Letters from an American

Heather Cox Richardson

Heather Cox Richardson's narrated newsletter about the history behind today's politics.

heathercoxrichardson.substack.com

Listen in PodNod RSS feed Show website

841 episodes
Updated Today

Episodes841

Newest first

Today · 14 min
Trading Strategy for Ideology
July 31, 2026 Trump is reportedly “exasperated” that the Iran War, for which there was no real strategy, is dragging on and his advisors can’t agree on what to do, Trump told reporters he plans on heavy military strikes against Iran, Instead of a strategy, Trump and Secretary of Defense Hegseth had an ideology, That ideology celebrates individualism, and sees education, expertise, cooperation, and coalition building as weaknesses not strengths, Trump and his aides are attacking the International Criminal Court as Trump and administration officials appear to be worried about future prosecution for human rights violations, Strikes against small boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific have killed more than 220 people and appear to have done little to stop the flow of illegal drugs, The leadership of US combat commands support the restoration of Pentagon personnel whose job it is to protect civilians but Hegseth has not committed to that restoration, At an AIDS conference in Brazil, an official of the US State Department showed a map of Africa on which there were fake countries with the names of random real countries. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Friday · 10 min
60 Years of Medicare and Medicaid
July 30, 2026 Sixty years ago, Medicare and Medicaid went into effect, Congress had amended the Social Security Act of 1935 to establish the two national health insurance programs, for seniors and for people who qualified on the basis of income, In 1945 Harry Truman had proposed an Economic Bill of Rights tht guaranteed certain rights including the right to adequate medical care, Truman said that “the health of this nation is a national concern,” John F Kennedy made the expansion of health insurance a priority, but faced strong opposition, With LBJ’s victory in 1964, he had the votes to pass Medicare and Medicaid, But in 2026 the Republicans are rejecting LBJ’s vision of a government that works to support its people, The One Big Beautiful Bill Act partially offset its tax custs with cuts to Medicaid, and the administration now plans to cut a program capping the cost of drugs for Medicare recipients. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Thursday · 16 min
Nothing to Stand On
July 29, 2026 Trump’s approval ratings, on the economy, inflation, gas prices, and his priorities, are sinking to 30% and below. 72% disapprove of his handling of the situation in Iran, There are significant pockets of disapproval even among Trump’s supporters, There is no end in sight for the war in Iran, and Iranian officials appear confident, Iranian negotiators have made their demands clear, The US seems to be running low on air defense munitions, Trump threatened renewed strikes, and oil prices rose with the news, Republicans are focusing on a red meat issue, the prosecution of Dr Anthony Fauci, MAGA Republicans have demonized him, and are attempting to rekindle the fury against him as political tides are running against them as the 2026 midterm elections approach, Fauci chose to take the 5th Amendment and the Republicans produced no evidence that he had broken any laws, Republicans, looking for ways to get attention on social media were vocal in their attacks on Fauci and in one of the most notable Sen. Bernie Moreno used the f-bomb in an outburst that generated significant media attention. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Tuesday · 13 min
Trying to Rewrite History
July 27, 2026 The administration is attempting to rewrite the history of the US, It argues that the US was founded as a white nation, an echo of 1930s German ideology, The White House issued a report saing that the National Museum of American History “fails in the basic task of illuminating our heritage,” The report attacks the Museum’s director and its staff, A nakedly political document, the report advances Trump’s belief that the Smithsonian has an improper ideology, The report was meant to create a straw man for MAGA supporters to hate, Proposed signage creates a hostile atmosphere, as does harassment of tour guides and others associated with historic sites, Without accuracy, we will learn the wrong information about history and about whether this country was founded on race and land or, as the Founders said, principles and the rule of law. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Monday · 12 min
Rejecting the Constitutional Order
July 26, 2026 Trump and his allies are acting as if the Constitution doesn’t exist, Their actions align with the strategy of Nazi political theorist Carl Schmitt, Schmitt’s philosophy centered around the idea that power belongs to the man who can exploit emergencies that create exceptions to the constitutional order, Trump has declared emergencies to justify deploying troops to Iran, to impose tariffs, and to sidestep Congress repeatedly, Trump is on track to issue vastly more emergency orders so far in his second term than were issued by any other president this century during their entire term, Trump will also be ignoring many different laws if plans proceed to build his proposed triumphal arch, Ever since officials acknowledged to reporters that Trump planned to build the arch, Trump made clear that the arch is all about him. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Monday · 11 min
Whitewashing
