This new global assessment offers a journalistic perspective on which individuals pose the gravest danger to American democracy—as confirmed by major-media reporting.
The choice to add color to the ranking is not great. Now there are green markings with individuals who pose a clear present threat to democracy. Green is universally accepted as a color to express something good, safe or to be optimistic about. No one on this list is good. And democracy is not safe with any of these people. A better solution with this list is to use arrows instead of colors. However..
To rank these individuals in a list is not the best solution because it's subjective. It would be better to have such a list of people without rankings but with a very short description *why* you chose to add them on the list.
Moreover, you add the terms propagandist and conspiracy theorist to certain names. Frankly, you could add such descriptions to all of the people on this list. But now Posobiec, Carlson, Flynn and others are merely described as propogandist and/or conspiracy theorist which misses the mark IMO. What makes these people so dangerous are their job titles and the people they work(ed) for. When that's left out it's good for them and bad for us.
I thank you for the effort to pull this list together but again altering its format would be better IMO.
I'm moving my comment here. And I also like the idea of up and down arrows for movement, with an em-dash, perhaps, for people who stay in the same spot. Maybe an asterik for first-timers. Anyway, my comment:
Great work. However, the red and the orange are extremely close in color -- at least to these 60-year-old eyes. It's not immediate clear that 6 and 21 are orange, especially amid the surrounding red. Perhaps the colors purple and orange could be switched.
I hear you, but he is so *very* old that his fortitude as an anti-democratic force is minimal—especially with the GOP out of the majority in the Senate.
I agree with Grassley because he is sneaky and because he appears frail and unintelligent he fucntions as a sleeper cell. The media continually gives him cred as a power person in the senate which makes him dangerous. Additionally I would say Governor Kim Reynolds Republican Governor's Association Chair person. Has taken control of all branches of governor, reduced voter rights, attacked and handicapped only Democrat in elected office Auditor to make the role ineffective, executive order to rewrite Iowa Code effectively legislating from Gov office, consolidated and created commission of Gov appointees to oversee all executive branch functions, alter the selection process of Iowa Supreme Court Justices giving Governor changing from fairly merit based to political appointment. Institutes Koch agenda, supported, appeared with and endorsed mom's for liberty school board candidates. In other words taken complete control of Iowa Judicial, legislative and executive. Used Covid relief money to send National Guard Troops to the border in support of Abbott 3 times, publicly repeatedly stated Abbott has the right to protect his state against feds..
Gaetz is there. Comer must have been accidentally edited out of the draft during one of the recent changes. He is Top 25. I just fixed it. Thanks for the catch!
I would only quibble with the #1 slot. I think that belongs to Putin, not Trump. Trump & Co., most of GOP congress, Bannon, Carlson, etc. are pushing Putin's propaganda and forcing his "vision" into the bloodstream of America. Without Putin weaponizing anti-democratic forces in America, especially with money, many of those red boxes would be green. Trump's goal is to be the next Putin, so, in short, Putin is running things.
We have a worrying development in Britain. Last month, our ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage joined the far-right travelling circus in the US. There's an old video on YT of him being courted by Bannon, inviting him to join the fascist takeover of the world, in which Bannon names several countries wanting their global ideology to become the norm.
Onto the bandwagon has jumped our shortest serving Prime Minister, Liz Truss, or Thick Lizzie as she's unaffectionately known. After almost crashing the British economy and being beaten by a lettuce, she's now talking jibberish at CPAC but spouting the same far-right rhetoric we'd normally hear from the lips of the extremists in the States.
There's an up and coming new party, Reform UK, which is even farther right than the fascists already in government. Farage is expected to join or even lead them and it may be that Thick teams up with them too. She certainly appears to be cutting her teeth on stage in the US and learning the lingo of extremism over there. We know Russia has its reaches deep in our politics here, helping the Conservatives with Brexit to break up Europe. Heck, we even have ex-KGB in the House of Lords, voting on all of our laws, thanks to Bozo Johnson, our Trump-lite!
Putin's not that impressive in a ground war but he can play dirty games on the political battlefield. I'm scared that he's going to escalate issues in Britain as well as the States. Both of our packs of conservatives are making themselves look the fools they are so what will be his next step?
#4 seems low for me too, when Putin's pulling the strings of everyone else, especially Bannon and Musk. But will he be the one to directly initiate the threat to democracy? He is certainly nurturing it, though.
I see you logic, but I can also reverse it. Without trump ceding (selling??) power to Putin, I believe Putin's power would be less. He would still be on the list, maybe top 10, but not #1.
