The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich

Friends, The election is nine days away, and there’s a good chance we won’t know the outcome until days or possibly weeks beyond. On Tuesday, Harris will be giving her final message to America, at the same place on the Washington mall where Trump held his rally on January 6, 2021. Heather and I discuss what that final message ought to be. We also examine why Trump is gaining ground in almost every...

Friends, Today, Heather and I discuss why we’re optimistic about the election, just over two weeks away. Harris is showing more of her strengths as she subjects herself to interview after interview (including on Fox News). Trump is revealing more of his instability, as he calls the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol “a day of love,” talks about using the military on his political opponents, and c...

Friends, Today Heather and I assess the election outlook, specifically the widening gender gap, which is turning into a gender chasm. American women are overwhelmingly for Harris; men (especially those without college degrees) are overwhelmingly for Trump. Meanwhile, Elon Musk and Trump have become the nation’s most dangerous bromance. Each wants what the other possesses: Trump wants vast wealth a...

Friends, This morning, Heather and I explore the biggest issues of the week: the remarkably good economy (September’s jobs report, out yesterday, was about the best you could possibly hope for); the VP debate last Tuesday; special counsel Jack Smith’s additional revelations about January 6; and Hurricane Helene. And, of course, we’ll assess what all this means for the upcoming election (a bit over...

Friends, Heather is under the weather today so our Gen Z producer-director-techie and all-around talent Michael Lahanas-Calderón is kindly filling in. Today we try to explain the most perplexing thing about the home stretch of this election — why Trump is running neck-and-neck with Harris despite his awful debate performance, his bonkers comment that Jews will be responsible if he loses, his bizar...

Friends, As the 2024 election moves into its final stretch with Kamala Harris gaining a slim lead, Trump is losing it. His statements are even less coherent than before; his accusations, wilder; his lies, even more dangerous. He is starting to resemble a cornered animal. Today, Heather and I assess where Trump is and what he might do. We examine what Trump loyalists are doing in the key states of...

Friends, Today is the third anniversary of the launch of this newsletter community, and I want to thank you. Three years ago today I posted my first daily letter, not knowing who would be out there to receive it. Heather Lofthouse egged me on. (A special thanks to her, as well. And to Alessandra Bosco, whose gimlet eye has caught misspellings and grammatical mistakes I’m too embarrassed to admit,...

Friends, It was quite a debate and quite a week. Today, Heather and I look back on both and do our best to peer into the future. What effect will the debate have on undecided voters? What does Kamala Harris need to do in the remaining weeks? What will Trump do? Why is Trump refusing a second debate with Harris? We also examine the consequences of Taylor Swift’s endorsement (and Elon Musk’s grade-s...

Friends, Today, Heather and I examine the upcoming Tuesday night debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. The American public knows Trump. He has forced himself into our minds for the last decade in every possible way. Yet much of the public doesn’t yet know Harris. Before Biden bowed out on July 21, she was a vice president who, like every vice president before her, was almost invisible. He...

Friends, Sharing is the key — with friends, relatives, and acquaintances. Especially (but not exclusively) those who live in the “swing” states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada. Nothing is more powerful than an encouragement from you to get the facts and spread the truth. Please do your part. We must win this. This is a public episode. If you'd lik...

Friends, Today, Heather and I take a deep dive into the week’s remarkable political news, as Kamala Harris and Tim Walz continue to rise in the polls, and Trump evidently has no idea what he should do. He’s gone on rants about windmills, bacon, trans boxers, Al Capone, and crowd size, and reposted crude racial and sexual slurs about Kamala Harris. We review the Harris-Walz bus tour in rural Americ...

Friends, Many of you ask me what you can do to help ensure that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are elected on November 5, and that the House and Senate have majorities in support of economic and social justice. In previous posts I’ve given you some ammunition — correcting some of Trump’s and Vance’s whoppers (such as Vance’s assertion last week that Trump’s tariffs generated revenue for America and cr...

Friends, Today Heather and I look at the real significance of this week’s Democratic convention — how well did it introduce Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to America? How powerfully did it set them up for the election? How effectively did it trounce Trump? And we look ahead to the debate on September 10 and Trump’s likely strategy between now and Election Day. Please join us, grab a cup, pull up a cha...

Friends, On Thursday, Trump was supposed to have had a press conference on the economy. Instead, it turned into another one of his rambling, incoherent rants against Kamala. On Friday, Kamala pointed the way to a new economy. Trump continues to melt down; she continues to surge upward. Today Heather and I compare Kamalanomics and its focus on corporate power with the garbage economics Trump is ped...

Friends, Today Heather and I examine the extraordinary positive energy released by Kamala Harris and her pick for vice president, Tim Walz. And the apparent inability of Trump and JD Vance to fight back — leading to Trump’s disastrous news conference on Thursday in which he seemed more unhinged than ever. Please pull up a chair, join the discussion, and take our poll. This is a public episode. If...

Friends, This morning, Heather and I drill down into this week’s misogynistic and racial stumbles of Trump and Vance and this second week of Kamala Harris’s extraordinary campaign. We explore whether Trump will dump Vance in favor of Nikki Haley or Elise Stefanik. And whether Kamala Harris will come down against big corporations that continue to keep prices high. Please join us, and take our poll....

Friends, Well, maybe not yet. But he’s on the way to being toast. Today, roughly 100 days before the 2024 election, Heather and I assess the first extraordinary week of Kamala Harris’s remarkable campaign — what she’s done, how she’s done it, what it will mean for Trump and JD Vance, and what it can mean for America and the world. Please join us and take our poll. This is a public episode. If you'...

Friends, Today, Heather and I assess the Democratic and Republican parties at a particularly dispiriting point, when the Republicans have coronated Trump, who is taking a wide lead in polls over Biden. Anything can happen between now and Election Day, but at this point things look grim. Will Biden drop out in favor of Kamala Harris? Will Trump stumble? Will America come to its senses? Please join...

Friends, Today, Heather and I take a deep dive into Biden’s choices now, after last night’s interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and yesterday’s Biden rallies. Is Biden back on track? Has he recovered from last week’s bad debate performance? Or are the forces within the Democratic Party that want another candidate for president building to the point where he will almost certainly drop out? A...

Friends, Good morning! Between the Supreme Court’s naked power grab and the debate debacle, it’s been a rough week. Heather Lofthouse of Inequality Media Civic Action and I break it all down in this week’s Coffee Klatch. Please pour yourself a cup of coffee (or something stronger) and join us. And if you wish, take our poll. RR This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other sub...

Friends, In today’s klatch, Heather and I begin with the Supreme Court’s “decision” — by making no decision on special counsel Jack Smith’s request for a ruling on presidential immunity — that Trump won’t be held accountable before the 2024 election for engineering an attempted coup on January 6, 2021. We then consider the spike in donations to the Trump campaign immediately following the Manhatta...

Friends, What should we make of this week’s Supreme Court ruling that semi-automatic rifles with bump stocks are not machine guns? Or its ongoing decision to slow-walk the question of presidential immunity, effectively pushing the Trump insurrection trial until after the election — or maybe never? Revelations about more secret cash to Clarence Thomas. Samuel Alito’s views that “differences on fund...

Friends, We decided to do another deep dive today — this one on Trumpism and fascism. With the election less than five months away and Trump escalating his fascist rhetoric and signaling his intent to use federal troops to round up undocumented people inside the United States and put them in camps, we felt it important to show the close parallels between Trumpism and neofascism. Please pull up a c...

Friends, We were tempted to talk about the Trump trial and verdict, and bask in the relief that our system of justice did what it should do to hold people accountable for breaking the law — no matter who they are. But you’ve probably heard everything there is to say about the trial by now. So we decided instead to do a deep dive into Trump politics and big money. It’s been reported that just 50 bi...

Friends, Today, in honor of Memorial Day weekend, we take a deep dive into the common good versus its antithesis — Trumpism. We look at what’s happened to the common good, why Trumpism is attractive to so many these days, and how the common good can be resurrected. Please grab a cup, pull up a chair, and join the conversation. (Also, if so moved, take our poll.) This is a public episode. If you'd...