The 2026 midterms are already coming into focus, and Republicans should be nervous. This week, Rick Wilson looks at what California and Iowa are telling us about November: voters care about the economy, affordability, and real-life issues—not the culture-war nonsense that dominates cable news. If Democrats can stay focused and resist the urge to wander off-message, they have a genuine opportunity to reshape the political map. Meanwhile, the MAGA movement is entering its succession-war phase. Tru...
Jun 05, 2026•33 min
Rich Logis once defended Trump. Now he's helping people leave MAGA behind. On this episode of The Lincoln Project Podcast, Rick Wilson sits down with the founder of Leaving MAGA to discuss the growing number of former Trump supporters who have simply had enough. From the Epstein scandal to the fallout from Trump's tariffs and the chaos surrounding Iran, the excuses are getting harder to make and the consequences are getting harder to ignore. Rich explains what finally broke the spell for him, wh...
Jun 02, 2026•40 min
Trump wanted a golden age. Instead, he delivered a golden vanity project. This week’s Elephant in the Room is the accelerating collapse of the Trump presidency—politically, economically, and culturally. As Americans grapple with a struggling economy, rising corruption, and growing incompetence at the highest levels of government, Trump seems more focused on building monuments to himself, expanding his ballroom, and feeding his endless need for attention than solving the problems facing the count...
May 29, 2026•22 min
While Washington melts down in a fog of billionaire grifters, culture-war addicts, and broken-brain politics, the real fight for America is happening at backyard parties, dance halls, and quinceañeras across South Texas. In this episode, Rick sits down with legendary Tejano musician and Texas congressional candidate Bobby Pulido to talk about the Rio Grande Valley, working-class families, quinceañera campaign stops, and why authenticity still matters in politics. Then we revisit Rick’s conversat...
May 26, 2026•1 hr 1 min
The DNC autopsy is finally here—and it’s a brutal admission that Democrats spent 2024 fighting online culture wars while voters were worried about inflation, paychecks, rent, and the future of the country. Rick Wilson breaks down the Democrats’ redacted internal report, the consultant class cashing $40K checks to lose elections, the identity politics obsession that alienated working-class voters, and why normal Americans tuned out the party’s messaging. This is the Democratic Party’s postmortem ...
May 22, 2026•30 min
Trump spent years chasing the approval of America’s richest weirdos, fame-hungry celebs, and billionaire clout goblins — and now the whole MAGA celebrity ecosystem is melting down in public. Rick Wilson is joined by legendary comedian Margaret Cho to break down her Choligarchy tour, Hollywood’s transformation into a Trump validation machine, the rise of MAGA influencers and celebrity brain rot, and why so many famous people traded integrity for attention. From celebrity culture and authoritarian...
May 19, 2026•42 min
Donald Trump’s high-stakes meeting with Xi Jinping was supposed to project strength. Instead, it exposed exactly how weak, desperate, and dangerously unprepared he is for a real geopolitical showdown with China. This week, Rick's ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM breaks down Trump’s humiliating “Chyna” summit, his obsession with personal grift over American power, and why even before the cognitive decline, Trump never had the foreign policy discipline, strategy, or attention span to negotiate with Beijing. F...
May 15, 2026•37 min
Actor-turned-crypto-whistleblower Ben McKenzie joins Rick Wilson for a brutal, no-bullshit takedown of the crypto industry just as Congress barrels toward two major crypto bills hitting the floor this week on Capitol Hill. From meme coins and “decentralized finance” scams to billion-dollar rugpulls, political bribery, and money laundering dressed up in Patagonia vests and TED Talk jargon, Rick and Ben break down how crypto became the preferred playground for grifters, oligarchs, libertarian weir...
May 12, 2026•47 min
The elephant in the room this week is bluffing — and Democrats still haven’t figured out Republicans only win when nobody punches back. While the GOP openly gerrymanders districts, manipulates election rules, floods the zone with outrage, and treats politics like a blood sport, Democrats keep showing up with 700-page climate white papers, polite speeches, and “norms.” Rick Wilson breaks down why 2026 should be the easiest midterm cycle in modern political history — if Democrats stop acting like ...
May 08, 2026•34 min
The Supreme Court was meant to be the last guardrail—the final check when everything else fails—but what happens when that guardrail starts to wobble? This week, Rick Wilson sits down with legal analyst and author Sarah Isgur to break down the modern Court from the inside out: the personalities driving decisions, the growing reliance on the shadow docket, and the myth of pure judicial objectivity. They unpack how power actually works behind the robes, why the justices’ individual worldviews matt...