July 25, 2026 The White House is moving forward on plans to paint the grey granite Eisenhower Executive Office Building, in spite of the damage it might cause and the maintenance it will requre, By claiming that the building is no longer controlled by the General Services Administration, the president is setting a dangerous precdent, allowing projects to avoid review, The administration is pushing a rule change in the National Historical Preservation Act, revising the law that requires federal agencies to take into account what their actions will do to historic places, The change will cut the public out of any conversation about places that matter to them, Chaco Canyon is one such place and several Democratic senators and representatives have written to Interior Secretary Burgum asking him to protect the area around the canyon, The changes would also fast track Trump’s planned triumphal arch, Trump and his allies are whitewashing and bulldozing history in service to their small vision. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
July 25 · 8 min
For Their Own Ends
July 24, 2026 Federal officials have admitted that cuts from clean energy projects were based on whether states had voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, Rather than combatting waste, the administration is trying to use the power of the American people for its own ends, Trump has levied tariffs again, on goods from more than 80 countries that make up just short of 100% of US trade, Trump is frustrated as he cannot seem to find a way out of the Iran War, The Pentagon is restating the number of military personnel who have been killed in the course of the Iran War, The White House appears focused on the goals of Trump alone, Trump's actions are in sharp contrast to FDR’s radio broadcast of July 24 1933 which urged Americans to act “in a group [to] accomplish things which no individual acting alone could even hope to bring about." Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
July 24 · 14 min
A Politically Impossible Situation
uly 23, 2026 In a speech in 1953, President Dwight D Eisenhower warned that diverting tax dollars to war came at the expense of the American people, Trump is slashing programs that people depend on for food, health, scientific research, etc. to pay for his foreign adventures, Pete Hegseth was on Capitol Hill asking for $67 billion to fund the Defense Department through the end of September, The administration has not told Congress where the money is going, The Pentagon’s internal estimate of the cost of the Iran War is $100 billion, far in excess of what Hegseth told Congress, The only way to the victory that Trump wants is politically impossible, Trump and Rubio are threatening to attack civilian infrastructure in Iran, although that could be considered a war crime, The price of oil has surged to more than $100 a barrel, The House of Representatives passed a concurrent resolution to end the war in Iran, with four Republicans joining all the Democrats, The Senate took up a measure to force the president to end the US hostilities with Iran, but it declined to advance the resolution, The vote was 47 to 49 with four Republican senators choosing not to vote. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
July 23 · 14 min
Is This Fascism
July 22, 2026 Rep Jim McGovern spoke about the state of the Republican Party on the floor of the House, The speech called the party out for falling back on the communist label to divert attention from the economy and from what is happening in the party more broadly, McGovern charged that the Republican Party has become the party of fascism, Fascism rejects the equality that defines democracy, It elevates a single man to be an all powerful dictator, Scholars have noted that such demagogues depend on a disaffected population, who focus on someone to hate, Fascism aligns the government and favored businesses as business activity is subordinated to the needs of the government, Trump has approved a deal to provide Saudi Arabia with a civilian nuclear program, This project is worth billions in contracts for US firms, MBS, Saudi’s crown prince, has declared he will build a nuclear weapon if Iran does, making this deal a blow to nuclear nonproliferation. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
July 22 · 11 min
Dramatic Cuts
July 21, 2026 The One Big Beautiful Bill Act has made the deepest cuts to SNAP in its history, leaving hundreds of thousands of Americans without benefits, The administration claims it is cleaning out fraud, but there is little fraudulent use of SNAP services, The government is withholding Medicaid funding from California and Minnesota, again claiming fraud, The National Parks are suffering from cuts, and the losses wlll take years - if not decades - to repair, The government is privatizing systems that it had managed, including airport screening, exposing the public to dangerous vulnerabilities, The Pentagon is asking for $67 billion to tide it over to the end of the fiscal year, In Senate hearings, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would not answer questions about the truthfulness of his statements on the Iran war, Senator Andy Kim has introduced a proposal to expand Medicaid to all American children, with legislation that has been endorsed by a range of organizations with an interest in the health of America's families. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
July 22 · 14 min
Shirking Responsibility
July 20, 2026 On July 17, an Iranian attack on a US base in Jordan killed two soldiers, and left one missing, 17 military personnel have been killed in the Iran War and the Pentagon says 427 have been wounded, Iran is inflicting more damage. They appear to have weaponry and are using it to make the US regional coalition believe that the costs are greater than the security benefits, The Pentagon is not providing much information about the progress of the Iran war, The US has struck bridges and energy infrastructure in Iran, The Houthis in Yemen are imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, If the Bab el-Mandeb strait is closed, the global oil supply will be further cut, and crude oil supplies in the US are the lowest in 45 years, Trump’s speech was not aired live on CNN, ABC, or NBC, perhaps a sign of Trump’s falling popularity, The administration is renewing aggressive immigration policies and arrests in July hit a record high, Democratic senators have demanded investigations of the shooting deaths in Houston and Biddeford, Maine, Trump has announced new tariffs on certain products from Canada, which would upend the economy if they take effect. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
