Letters from an American

August 24, 2026Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney instructed negotiators to walk away from talks with the Trump administration, When he won reelection in 2024, Trump emphasized that he intended to use tariffs to pressure Canada to join the US as a 51st state and he has sought to use the extraordinary economic power of the US to force Canada and other countries into subordinate relationships, This new attack on Canada doesn't make economic or political sense for the US but does make sense for this president who is flailing, Republicans appear unwilling to cross Trump but our allies do have power and agency of their own, Carney is urging so-called "middle countries" to create coalitions, Carney and Canada will retaliate against US tariffs and will begin intense discussions with the EU, Trump is clearly seen as untrustworthy, on beef prices, on oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz, and on data centers, A report about a meeting between Hakim Jeffries and Jared Kushner created fury, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced an initiative to demand other world leaders join with the US in strangling Iran's economy. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 22, 2026On August 18, Sen Darline Graham of South Carolina explained that she is not that informed on national security - although senators are supposed to manage national security, Graham is a perfect representation of today's Republican Party, With little political experience, she is echoing Republican culture war talking points that worked for Trump in 2016, Trump told a rally in South Carolina that the election is really about him, Two former teachers endorsed by Democrats flipped the Sarasota Florida school board, The Republican Party tied itself to Trump and remains tied to him as he devotes his time to celebrating himself, Meanwhile the country is embroiled in a war in Iran, the economy is slowing, prices of food and gas are rising, and Americans are horrified by ICE and by Trump's corruption, Trump imposed a tariff on goods from Canada and Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs, The field is open for Democrats to redefine the nation's policies, Pete Buttigieg recorded a video assuring Americans who oppose the Trump administration that they are in the large majority.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 21, 2026On August 21, 1831, Nat Turner led 70 enslaved and free Black Americans in a violent rebellion intended to awaken his white neighbors to the brutality of slaveholding, Responding to fears that educating slaves was dangerous, states across the South made it a crime to teach enslaved Americans to read and write, Denial of access to education read them out of society, The fledgling Republican Party passed the Land Grant College act that funded public universities, Andrew Johnson vetoed the bill, In 1954 the Supreme Court ruled that separate schools were inherently unequal and unconstitutional, When Ronald Reagan was elected he vowed to work for abolishing the Department of Education and to push tax dollars from public schools to private academies, Donald Trump's education secretary pushed to expand voucher programs, The claim was that vouchers would save money, but Arizona's biggest voucher program in the nation blew a hole in the state budget, In Texas a voucher program was passed into law, which will leave public schools across the state underfunded and closing, In Arizona the state supreme court ruled that opponents to a voucher program won't get a ballot measure in front of voters this fall, In 2026 it seems the intent is to exclude certain Americans from participation in the Enlightenment principles on which the nation was founded.  Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 20, 2026Republicans are trying to hide the cuts they have made to health care in the US, Republicans are working to undo the progress made with the Affordable Care Act, The work requirement they have imposed on the ACA is really a paperwork requirement, Up to 15 million people are at risk of losing Medicaid coverage, In 1883 sociologist Wiliiam Graham Sumner published an influential book that concluded that citizens owe nothing to each other, Those succeeding in the industrializing economy agreed, The Trump administration appears to embrace the belief that the nation depends upon the survival of the fittest, Robert F Kennedy's beliefs about vaccines seem to align with that idea, The US is experiencing a wave of foodborne illnesses, The administration cut back mandatory tracking of eight pathogens that had been covered by FoodNet before the administration cut six of them, The leadership positions at the CDC and FDA are vacant and need to be filled, Keeping government out of society undermined public health and safety in the past, Middle class Americans demanded regulation of the food and drug industry, ushering in reforms. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 19, 2026Republicans are melting down over stories about Trump aide Natalie Harp, The White House attacked a CNN reporter for asking about a comment by Jon Ossoff, The right wing media piled on Ossoff although their outrage was manufactured, The Harp business did distract from news about Trump's apparent stock manipulation and Trump's ballroom - which is vastly unpopular, Trump is downplaying the poor conditions aboard USS Abraham Lincoln, and his administration's flailing in Iran, ABC and the Walt Disney Company have launched a federal lawsuit against the FCC for violation of free speech rights, The national debt passed $40 million, a record, much sooner than expected, The Harp story has brought attention to Trump's need for a buffer between himself and the outside world, and Republicans don't seem able to change the narrative and use it to attack Ossoff.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 18, 2026On August 18, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, It gave the right to vote to women, The push for rights for women had taken root during the Civil War, But the Fourteenth Amendment tied the right to vote to male citizens only, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony formed the National Women Suffrage Association, followed by Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe's founding of the American Women Suffrage Association, Suffragists decided to test their right to vote under the Fourteenth Amendment in the 1872 election, When Suffragist Virginia Minor was kept from voting, she sued, and the case went to the Supreme Court which decided that women were citizens, but that citizenship did not necessarily convey the right to vote, For the next two decades, women's suffrage drew its power from women's organizations across the country, While laws changed to allow women to vote in some states, federal action was needed, Woodrow Wilson, under pressure in the midterm election of 1918 backed a constitutional amendment, The amendment  became the law of the land after it was ratified by Tennessee, and 26 million American women had the right to vote in the 1920 presidential election, But most Black women and women of color would remain unable to vote for another 45 years, Black women activists were among the leading voices behind the 1965 Voting Rights Act that made Black voting a reality, In 2026, Christian nationalists want to repeal women's right to vote.