#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Trump's Project 2025: Up Close and Personal. Chapter 12: Year in Review

Episode Date: November 12, 2024

Chapter 12 chronicles the demise of our fictional magazine, Capital Monthly. The pressure from the White House, from advertisers and from Social Media algorithms kills the independent journalism that was documenting what life was like under Donald Trump's second term guided by Project 2025.   This is the last episode of Trump's Project 2025: Up Close and Personal we have been presenting as special bonus episodes of (your podcast).   It tells the story of what's likely to happen to a free press under Donald Trump in a second term. It's fiction but look no further than the cowardice of the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times who ran away from endorsing Kamala Harris. Merely because of the threat Trump might return to power.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Hello again, everybody. I'm Bill Press, host of the Bill Press Pod, and this is the last episode in our special podcast series, Trump's Project 2025 Up Close and Personal, Chapter 12, Year in Review. Today's episode is a frightening example of what we might call art imitating life. When fear that Donald Trump might win the election causes the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and all 200 newspapers around the country not to make any endorsement in the presidential election, we can only imagine what might happen were Trump actually to become president again, as he is in this fictional story. Chapter 12 chronicles the demise of our fictional magazine, Capital Monthly. The pressure from the White House, from advertisers, from internet trolls,

and a financial offer from a right-wing hedge fund kills the independent journalism that was documenting what life was actually like under Donald Trump's second term, guided, of course, by Project 2025. Here's the fictional editor of our magazine, Theo Shepard, with a final note to readers. It's read by our series author, David Pepper. The pressure came immediately after January, the day after the first story. We were fake news, the new administration warned our publisher. Two one-sided. The criticism grew louder after February, the IVF story. Show both sides, they demanded. Advertisers pulled out. Social media companies buried us in algorithms. Death threats came Rose's way. I brought in Calvin in March. Cover the other side,

I told him. The new administration promised him great access. Top officials, supporters, voters, frontline enforcers, and those who benefited from his policies, business leaders, voucher recipients, and the like. But each month, the complaints still grew. From the White House, from advertisers, from social media trolls. Rose's stories, too much. Calvin's stories, not fair. Even though they came right from the access they'd given us. We cut back on Rose.

Gave Calvin more ink. Philadelphia was the Rubicon. Too raw, the publisher said. For the first time, he looked scared. In October, a firm called Gorilla Capital made an offer our owner couldn't refuse. No more Rose. We ran what we had about Hurricane Timothy before they cut us off. I walked out of the building for the last time December 1st. So did Calvin. Theo Shepard, former editor, Capital Monthly, December 2nd, 2025. Now, as we continue, the old Capital Monthly magazine's been taken over by the hedge fund and is edited by a MAGA operative.

Here's their version of Trump's first year back in the White House. It's read by Omid Habtai. Chapter 12, December. Capital Monthly. Year in Review. By Chip Manson, Editor. Washington, D.C. As a candidate, the president made countless promises to the nation. His backers and allies made similar promises. Most didn't believe the plan would actually happen. But as president, he spent 2025 fulfilling those very promises. He deported those who protest our allies, punished traitors, and cracked down on insurrectionists and domestic terrorists. He protected life from the moment of conception. He replaced the deep state bureaucrats with loyal

servants who best reflect the popular will of the American people. Promises kept. He ordered the largest mass deportation in American history. He unlocked the freedom to work for all workers, including new opportunities among America's young people. He cut costs and outsourced functions better done by the private sector. Promises kept. He created universal choice in education while cracking down on pornography and vaccination discrimination in schools. He cleaned up Florida after the governor failed so miserably. He declared war on woke and won, and so much more. Promises made, promises kept. On to 2026. Like every one of the 12 chapters in this novel, they could all very well turn into fact in a

second Trump term driven by the right-wing fever dream that is Project 2025. Mass deportations, the end of reproductive freedom, the death of science, and the resulting death of Americans, the loss of our true history, the decimation of our public schools, the U.S. military in the streets of our cities, the corruption of our justice system. Friends, that's not speculation. It's all very likely to happen if Trump wins. But here's what's important. It's not too late to change some minds. The election's only a few days away and most people have still not voted. So if you have a friend or family member that's not decided whether to vote or whom to vote for, this is your chance to make a difference. If this series frightened you and made you even

more fearful of a Trump second term, perhaps it could have the same effect on somebody you know. So please share this series or even a single episode of the series with that person. It might convince him or her to vote and vote for Kamala Harris. And by the way, all 12 episodes are in your podcast app and available for sharing. Or you can direct them to go directly to 2025pod.com. If we all do something, as Michelle Obama says, even small things like this, we can make a difference and save our democracy from Donald Trump and Project 2025. We'd like to thank all the artists

who volunteer their time to make this series, especially the talented sound designers Marilis Ernst and Jonathan Mosier, who worked on every episode of the series. Trump's Project 2025 Up Close and Personal is written by David Pepper and produced by Pepper, Melissa Jo Peltier, and Jay Feldman, and is a production of Ovington Avenue Productions and the Bill Press Pod. I'm Bill Press. Thank you so much for listening. I know a lot of cops.

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I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios.

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself.

Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. This is an iHeart Podcast.