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A Look Back At The Most Popular Stories of 2024

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The Fulcrum is a trusted platform where insiders and outsiders to politics are informed, meet, talk, and act to repair our democracy.

We amplify marginalized perspectives through news articles, opinion pieces, and investigative reports. Thanks to our contributors, we foster an inclusive dialogue vital for a thriving democracy.


Here are the most popular stores published on The Fulcrum:

white and colored sinks Kamala Harris is Black & Asian and Why Does Trump Care?kickstand/Getty Images

Kamala Harris is Black & Asian and Why Does Trump Care?

In 2024, 60 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, it is unfortunate that, because of statements made by a candidate for the presidency, we need to remind Americans that the color of one’s skin is a terribly unreliable indicator of one’s so-called racial heritage.

Department of Veterans Affairs building Project 2025: The Department of Veterans AffairsAir Force Reserve Command

Project 2025: The Department of Veterans Affairs

Project 2025, a conservative plan for a second Trump administration, aims to make the Department of Veterans Affairs more efficient and responsive, which is a commendable objective. But the focus on conservative political goals and extensive outsourcing risks politicizing the VA and potentially undermining its ability to serve veterans effectively.

John Roberts at the State of the Union In Trump v. United States, Chief Justice John Roberts produced an astonishing and convoluted treatise that denigrates a key principle of our jurisprudence championed by the founders, writes Toscano.Jacquelyn Martin-Pool/Getty Images

Conservatives will rue the day they compromised the rule of law

Defenders of democracy had hoped the Supreme Court decision in Trump v. United States would begin with the words “No man is above the law.” But Chief Justice John Roberts avoided the phrase entirely in his opinion. Instead, he produced an astonishing treatise that denigrates a key principle of our jurisprudence championed by the founders.

Mark Esper sitting next to Donald Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper (left) and other leaders stood up to Donald Trump when he was president. Trump would likely face similar resistance if he wins another term.Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

What would really happen if Trump wins?

If Donald Trump wins, American democracy will undergo a severe stress test. Yet again. But it won’t plunge into dictatorship, authoritarianism or fascism. Instead, if Trump wins, America will have an incoherent and volatile mix of some government institutions that function democratically and some that don’t.

Joe Biden speaking in Pennsylvania The speech Joe Biden won’t giveAnadolu/Getty Images

The speech Joe Biden won’t give

If President Joe Biden reached out to independent voters in a way that legitimized their concerns about the self-serving nature of the Democratic and Republican parties, he could probably win with 60 percent of the vote. But he won’t. And neither will Donald Trump.

donald trump holds up a fist If Donald Trump implements the Heritage Foundation's policy plan, he'll take us down the path of authoritarianism, writes Corbin.Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Project 2025 is a threat to democracy

On Jan. 20, 2025, will the duly elected and inaugurated president of the United States keep America as a democracy that dates back to the 1630s or will the commander-in-chief start changing the country to authoritarian-fascism? That depends on whether Trump wins and he follows the Project 2025 playbook.

People working in a grocery store Latino-owned businesses, such as the Aztec Farmers Market in Houston, contribute billions of dollars to the economy each year.Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

Trump's right! A massive invasion is happening at the southern border

Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed an invasion is taking place on the southern U.S. border. He is absolutely right. But it's not an invasion of people taking over cities and jobs, it's an invasion of communities playing a significant role in shaping the cultural, social and economic landscape of the United States.

White House with a stop sign If Trump wins, should Democrats turn over the keys to the White House?Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

If Trump wins, should Democrats turn over the keys to the White House?

The Democrats, believing Donald Trump is a threat to democracy, have few options if he wins, and none of them are good. A Trump victory will force our leaders and all of us to confront a series of tragic choices.

Donald Trump Was Trump right when he said he could ‘shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters’?MEGA/Getty Images

Has 'just about every law enforcement agency in the country' endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2024?

Former President Donald Trump claims he is “supported by just about every law enforcement agency in the country; I think, maybe every one.” But police unions — not law enforcement agencies such as police or sheriff’s departments — endorse candidates.

Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs on stage Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs perform "Fast Car" at the Grammys.Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Luke Combs, politics and healing our nation's divide

Today's pop artists can have tremendous influence on politics and poltiical divide, if only more of them were willing to speak out.


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Taxpayer-Funded, Closed to Millions: The Growing Push to Reform Kentucky’s Primaries

More than half of America’s military veterans identify as independents, not Democrats or Republicans. Yet in many states with closed primary systems, those voters are barred from participating in taxpayer-funded primary elections. Because veterans swear an oath to defend the Constitution, not a political party, a growing coalition of veteran-led organizations is advocating for open primaries and other electoral reforms designed to expand voter participation and strengthen representative democracy.

In Kentucky, veterans have emerged as leading voices in a nonpartisan campaign to open the Commonwealth’s closed primary system. Their efforts come as the state's electorate shifts: independent voters are the fastest-growing segment of registered voters.

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A male senior stands in the shadow of a Social Security card with bite missing.

Social Security faces automatic cuts in 2032 and Medicare in 2033. New polling suggests that gives Democrats a powerful election issue. Here’s the case.

DNY59 / Getty Images

Will the Debt Crisis Engineered by Republicans Succeed in Cutting Social Security and Medicare?

Overview

The Republican Party’s long game to reduce administrative state entitlement spending centers on creating a debt crisis to provide an excuse for limiting such spending. It may soon pay off. That strategy involved a quarter-century of engineered tax cuts responsible for the stunning rise in sovereign U.S. debt, threatening an eventual economic crisis.

Social Security benefits are projected under current law to be automatically cut in 2032. And Medicare benefits are projected to be automatically cut in 2033. Congressional Republicans intend for those automatic cuts to occur, opposing new taxes to prevent cuts. And they are using the ballooning national debt as an excuse to also oppose new general revenue spending to prevent benefit cuts.

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​Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump followed by Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan and U.S. first lady Melania Trump arrive for a state dinner at the White House.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump followed by Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan and U.S. first lady Melania Trump arrive for a state dinner in the East Room of the White House on September 24, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

When Leaders Disagree, Ceremony Plays an Important Role

When Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at the White House on 24 September, the U.S. welcomed him with an elaborate display of ceremony. The Army Herald Trumpets sounded a fanfare, the Chinese and American national anthems were played, and the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps performed. A military review was followed by a flyover involving a B-2 bomber and four F-22 fighter jets, according to the White House. It was an extraordinary production for two countries that still disagree on some of the most important issues in international politics.

Talks between President Donald Trump and Xi touched on trade, artificial intelligence and Taiwan. The visit was marked by warm words and some signs of cooperation, but it did not erase the fundamental competition between the United States and China. So why was all this ceremony staged? It is tempting to dismiss political pomp as mere window dressing: an expensive historical relic surrounding the serious business taking place behind closed doors. As a music historian, however, I think this misunderstands what ceremony does. Ceremony can become particularly valuable when words alone are not enough.

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