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 17, 2026Trump is flooding social media with his fantasies about his prowess, Trump claimed credit for falling pharmaceutical prices that are largely the result of the Inflation Reduction Act voted in under the Biden administration, He claims victory in Iran, He believes he is leading the country toward a second American Revolution, Today is the day that the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran expires. without a permanent agreement that opens the Strait of Hormuz and stops Iran's nuclear ambitions, He is cozying up to North Korea and reducing traditional military exercises with US ally South Korea, He is caught in a scandal over the condition of the US military, Trump is redesigning a new aircraft carrier, replacing modern launch system with an older version, Trump's Comptroller of the Currency has approved a preliminary chargter for Trump's World Liberty Financial to become a bank in an unprecedented show of self-dealing.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 16, 2026130 years ago, on August 16, 1896, gold was found in the remote Yukon Territory of Canada, The creek where it was found would come to be known as Bonanza Creek, Tens of thousands of men rushed to the Yukon to seek their fortunes, Many were unprepared and died, Five years earlier, when Democrat Grover Cleveland was elected president, Republicans panicked, Industrialists had become very rich and they insisted that Democrats were socialists and anarchists who wanted to destroy America, Investors pulled out of the market and out of US bonds and Cleveland took office with a financial panic in full swing, In the 1894 midterms, voters turned Congress back over to Republicans, Then Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan for the presidency while Republicans stood behind pro-business lawmaker William McKinley, Republicans insisted on a gold standard worried that coining silver would decrease the value of their holdings, After McKinley won the election, poorer Americans saw little hope, and news of a gold strike on Bonanza Creek was especially attractive, While few of the miners made fortunes, and many died, the gold from the Yukon did give the economy a boost, opening another path to reform during the Progressive Era.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 15, 2026Todd Blanche took the oath of office as attorney general on August 10, He immediately issued a  memo dramatically expanding executive privilege, This expansion will hinder efforts to investigate Trump's corruption, Independent journalist Katie Phang has filed a suit to force the Department of Justice to produce unredacted documents from the Epstein Files, The Department of Justice has not turned over those documents, The judge has warned the Department of Justice that he has held prosecutors in contempt of court in the past, The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ended the registry that makes shell companies identify their owners, The Treasury Department will not collect information required by the Corporate Transparency Act that is intended to undercut shell companies that enable money laundering, In doing so, the Trump administration may be openly refusing to implement a law. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 14, 2026The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow it to build his White House Ballroom, The National Trust of Historic Preservation has sued to stop construction, Asking to spend taxpayer money on a vanity project is a stark contract to the actions of the government 91 years ago, On August 14, 1935,  FDR signed the Social Security Act into law, The Social Security Act permanently changed the nature of the American government, It enabled a federal system of benefits, providing a basic social safety net, The force behind the law was Frances Perkins, FDR's secretary of labor, A witness to the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, she knew voluntary organizations would not be sufficient to improve worker's lives, The Social Security Act was hugely popular, The Act wrote into the law a longstanding political impulse that stood in contrast to the 1920s philosophy of rugged individualism, recognizing that pooling resources to take care of everyone was deeply seated, She asserted that Social Security was so firmly embedded in America's psychology that no one could destroy it. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 13, 2026Trump's handpicked Kennedy Center board voted to put his name back on the Kennedy Center building, The administration has ramped up attacks on immigrants, A third immigrant detained at New Jersey's Delaney Hall has died, ICE plans to spend up to $20 million on shock gloves to subdue individuals, DHS is ordering Haitian immigrants in Springfield, OH to be fitted with ankle monitors, The administration is bulldozing its way through Big Bend National Park, Because of staffing shortages, funding cuts, and reassignment of agents to immigration enforcement, DOJ investigations into sex trafficking have stalled, Democratic senators are asking for information on the purchase of 12 new luxury planes purchased with taxpayer dollars, Robert F Kennedy is grabbing ideological ground, reworking the nation's vaccine schedule, Trump issued an executive order forcing states to revise their recommendations on childhood vaccines. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 12, 2026Two Trump-endorsed candidates have lost their primary races as Trump's approval ratings continue to slide, Former Vice President Dick Cheney's cardiologist has written that the White House needs to address concerns over Trump's apparently compromised health, Trump's power, internationally, has been weakened by his inability to end his war on Iran, As his popularity slips, Trump appears to be collapsing his circle to a few people who are close to him personally, He left Marco Rubio on the decoy plane when he left Türkiye, Conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln have deteriorated to the point that sailors have taken to self harm, Spending on White House renovations and vanity projects has skyrocketed, taking funds away from needed maintenance to the National Parks, Mining conglomerate Energy Fuels, with close ties to the Trump administration, is being accused of insider trading, Mike Lindell is refusing to concede his loss in the primary election in Minnesota.