Author Archives: Robert Reich

Is Trump unraveling?

Last week, Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, charged in an interview with the New York Times that Trump was treating his office like “a reality show,” with reckless threats toward other countries that could set the nation “on the path to World War III.” Continue reading

Why the Republican tax plan is more failed trickle-down economics*

Trump and conservatives in Congress are planning a big tax cut for millionaires and billionaires. To justify it they’re using the oldest song in their playbook, claiming tax cuts on the rich will trickle down to working families in the form of stronger economic growth. Continue reading

Trump and Weinstein

Donald Trump weighed in on the scandal engulfing movie mogul and Democratic funder Harvey Weinstein, accused by multiple women of sexual harassment (Weinstein has been fired from his company). “I’ve know Harvey Weinstein a long time. I’m not at all surprised to see it,” Trump said. Continue reading

Memo to Tillerson about the moron

I can understand why you feel Washington is a place of “petty nonsense,” as you said Wednesday when you called a news conference to rebut charges that you called Trump a moron last summer after a meeting of national security officials at the Pentagon. Continue reading

The growing irrelevance of President Trump

Announcement: Donald Trump is no longer the president of the United States. Continue reading

The growing danger of dynastic wealth

White House National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, former president of Goldman Sachs, said recently that “only morons pay the estate tax.” Continue reading

Google, Trump, and the arrogance of power

Google’s search engine runs two-thirds of all searches in the United States and 90 percent in Europe. Continue reading

When Big Money buys off criticism of Big Money

Since its founding in 1999, the New America Foundation—an important voice in policy debates on the American left—has received more than $21 million from Google, from its parent company’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, and from his family’s foundation. Continue reading

Trump’s Labor Day

This will be the first Labor Day of the presidency of Donald J. Trump, who came to office riding a wave of anti-establishment anger from average working people. No one can say they didn’t see it coming. Continue reading

Dear Trump voter

If you voted for Donald Trump, I get it. Maybe you feel you’ve been so badly shafted by the system that you didn’t want to go back to politics as usual, and Trump seemed like he’d topple that corrupt system. Continue reading

How to remove Trump

With Republicans controlling both houses of Congress, it’s unlikely Trump will be impeached or thrown out of office on grounds of mental impairment. At least any time soon. Continue reading

Remove him now

We have endured Donald Trump for 7 months. Although he has had few legislative victories, he has almost single-handedly destroyed the moral authority of the presidency of the United States at home and abroad, brought us to the brink of a nuclear war without consulting anyone, and sown division and hatred. Continue reading

Trump’s civil war

Trump’s unwillingness to denounce the white supremacists who came to Charlottesville last weekend bent on violence has been part of his political strategy from the start. Continue reading

Making America hate again

Two days late, Donald Trump has finally condemned violent white supremacists. He was pushed into it by a storm of outrage at his initial failure to do so in the wake of deadly violence to Charlottesville, Virginia. Continue reading

A national calamity in the making

The violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, Saturday is a national calamity. It is a product of white supremacists and home grown terrorists. Continue reading

Night thoughts on Trump and America

With Donald Trump away vacationing at one of his golf resorts, the rest of us may have a chance to relax. But in truth it’s more like a short break in a continuing nightmare. Just enough time to turn on the light, look at the clock and ponder where we are, before the nightmare envelopes us again. Continue reading

Hill Republicans: Trump is fritzing out

Monday morning I phoned my friend, a former Republican member of Congress. Continue reading

Trump’s big loss

The demise of the Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act is hardly the end of the story. Donald Trump will not let this loss stand. Continue reading

Six-month update for Trump voters

So after six months, has he delivered what he promised you? Continue reading

The Trump standard

What did Trump say when confronted with proof that his son jumped at the prospect of meeting with a “Russian government attorney” offering to dish dirt on Hillary Clinton as “part of Russia and its government’s support” for his candidacy? Continue reading

The 10 steps to impeach a president

It won’t be easy to impeach Donald Trump. No president in American history has ever been convicted on articles of impeachment. Continue reading

Political jujitsu: Now’s the time for Medicare for all

As Republicans in Congress move to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Democrats are moving toward Medicare for All—a single-payer plan that builds on Medicare and would cover everyone at far lower cost. Continue reading

Trump’s escalating assault on the press

On Sunday morning Trump seemed to promote violence against CNN. Continue reading

It’s time for Medicare for All

Mitch McConnell is delaying a vote on the Senate Republican version of Trumpcare because he doesn’t yet have a majority. Continue reading

The secret healthcare bill

The Senate’s bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act is not a healthcare bill. It’s a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, paid for by a dramatic reduction in healthcare funding for approximately 23 million poor, disabled, and working middle class Americans. Continue reading

The secret Republican plan to unravel Medicaid

Bad enough that the Republican Senate bill would repeal much of the Affordable Care Act. Continue reading

The case for obstruction of justice

Obstruction of justice was among the articles of impeachment drafted against both Presidents Nixon and Clinton. The parallel between Nixon and Trump is almost exact. White House tapes revealed Nixon giving instructions to pressure the acting FBI director into halting the Watergate investigation. Continue reading

Talking with my friend about Trump

My friend Tom phoned this morning. Continue reading

Government of, by, and for Trump

“I need loyalty, I expect loyalty,” Trump told then FBI Director James Comey in January—even though FBI directors are supposed to be independent of a president, and Comey was only 4 years into a 10 year term. Continue reading

Trump’s infrastructure scam

At a roundtable discussion with state transportation officials on Friday, Donald Trump said America’s aging roads, bridges, railways, and water systems were being “scoffed at and laughed” at. He pledged that they “will once again be the envy of the world.” Continue reading

Impeach him now

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) is already drafting articles of impeachment related to Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey, believing there’s enough evidence of Trump’s obstruction of justice to begin an impeachment inquiry (not to mention Trump’s blatant violation of the Constitutions emoluments clause by profiting off his presidency, and much else). Continue reading

The world according to Trump

To Donald Trump, the world is made up of only two sorts of people, or nations: strong winners whom others respect and fear, and weak losers whom others exploit and laugh at. There is no other alternative. Continue reading