Was the federal investigation into the funding for Trump Media ever completed?:
Federal prosecutors in New York involved in the criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s social media company last year started examining whether it violated money laundering statutes in connection with the acceptance of $8m with suspected Russian ties, according to sources familiar with the matter. ...
The extent of the exposure for Trump Media and its officers for money laundering remains unclear. The statutes broadly require prosecutors to show that defendants knew the money was the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity and the transaction was designed to conceal its source. ...
Trump Media needed a bridge loan to keep the company afloat. But it struggled to get financing until DWAC’s chief executive Patrick Orlando sourced a $2m loan wired from Paxum Bank registered in Dominica, according to the wire transfer receipt reviewed by the Guardian. ...
Though the two payments to Trump Media ostensibly came from two separate entities – first Paxum Bank and second ES Family Trust – the trustee of ES Family Trust, a person called Angel Pacheco, appears to have simultaneously been a director of Paxum Bank.
The Russian connection, as being examined by prosecutors in the US attorney’s office for the southern district of New York, centers on a part-owner of Paxum Bank – an individual named Anton Postolnikov, who appears to be a relation of Putin ally Aleksandr Smirnov.
I feel so bad for the only candidate for your list that I personally know, that couldn’t even muster a place as a “former threat”. He would have garnered a prominent ranking just 3.5 years ago as a speaker/plotter at the Ellipse, where he famously ware a bullet proof vest under his jacket.
30 years ago, this former DA’s former investigator related to me the illegal targeting he ordered said investigator to take against a specific video store (how lame!)! The hypocrisy runs deep with this “true believer.”
Mr “Fair Tax” and blatant cheater at ‘old man’ pickup basketball (35+ group, but this was 30 years ago) was the one acquaintance of mine that I felt no conscience in deriding to others. Of course, I am referring to the answer to that unasked question “What do you say when you run out of brooks?” Mo’ Brooks.
My schadenfreude is strong for this particular traitor, and I still hope he someday faces actual justice beyond his current humiliation as a has-been failed insurrection inciter. He was an over-rough player, a blatant but holier-than-thou cheater and a liar even in pickup basketball. The only assignment worse than guarding him was having to be his teammate. But he has still never admitted committing a foul in basketball or treason against the United States. His elbow and shoulder always had the right to displace an opponent’s skull.
Can we at least have him on the “dishonorable mention?emeritus” list? I get that those on the rest of your list may no longer remember poor poor pitiful Mo. (My apologies to Ms Ronstadt. - but I may have to write that parody now that I’ve had this Eureka moment! )
I guarantee that he still imagines himself as a major player should he get another opportunity to betray our country in his personal quest for power. The ego is strong with this one. I will say he is a much more competent thinker than Comer or Jordan (though fainter praise is hard to imagine) and he”d be a much larger threat were he is still in Congress. I would also bet that he absolutely places the blame on others for his ignominious downfall. His ego is unfazed by his “unfortunate victimization” but he undoubtedly imagines that he will rise again as surely as did Jesus.
Plus, qualifying for your “emeritus” threat roster would make his day. His last claim to fame is the ignominious YouTube video of his wife running from the process server.
[Search YouTube: “Man serves lawsuit on Mo Brooks wife”]
That fake musclebound 'lawyer' with the gap in his front teeth who wears the very tight shirts and is always tirelessly searching for the 'truth'. Where he?
He is still around, but his agents are out of commission in one way or another: Manafort (prison) and Kilimnik (hiding in FSB enclave in Russia). I would put him—critically, *just for now*, unless we hear more—in the "former threat" category mentioned in the asterisked note below the Top 100. I am not sure Putin will turn to him again in orchestrating U.S. presidential election interference. It would be smarter for the Kremlin to find new instruments for its schemes.
I adore all of these questions! Thank you. It helps me learn new adversaries and I do so enjoy Seth's marvellous replies. Every day's a school day! I love my Proof subscription.
The choice to add color to the ranking is not great. Now there are green markings with individuals who pose a clear present threat to democracy. Green is universally accepted as a color to express something good, safe or to be optimistic about. No one on this list is good. And democracy is not safe with any of these people. A better solution with this list is to use arrows instead of colors. However..
To rank these individuals in a list is not the best solution because it's subjective. It would be better to have such a list of people without rankings but with a very short description *why* you chose to add them on the list.
