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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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President Trump answers questions from reporters.

U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters before boarding Air Force One on August 21, 2026 in Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Trump’s White House Press Ban Violates 1st Amendment

The principle is simple. Just like politicians are not supposed to pick their voters, government officials don’t get to pick the reporters who cover them.

If they did, the First Amendment would be meaningless. and we would no longer live in anything resembling a constitutional republic. That is why President Trump’s September 18 announcement that he is banning reporters from CNN, MSNow, and Politico from the White House is so dangerous.

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White marble exterior of the United States Capitol, often called the Capitol Building, is the home of the United States Congress and the seat of the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government

The CLARITY Act crypto bill failed a procedural vote on Sept. 15, but it could return. Here's what it does, who would regulate crypto, and the Trump angle.

Richard Sharrocks / Getty Images

The CLARITY Act

The CLARITY Act

The CLARITY Act, which failed in a procedural vote on Sept. 15, and a new venture by the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency company made us think it was time to write about the cryptocurrency legislation. Even though it’s not currently active, the bill could come back.

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When Money Trumps Life

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters on September 22, 2026 in New York City.

Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

When Money Trumps Life

Last week at the United Nations, Donald Trump showed the world just how little he values human life. In a single speech, he rattled off a laundry list of “hoaxes” to write off: climate change, AI, “Russia hoax,” “Ukraine hoax,” and more. Climate change, AI, and modern warfare all pose existential threats to civilization as we know it, and yet our president seems hellbent on gaslighting our fears while accelerating problems that threaten our survival. What would make a person behave in such a self-sabotaging way? Well, perhaps we should, as they say, follow the money.

Earlier this month, the UN warned that Earth is already 1.4°C hotter than before the industrial age and set to blow past the 1.5°C limit in the next few years. The World Health Organization projects that such warming will cause roughly 250,000 additional deaths a year starting in 2030. Any leader who values human life should recognize this as the existential threat it is and change course. Instead, Trump has pulled the U.S. out of the UN's founding climate treaty, and his EPA scrapped the scientific finding underpinning federal limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, in the first six months since launching his war in Iran, Trump's nine largest oil and gas holdings gained up to $4.4 million.

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 U.S. President Donald Trump speaks from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026 in Washington, DC.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Pool/Getty Images

How Presidential Primetime Addresses Shape Public Trust in Democratic Institutions

A question still being studied is the effects on public trust when the head of the Executive casts doubt on the institutions that run elections, enforce laws, and decide legal disputes. The President of the United States is arguably the most powerful man in the world. He is the commander in chief of a nation #1 in nominal gross domestic product as well as #1 in military power, budget, and spending as of 2026. The actions he takes spew ripple effects across the world and follow many generations. A way you can measure the executive's power can also be measured in how much influence his speeches have on the markets, opinions of the masses, news outlets, lawmakers, social media reactions, etc. His framing of an issue can shape the next day’s political conversation.

These conversations become extremely dangerous/consequential when discussing a principle as embedded in our country as Democracy. In his July primetime speech, Trump continued to pedal the claims about election security and argued for stricter voting rules. He continued to portray the country as facing a moment of corruption and uncertainty, followed by presenting himself as the one prepared to restore order. The address continued with repeated claims about his loss in the 2020 election that have not been supported by the evidence compiled over years of investigation by many parties. Professional reviews, audits, and courts have yet to find significant evidence of foul play substantial enough to influence the outcome of that election.

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