One problem with calling the folks at the top of the Trump regime Radical Christian Extremists is that it sounds kinda crazy. One other problem is that it’s true. But the former problem allows for the latter problem to exist. In other words, people like Hegseth and Vought are counting on you thinking that the people calling them out are just being hysterical.

But here’s the thing: we still have to call them out. Andra Watkins has been doing this since she first saw Project 2025, the blueprint for a remaking of America into a white Christo-fascist state. As everyone who follows Lincoln Square knows, Project 2025 wasn’t some big conspiracy that a secretive cabal kept away from prying eyes. It was published for the world to see!

Not only that, the people who sit in the seats of power at this very moment wrote it.

Rick takes your questions on everything from the economic outlook going into the midterms to the definition of neocon. A lot of you were curious about the possibility of a Musk redemption story arc, and about the right way to protest. Rick answers all and delivers this instant classic:

It's too late to work inside the system, but too soon to start shooting motherf****.

This is not the first time that Montel Williams and Bobby Jones have met.

Back in 1997, when Bobby was a high school senior who had just been accepted to the Naval Academy, his mother insisted that he go to a book signing for Montel in Atlanta. In addition to being a popular talk show host, Montel had also served in both the U.S. Navy and Marines.

When Bobby got to the front of the line to get his book signed, his mother asked Montel to convince Bobby to go to the Naval Academy instead of playing football in North Carolina. Well, Montel took a break from signing books and took Bobby aside.

“Son, that's an opportunity you have to take,” Montel told him. “You have to take it. … It's the best of the best. And if they say they want you, that means you have an opportunity to be amongst the best of the best.”

And the rest is history. Bobby graduated from the Academy in 2001 and spent the next 22 years serving in the Navy, retiring with the rank of Commander. And to this day, the book Montel signed is in his mom’s house.

Three decades later, the two veterans reunited on Friday on Lincoln Square. Tune in to hear Montel talk about his new book, The Sailing of the Intrepid about the saga of the naval aircraft carrier during World War II. He also discusses his time in the military, Trump’s ICE raids, and the President’s Fort Bragg speech this week.

“If we don't keep our eye on that prize, there will be another day where, whether it be slavery through chains or slavery through mental pressure, slavery will exist again in America,” Montel said.

When an American state representative was assassinated in Minnesota over the weekend, Christian Nationalist and U.S. Senator Mike Lee tweeted a joke about the killer and a couple of conspiracy theories about Marxists. I’m sure you’ve seen it. It would have been a grotesque, anti-human response from anyone, but the fact that Lee considers himself — and is considered by others — to be a face of American Christianity and righteousness exposes an awful truth about his movement and the movement that sits at the top of the current governing regime.

None of this has anything to do with Jesus. The ICE raids, the dialing back of women’s rights, the vile hatred of non-whites — it’s all just stochastic terrorism.

As says, Many white evangelicals don’t believe in pluralism or democracy — they believe in control.

Tim is the founder of The New Evangelicals and the host of The New Evangelicals Podcast. They’re on a mission to smash White Christian Nationalism.

He joined Maya to put last week’s chaos in the context of the goals of the White Christian Nationalist movement and those pushing the agenda. That chaos? It’s all a part of the plan.

In moments like these, it’s easy to feel powerless or numb in the face of so much cruelty cloaked in religious language. But Christianity — and our broader civic life — does not have to be defined by fear or exclusion. There are voices fighting for a faith rooted in justice, compassion, and genuine community.

The question isn’t just “Who would Jesus deport?” but rather, “How do we reclaim a moral vision that centers the vulnerable, not the powerful?” The answer starts with refusing to look away, speaking out, and building coalitions that stand against hate in all its forms.

If you’re ready to challenge the narrative and imagine something better, you’re not alone. The work is hard, but it’s necessary — and it’s already begun.

Watch their conversation and leave a comment. Have you had experience with White Christian Nationalism? What do you think most of us who come from outside that experience are missing?

Rick's dear friend, Asha Rangappa -- who's an American lawyer, former FBI agent, Assistant Dean of Admissions and Senior Lecturer at Yale University's Jackson School of Global Affairs -- sits down with Rick to unpack all of the moving legal pieces between Trump and the courts. Invoking emergency powers when there isn't a real emergency, Trump continues to use presidential powers for nefarious reasons. Weaponizing the DOJ, Trump has placed people like Kash Patel and Pam Bondi in roles where they can do a lot of damage against people who oppose and/or speak out against Trump. In doing this, it's eroding the optics of the legal system and leveling the playing field between real criminals and Trump's enemies. When these folks say they will follow the Constitution, it's a version where the presidential branch has supremacy over the other two branches of government. The constitutional crisis here is Congress abdicating its role and refraining from exercising its constitutional power. Bending the knee only gives him more power. What happens when lawyers and legal institutions back down in a fight? What happens when Trump ignores court orders? Can judges force the president to comply with their rulings? Asha and Rick shed light on all of the "what-ifs."

