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Trump, Greenland, and the Alarming Silence in Congress

Trump, Greenland, and the Alarming Silence in Congress

We Can’t Let Hegseth Win His War on Women

We Can’t Let Hegseth Win His War on Women

Trump’s Plan to Gather Data on Every Voter Will Cripple Democracy

Trump’s Plan to Gather Data on Every Voter Will Cripple Democracy

A car with a bullet hole in the windshield.

States Sue D.C. at Record Levels — MN Case May Be the Turning Point

Is the U.S. Better Off Today Than a Year Ago?

Is the U.S. Better Off Today Than a Year Ago?

A Jalapeño a Day: What America Can Learn From Bridging in the Hispanic Community

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A Jalapeño a Day: What America Can Learn From Bridging in the Hispanic Community
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The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumJul 01, 2022
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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Monica Guzmán and Daniel Acosta-Rivas share intimate stories about growing up in their respective Hispanic contexts and the diversity of the Hispanic world.

They offer riveting insights on why the Hispanic community is underrepresented in organizations like Braver Angels and why Venezuela’s population may, shockingly, be less divided than America’s, illustrating the unique power of its approach to bridge-building. Daniel, originally from Venezuela, currently lives in Washington, D.C. and works for Stand Together.

He is a recent graduate of American University, where he founded the Students for Free Expression chapter. Mónica Guzmán is the director of digital & storytelling at Braver Angels and the author of the bestseller I Never Thought of It That Way.


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Trump isn’t interested in being honorable — he’d rather be feared

President Donald Trump speaks to the media aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 4, 2026.

(Joe Raedle/Getty Images/TNS)

Trump isn’t interested in being honorable — he’d rather be feared

A decade ago, a famous and successful investor told me that “integrity lowers the cost of capital.” We were talking about Donald Trump at the time, and this Wall Street wizard was explaining why then-candidate Trump had so much trouble borrowing money from domestic capital markets. His point was that the people who knew Trump best had been screwed, cheated or misled by him so many times, they didn’t think he was a good credit risk. If you’re honest and straightforward in business, my friend explained, you earn trust and that trust has real value.

I think about that point often. But never more so than in the last few weeks.

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USA, Washington D.C., Supreme Court building and blurred American flag against blue sky.
Americans increasingly distrust the Supreme Court. The answer may lie not only in Court reforms but in shifting power back to states, communities, and Congress.
Getty Images, TGI /Tetra Images

Hypocrisy in Leadership Corrodes Democracy

Promises made… promises broken. Americans are caught in the dysfunction and chaos of a country in crisis.

The President promised relief, but gave us the Big Beautiful Bill — cutting support for seniors, students, and families while showering tax breaks on the wealthy. He promised jobs and opportunity, but attacked Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. He pledged to drain the swamp, yet advanced corruption that enriched himself and his allies. He vowed to protect Social Security, yet pursued policies that threatened it. He declared no one is above the law, yet sought Supreme Court immunity.

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Portrait of John Adams.

This vintage engraving depicts the portrait of the second President of the United States, John Adams (1735 - 1826)

Getty Images, wynnter

John Adams and the Line a Republic Must Not Cross

In an earlier Fulcrum essay, John Adams Warned Us: A Republic Without Virtue Cannot Survive, I reflected on Adams’s insistence that self-government depends on character as much as law. Adams believed citizens had obligations to one another that no constitution could enforce. Without restraint, moderation, and a commitment to the common good, liberty would hollow out from within.

But Adams’s argument about virtue did not stop with citizens. It extended, with equal force, to those who wield power.

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A Man Who Keeps His Word — Even When He’s Joking

U.S. President Donald Trump tours the Ford River Rouge Complex on January 13, 2026 in Dearborn, Michigan.

(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

A Man Who Keeps His Word — Even When He’s Joking

We’ve learned why it’s a mistake to treat Trump’s outrageous lines as “just talk”

“We shouldn’t need a mid-term election” is his latest outrageous statement or joke. Let’s break down the pattern.

When a candidate says something extreme, we, the public, tend to downgrade it: He’s joking. He’s riffing. He’s trolling the press. We treat the line like entertainment, not intent.

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