In 2025, Donald Trump and his regime executed an authoritarian playbook that degraded American democracy. Steve Schmidt looks back at the first year of Trump&rsquo;s return to office and warns of what may come in 2026. Today's Merch: The Warning&nbsp; https://thewarningwithsteveschmidt.com/products/the-warning-tee-3 SUBSCRIBE for more and follow me here: Substack: https://steveschmidt.substack.com/subscribe Store: https://thewarningwithsteveschmidt.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thewarningses.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteveSchmidtSES/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewarningses Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewarningses/ X: https://x.com/SteveSchmidtSESSee <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Steve Schmidt: When Trust Dies, Democracy Follows

There is a very significant, “exhausted majority” of Americans looking to move past this rotten moment in American life. They have lost trust and faith in government, business, media and not-for-profit institutions at a moment of technological, cultural and economic upheaval. Fascism did not rise in the 1930s because it was strong, but rather, because democracy was weak. The cycle is repeating itself with a new extremism rising in 2020s America. On the podcast – consistent with the mission of The Warning newsletter offered on Substack and The Warning YouTube channel – I will be joined by interesting guests – some familiar, and some you may never have heard of – to discuss the political and cultural currents that are shaping our times, as well as the unseen forces driving politics that are rarely discussed on cable news. It's important for you to hear from a diverse range of voices – not just me – about the issues facing America today.