32 Comments
User's avatar
Jolie Frazer-Madge's avatar

Hi Gabe, something that has stuck with me from the newsletter in the past few days has been the screenshot of the banner on the official whitehouse.gov website claiming the “radical left” were responsible for the shutdown. It made me really curious about what regulations exist for content that appears on official government websites and is there any requirement that all information be factual and nonbiased? Could the Trump administration be in legal trouble for this?

Expand full comment
Erin's avatar

I'd like to know if there's any indication of how the military officials feel about the messaging from the Quantico summit this week.

Expand full comment
Richard Collins's avatar

How do you do all that you do?

I have a hard time believing that one person, however brilliant they might be, can be so informed and write so capably as you do. Who helps you? Do you have assistants? Do you use AI?

Expand full comment
David Hopper's avatar

Hi Gabe. Thank you for another year of superb newsletters. You have nothing to be sorry about. Your newsletters have been thorough, insightful, and informative. You have covered a wide range of subjects in detail that I could find no place else. I read several newsletters, but if I to pick only one it would be yours with no hesitation. Keep up the great work !!!

Expand full comment
Michael Bower's avatar

Thanks for the read of the "tea leaves". Are there any behind the scenes discussions amongst the top military brass as a result of the Hegseth Summit? It appeared so bizarre!

Expand full comment
Tom Bolman's avatar

WOW! A razor-sharp and incisive writer who is also awash in humility! Your provide more insight and comprehension in your columns than other pundits with three times your age and experience. Thank you, Gabe, for always going the extra mile for your readers and may you enjoy continued success and happiness in the future!

Expand full comment
Neal Wilson's avatar

Conventional wisdom holds that the party who initiated the shutdown (in this case, Democrats) generally bears the political risk of negative fallout. But with Trump cheerleading making the shutdown more painful (freezing money to blue states, laying off workers, etc), is there more risk he could "own" the negative impacts more than Democrats?

Expand full comment
Daniel Jay's avatar

Thank you for your hard work and if you fast, wishing it be easy! As for questions, who can stand up to Trump on the republican side as say enough is enough?

Expand full comment
Bob Dorson's avatar

Why are there so few Repubs who have the guts to stand up to the administration. Don’t they see the danger in where we’re headed?

Expand full comment
Herb's avatar

Keep doing what you are doing. I always look for your column in my email to be sure I don’t miss it. Your balanced and insightful reporting is rare and much appreciated.

Expand full comment
Gabriel Shannon's avatar

I am a 76 year-old woman in Portland, Oregon and I have no idea what FAFO means. I am reluctant to google it.

Expand full comment
Nicole's avatar

It means "f**k around and find out"... basically, try it and see what happens but you won't like the result.

Expand full comment
Cheryl Graham's avatar

Thank you for another year of Wake Up To Politics!

Expand full comment
Anna Banaszak's avatar

I'd love to know more about how we calculate the cost of shutdowns. I saw earlier that the last one cost something like $8B! Could you explain how we get to that number, and why it's more than if the government would have been up and running during that time?

Expand full comment
Jenni's avatar

Hi Gabe! Hopefully this is an easy one: can you point me to a link where I can see the DNC proposal for extending the budget? I know that Vance and the GOP are all flat-out lying when they say that the Dems want healthcare for undocumented migrants, but I'd like to say that I've read what they've actually proposed. Thanks!

Expand full comment
Wendy Farwell's avatar

I’m curious as to why you choose to refer to Affordable Care as Obamacare in your posts. It seems to me that Obamacare is a term created by those who were opposed to it and were trying to get support for their opposition.

Expand full comment
Gay West-Klien's avatar

What’s the long term goal of Russ Vought & Project 2025? How do they envision society once their goals are realized? Since only 4% approve of the plan, I’d imagine it would be a constant struggle/effort to keep it enforced.

Frankly, all my personal projections show me a world of strict hierarchy - rich white men at the top & the rest fighting for scraps. Sounds just peachy 🙄

Expand full comment