A message from David Corn

Tomorrow, and the next 125 days after. [Mother Jones]( MoJo Reader, Chaos in the streets. Looters running wild. Rioters threatening you and your family. Anarchists destroying…everything. And there's only one way to stop the end of civilization: Reelect Donald Trump as president. That's Trump's core campaign message, as I [wrote]( recently. The enemy, he insists, are the protesters seeking justice, not the coronavirus that has killed more than 120,000 Americans, in part due to Trump's inept response. With the pandemic continuing to claim the lives of thousands of our loved ones, friends, colleagues, and neighbors and with the economy still in shambles, Trump acts as if the threat is over and, worse, exploits the movement against police violence to create fictitious dangers he can exploit to fuel fear and paranoia. What's the best way to counter a demagogue who is trying to whip up division and who is endangering Americans’ lives? Truth. Just plain old truth. But you know that's not as easy as it sounds, and that's why I've intruded into your email inbox to ask for help. With the election 127 days away—and with accountability on the ballot—I'm asking you to [support Mother Jones' no-BS journalism with a donation today](. Our [big fundraising campaign]( ends tomorrow, and we still need to raise about $37,000 to hit our $400,000 goal. Trump has made more than 18,000 false claims since taking office. And, yes, many of them are outright lies. All this lying makes no-holds-bar journalism more important than ever, especially as the nation heads toward one of its most crucial elections. Trump's never-ending flood of disinformation distorts the national discourse and even threatens free and fair elections. Last week on the Mother Jones Podcast, I interviewed the Washington Post's Glenn Kessler—editor and chief writer of the paper's herculean "[Fact Checker](" project, and we tried to unpack the impact Trump's constant lying has had on the country—and the challenge it has presented to mainstream journalism. (I hope you'll [give it a listen](.) As Kessler writes in his new book, "The pace and frequency of Trump's falsehoods can feel mind-numbing, and many Americans appear to have tuned out the daily torrent of presidential misstatements." I call this the white tablecloth problem: When you spill wine on a white tablecloth, it's obvious and embarrassing. Spill on a tablecloth covered in stains and, oh well, what's one more? But that doesn't mean the tablecloth is clean. It means we need to back up and look at the whole damn mess. That's what we at Mother Jones do every day. And it's only because of [support from our readers]( that my team and I are able to go beyond the headlines and dig deep into the profound forces that enable and support a dangerous president untethered to reality. Trump's falsehoods are not only alarming as a brazen assault on decency and the social fabric. His lies, delusions, and acts of corruption are killing people. At his failed rally in Tulsa, Trump [said](, "When you do testing to that extent, you're going to find more people, you're going to find more cases. So I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down, please.'" The White House tried to explain this was a joke. But who jokes about the deaths of thousands of Americans? And then Trump made it clear. "I don't kid," he told reporters. His remark—like so many of his comments—dominated the headlines for days. But for months, we at Mother Jones had been covering Trump's lethal negligence and reckless disregard for the health and safety of Americans—and calling out Trump's ineffectual, self-serving, and deadly response to the coronavirus as "the most consequential act of corruption in the history of American governance." It is [support from our readers]( that allows me and everyone at Mother Jones to call it like it is. We don't fear risk-averse investors or a corporate parent company. Your support gives us the time we need to pursue what's being missed by others in the media and to look at the big picture, like when [I connected the dots, a few months ago, in the opening feature]( for the current issue of our magazine, "Plagued: Grift, Greed, Gaslighting—A Special Report on Trump's COVID Corruption": Trump failed to move quickly and impeded a fast and comprehensive response. His self-interest was always paramount—to an absurd extent. He touted the "ratings" his coronavirus press conferences received and devoted more time during these briefings to deflecting responsibility, attacking journalists, and blaming Democratic politicians than to mourning the dead. Trump's lies and corruption have also put our democracy and elections in jeopardy. The fundamental purpose of government is rather simple: Protect the citizenry. But Trump has weakened the government the way rot ruins a building—it attacks the structure. There's too much rot to list here. But perhaps the most galling skullduggery of the Trump administration is Attorney General William Barr perverting the Justice Department to serve Trump's personal interests. Barr provided cover for Trump in the [Russia investigation]( and [impeachment proceedings](; more recently, he [forced out]( US Attorney Geoffrey Berman, who was leading investigations related to Trump and his associates. In an unprecedented move, Barr also intervened in criminal cases to help two Trump cronies—[Michael Flynn]( and [Roger Stone](. And Barr is still [refusing to acknowledge]( the magnitude of Russia's interference in the 2016 election and apparently doing nothing about the Kremlin's current efforts to influence the 2020 election. Our current election is at risk due to the Russians and other would-be malefactors, the untamed coronavirus pandemic, and Trump's own baseless claims that it will be stolen from him. It is infuriating to watch Trump and his allies threaten American democracy—and to see the full extent of his corruptions and lies not be sufficiently investigated and exposed by much of the media. But this anger and concern for our country is fueling each and every one of us at Mother Jones to report like hell these next 127 days. Mother Jones reporters and our community of readers were made for a moment like this. My team of reporters in Washington and their relentless colleagues across the country spend every day chasing stories that can make it harder for Trump and his allies to get away with deceiving the American public. Recently we have reported on serious conflicts of interest within the Trump administration related to its coronavirus response. We have written about Trump's mounting personal debt problem; revealed how the Roger Stone case indicates Trump himself lied to the special counsel; examined the fiscal disaster caused by Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy; and debunked Trump's lies about criminal justice policies. Much of this is work you won't find anywhere else. As we keep doing what we have always done, I hope you'll keep doing what Mother Jones readers have always done: believe that our journalism can make a difference and [pitch in]( so we can keep charging ahead as hard as we can. I am no professional fundraiser—maybe you can tell that!—but I do know this fundamental truth: [My reporters and I can only do this work if supporters like you have our back](. And because we answer only to you—our readers—we can reject both-sides journalism and the insidious "[view from nowhere](" that enables liars, propagandists, and bad-faith actors. We're independent, and we aim to be fearless. As is true for you, what we care most about is accountability and truth in this ongoing battle against Trumpian spinning, gaslighting, and brazen dishonesty. You know, as our CEO Monika Bauerlein has [written](, that the coronavirus and other forces are decimating journalism at a time when it's needed more than ever. So if you treasure Mother Jones' fierce kickass journalism, [this is a critical time to support it](. Whether you can pitch in $5 or $500, it all makes a difference. And you have my promise: We will put your hard-earned money to good use. We have a lot of work to do, and I hope you can be part of our team. Thanks for considering a tax-free gift to our fiery nonprofit outfit. Whether or not you can pitch in today, it's good to know that we have a community of passionate and committed readers for all that's ahead in the next 127 days. [Alternate text] David Corn Washington, DC Bureau Chief Mother Jones [Donate]( P.S. If you've donated in the last several hours, thank you so much! Please accept our apologies for sending you this email. Sometimes our systems are slow to catch up. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755