Day 63: Trump's Tariffs

After Trump's 25% tariffs were imposed on Mexico and Canada, David Pepper asked Elon Musk’s favorite AI bot what history tells us will come from the tariff chaos. The answers included: increased prices, job displacement and trade wars.

Day 62: Firings and Deletions

First, you can read David Pepper's chapter from his "2025" book about what happens when the experts of the CDC have been replaced by Trump loyalists during a health crisis--written before Trump was elected! Then scroll down for details about Day 62: Trump fired dozens of prosecutors and FBI agents involved in prosecuting him and Jan 6 insurrectionists. Plus federal websites like that of the CDC's were deleted.

Day 61: Trump Blames DEI and Dems for Crash

Take a look at Kevin Necessary's "Ripple of Hope" cartoon and read David Pepper's personal perspective on the D.C. air disaster. Then scroll down for the details on Day 61 when Trump offered his uninformed opinions on the cause of the crash.

Day 60: Confusion Over the Confusion

You can listen to or read David Pepper's comments about the attempted mass purge of federal workers; then scroll down to read about Day 60: The chaos over Trump's freezing of federal funding continued. The White House issued a memo saying the "freeze" memo was rescinded. Then the WH Press Secretary said it was the memo that was rescinded, not the freeze.

Day 59: A Fork in the Road

The email sent to federal civil servants offering "deferred resignation" was similar to an email Elon Musk sent to Twitter employees.

Day 58: Trump Weaponizes the DOJ

Trump's Acting Attorney General sent a "Notice of Removal from Federal Service" to Justice Dept. attorneys who investigated Trump.

Day 57: Vance Does What He's Told

During a CBS interview the Vice President toed the Trump line, no matter what.

Day 56: Loyalty Tests

If you're applying to work in the federal government, you'll be asked how you supported Trump in the 2024 campaign.

Day 55: HurricaneTrump

Following the Project 2025 Script...Hegseth narrowly gets approved...and NEW polling shows Americans STRONGLY oppose billionaire ties.

Day 54: Federal Workers Ordered to Snitch on One Another

Thousands of federal workers received emails ordering them to report fellow workers who are "disguising" diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) programs or face "adverse consequences.”

Day 53: Gutting a 60-Year Old Civil Rights Order

Trump has done away with an Order signed by LBJ in 1965, which prohibited federal contractors “from discriminating...on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”

Day 52: Trump's Shock and Awe Executive Orders

Enacting 2025: eliminate the terms "equity" and "environmental justice" from the work of the government; several Orders on immigration, including an attack on the 14th Amendment; rescinding numerous Biden Orders relating to infrastructure, voter access, and health initiatives; removing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accords (again) and the World Health Organization; and the list goes on.

Day 51: Inauguration Day

All in one day: 1) America rewards political violence, 2) history is rewritten, 3) unending lies cause deep-seated damage, and 4) business leaders appease autocrats.

Day 50: Another Social Media Giant Aligns With Trump

After shutting itself down early, TikTok restarts and credits Trump for returning the app to the U.S. Meanwhile, Trump proposes 50% ownership.

Day 49: $TRUMP

Days before he becomes President again, Trump launched his personal cryptocurrency "$Trump" that in a single day reached a value of $32 BILLION.

Day 48: Trump's Tax Cuts

Trump's nominee for Treasury Secretary claims that extending Trump's $4 trillion tax cuts is “the single most important economic issue of the day.” In Trump's first term, the cuts mostly benefited the 0.1% richest Americans.

Day 47: Loyalty Tests at the NSC

Immediate Dangers to Our Security and Health as Project 2025 is being implemented.

Day 46: Daring to Lie Enormously

So far, the confirmation hearings have confirmed that nobody contradicts Trump.

Day 45: Hegseth Fails the Test but What About the Senate?

Even before the confirmation hearings, Hegseth was clearly unfit to be Secretary of Defense. Now the Senate is being tested, but it looks like the GOP Senators will fail the test.

Day 44: The Pressure Campaign for Hegseth

What the Trump team is doing to make sure the Fox News host gets confirmed as Secretary of Defense.

Day 43: J.D. Answers to MAGA

Vance walks back comments about January 6 convicts after MAGA supporters call remarks a "betrayal."

Day 42: Bannon vs Musk

Steve Bannon vows to stop Musk from the White House.

Day 41: Biden's Final Jobs Report

President Biden is the first president in history to not have a single month with job losses.

Day 40: SCOTUS Says Go

The U.S. Supreme Court allows the New York sentencing of Trump to move forward.

Day 39: Trump's Response to the Wildfires

Trump turns the L.A. tragedy into ugly partisan politics.

Day 38: Oh Canada & Zuckerberg

Trump circulated maps of Canada as the 51st state while Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg announced the elimination of fact checking on the nation's most used social network.

Day 37: The 51st State

On the day the transfer of power peacefully occurs, Trump touts the ways Canada would benefit from being part of the U.S.

Day 36: Shock & Awe

Combining all of Trump's policy proposals into "one powerful bill."

Day 35: Hold Until the Purge is Complete

The manifesto of the perpetrator of the Cyber Truck explosion in Las Vegas.

Day 34: Narrow Margins & Media Fails

Mike Johnson is re-elected House Speaker by one vote...and why a Washington Post political cartoonist resigned.