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 10, 2026The Iranians believe they are in a position to dictate the terms of resolving the war in Iran, Iran and Oman are negotiating terms for travel through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian officials laid out a series of demands that the US must meet before the Strait is reopened, The US and other countries are being forced to accept an outcome that would have been unacceptable before the war, Netanyahu openly broke with Trump over his plan for Gaza, The Trump administration has been working to reshape Latin American countries into right wing protectorates of the US, The administration is apparently looking for a cooperative leader for Cuba, Trump's assumption of control over Venezuela appears to be the model for efforts in other countries, But the incident in which Trump left Türkiye after the NATO summer by faking the plane he was traveling because of a threat against his life, revealed the cowardice behind his tough guy aspirations, Trump protected himself by traveling in a smaller plan from Türkiye to England, leaving the press corps and staff to play decoy by traveling on Air Force One.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 9, 2026In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg leaks Pentagon study on decisions made, and lies told to the public, about events in Vietnam, Richard Nixon, worried that enemies would leak information about his own decision making, organized a unit out of the White House to stop leaks, These “plumbers” spied, lied, and set out to wiretap the Washington DC headquarters of the DNC at the Watergate complex, Five men were arrested for ransacking the DNC's files, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post broke the story of the White House scheme, The Senate Watergate Committe began nationally televised hearings to investigate, Assistant to the president, Alexander Butterfield, revealed to the commmittee that conversations and phone calls in the Oval Office had been taped since 1971, but Nixon attempted to keep copies from being released to the committee, After Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor, was fired, the new special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, successfully subpoenaed the tapes, which were damning, In late July 1974, the House Committee on the Judiciary passed three articles of impeachment, An explosive tape was released, showing that Nixon had clearly been central to the cover-up, and a delegation of Republican lawmakers went to the White House to tell Nixon that he must resign or be impeached, He gave a resignation speech that refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing, and his supporters advanced the idea of a “liberal conspiracy” to bring down any Republican president. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 8, 2026Just before leaving for a five-week recess, Senate Republicans confirmed Todd Blanche to the post of Attorney General of the US, Some Republicans were enthusiastic, others were more skeptical but said that if they didn't confirm Blanche, Trump would choose someone worse, Fifty two years ago, Republican senators played a very different role when they delivered the news to Richard Nixon that he must resign or be impeached over the Watergate break-in, On August 8, 1974, Nixon spoke to the American people to tell them he was resigning the presidency of the United States.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 7, 2026Reports indicate a serious shortage of US long range missiles, Trump denies this story but reportedly is frustrated with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth who in turn blames Depute Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg, Replenishing the munitions stockpiles will take yeras and cost billions of dollars, Numbers released by the Department of Labor show that the economy shed jobs in July and the jobs numbers from May and June have been revised down, Republicans are focusing on Dr Anthony Fauci, and voted to hold him in contempt of Congress, Trump continues to insist that vandals, not a poor installation, caused the damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, A three judge panel of the US Court of Appeals ruled that Trump cannot build his ballroom without congressional approval, Trump has protested and plans to appeal to the Supreme Court, Voters are even more concerned about inflation and prices than they were six months ago.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 6, 2026On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, In 1865, Americans ratified the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, outlawing enslavement except as punishment for crimes, In subsequent years, with the ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, citizenship was guaranteed to anyone born or naturalized in the US (except certain Indigenous Americans) and the right to vote was extended to Black men, These amendments gave Congress the power to enforce them, In response, white opponents hindered the ability of Black men to vote, Opposition did not gain traction until after WWII, when judges used the due process clause and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to argue that states could not deprive any American of equality, Under pressure from President Dwight D Eisenhower, Congress passed civil rights acts in 1957 and 1960, and in 1964 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which strengthened voting rights, In 1965, the Voting Rights Act became law, It was reauthorized repeatedly by large margins, but in 2013, the Supreme Court struck down the provision of the law requiring that states with a history of discrimination get approval before changing voting laws, The assault on the Voting Rights Act continued in 2026, after the decision in Louisiana v Callais, The gap between white and Black voter turnout in the 2024 election was the highest since at least 2008.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 5, 2026On August 5, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln signed a new tax into law, to help fund the US government during the Civil War, The law shifted ownership of the government to the American people, To equalize the burden and tax individuals in proportion to their ability to pay, the Republican Congress invented the nation's first income tax, By having the federal government, rather than the states, collect the tax directly, people would be supporting the United States of America, not individual states, This worked, and with their money behind the war effort, Americans were more committed to the cause, But although Republicans invented the American income tax, party leaders turned against it, starting with Ronald Reagan, Even as the national debt has risen, Republicans have argued that taxes destroy the country, In July 2025 Republicans passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, making tax cuts for the wealthy and for corporations permanent, Economists estimate OBBBA will add more than $4 trillion to the national debt over 10 years, While the cost of the war in Iran will put further strain on the economy, no wartime tax measure has been passed, But a proposal to eliminate the state income tax in Missouri was resoundingly rejected by the voters, indicating that Americans may be turning away from tax cuts as an economic strategy.