and corruption, and on day one, TAKE THE TARIFF POWER AWAY. The real fight is just beginning.
•
•
•
•
•
Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.

More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

Rick sits down with Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney about MUSK, his four-hour film that started as a business profile and turned into something much bigger once Elon hitched his wagon to Trump. Gibney says Musk's fortune was built less on engineering genius than on MYTH-MAKING, a confidence-man playbook of gaslighting and bravado that let him buy his way into American politics. They trace the whole arc: the COVID-era fury, the move to Texas, the Twitter takeover, DOGE, the Epstein-files blowup, and the quick patch-up with Trump. Gibney even built an uncanny AI of Elon Musk from his own recorded words to interrogate him in a way no real interview ever could. They close on the legal threats, the rejected ad buys, and just how dangerous Musk is now that he controls a megaphone AND the future of AI.
•
•
•
•
•
Alex Gibney is on X @alexgibneyfilm and on Bluesky @alexgibneyfilm.bsky.social. His new film ‘MUSK’ is out now in select theaters, and nationwide on October 16th.

Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.

More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

Democrats are winning, and RICK WILSON says they have NO IDEA why. It isn't because the party's brand got better. It's because voters, including a LOT of Republicans, are done with TRUMP over tariffs, the Iran war, and corruption. Rick's warning: don't let the consultants talk you into a "big optimistic vision." Stay on affordability. Stay on corruption. Keep PUNCHING, the way Ossoff and El-Sayed are. Then he lays out the day-one agenda: unwind the tariffs, BAN congressional stock trading, and hold Trump officials accountable instead of repeating the "move on" mistake after January 6th. He also breaks down why data centers are the new symbol of voter anxiety about AI and jobs, and closes with a hard warning on election interference: VOTE EARLY, vote by mail, and show up in force.
•
•
•
•
•
Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.

More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

#EITR #RickWilson #LincolnProject #Midterms2026 #Ossoff #ElSayed #BanStockTrading #VoteEarly #DataCenters #Democrats

Rick sits down with TIMOTHY SNYDER, the historian who literally wrote the book on tyranny, two of them, in fact: ON TYRANNY and ON FREEDOM. Snyder says that Trump isn't a real strongman. Compared to actual dictators like Putin, he's WEAK — and the right response isn't fear, it's MOCKERY, organizing, and showing up in overwhelming numbers this November. They dig into what Snyder calls a "crisis of dignity" inside the GOP — grown men abasing themselves in front of Trump — and trace that same rot straight to the posthuman, AI-worshipping ideology now sitting inside the White House, courtesy of thinkers like Curtis Yarvin and Steve Bannon pushing America toward a post-democratic future. This is a historian's warning AND a battle plan.
•
•
•
•
•
Timothy Snyder is on X @TimothyDSnyder & on YouTube @proftimothysnyder. Check out his Substack, at http://snyder.substack.com/

Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.

More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

#TimothySnyder #OnTyranny #OnFreedom #RickWilson #LincolnProject #CurtisYarvin #SteveBannon #Ukraine #Authoritarianism #VoteEarly

Rick is calling this the WORST WEEK the GOP has had in years, and the proof is in the polling. The map is getting uglier for Republicans by the day. Texas and Ohio are tightening, and David Jolly's got the edge on a flailing Byron Donalds in Florida. Meanwhile, Republicans just can’t stop making it worse for themselves. MAGA Senator Eric Schmitt tried to trap Jack Smith in a perjury gotcha and it BLEW UP in real time, live on camera. Trump sat down with TIME and came out swinging, unhinged as ever, while his own White House keeps running TAXPAYER-FUNDED campaign ads that are drawing serious legal scrutiny. Add in embarrassingly small crowds and a “superintelligence” summit that's turning AI into a symbol of everything voters are scared about economically. MAGA is in real trouble. Democrats, PLEASE stay on message, and everyone else… VOTE EARLY!
•
•
•
•
Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.

More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

#EITR #RickWilson #LincolnProject #EricSchmitt #JackSmith #Talarico #DavidJolly #HatchAct #Midterms2026 #VoteEarly

Rick sits down with JACOB WEISBERG, author of PROFILES IN COWARDICE, the book that exposes the men whose lack of courage enabled Trump 2.0. Jacob and Rick go through the receipts: enfeebled Senator Mitch McConnell, who called out Trump on the Senate floor after January 6th and then folded right back into line. Blackstone CEO and billionaire Steve Schwarzman, who was SKEPTICAL of a second term and then caved anyway out of vanity. Chief Justice John Roberts, whose court just handed massive executive power to an authoritarian regime. And George W. Bush, who stayed silent while his family was attacked and his legacy was dismantled by DOGE and Elon Musk. This is a masterclass in how democracies actually die — not with a bang, but with a bunch of powerful men deciding it's easier to fall into line than to stand up for what is right.
•
•
•
•
Jacob Weisberg is on X @jacobwe. His new book, Profiles in Cowardice: A Study of Collaboration in the Trump Era, is out NOW, wherever fine books are sold.

Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.
More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

#JacobWeisberg #ProfilesInCowardice #MitchMcConnell #JohnRoberts #SteveSchwarzman #GeorgeWBush #RickWilson #LincolnProject #Politics2026

The Elephant in the Room: Trump's Numbers Just Cratered

The polls are in, and they're a bloodbath. Trump's approval just hit a historic low, and the GOP — the party that welded itself to him — is going down with the ship and calling it strategy. This week, Rick convenes the brain trust: Senior Advisor Matthew Dowd, Executive Director Tessa Gould, Political Director Andrew Wilson, and special guest pollster Cornell Belcher, who brings the receipts straight from the crosstabs. They dig into why Republicans can't distance themselves from a man dragging them underwater, why voters are finally, gloriously fed up, and why swing voters are breaking for Democrats and not looking back. The elephant in the room isn't hiding anymore — it's flatlining on live TV. Pull up a chair.

The Data Center Grift (with WIRED's Molly Taft)
The richest companies in human history have a new hustle, and you're the mark. They're bulldozing warehouses the size of malls into towns too small to fight back, draining the reservoir dry, and torching the power grid — all to run an AI that still can't tell you how many R's are in "strawberry." The best part? They took the tax breaks, promised jobs that never showed, and mailed you the power bill. This week Rick sits down with WIRED senior reporter Molly Taft, who followed the water and the money and found the same thing at the end of both: a con. They get into who's cashing in, who's going dark, and why "the cloud" is the most expensive lie in America right now. Bring your own bottle of water — the robots are thirsty.

Rick sits down with RABIA CHAUDRY, the attorney who helped make SERIAL a phenomenon and now runs UNDISCLOSED, the podcast that's helped get WRONGFULLY CONVICTED people OUT of prison. Rabia breaks down the patterns behind these convictions — junk forensics, coerced confessions, prosecutors with a "hero complex" who'd rather double down than admit they got it wrong — and lays out real fixes to fix a system stacked against defendants. Then it gets personal: as an American Muslim who entered law school around 9/11, Rabia connects the dots between the counterterrorism machine built after that day and TODAY'S aggressive ICE enforcement — people getting arrested at their OWN SCHEDULED immigration hearings, and TPS terminations blowing holes in Florida's economy. This is a masterclass in how broken systems actually work, from someone who's spent her career fixing them.
•
•
•
•
•
You can find Rabia Chaudry on Instagram @rabiasquared2, and on her podcast, ‘Undisclosed: Towards Justice.’

Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.

More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

#RabiaChaudry #Undisclosed #Serial #WrongfulConviction #CriminalJusticeReform #Immigration #TPS #RickWilson #LincolnProject #Politics2026

Rick sits down with GIL DURAN, the #1 bestselling author of THE NERD REICH: SILICON VALLEY FASCISM AND THE WAR ON DEMOCRACY, and this one goes DEEP. Gil traces how the tech world's lurch to the right didn't start with Trump — it started with San Francisco recall elections that quietly road-tested billionaire-funded populism, then Elon Musk DROPPING $277 MILLION on the 2024 election. They unpack the strange ideological current running through Silicon Valley, including a fringe monarchist thinker's outsized grip on guys like Peter Thiel, who apparently want a "CEO KING" running America. Then it gets darker: a massive AI-driven wealth transfer aimed straight at your job, OpenAI's own Sam Altman admitting the risks are real, and billionaires quietly building escape compounds from HONDURAS to GREENLAND while the rest of us live with the consequences.
•
•
•
•
•
You can find Gil Duran on Bluesky @gilduran.com. Gil Duran’s new book ‘THE NERD REICH: SILICON VALLEY FASCISM AND THE WAR ON DEMOCRACY’ is available now, wherever fine books are sold.

Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.

More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

#GilDuran #TheNerdReich #SiliconValley #PeterThiel #CurtisYarvin #ElonMusk #SamAltman #RickWilson #LincolnProject #TechOligarchy

On the 25th anniversary of September 11th, Rick shares his personal reflections on that day. Loved ones lost, survivors never the same again. This is a look at what America got right in the aftermath: real unity, real international solidarity, NATO invoking Article 5 for the only time in its history. Everything bin Laden failed to break through terror on that day — our cohesion, our alliances, our resilience — has been deliberately broken since, not by an enemy, but by the President of the United States. This isn't about outrage. It's about what we've lost, and whether we can still get it back. A tribute, and a warning.
•
•
•
•
•
Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.

More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

Rick sits down with MAGGIE HABERMAN, the #1 NYT bestselling co-author (with Jonathan Swan) behind REGIME CHANGE: INSIDE THE IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY OF DONALD TRUMP, built on roughly 1,000 interviews inside this White House. Maggie breaks down the WILD delta between Trump's first and second terms — Elon Musk's chaotic run as would-be reformer, the DOGE flameout that cracked the EPSTEIN FILES fight wide open, and how Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche have handled a cover-up controversy that's splitting Trump's own base. She lays out how the DOJ has become a tool of personal retribution, how hard Trump's team is working to shield him from audits and legal exposure, and just how much money he's made off the presidency itself. Then it gets personal: his visible physical decline, and the early jockeying — JD Vance included — over who inherits it all.
•
•
•
•
•
Maggie Haberman’s new book ‘Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump' is out now, wherever fine books are sold. You can find Maggie on X @maggieNYT.

Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.

More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

Rick Wilson has a plan, and it's straight out of a mob prosecutor's playbook. While Mike Johnson is out there insisting Republicans will EXPAND their majority, the White House is quietly doing something very different: lawyering up, tightening ethics disclosures, and bracing for a Democratic Congress. Rick says forget impeaching Trump directly — the Senate math doesn't work. Instead, Democrats should go after the STAFFERS first: the aides, the enablers, the people who don't have money for elite lawyers and who kept receipts as personal insurance. He names names — Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Susie Wiles, Jared Kushner — and lays out why this "roll-up" strategy could crack Trump's inner circle wide open once people realize he has zero incentive to protect them.
•
•
•
•
•
Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.

More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

#EITR #RickWilson #LincolnProject #MikeJohnson #StephenMiller #KristiNoem #JaredKushner #Midterms2026 #Accountability #Oversight #EpsteinFiles

Rick sits down with BENN JORDAN, the musician-turned-security-researcher who did what Flock Safety said was impossible: he found their "unhackable" license-plate camera network wide open on the internet. Benn walks Rick through how he stumbled onto unmarked cameras near his home in ATLANTA — the most surveilled city in America — and ended up exposing passwordless feeds, a data-retention policy that's basically a LOOPHOLE, and a new tool called Flock Nova that cross-references your location with criminal records and open-source data. This isn't a left-vs-right issue — Benn breaks down why gun owners AND privacy advocates are equally furious, why local elections are turning on this exact fight, and why the whole business model might not survive a serious Fourth Amendment challenge. If you've driven past a camera you didn't notice, THIS episode is about you.
•
•
•
•
•
You can find Benn Jordan on:
YouTube: @BennJordan
X: @bennjordan
Instagram: @bennjordan
Mastodon: @bennjordan@mastodon.social
Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.

More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

This week's EITR is not surprising. It’s that Trump is going to make the 2026 elections all about him, and it’s not going to work. Rick breaks down Trump's plan to spend MAGA Inc.'s war chest on a national ad campaign centered on himself rather than the vulnerable Republicans who need the help most. Rick talks about how this strategy only worked when Trump's numbers were sky-high — now that strong support has collapsed, claims of a booming economy land flat against real pain at the pump and in farm country. He also tells the story of MAGA Inc. as less a normal PAC than a Trump family fund that's helped cover his own legal bills, leaving candidates like Ken Paxton and Jon Husted to fend for themselves. Rick calls for voters to see through what's coming next: a grievance narrative building toward a "stolen election" excuse, set against a backdrop of real failures in Iran, a drained strategic oil reserve, and instability abroad, in 2026 and beyond.
•
•
•
•
•
Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.

More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

#EITR #ETTD #RickWilson #LincolnProject #MAGAInc #TrumpApproval #Midterms2026 #SusanCollins #JonHusted #KenPaxton #StrategicPetroleumReserve #GOP #OperationEpicFailure

Head to http://Superpower.com and use code LINCOLN at checkout for $20 off your membership. Get 100+ biomarkers tested every year, plus a personalized health plan and on-demand care team. Detect early signs of 1,000+ conditions. #superpowerpod #AD

In this very special episode of the Lincoln Project Podcast, Rick sits down with HUNTER BIDEN for a conversation that pulls NO punches. Hunter makes the case that Americans are far less divided than the media wants you to believe, that AUTHENTICITY beats Trump's audacity every time, and that Democrats need to stop torching their own — from Abdul El-Sayed to Zohran Mamdani's early wins in New York. Then it gets HEAVY: Hunter lays out corruption as the sharpest weapon Democrats have, from Jared Kushner's Gulf-funded fortune, to alleged insider trading timed to Trump's Iran announcements, to crypto schemes hammering retail investors. He even wades into the RUMORS swirling around Trump's health. Hunter also opens up about his father's cancer — and what it means to extend grace to people who've finally seen the light.
•
•
•
•
•
Hunter Biden: @HunterBiden on X, Instagram, Threads and YouTube

@hunterbiden on Substack and TikTok.
http://hunterbiden.com/ | http://hunterbiden.substack.com/ |http://hunterbiden.com/press
Rick Wilson is on X @TheRickWilson, Bluesky @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and Substack at http://therickwilson.substack.com.

More from LP at http://www.lincolnproject.us and on X @ProjectLincoln.

#HunterBiden #RickWilson #LincolnProject #ZohranMamdani #AbdulElSayed #JaredKushner #Democrats2026 #Corruption #Politics2026 #JoeBiden