May 05, 2026•42 min
Florida’s redistricting mess isn’t just shady—it’s straight-up unconstitutional, and they did it anyway. This week’s Elephant in the Room: a map so aggressively gerrymandered it looks like it was drawn during a blackout with a Sharpie and a grudge. Rick breaks down how Florida’s leaders ignored their own state constitution, carved up districts to rig the game, and dared the courts to catch up. It’s a masterclass in political overreach, legal brinksmanship, and “rules for thee, not for me” govern...
May 01, 2026•20 min
Elon Musk’s ex and former MAGA social media influencer Ashley St. Clair joins Rick Wilson to expose the truth behind the MAGA influencer ecosystem—how it works, who profits, and why it’s starting to fall apart in real time. From clout-chasing grifters to coordinated messaging and manufactured outrage, this episode breaks down the business model behind right-wing social media and the hypocrisy fueling it. As the MAGA movement fractures and influencers turn on each other, this is the inside story ...
Apr 28, 2026•45 min
This week’s Elephant in the Room is the full-blown MAGA meltdown—and yeah, it’s happening live. What started as a rage-fueled influencer gold rush has turned into a self-destruct sequence, with the same clout-chasing chaos merchants now eating each other alive for clicks, relevance, and whatever’s left of the grift economy. Rick breaks down how the algorithm built this monster—and why the feedback loop from hell is finally cracking the whole thing open. From the early days of meme-lord nonsense ...
Apr 24, 2026•37 min
Rick Wilson sits down with Andrew McCabe to unpack the stunning politicization of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under Kash Patel, the firing of 12 counterintelligence agents tied to the Mar-a-Lago documents case, and the staggering national security consequences of purging Iran specialists as conflict escalates. Drawing from McCabe’s new CNN series Standoff: The FBI, Power and Paranoia, Rick and McCabe expose how paranoia, incompetence, and political loyalty tests are corroding America’s p...
Apr 21, 2026•40 min
Trump decided to cosplay as something divine—and then picked a fight with the Pope. In this episode, Rick Wilson unpacks the sheer audacity and absurdity of Donald Trump elevating himself to messiah status while clashing with Pope Leo I. From ego-driven delusion to global embarrassment, this is what happens when performance politics collides with actual faith and authority. It’s chaotic, it’s surreal, and it’s another reminder that the line between spectacle and reality isn’t just blurred—it’s g...
Apr 17, 2026•31 min
Bondi. Epstein. DOJ surveillance. Congress folding. This episode is a front-row seat to a system cracking in real time. Rick Wilson is joined by Vermont Congresswoman Becca Balint to unpack the collapse of Pam Bondi — from her questionable moves inside the U.S. Department of Justice to her firing tied to the still-explosive Epstein files that just won’t disappear. They break down reports of DOJ surveillance on members of Congress inside a makeshift SCIF, why Bondi’s “burn book” flopped, and how ...
Apr 14, 2026•40 min
Epstein isn’t going away—and thanks to Melania Trump’s bizarre press statement, it just hijacked the entire week. What was supposed to be about Iran and a ceasefire is now back to the one story that won’t die: Epstein, power, and the questions still hanging over Donald Trump. Rick Wilson breaks down the PR meltdown, the failed pivots, and why Epstein has become the permanent elephant in the room—because in 2026, this isn’t just a scandal anymore… it’s the whole damn story. • • • • • Rick Wilson ...
Apr 10, 2026•33 min
Trump’s numbers are slipping. The GOP is fracturing. And James Carville is calling it exactly how he sees it. In this unfiltered conversation, Rick Wilson and Carville rip into the state of Trump’s campaign, the cracks forming inside MAGA, and why voter fatigue could reshape the 2026 election. If you’ve been wondering whether the chaos is real—it is. And it’s getting worse. • • • • • You can find James Carville on X @JamesCarville. Check out his podcast, 'Politics War Room' wherever you watch or...
Apr 07, 2026•45 min
Unlike the Survivors, Bondi couldn't survive Epstein. Pam Bondi is out—and the timing says everything. As the Epstein files resurface and pressure builds around Trump’s inner circle, the infamous “firing season” has officially begun. For this week's Elephant in the Room, Rick breaks down why Bondi got cut loose, what it signals about the escalating Epstein fallout, and how Trump’s pattern of loyalty tests and political purges is playing out in real time. This isn’t damage control—it’s survival m...
Apr 03, 2026•38 min
Trump isn’t impulsive. He’s not “just winging it.” According to Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and his new book Trump's Ten Commandments: Strategic Lessons from the Trump Leadership Toolbox , Donald Trump operates on a repeatable, deliberate playbook—ten core behaviors he’s used for decades. What looks like chaos is actually strategy. What feels like a meltdown is often the move itself. In this episode, Rick Wilson and Yale Business School Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld break down Trump’s pattern of power: th...