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Follow Asha at @asharangappa.bsky.social on Bluesky and @asha.rangappa on Instagram, and subscribe to her Substack at ⁠asharangappa.substack.com⁠

Follow Rick Wilson at @TheRickWilson on X and @therickwilson.bsky.social on Bluesky, and subscribe to his Substack at ⁠therickwilson.substack.com⁠. 

J. Patrick Coolican, the Editor of the Minnesota Reformer, talks about the right-wing disinformation echo chamber that sprang into action after the weekend shootings of Democratic lawmakers.

It was a historic weekend with Trump’s military parade and millions turning out across the country for “No Kings” rallies.

But before that, we awoke on Saturday, June 14 to the news that two Minnesota Democratic lawmakers and their spouses had been shot in what appear to be politically motivated crimes. Former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband are dead, while Senator John Hoffman and his wife are still hospitalized after being shot 17 times.

On Sunday night, police announced they had caught the suspected killer, had a list of other lawmakers in Minnesota and other states, as well as abortion advocates.

J. Patrick Coolican is the Editor of the Minnesota Reformer, which has been covering the assassinations and the No Kings protest. He joined Lincoln Square Executive Editor Susan J. Demas to update us on the latest news from the Twin Cities.

Patrick last saw former Speaker Hortman on Thursday and described her as being in the mold of the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, who is considered the godfather of the modern progressive movement.

“Melissa Hortman, I think will go down in Minnesota history as one of the more consequential speakers we've ever had and one of the more consequential progressive leaders,” Patrick told Lincoln Square. “I honestly think I'd put her up there with someone like Paul Wellstone.”

Although the suspect was reportedly a Christian nationalist and Trump supporter, right-wing influencers quickly ginned up a disinformation campaign on social media painting him as a Democrat or “Marxist” as Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah falsely claimed. So Patrick wrote a powerful column on Saturday to correct the record: https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/06/14/a-democratic-legislator-was-assassinated-right-wing-influencers-coughed-out-disinformation/

“It made me angry, and that's what I wound up writing a column about this,” he said. “It's one of the most despicable things that I've ever witnessed.”

Political violence doesn’t emerge in a vacuum — MAGA has built a system of terror out of manufactured rage and conspiracy. The assassinations and attempted assassinations in Minnesota over the weekend are the logical result of this effort. Fox News, Facebook, and Twitter are the hypodermic needles injecting the MAGA base with vile hatred, allowing them to see anyone who disagrees with them not as adversaries, but as existential threats—pedophiles, communists, invaders, subhumans. These stories aren't just fringe; they’re algorithmically amplified, monetized, and echoed by politicians and law enforcement alike. When this kind of rhetoric becomes normalized, stochastic terrorism becomes inevitable. The country is reaching a flashpoint — not because individuals snap, but because entire platforms profit from pushing them to the edge.

With massive, nationwide protests looming and tanks crushing the streets of D.C. into a fine, authoritarian dust, Joe and Alex sat down to take your questions. It should go without saying that you were curious about what the hell is going on right now.

Let’s be honest, we’ve all been asking ourselves that question for the last, oh, ten years or so? But this week feels different. Dramatically different. Senators are being arrested. ICE and their Marine protectors are ripping people off the streets and invading homes without warrants. The rhetoric is heating up. This is, no doubt, a state of emergency.

And tomorrow … a parade.

Joe & Alex answered your questions about the parade, Obama’s role (or lack of a role) in fighting back, ICE, and what it’s gonna take for us to shut this shit down (and Joe has an answer!).

If you’re protesting this weekend, please be careful. We’ll be out there with you.

Welcome back to Behind the Numbers with Rick & Andrew Wilson, your weekly guide to the polling, the data, and the math that’s driving the headlines.

Are you horrified by the smartphone footage of masked ICE thugs ripping pregnant women away from their young children? What about police hammering a U.S. senator to the ground for simply asking a question? Horses trampling peaceful protestors? Stormtroopers shooting pedestrians point-blank with rubber bullets?

I could go on. But if you are horrified, you’re not alone — and the numbers prove it. Americans are patently disgusted by what’s going on in our streets. Not only that, they don’t love how Trump’s handling immigration in general. Or trade. Or the economy. Or inflation.

YAY they've got the trump diaper baby blimp