Day 33: Fire Hose of Falsehoods

Authoritarian tactics and New Orleans.

Day 32: Trump misinformation about New Orleans

Trump blames terrorist attack on "open borders."

Day 31: Happy New Year Presidents Trump/Musk

Celebrating together in Mar-a-Lago.

Day 30: Trump Endorses Johnson as Speaker

Apparently trying to avert further infighting, Trump posted his support for Mike Johnson continuing as Speaker of the House.

Day 29: "This Is Trump's America Now"

A Colorado man allegedly assaulted a reporter of Pacific Island descent telling him, "I took an oath to protect this country from people like you."

Day 28: Trump Sides With Musk Vs. MAGA Base

Trump backs the tech bros when he says he uses HB-1 visas to staff his own properties.

Day 27: The MAGA Games Continue

Elon Musk demands "contemptible fools" in the GOP who criticize his views on immigration "must be removed from the Republican Party."

Day 26: MAGA Infighting

The Christmas spirit faded quickly in MAGA world as a social media post by Vivek Ramaswamy triggered an explosion of infighting.

Day 25: All Trump Wants for Christmas

Trump's Truth Social Christmas message to Panama, Canada, Greenland, and the "Radical Left Lunatics."

Day 23: Withdrawing from the WHO

Media outlets are reporting that the Trump administration plans to remove the U.S. from the World Helath Organization

Day 22: Trump Threatens Panama

Not yet President during a speech in Arizona, Trump threatens the officials of Panama: reduce fees on using the Panama Canal or return it to U.S. control.

Day 21: Endorsing Neo-Nazis?

President-Not-Elect Musk endorses Germany's Alternative for Germany Party.

Day 20: Is Musk in Charge?

Elon throws the House GOP into chaos.

Day 19: Welcome to the Oligarchy

"President" Musk's holiday power play...and chaos.

Day 18: President-Not-Elect Musk

Via X, Elon Musk prompted GOP House members to kill a bipartisan deal to avoid a government shutdown.

Day 17: Liz Cheney Targeted by GOP

A GOP Representative released a report urging that Cheney--the former Republican Vice-Chair of the January 6th Committee--be investigated by the FBI.

Day 16: Trump's War on the Media Continues

Trump filed suit against the Des Moines Register for publishing the poll late in the campaign that showed he was trailing in Iowa. Trump also announced he would take action against 60 Minutes, the board of the Pulitzer Prize, and Bob Woodward.

Day 15: Major Media Kowtows to Trump

The Washington Post, MSNBC hosts, ABC

Day 14: Cutting Government Services

The Postal Service and bank regulations are being looked at by Trump.

Day 13: Make Polio Great Again

Anti-vaxxer nominee for Health & Human Services Secretary RFK takes Trump down the rabbit hole.

Day 12: The Parade of Billionaires

Beyond Elon Musk, prominent billionaires are lining up in fealty to Trump.

Day 11: Wray Obeys

Despite standard procedure that the sitting FBI director serves until the end of his 10-year term, Christopher Wray announced his resignation acceding to Trump’s violation of the norm in order to have far-right conspiracy theorist Kash Patel as FBI director.

Day 10: The Fox Guarding the Civil Rights Henhouse

For the post of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Trump nominated Harmeet Dhillon, a far-right lawyer who has been a leading figure working to roll back voting rights across the country.

Day 9: Trump Threatens Cheney

In his "Meet the Press" interview on Dec. 8, Trump said Liz Cheney and other members of the January 6th committee should go to jail.

Day 8: Platforming Disinformation

Trump's first major interview as President-Elect and it's the same old endless stream of lies and disinformation, feebly challenged by NBC's Kristen Welker.

Day 7: Musk

The world's richest man continues to be the most visible figure of the incoming administration--more high-profile than Trump himself.

Day 6: A Strong Jobs Report Amid An Election Loss

Despite a net positive of jobs created every month of Biden's presidency, Americans believed Republicans handled the economy better and voted for Trump whose policies lost jobs the last time he was president. Democrats failed to communicate from the very beginning of the Biden/Harris administration how much better they handled the economy.

Day 5: Putin's Dream Pick

Nearly 100 national security experts wrote a letter to senators concerned about the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to be Director of National Intelligence.

Day 4: Chilling

Days after being named as Trump's nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel threatens an MSNBC commentator with legal action over comments she made about his lack of qualifications. Also on MSNBC, a guest on "Morning Joe" was removed from the show after making comments about Trump nominee Pete Hegseth. Plus: David Pepper points out the Democrats' successes of 2024 and good news for 2025.

Day 3: Nomination Chaos

More woes for Trump's nominees only weeks into the process, including a Florida sheriff tapped to lead the DEA who stepped aside. Plus: In his "video whiteboard," David Pepper points out how the federal government is being taken over by billionaires and well-off private interests that will no longer serve the public interests. It's similar to how gerrymandered states like Ohio have served private interests for years and not the common good.

Day 2: Blue States, Red States

California prepares for Trump 2.0, while the lame duck GOP North Carolina State Senate strips power away from the Democrats in 2025.

Day 1: Appointments

David Pepper begins a daily accounting of significant events during Trump 2.0. Today, it's the announcements of more appointments to positions in the new administration, including a far-right conspiracy theorist to head the FBI.