Mar 31, 2026•48 min
Trump. MAGA. The GOP. Voters are over it — and the receipts are stacking up. In this episode of The Elephant in the Room, Rick Wilson breaks down the 10 things voters hate most about Donald Trump, the MAGA movement, and today’s Republican Party — from chaos and corruption to delusion, culture war burnout, and a campaign that feels completely out of touch with reality. This is the Elephant in the Room: Trump is losing independents, bleeding suburban voters, and failing the vibe check in 2026. If ...
Mar 27, 2026•37 min
Trump just fired Kristi Noem. Pam Bondi just got caught lying under oath. And now the panic inside Trump’s orbit is impossible to hide. Rick Wilson sits down with Congressman Jared Moskowitz to break down a White House running on fear, loyalty tests, and legal exposure. This isn’t spin — it’s the system cracking. Fast. Who gets thrown overboard next? Who flips when the pressure hits? And how close are we to the moment this whole thing turns? Inside this episode: • Noem’s firing and the loyalty p...
Mar 24, 2026•43 min
The Epstein story just snapped back into focus—and the timing couldn’t be more suspicious. This week, as headlines were dominated by a new war overseas, reports surfaced of three previously unseen interviews tied to one of Trump’s accusers—material that had never been publicly accounted for. Now they’re out, and the questions are stacking fast. Rick Wilson breaks down what’s known, what’s missing, and why this story keeps circling the same tight-knit network of power players who always seem to l...
Mar 20, 2026•47 min
Rick Wilson sits down with retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling to break down the rapidly escalating war with Iran under the Trump administration — from the growing threat to global shipping lanes to the shockwaves already hitting oil markets and regional stability. Drawing on decades of battlefield command, Hertling explains what real wartime leadership looks like, why lawful orders and military ethics matter, and how quickly reckless politics can collide with the brutal realities of modern...
Mar 17, 2026•57 min
This week’s Elephant in the Room: everything is starting to fall apart. Trump’s escalating Iran War looks less like strategy and more like a desperate attempt to change the subject from the growing fallout around the Epstein Files, mounting scandals, and an administration that seems increasingly out of its depth. Wars don’t erase political crises — they amplify them. And this one is already shaping up to be wildly unpopular, dangerously unpredictable, and potentially catastrophic for American li...
Mar 13, 2026•37 min
The rule of law isn’t supposed to be optional in America — but lately Washington seems to have forgotten that. This week, Rick Wilson sits down with JP Cooney, former Deputy to Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, to talk about the growing crisis of lawlessness and why restoring accountability starts with fixing Congress itself. After years inside the Department of Justice working on some of the most consequential federal investigations in modern history, Cooney is stepping into the arena, running for...
Mar 10, 2026•44 min
The Elephant in the Room: the “fun part” of Trump’s Iran war is over. The bombs dropped and the headlines rolled — but now comes the reality of a conflict with no strategy, no exit plan, and no adults in the room. Rick Wilson breaks down how Trump, Pete Hegseth, and Marco Rubio stumbled into a rapidly escalating Iran war that could cost billions, risk American lives, and spiral into the next Middle East forever war. And as the conflict grows, so do the questions: Is this about national security ...
Mar 06, 2026•36 min
Rick sits down with Jason Zengerle to dissect Hated by All the Right People , a scalpel-sharp look at how Tucker Carlson morphed from bow-tied conservative pundit into the high priest of grievance politics. They trace the Iraq War as the inflection point that cracked the old GOP brain, Tucker’s Fox News era where outrage became currency, and his post-Fox glow-up as a free-range chaos entrepreneur feeding the MAGA algorithm. But this isn’t nostalgia — it’s about consequences. As a new war with Ir...
Mar 03, 2026•45 min
This week Rick's Elephant in the Room is MAGA’s decline. Donald Trump’s latest State of the Union didn’t project strength — it exposed unraveling policies, economic instability, authoritarian overreach, and growing questions about cognitive fitness, all while his inner circle — Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, Stephen Miller and their enablers — tighten their grip on power. As the GOP fractures and the 2026 midterms loom, voters are watching a movement lose altitude in real time. The real question isn’t w...
Feb 27, 2026•34 min
Former DOJ prosecutor Dan Goldman joins us to break down the growing firestorm around Pam Bondi, Donald Trump, and the Epstein files . As scrutiny over the Epstein investigation intensifies, Bondi’s defense of Trump raises serious questions about DOJ independence, selective prosecution, and political loyalty inside the Department of Justice. Goldman explains what the Epstein files could mean for Trump legally, whether accountability is being delayed or deflected, and how the DOJ is supposed to f...
Feb 24, 2026•47 min