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 4, 2026In a court filing on Friday, Capital One Bank stated that it had closed more than 380 of Trump and the Trump Organization's bank accounts for anti-money laundering reasons, Trump and the Trump Organization had sued Capital One in federal court in Florida, Trump has rabidly attacked FBI and Justice Department officials who have extensive experience in investigating money laundering and organized crime, Sen Ron Wyden released a report saying that Wall Street banks held off on filing required suspicious activity reports on transactions associated with Jeffrey Epstein, The report describes how top banks enabled Epstein's sex- trafficking operation by ignoring suspicious financial transactions, The report also points out that Republicans have blocked Wyden's measure requiring Treasury to produce copies of all suspicious activity reports related to Epstein, The report asks for an investigation into the behavior of individual bankers as well as the banks, In the 1930s federal securities laws and banking regulations were passed to clean up Wall Street and create a level playing field, We are watching the dismantling of these protections and a skewing of the system toward the very wealthy.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 3, 2026Todd Blanche rescinded the order establishing a $1.776 billion slush fund, Blanche's order did not change the terms of the nonprosecution order providing that the DOJ would not prosecute Trump, his sons, or the Trump Organization for crimes related to tax returns, The IRS will not audit tax returns filed before May 19, 2026, Although the promise to kill the slush fund seems hollow, Senators Tillis and Cornyn will now support Blanche's nomination for Attorney General, The nomination will move out of committee and go to the full Senate, where Republicans could kill it but probably will vote to confirm Blanche, Blanche appears to have been most responsible for ignoring the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Trump has been feuding with Republican senators over the SAVE American Act, and funding for the unpopular Iran War, There has also been infighting between Trump and cabinet members, And there is an extraordinary fight playing out between Republican federal lawmakers from Ohio.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 2, 2026The dismissal of the DOJ case against David Hearn for vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool came after Hearn's lawyers received transcripts of the grand jury proceeding that led to the indictment, Lawyers told the court that there were irregularities that “call into question whether the grand jury was misled,”  The DOJ has been caught misleading other grand juries or committing misconduct in getting indictments, Judges across the country are calling out lawyers for the DOJ, calling their behavior “unlawful” among other things, The DOJ is being turned into an instrument of Trump's political wrath, That can be seen in the fight over the confirmation of Todd Blanche to be attorney general, Blanche has flouted the law to do Trump's bidding, Blanche has secured indictments against Trump's perceived enemies, such as James Comey, He has backed the deal to establish a slush fund to pay Trump's allies, and the move to agree that no claims will be made against Trump, his family, or the Trump Organization, Blanche's confirmation is being held up by senators who have asked for assurance that the slush fund/nonprosecution deal is dead, but Trump has thrown a wrench into the process by declaring that he will push for its implementation. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 1, 2026The Department of Justice moved to dismiss the criminal charges against David Hearn, who was indicted for vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, The filing says the damage was due to faulty installation by the contractor, a firm that was hired on a no-bid basis, The project had issues from the start, from algae blooming the day after the reservoir was filled with water to the blue epoxy which began peeling off the bottom of the pool, Hearn was trying to see what the detached material felt like but Trump immediately blamed him and others for vandalizing the pool, Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for DC, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also claimed that vandals were responsible for the problems with the pool but the DOJ's filing proves this was a lie and that the restoration was a hasty, expensive, and ill-thought-out project. The government insisted the work was a success that was undercut by haters, Their story follows a familiar pattern, Trump continues to rant about the reflecting pool on social media, perhaps because he has so little to convince voters to support him.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 31, 2026Trump is reportedly “exasperated” that the Iran War, for which there was no real strategy, is dragging on and his advisors can't agree on what to do, Trump told reporters he plans on heavy military strikes against Iran, Instead of a strategy, Trump and Secretary of Defense Hegseth had an ideology, That ideology celebrates individualism, and sees education, expertise, cooperation, and coalition building as  weaknesses not strengths, Trump and his aides are attacking the International Criminal Court as Trump and administration officials appear to be worried about future prosecution for human rights violations, Strikes against small boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific have killed more than 220 people and appear to have done little to stop the flow of illegal drugs, The leadership of US combat commands support the restoration of Pentagon personnel whose job it is to protect civilians but Hegseth has not committed to that restoration, At an AIDS conference in Brazil, an official of the US State Department showed a map of Africa on which there were fake countries with the names of random real countries.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 30, 2026Sixty years ago, Medicare and Medicaid went into effect, Congress had amended the Social Security Act of 1935 to establish the two national health insurance programs, for seniors and for people who qualified on the basis of income, In 1945 Harry Truman had proposed an Economic Bill of Rights tht guaranteed certain rights including the right to adequate medical care, Truman said that “the health of this nation is a national concern,” John F Kennedy made the expansion of health insurance a priority, but faced strong opposition, With LBJ's victory in 1964, he had the votes to pass Medicare and Medicaid, But in 2026 the Republicans are rejecting LBJ's vision of a government that works to support its people, The One Big Beautiful Bill Act partially offset its tax custs with cuts to Medicaid, and the administration now plans to cut a program capping the cost of drugs for Medicare recipients.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 29, 2026Trump's approval ratings, on the economy, inflation, gas prices, and his priorities, are sinking to 30% and below. 