THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent

After Christopher Wray resigned as FBI director, Donald Trump unleashed a long, angry rant on Truth Social [https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113635931217617948], suggesting that a major purge of the bureau is coming—and that the targeting of his enemies will commence the moment Kash Patel is installed. Meanwhile, leading MAGA figures are ramping up pressure [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/us/politics/pete-hegseth-trump-defense-secretary.html] on GOP senators not to stand in Trump’s way—and some of them are already signaling they’ll likely fold. We talked to The Bulwark’s William Saletan, author of a good new piece [https://www.thebulwark.com/p/dont-let-trump-fool-you-prosecutions-jack-smith-cases-gaslighting] on the dangers of this moment. He explains that this is what it looks like “when a criminal takes control of law enforcement,” and lays out what it will take for us to resist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Eric Trump has stepped into the international limelight as the face of the new Trump oligarchy. At a conference this week, he told an audience [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/10/us/politics/eric-trump-cryptocurrency-conference.html] that he and father Donald Trump will work together once Trump is president to push crypto, which the Trump family is invested in. Eric, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, has also been prominently negotiating [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/10/us/politics/eric-trump-cryptocurrency-conference.html] the ethics policy—or lack thereof—that Trump will submit to as president. We talked to Casey Michel, the author of several books [https://www.amazon.com/Foreign-Agents-Lobbyists-Lawmakers-Democracy/dp/1250286050/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1JS83CVIYHIKO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5VPoVbxCcPluOPF-xx6axaNWx1Fv6UKaGf4q6rE-B18Faduj4o-uiU2Oa1GEvgbW457DNUOBBSPqJQD4ptSDmLr_d5qiJBVlpRrc3YzaRKOc0yWJEcRopbj530TjlMjWLDeWCjlzmXE-kUfOSJCmiVZOs0vr4ds-INVMgQNhKPWHleNVyG-PhHgUZpYdPcLYMe9yMpD_dfxOeepbX2xWuF0Zr4hrqXNoNQlJM9jbozI.1LRrs9fK9U6IyA0KVUUTF4sPoHl-UJ2aDUeK3sMgVIA&dib_tag=se&keywords=casey+michel&qid=1733960580&sprefix=casey+mi%2Caps%2C604&sr=8-2] on American kleptocracy [https://www.amazon.com/American-Kleptocracy-Created-Greatest-Laundering/dp/B08Y6344C5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1JS83CVIYHIKO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5VPoVbxCcPluOPF-xx6axaNWx1Fv6UKaGf4q6rE-B18Faduj4o-uiU2Oa1GEvgbW457DNUOBBSPqJQD4ptSDmLr_d5qiJBVlpRrc3YzaRKOc0yWJEcRopbj530TjlMjWLDeWCjlzmXE-kUfOSJCmiVZOs0vr4ds-INVMgQNhKPWHleNVyG-PhHgUZpYdPcLYMe9yMpD_dfxOeepbX2xWuF0Zr4hrqXNoNQlJM9jbozI.1LRrs9fK9U6IyA0KVUUTF4sPoHl-UJ2aDUeK3sMgVIA&dib_tag=se&keywords=casey+michel&qid=1733960551&sprefix=casey+mi%2Caps%2C604&sr=8-1], who explains how ripe conditions are for unprecedented elite corruption to flourish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

In recent days, Donald Trump and his advisers have left no doubt: He will deport as many of the 11 million undocumented people in this country as possible. But on Fox News, Alina Habba, who’s set to be a top White House lawyer, offered some new spi [https://x.com/atrupar/status/1866501359459012722]n on the coming plan that revealed a lot about how Trump’s propagandists will try to defend the indefensible. We talked to Vanessa Cardenas, the executive director of America’s Voice, who grapples with the hardships that immigrants will soon face, why Latinos moved toward Trump, and how pro-immigration forces should rally in response to what's coming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

These are heady times for MAGA. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Elon Musk are teaming up to slash the government to ribbons as part of Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency. What could give MAGA a bigger thrill than that high-wattage duo? But Politico reports that some Republicans quietly fear [https://www.politico.com/news/2024/12/09/greene-mtg-doge-headache-johnson-00193097] that Greene’s involvement could become a major distraction from the Trump/GOP agenda. We talked to tech writer Gil Duran, a close observer of Musk’s machinations [https://newrepublic.com/article/180487/balaji-srinivasan-network-state-plutocrat], who explains why the right-wing “techbro” worldview is so dangerous—and how Greene could make it even more combustible.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

The New York Times reports that Donald Trump is telling advisers [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/07/us/politics/trump-administration-loyalty-test.html] that his biggest regret from his first term was that he appointed “traitors.” As a result, his transition team is grilling prospective nominees to gauge their loyalty to Trump. Is there some way for Democrats to drive home how dangerous all this is? We chatted with Brian Beutler, author of the excellent Substack Off Message [https://www.offmessage.net/]. He argues that even as Trump’s second-term plans are getting more overtly dangerous to the rule of law, Democrats need to do a lot more to alert the public to what’s coming—not just because it’s good politics, but because the country needs it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]