July 19 · 4 min
Massachusetts 54th Regiment
July 18, 2026 July 18, 1863, the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry charged Fort Wagner, in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, Fort Wagner covered the southern entrance to the harbor and was key to the US government taking the city, The 600 soldiers of the 54th made up one of the first Black regiments for the Union, A Boston abolitionist, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, led the regiment, The men of the 54th knew that eyes were upon them to see how well Black men would fight for their country and they proved that they were equal to any white soldiers, The assault on the fort killed, wounded, or lost more than 250 of the 600 in the regiment, Colonel Shaw was one of the 30 left dead on the field, He was buried in a mass grave with his men, a burial that the Confederates had arranged to dishonor him, but which his family found fitting. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
July 19 · 15 min
A Deeply Unpopular Push
July 17, 2026 Trump and his team are throwing the weight of the government behind a far right conspiracy, The preoccupation with communism leads to a claim that all political positions designed to regulate business and provide a basic social safety net reflect a left wing radicalism, cost tax dollars, redistribute wealth, and are a slippery slope to socialism, Reactionaries have demonized Black Americans, people of color, and women, But the modern government has broad support, Trump and his loyalists are trying to push a fantastical vision of current conditions in the US that has been debunked, Trump pointed to documents to say that China had created an election security nightmare that was downplayed by the “deep state,” but the documents Trump released showed nothing of the sort, just evidence that Russia tried to influence the election on Trump’s behalf, Demands that states run voter rolls through a federal digital tool have been blocked repeatedly, Steve Bannon called for immediate action against “communists,” Stephen Miller resorted to claims that protestors were ugly and deformed. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
July 17 · 12 min
Trump’s Lies
July 16, 2026 In an exchange between Jay Clayton, Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, and Senator Jon Ossoff, Clayton would not answer the question of who won the 2020 election, All the claims that Trump won the 2020 election have collapsed in court, but Trump loyalists cannot say that out loud without losing Trump’s favor, Todd Blanche, the nominee for Attorney General slipped and acknowledged that he is still acting as though he is Trump’s personal attorney, Treasury Secretary Bessen announced that a commemorative coin with Trump’s likeness will be released in a move reminiscent of the likes of Idi Amin and Saddam Hussein, Trump is building a helipad on the South Lawn of the White House, without permission from Congress or any review panel, The problem with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool appears to have been caused by problems with how the lining was installed, The US may attack Iran’s infrastructure, Iranian leaders are looking to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait - the other main route, with the Strait of Hormuz, for oil exports from the Middle East, Fires and food-borne illnesses continue to plague much of the country, Trump is losing the support even of many Republicans. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
July 16 · 13 min
A Different Set of Priorities
July 15, 2026 The American Rescue Plan, passed in March 2021 without a single Republican vote, expanded the Child Tax Credit for one year. This temporary expansion lifted 3.7 million children out of poverty before it expired, Five years later, the results of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed without a single Democratic vote, reveals a very different set of priorities, OBBA expanded tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations, cutting more than $1 trillion from social welfare programs, The difference between the two bills reveals how the parties see the purpose of government - for the good of the people or to concentrate wealth and power among a few, Consumers are being screwed by the push to do away with reviews designed to protect people from monopoly power, Trump has called together a select group of Republicans to try to get their funding package which includes billions for military funding, for bailing out farmers hurt by tariffs, and for enacting aspects of the SAVE America Act, past Congress through budget reconciliation, The administration is also trying to fund immigration enforcement, which has led to two deaths at the hands of ICE agents, Funding the war in Iran, funding voter suppression, and funding the crackdown on immigrants are not popular with Americans, but Trump has pushed continued traffic stops, and continued strikes in Iran, nonetheless. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
July 15 · 12 min
Valuing What Nature Can Accomplish