72% disapprove of his handling of the situation in Iran, There are significant pockets of disapproval even among Trump's supporters, There is no end in sight for the war in Iran, and Iranian officials appear confident, Iranian negotiators have made their demands clear, The US seems to be running low on air defense munitions, Trump threatened renewed strikes, and oil prices rose with the news, Republicans are focusing on a red meat issue, the prosecution of Dr Anthony Fauci, MAGA Republicans have demonized him, and are attempting to rekindle the fury against him as political tides are running against them as the 2026 midterm elections approach, Fauci chose to  take the 5th Amendment and the Republicans produced no evidence that he had broken any laws, Republicans, looking for ways to get attention on social media were vocal in their attacks on Fauci and in one of the most notable Sen. Bernie Moreno used the f-bomb in an outburst that generated significant media attention.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 27, 2026The administration is attempting to rewrite the history of the US, It argues that the US was founded as a white nation, an echo of 1930s German ideology, The White House issued a report saing that the National Museum of American History “fails in the basic task of illuminating our heritage,” The report attacks the Museum's director and its staff, A nakedly political document, the report advances Trump's belief that the Smithsonian has an improper ideology, The report was meant to create a straw man for MAGA supporters to hate, Proposed signage creates a hostile atmosphere, as does harassment of tour guides and others associated with historic sites, Without accuracy, we will learn the wrong information about history and about whether this country was founded on race and land or, as the Founders said, principles and the rule of law.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 26, 2026Trump and his allies are acting as if the Constitution doesn't exist, Their actions align with the strategy of Nazi political theorist Carl Schmitt, Schmitt's philosophy centered around the idea that power belongs to the man who can exploit emergencies that create exceptions to the constitutional order, Trump has declared emergencies to justify deploying troops to Iran, to impose tariffs, and to sidestep Congress repeatedly, Trump is on track to issue vastly more emergency orders so far in his second term than were issued by any other president this century during their entire term, Trump will also be ignoring many different laws if plans proceed to build his proposed triumphal arch,  Ever since officials acknowledged to reporters that Trump planned to build the arch, Trump made clear that the arch is all about him.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 25, 2026The White House is moving forward on plans to paint the grey granite Eisenhower Executive Office Building, in spite of the damage it might cause and the maintenance it will requre, By claiming that the building is no longer controlled by the General Services Administration, the president is setting a dangerous precdent, allowing projects to avoid review, The administration is pushing a rule change in the National Historical Preservation Act, revising the law that requires federal agencies to take into account what their actions will do to historic places, The change will cut the public out of any conversation about places that matter to them, Chaco Canyon is one such place and several Democratic senators and representatives have written to Interior Secretary Burgum asking him to protect the area around the canyon, The changes would also fast track Trump's planned triumphal arch, Trump and his allies are whitewashing and bulldozing history in service to their small vision. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 24, 2026Federal officials have admitted that cuts from clean energy projects were based on whether states had voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, Rather than combatting waste, the administration is trying to use the power of the American people for its own ends, Trump has levied tariffs again, on goods from more than 80 countries that make up just short of 100% of US trade, Trump is frustrated as he cannot seem to find a way out of the Iran War, The Pentagon is restating the number of military personnel who have been killed in the course of the Iran War, The White House appears focused on the goals of Trump alone, Trump's actions are in sharp contrast to FDR's radio broadcast of July 24 1933 which urged Americans to act “in a group [to] accomplish things which no individual acting alone could even hope to bring about."Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

uly 23, 2026In a speech in 1953, President Dwight D Eisenhower warned that diverting tax dollars to war came at the expense of the American people, Trump is slashing programs that people depend on for food, health, scientific research, etc. to pay for his foreign adventures, Pete Hegseth was on Capitol Hill asking for $67 billion to fund the Defense Department through the end of September, The administration has not told Congress where the money is going, The Pentagon's internal estimate of the cost of the Iran War is $100 billion, far in excess of what Hegseth told Congress, The only way to the victory that Trump wants is politically impossible, Trump and Rubio are threatening to attack civilian infrastructure in Iran, although that could be considered a war crime, The price of oil has surged to more than $100 a barrel, The House of Representatives passed a concurrent resolution to end the war in Iran, with four Republicans joining all the Democrats, The Senate took up a measure to force the president to end the US hostilities with Iran, but it declined to advance the resolution, The vote was 47 to 49 with four Republican senators choosing not to vote.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 22, 2026Rep Jim McGovern spoke about the state of the Republican Party on the floor of the House, The speech called the party out for falling back on the communist label to divert attention from the economy and from what is happening in the party more broadly, McGovern charged that the Republican Party has become the party of fascism, Fascism rejects the equality that defines democracy, It elevates a single man to be an all powerful dictator, Scholars have noted that such demagogues depend on a disaffected population, who focus on someone to hate, Fascism aligns the government and favored businesses as business activity is subordinated to the needs of the government, Trump has approved a deal to provide Saudi Arabia with a civilian nuclear program, This project is worth billions in contracts for US firms, MBS, Saudi's crown prince, has declared he will build a nuclear weapon if Iran does, making this deal a blow to nuclear nonproliferation.