Ep. 443: Despair Is Not an Option in 2026 -- Thom Hartmann on the Next Year of Trump 2.0

Thom Hartmann is the nation's progressive talk radio host and a New York Times bestselling author. His new book is The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party, and a World on the Brink . Hartmann reflects on the first year of Trump 2.0 and the destruction and chaos it has unleashed on American democracy, society, and the world. Yet he insists that despair and surrender are not options as we enter 2026. Drawing on history and the cycles of great social change, Hartmann points to signs of a growing people's movement pushing back against Trumpism, as more Americans wake up to the damage inflicted by the oligarchs, gangster capitalism, and other anti-democratic forces. Ultimately, he believes the American people will prevail and push toward a real social democracy modeled on President Franklin Roosevelt's FAIR Deal. On this special New Year's episode, Chauncey DeVega reflects on how we must keep riding the wave out of the great troubles of 2025 — balancing pessimism and optimism, fear and hope. He urges us not to pretend everything is fine or suppress anger and grief, but to acknowledge those feelings and ask the essential question: "Okay — now what are you going to do?" in 2026. And for those fortunate enough to have had a good year amid so much collective pain, Chauncey emphasizes the obligation to share that energy and to uplift others. By learning from the long Black Freedom Struggle and other pro-democracy movements, the American people can better navigate what promises to be a perilous year ahead. In that spirit, Chauncey shares an essay on the tradition of Watch Night, when enslaved and free African Americans — often in secret and at great risk — gathered on New Year's Eve to count down the minutes until the Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: On Facebook: My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com: Patreon:

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Ep. 443: Despair Is Not an Option in 2026 -- Thom Hartmann on the Next Year of Trump 2.0 is an episode from The Chauncey DeVega Show by Chauncey DeVega.

This episode is 52:39 long.

This episode was published on Jan 2, 2026.

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