July 14, 2026 In 1870, a US exploring expedition headed to the Yellowstone River and reported back about the natural wonders of the area, The House Committee on Public Lands warned about letting the area be spoiled by private interests, In 1982 President Grant signed the bill making Yellowstone a national park, In 1890, the federal government stepped in to protect Yosemite, Presidents of both parties continued to protect American lands, New York Republican Theodore Roosevelt most dramatically expanded the effort to protect western lands, Roosevelt used the Antiquities Act to create national monuments and, then, the Grand Canyon, Since the 1980s Republicans have pushed to reopen public lands to resource development, Trump signed an executive order in his first term to review the designations of 22 national monuments and ordered land reductions in two of them, Biden restored those monuments to their original size, But although the national parks and monuments attract millions of visitors, support thousands of jobs, and bring billions of dollars into the local economies, Project 2025 has urged that the Antiquities Act be repealed, The Supreme Court seems eager to get a case that will allow them to reduce the scope of the Antiquities Act, or eliminate it altogether. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
July 14 · 12 min
Hostilities
July 13, 2026 The US has few options for extricating itself from Trump’s war on Iran with conditions better than when it went into the war, or before Trump tore up the plan of action negotiated by President Obama, Trump is claiming that he will keep the Strait of Hormuz open, The administration continues to deny that Congress has any role in its activities in Iran, despite the clear language of the Constitution, Trump’s sons have amassed a portfolio of defense tech startups that are benefitting from what the Pentagon is doing, In Maine, an ICE agent shot and killed a man from Colombia who was on his way to work but it appears he was not the man that ICE and Border Patrol were looking for, Less an a week ago, ICE shot and killed a man in Houston, who was close to obtaining legal status who also was not the person ICE was looking for, In Florida, a judge said that Trump, his lawyers, and lawyers for the DOJ, had manufactured the settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, She said that they launched the lawsuit to confer legitimacy on a course of action that they did not want to subject to judicial review, She recommended legal sanctions against some of the lawyers, She was “extremely troubled” by the testimony of Todd Blanche, who comes up for confirmation as Attorney General, on July 15. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
July 13 · 11 min
Threats Dismissed
July 12, 2026 The US is in the grip of an outbreak of the Cyclospora parasite, which is no longer being tracked by the CDC, The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network had monitored 8 pathogens for 30 years, but it now monitors only two, The New World screwworm continues to spread in the US and Central America, with infestations spreading rapidly in numerous animals, The Trump administration held up funding for a facility crucial to slowing the spread as well as a research initiative to find ways to stop the pest, In Iran, the MOU signed by Trump in June formalized Iran’s power over the Strait of Hormuz, Soldiers who survived the Iranian attack on Port Shuaiba in Kuwait allege that the generals in command ignored intelligence that the site was a probable target, Wounded soldiers were not admitted to the hospital and soldiers and their families say the Army downplayed their injuries, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina died over the weekend, A former critic of Trump, he became a staunch supporter. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
July 13 · 11 min
Fury
July 11, 2026 The Department of Justice has subpoenaed reporters from the New York Times over a story about the Secret Service’s concerns about the new Air Force One plane that was given to the US by Qatar, Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars appear to have been spent on renovating the plane, The reporting by the New York Times reporters is protected under the First Amendment, Trump’s fury fueled numerous angry social media posts, There have been reports of the high costs of renovations in Washington DC, A Pentagon official told local DC media that the National Guard troops will be in Washington through Inauguration Day 2029, The real reason for their deployment is ominous. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
July 11 · 8 min
Rigging the 2026 Election
July 10, 2026Trump refuses to sign the bipartisan housing bill because the Senate won’t pass the SAVE America Act, an act that will suppress voting, The housing bill was designed to address the housing crisis, Trump is making clear that his focus is not on governing, but on rigging the 2026 election, Trump’s appointees in the Department of Justice have been trying to intimidate election officials, Trump has fired the last two Democratic members of the Election Assistance Commission, claiming he has the right to do so under the Slaughter decision, The White House is fortifying the North Portico entrance to the White House, covering the portico with scaffolding, The administration intends to put fencing around Lafayette Square and parts of Pennsylvania Avenue, suggesting to the nation and the world that the government is exclusive and fearful of its own citizens. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

Letters from an American

Trading Strategy for Ideology

60 Years of Medicare and Medicaid

Nothing to Stand On

Trying to Rewrite History

Rejecting the Constitutional Order

Whitewashing

For Their Own Ends

A Politically Impossible Situation

Is This Fascism

Dramatic Cuts

Shirking Responsibility

Massachusetts 54th Regiment

A Deeply Unpopular Push

Trump’s Lies

A Different Set of Priorities

Valuing What Nature Can Accomplish

Hostilities

Threats Dismissed

Fury

Rigging the 2026 Election