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 21, 2026The One Big Beautiful Bill Act has made the deepest cuts to SNAP in its history, leaving hundreds of thousands of Americans without benefits, The administration claims it is cleaning out fraud, but there is little fraudulent use of SNAP services, The government is withholding Medicaid funding from California and Minnesota, again claiming fraud, The National Parks are suffering from cuts, and the losses wlll take years - if not decades - to repair, The government is privatizing systems that it had managed, including airport screening, exposing the public to dangerous vulnerabilities, The Pentagon is asking for $67 billion to tide it over to the end of the fiscal year, In Senate hearings, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would not answer questions about the truthfulness of his statements on the Iran war, Senator Andy Kim has introduced a proposal to expand Medicaid to all American children, with legislation that has been endorsed by a range of organizations with an interest in the health of America's families.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 20, 2026On July 17, an Iranian attack on a US base in Jordan killed two soldiers, and left one missing, 17 military personnel have been killed in the Iran War and the Pentagon says 427 have been wounded, Iran is inflicting more damage. They appear to have weaponry and are using it to make the US regional coalition believe that the costs are greater than the security benefits, The Pentagon is not providing much information about the progress of the Iran war, The US has struck bridges and energy infrastructure in Iran, The Houthis in Yemen are imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, If the Bab el-Mandeb strait is closed, the global oil supply will be further cut, and crude oil supplies in the US are the lowest in 45 years, Trump's speech was not aired live on CNN, ABC, or NBC, perhaps a sign of Trump's falling popularity, The administration is renewing aggressive immigration policies and arrests in July hit a record high, Democratic senators have demanded investigations of the shooting deaths in Houston and Biddeford, Maine, Trump has announced new tariffs on certain products from Canada, which would upend the economy if they take effect.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 20, 2026On July 17, an Iranian attack on a US base in Jordan killed two soldiers, and left one missing, 17 military personnel have been killed in the Iran War and the Pentagon says 427 have been wounded, Iran is inflicting damage, It appears to have weaponry and is attempting to make the costs to the US regional coalition greater than the security benefits, The Pentagon is not providing information about the progress of the Iran War, The US has struck bridges and energy infrastructure in Iran, The Houthis in Yemen are imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, If the Bab el-Mandeb strait is closed, the global oil supply will be further cut, and crude oil supplies in the US are at the lowest levels in 45 years, Trump's speech was not aired live on CNN, ABC, or NBC, perhaps a sign of falling popularity, The administration is renewing aggressive immigration policies, arrests in July hit a record high, Democratic senators have demanded investigations of the shooting deaths in Houston and Biddeford, Maine, Trump has announced new tariffs on certain products from Canada, which would upend the economy if they take effect.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 18, 2026July 18, 1863, the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry charged Fort Wagner, in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, Fort Wagner covered the southern entrance to the harbor and was key to the US government taking the city, The 600 soldiers of the 54th made up one of the first Black regiments for the Union, A Boston abolitionist, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, led the regiment, The men of the 54th knew that eyes were upon them to see how well Black men would fight for their country and they proved that they were equal to any white soldiers, The assault on the fort killed, wounded, or lost more than 250 of the 600 in the regiment, Colonel Shaw was one of the 30 left dead on the field, He was buried in a mass grave with his men, a burial that the Confederates had arranged to dishonor him, but which his family found fitting.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 17, 2026Trump and his team are throwing the weight of the government behind a far right conspiracy, The preoccupation with communism leads to a claim that all political positions designed to regulate business and provide a basic social safety net reflect a left wing radicalism, cost tax dollars, redistribute wealth, and are a slippery slope to socialism, Reactionaries have demonized Black Americans, people of color, and women, But the modern government has broad support, Trump and his loyalists are trying to push a fantastical vision of current conditions in the US that has been debunked, Trump pointed to documents to say that China had created an election security nightmare that was downplayed by the “deep state,” but the documents Trump released showed nothing of the sort, just evidence that Russia tried to influence the election on Trump's behalf, Demands that states run voter rolls through a federal digital tool have been blocked repeatedly, Steve Bannon called for immediate action against “communists,” Stephen Miller resorted to claims that protestors were ugly and deformed.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson  Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 16, 2026In an exchange between Jay Clayton, Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence, and Senator Jon Ossoff, Clayton would not answer the question of who won the 2020 election, All the claims that Trump won the 2020 election have collapsed in court, but Trump loyalists cannot say that out loud without losing Trump's favor, Todd Blanche, the nominee for Attorney General slipped and acknowledged that he is still acting as though he is Trump's personal attorney, Treasury Secretary Bessen announced that a commemorative coin with Trump's likeness will be released in a move reminiscent of the likes of Idi Amin and Saddam Hussein, Trump is building a helipad on the South Lawn of the White House, without permission from Congress or any review panel, The problem with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool appears to have been caused by problems with how the lining was installed, The US may attack Iran's infrastructure, Iranian leaders are looking to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait - the other main route, with the Strait of Hormuz, for oil exports from the Middle East, Fires and food-borne illnesses continue to plague much of the country, Trump is losing the support even of many Republicans.  Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 15, 2026The American Rescue Plan, passed in March 2021 without a single Republican vote, expanded the Child Tax Credit for one year. This temporary expansion lifted 3.7 million children out of poverty before it expired, Five years later, the results of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed without a single Democratic vote, reveals a very different set of priorities, OBBA expanded tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations, cutting more than $1 trillion from social welfare programs, The difference between the two bills reveals how the parties see the purpose of government - for the good of the people or to concentrate wealth and power among a few, Consumers are being screwed by the push to do away with reviews designed to protect people from monopoly power, Trump has called together a select group of Republicans to try to get their funding package which includes billions for military funding, for bailing out farmers hurt by tariffs, and for enacting aspects of the SAVE America Act,  past Congress through budget reconciliation, The administration is also trying to fund immigration enforcement, which has led to two deaths at the hands of ICE agents, Funding the war in Iran, funding voter suppression, and funding the crackdown on immigrants are not popular with Americans, but Trump has pushed continued traffic stops, and continued strikes in Iran, nonetheless.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 14, 2026In 1870, a US exploring expedition headed to the Yellowstone River and reported back about the natural wonders of the area, The House Committee on Public Lands warned about letting the area be spoiled by private interests, In 1982 President Grant signed the bill making Yellowstone a national park, In 1890, the federal government stepped in to protect Yosemite, Presidents of both parties continued to protect American lands, New York Republican Theodore Roosevelt most dramatically expanded the effort to protect western lands, Roosevelt used the Antiquities Act to create national monuments and, then, the Grand Canyon, Since the 1980s Republicans have pushed to reopen public lands to resource development, Trump signed an executive order in his first term to review the designations of 22 national monuments and ordered land reductions in two of them, Biden restored those monuments to their original size, But although the national parks and monuments attract millions of visitors, support thousands of jobs, and bring billions of dollars into the local economies, Project 2025 has urged that the Antiquities Act be repealed, The Supreme Court seems eager to get a case that will allow them to reduce the scope of the Antiquities Act, or eliminate it altogether. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 13, 2026The US has few options for extricating itself from Trump's war on Iran with conditions better than when it went into the war, or before Trump tore up the plan of action negotiated by President Obama, Trump is claiming that he will keep the Strait of Hormuz open, The administration continues to deny that Congress has any role in its activities in Iran, despite the clear language of the Constitution, Trump's sons have amassed a portfolio of defense tech startups that are benefitting from what the Pentagon is doing, In Maine, an ICE agent shot and killed a man from Colombia who was on his way to work but it appears he was not the man that ICE and Border Patrol were looking for, Less an a week ago, ICE shot and killed a man in Houston, who was close to obtaining legal status who also was not the person ICE was looking for, In Florida, a judge said that Trump, his lawyers, and lawyers for the DOJ, had manufactured the settlement of Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, She said that they launched the lawsuit to confer legitimacy on a course of action that they did not want to subject to judicial review, She recommended legal sanctions against some of the lawyers, She was “extremely troubled” by the testimony of Todd Blanche, who comes up for confirmation as Attorney General, on July 15.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 12, 2026The US is in the grip of an outbreak of the Cyclospora parasite, which is no longer being tracked by the CDC, The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network had monitored 8 pathogens for 30 years, but it now monitors only two, The New World screwworm continues to spread in the US and Central America, with infestations spreading rapidly in numerous animals, The Trump administration held up funding for a facility crucial to slowing the spread as well as a research initiative to find ways to stop the pest, In Iran, the MOU signed by Trump in June formalized Iran's power over the Strait of Hormuz, Soldiers who survived the Iranian attack on Port Shuaiba in Kuwait allege that the generals in command ignored intelligence that the site was a probable target, Wounded soldiers were not admitted to the hospital and soldiers and their families say the Army downplayed their injuries, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina died over the weekend, A former critic of Trump, he became a staunch supporter.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 11, 2026The Department of Justice has subpoenaed reporters from the New York Times over a story about the Secret Service's concerns about the new Air Force One plane that was given to the US by Qatar, Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars appear to have been spent on renovating the plane, The reporting by the New York Times reporters is protected under the First Amendment, Trump's fury fueled numerous angry social media posts, There have been reports of the high costs of renovations in Washington DC, A Pentagon official told local DC media that the National Guard troops will be in Washington through Inauguration Day 2029, The real reason for their deployment is ominous.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 10, 2026Trump refuses to sign the bipartisan housing bill because the Senate won't pass the SAVE America Act, an act that will suppress voting, The housing bill was designed to address the housing crisis, Trump is making clear that his focus is not on governing, but on rigging the 2026 election, Trump's appointees in the Department of Justice have been trying to intimidate election officials, Trump has fired the last two Democratic members of the Election Assistance Commission, claiming he has the right to do so under the Slaughter decision, The White House is fortifying the North Portico entrance to the White House, covering the portico with scaffolding, The administration intends to put fencing around Lafayette Square and parts of Pennsylvania Avenue, suggesting to the nation and the world that the government is exclusive and fearful of its own citizens. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 9, 2026On July 9, 1868, Americans changed the US Constitution for the 14th time, The Fourteenth Amendment brought the principles of the Declaration to life, requiring the Federal government to protect the equal rights of all American men, The Thirteenth Amendment prohibited slavery on the basis of race, but did not guarantee equality for Black Americans, The Fourteenth Amendment took on the Dred Scott v Sandford decision and provided that all persons born or naturalized in the US are citizens of the US, It also overturned the idea that democracy was created at the state level, forbidding states from making laws that were discriminatory, The principles of the Fourteenth Amendment were behind civil rights decisions of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, Opponents objected, and called for “originalism,” an idea promoted by Robert Bork who was nominated to the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan, Reaction to the nomination recognized the importance of the Fourteenth Amendment to equality.