Moreover, you add the terms propagandist and conspiracy theorist to certain names. Frankly, you could add such descriptions to all of the people on this list. But now Posobiec, Carlson, Flynn and others are merely described as propogandist and/or conspiracy theorist which misses the mark IMO. What makes these people so dangerous are their job titles and the people they work(ed) for. When that's left out it's good for them and bad for us.
I thank you for the effort to pull this list together but again altering its format would be better IMO.
I will seriously consider all these suggestions. They are good ones and I already have some ideas on how to implement them.
Perhaps up or down arrows would better represent those moving up or down the chart.
I’d also like to see the last rank, as knowing if someone moved up one spot or 20 would be good to know.
Thanks for doing this.
I'm moving my comment here. And I also like the idea of up and down arrows for movement, with an em-dash, perhaps, for people who stay in the same spot. Maybe an asterik for first-timers. Anyway, my comment:
Great work. However, the red and the orange are extremely close in color -- at least to these 60-year-old eyes. It's not immediate clear that 6 and 21 are orange, especially amid the surrounding red. Perhaps the colors purple and orange could be switched.
Grassley?
I hear you, but he is so *very* old that his fortitude as an anti-democratic force is minimal—especially with the GOP out of the majority in the Senate.
A very reasonable suggestion, though!
I agree with Grassley because he is sneaky and because he appears frail and unintelligent he fucntions as a sleeper cell. The media continually gives him cred as a power person in the senate which makes him dangerous. Additionally I would say Governor Kim Reynolds Republican Governor's Association Chair person. Has taken control of all branches of governor, reduced voter rights, attacked and handicapped only Democrat in elected office Auditor to make the role ineffective, executive order to rewrite Iowa Code effectively legislating from Gov office, consolidated and created commission of Gov appointees to oversee all executive branch functions, alter the selection process of Iowa Supreme Court Justices giving Governor changing from fairly merit based to political appointment. Institutes Koch agenda, supported, appeared with and endorsed mom's for liberty school board candidates. In other words taken complete control of Iowa Judicial, legislative and executive. Used Covid relief money to send National Guard Troops to the border in support of Abbott 3 times, publicly repeatedly stated Abbott has the right to protect his state against feds..
I was surprised not to see Matt Gaetz and James Comer on your lists.
Gaetz is there. Comer must have been accidentally edited out of the draft during one of the recent changes. He is Top 25. I just fixed it. Thanks for the catch!
I must be slipping in my proofreading skills!
Thanks Seth. Terrifying list.
Hi Seth, why isn't Bannon in jail? Thanks.
I would only quibble with the #1 slot. I think that belongs to Putin, not Trump. Trump & Co., most of GOP congress, Bannon, Carlson, etc. are pushing Putin's propaganda and forcing his "vision" into the bloodstream of America. Without Putin weaponizing anti-democratic forces in America, especially with money, many of those red boxes would be green. Trump's goal is to be the next Putin, so, in short, Putin is running things.
Putin is certainly running Steve Bannon & Co.
We have a worrying development in Britain. Last month, our ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage joined the far-right travelling circus in the US. There's an old video on YT of him being courted by Bannon, inviting him to join the fascist takeover of the world, in which Bannon names several countries wanting their global ideology to become the norm.
Onto the bandwagon has jumped our shortest serving Prime Minister, Liz Truss, or Thick Lizzie as she's unaffectionately known. After almost crashing the British economy and being beaten by a lettuce, she's now talking jibberish at CPAC but spouting the same far-right rhetoric we'd normally hear from the lips of the extremists in the States.
There's an up and coming new party, Reform UK, which is even farther right than the fascists already in government. Farage is expected to join or even lead them and it may be that Thick teams up with them too. She certainly appears to be cutting her teeth on stage in the US and learning the lingo of extremism over there. We know Russia has its reaches deep in our politics here, helping the Conservatives with Brexit to break up Europe. Heck, we even have ex-KGB in the House of Lords, voting on all of our laws, thanks to Bozo Johnson, our Trump-lite!
Putin's not that impressive in a ground war but he can play dirty games on the political battlefield. I'm scared that he's going to escalate issues in Britain as well as the States. Both of our packs of conservatives are making themselves look the fools they are so what will be his next step?
#4 seems low for me too, when Putin's pulling the strings of everyone else, especially Bannon and Musk. But will he be the one to directly initiate the threat to democracy? He is certainly nurturing it, though.
I see you logic, but I can also reverse it. Without trump ceding (selling??) power to Putin, I believe Putin's power would be less. He would still be on the list, maybe top 10, but not #1.
Awful lot of red. Are we losing? how does it compare with positive wins on democratic side. a lot of us wont make it through another trump fiasco.
The red just indicates names that have moved up.
Are we losing? Not sure—right now it seems like a 50-50 proposition.
Was the federal investigation into the funding for Trump Media ever completed?:
Federal prosecutors in New York involved in the criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s social media company last year started examining whether it violated money laundering statutes in connection with the acceptance of $8m with suspected Russian ties, according to sources familiar with the matter. ...
The extent of the exposure for Trump Media and its officers for money laundering remains unclear. The statutes broadly require prosecutors to show that defendants knew the money was the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity and the transaction was designed to conceal its source. ...
Trump Media needed a bridge loan to keep the company afloat. But it struggled to get financing until DWAC’s chief executive Patrick Orlando sourced a $2m loan wired from Paxum Bank registered in Dominica, according to the wire transfer receipt reviewed by the Guardian. ...
Though the two payments to Trump Media ostensibly came from two separate entities – first Paxum Bank and second ES Family Trust – the trustee of ES Family Trust, a person called Angel Pacheco, appears to have simultaneously been a director of Paxum Bank.
The Russian connection, as being examined by prosecutors in the US attorney’s office for the southern district of New York, centers on a part-owner of Paxum Bank – an individual named Anton Postolnikov, who appears to be a relation of Putin ally Aleksandr Smirnov.
[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/15/trump-media-investigated-possible-money-laundering]
I feel so bad for the only candidate for your list that I personally know, that couldn’t even muster a place as a “former threat”. He would have garnered a prominent ranking just 3.5 years ago as a speaker/plotter at the Ellipse, where he famously ware a bullet proof vest under his jacket.
30 years ago, this former DA’s former investigator related to me the illegal targeting he ordered said investigator to take against a specific video store (how lame!)! The hypocrisy runs deep with this “true believer.”
Mr “Fair Tax” and blatant cheater at ‘old man’ pickup basketball (35+ group, but this was 30 years ago) was the one acquaintance of mine that I felt no conscience in deriding to others. Of course, I am referring to the answer to that unasked question “What do you say when you run out of brooks?” Mo’ Brooks.
My schadenfreude is strong for this particular traitor, and I still hope he someday faces actual justice beyond his current humiliation as a has-been failed insurrection inciter. He was an over-rough player, a blatant but holier-than-thou cheater and a liar even in pickup basketball. The only assignment worse than guarding him was having to be his teammate. But he has still never admitted committing a foul in basketball or treason against the United States. His elbow and shoulder always had the right to displace an opponent’s skull.
Can we at least have him on the “dishonorable mention?emeritus” list? I get that those on the rest of your list may no longer remember poor poor pitiful Mo. (My apologies to Ms Ronstadt. - but I may have to write that parody now that I’ve had this Eureka moment! )
I guarantee that he still imagines himself as a major player should he get another opportunity to betray our country in his personal quest for power. The ego is strong with this one. I will say he is a much more competent thinker than Comer or Jordan (though fainter praise is hard to imagine) and he”d be a much larger threat were he is still in Congress. I would also bet that he absolutely places the blame on others for his ignominious downfall. His ego is unfazed by his “unfortunate victimization” but he undoubtedly imagines that he will rise again as surely as did Jesus.
Plus, qualifying for your “emeritus” threat roster would make his day. His last claim to fame is the ignominious YouTube video of his wife running from the process server.
[Search YouTube: “Man serves lawsuit on Mo Brooks wife”]
Tulsi Gabbard, maybe?
That fake musclebound 'lawyer' with the gap in his front teeth who wears the very tight shirts and is always tirelessly searching for the 'truth'. Where he?
Still looking for the 'truth'? He may be gone a while! ;-)
Quick question: Did you struggle keeping Deripaska off the list? The TIA list? That jerk is still around apparently
He is still around, but his agents are out of commission in one way or another: Manafort (prison) and Kilimnik (hiding in FSB enclave in Russia). I would put him—critically, *just for now*, unless we hear more—in the "former threat" category mentioned in the asterisked note below the Top 100. I am not sure Putin will turn to him again in orchestrating U.S. presidential election interference. It would be smarter for the Kremlin to find new instruments for its schemes.
I adore all of these questions! Thank you. It helps me learn new adversaries and I do so enjoy Seth's marvellous replies. Every day's a school day! I love my Proof subscription.
No Brits... ? Watch out.
I would include NoLabels people, such as Joe Lieberman
Haley?