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 8, 2026After the US resumed bombing Iran, Iranian forces retaliated with strikes on US facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, At the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump lashed out at Iranian leaders, later backing down, Trump's claim that “we have the Hormuz Strait,” is not correct, and Iran appears to be calling the shots, Trump was often incoherent in Ankara, making mistakes and claiming powers he does not have, European officials at the NATO summit are coming to the conclusion that they can no longer rely on the US, Meanwhile Jared Kushner and Trump's sons are enriching themselves, raising billions in investment money from foreign governments, mainly in the Middle East where Kushner works as a special envoy for the president. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 7, 2026At a two day summit of the NATO countries in Ankara, Trump told reporters he was disappointed that NATO had not backed his war on Iran, He then claimed his beef with NATO began over Greenland, NATO is the most effective alliance in human history, The US and eleven other nations signed the original NATO declaration on April 4, 1949, The alliance calls for collective defense, It acts not only as a response to attack but also as a deterrent, Trump has said he would take the US out of NATO and even if he cannot do so, if the US abandons its commitment it will make the treaty worthless, The Trump administration has taken an estimated $8 billion in oil revenue out of Venezuela, As NATO's leaders met in Türkiye, it was announced that US forces had launched new strikes against Iran. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 6, 2026In the World Cup match between the US and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the US team's top scorer received a red card, Last Sunday, FIFA announced Balogun would be allowed to play, Trump had called FIFA's president to intervene, There has been outrage over this interference but Trump isn't interested in a level playing field, The episode represents the way Trump thinks about the rule of law in the US, Trump and the Republicans have skewed the US economy in favor of their supporters, History shows what happens when a few wealthy men control the government, Theodore Roosevelt demanded a square deal for the American people, Trump claims those calling for government to keep the economic playing field level are “communists,” Trump is looking to put his thumb on the scale of the midterm elections and is demanding that Congress pass his SAVE America Act, which they might just find a way to do.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 5, 2026Going into the weekend celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Trump was facing a lot of bad news, Iran was blocking ships trying to get through the Strait of Hormuz, chocking of 2-5 of the world's oil and one third of the world's fertilizer transported by sea, Inflation is spiking in the US, The administration's corruption is being revealed, with reports that Trump has made a fortune in his cryptocurrency business, benefiting from insider information, Nearly a million people who have lost a total of $3.8 billion while Trump made $636 million in his cryptocurrency business, Trump diverted funds from America250 into Freedom250, misleading donors and skirting accountability rules, The Great American State Fair was poorly run and poorly attended, Trump flew to Mount Rushmore to rant about Democrats being communists, thinking this made up story is a winning theme and he continued the attacks in his talk in DC on July 4th, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum continued to promote what appears to be a made-up story about vandalism at the Reflecting Pool, Reality does appear to be reasserting itself, nonetheless. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 3, 2026On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, The Declaration of independence was an astonishing radical document, despite its shortcomings, America was founded on the radical idea that all men are created equal, The Civil War tested whether the nation was dedicated to the idea that all men are created equal, The US endured and Americans began to expand the idea of equality to include Black men, men of color, and women, We are facing a rebellion against our founding principle today,  Lincoln's reminder that "this nation shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth" are words to live by in 2026.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 2, 2026On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress passed a Resolution for Independence, They declared that the Colonies were free and independent states, and that all political connection between them and Great Britain was and ought to be totally dissolved, Known as the Lee Resolution, it was the final break between the king and the 13 colonies, After the French and Indian War, the colonies were proud to be members of the British Empire but after Britain passed taxes, the colonists were shocked, and raised the question of whether the king could be checked by the people, The colonies demanded equality in the British Empire, tensions spread, and the British were determined to end the rebellion, After the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress created a Continental Army to be led by George Washington, Thomas Paine's Common Sense spread the idea that the law is king in a free country, an idea that spread through the colonies, By April 1776, declarations of independence were being written in states, and on June 7, the Lee Resolution was drafted by Congress, and it passed on July 2, John Adams declared the Second Day of July 1776 as the most memorable in the history of America, It advanced the idea that a nation should rest not on the arbitrary rule of a single man and his hand-picked advisors, but on the rule of law.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

July 1, 2026Trump takes the first flight on the new Air Force One, gifted by Qatar, White House officials awarded a no-bid contract for the construction of Trump's ballroom, Trump had claimed the work would be paid for by private donations but more than half the work done so far is coming from taxpayers, The Trumps and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are self-dealing, Trump has taken in a reported $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency ventures and that number may be understated, Investors have suffered vast losses, When Trump paused his tariffs, his investment accounts took advantage of the stock swings, Conflicts of interest are rampant, though the White House denies them,  Senator Chris Murphy calls the corruption of the Trump White House a national crisis.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe