Episode 06: Immigration, Disinformation and the Fight for Truth

In this final episode of our series on the 10 Pillars of Democracy, we confront two urgent threats:

• Pillar 9: Immigration – The Mass Deportation Agenda
• Pillar 10: Transparency, Accountability & Disinformation – The War on Truth

With Project 2025, Trump’s administration is executing one of the most radical immigration crackdowns in American history. The plan includes mass deportations, the militarization of the border, and efforts to dismantle key protections for vulnerable populations. These policies aren’t just about immigration—they're part of a broader push toward authoritarian rule.

At the same time, Trump’s second term is defined by state-sponsored disinformation—a calculated effort to blur the lines between fact and fiction. From purging government transparency measures to manipulating social media and weaponizing conspiracy theories, Trump is flooding the zone with falsehoods to erode trust in democracy.

Join us as we break down these twin crises and discuss what’s at stake for the future of American democracy.

The Blue Choir Speaks: What Concerns Them Most?

• Art: "Trump’s disinformation strategy has created a climate of fear and confusion. Congress should be fighting back, but many Republicans are complicit."
• Kristie: "I’ve seen educated, rational people fall for conspiracy theories. It’s terrifying to watch another generation grow up without the tools to separate fact from fiction."

Final Thoughts: The Battle for Democracy is Now

This series has exposed the real-time dismantling of democracy under Trump’s administration. The 10 pillars represent freedoms we once took for granted—freedoms now under direct attack.

What’s Next on Surviving Trump?

Now that we’ve covered what’s happening to democracy, it’s time to focus on the key players behind the destruction:

• Episode 7: Trump's Psychological Profile – His mental disorders, psychopathy, and cognitive decline.
• Episode 8: The MAGA Cult – Why his supporters see him as their personal savior.
• Episode 9: Trump’s Second-Term Strategy – How he’s ins

Transcript

Bella Goode  00:00

Hi everyone, and welcome to Surviving Trump. I'm Bella Goode, and today we're on our final episode in our series looking at the impact that Trump is having on our Pillars of Democracy. Since his return to office in January, Trump has spewed out a boatload of policies and executive orders that are having devastating implications for our country. I've been repeating a quote from political columnist Simon Rosenberg that sums up what many of us are feeling. I think it's a great statement; 

"Trump 2.0 is a profound, ongoing portrayal of America and everything that has made this remarkable nation the most powerful and prosperous in the world. It's why we fight, as dark as this all is we cannot for one moment, forget what Trump is doing, and what he's doing is wrong. He and his project remain deeply unstable and his coalition fractious. He is doing deeply unpopular things, going far beyond his narrow mandate. He is old, he is impulsive, he's reckless, and he's clearly in decline. His loyalist team is better suited for running a circus than governing." 

So I began our series on The Pillars of Democracy a couple of weeks ago. Just to refresh your memory, The Pillars are deeply rooted in the Constitution, but they also draw from broader values and principles that have evolved over time through laws, court decisions, what you might call common practice. I think of The Pillars of Democracy as a kind of current version of the constitution. 

So last week's episode addressed Pillar Seven: The Civil Rights, our civil rights. The rollback of civil liberties under Trump's executive order marks one of the most significant reversals of civil rights policies in modern day history. While his administration argues that DEI initiatives promote unfair advantages, critics see this as a direct attack on the principles of equal opportunity and fairness. 

Also, last week, we covered Pillar Eight, which was the Politicization of Law Enforcement. To summarize, Trump's second term is fundamentally changing the relationship between law enforcement, politics and democracy by eliminating the DOJ independence, overriding local authorities and expanding federal control over policing, the administration is reshaping law enforcement into a tool for political power. 

So with that, let's move on to our final episode in our series, The 10 pillars of Democracy, and this week we're going to address Pillar Number Nine: Immigration and Pillar Number 10: Transparency, Accountability and Disinformation. So let's get started talking about immigration. Immigration has long been a cornerstone of America's identity. Weren't we all immigrants at one point? Recent policies, though, are pretending a move towards more restrictions. Yes, Trump is back in the White House, and with him comes an aggressive push to reshape federal government and the US immigration system in ways that threaten democracy itself. 

At the heart of his administration's agenda is again Project 2025, a far right policy roadmap designed to consolidate executive power, purge civil service institutions of non partisan officials and impose an extreme nationalist vision on America. The immigration component of this plan is one of its most radical features. It calls for mass deportations, expanded detention centers, ideological screening, the militarization of the border and the elimination of key protections for immigrants, Trump has already vowed to implement the largest deportation program in American history, and his allies have outlined the blueprint to make it happen. 

The implications of this plan go well beyond immigration. They represent a broader effort to weaken democratic institutions, to erode civil rights and decentralized power in the hands of an authoritarian leaning executive. Here's what you need to know about Trump's 2025 immigration agenda and its impact on democracy. So Trump is making seven key changes to immigration policies. For one, he's enabling a nationwide deportation machine in the making. 

Project 2025 provides a legal and logistical framework to deport immigrants on an unprecedented scale. It expands expedited removal to allow ICE to deport individuals without due process, even if they've lived in the US for years. Immigration raids are targeting schools, hospitals, churches, bus stops, putting entire communities in a state of fear and uncertainty. Trump is also militarizing the border. He plans to deploy the military, both personnel and hardware, to police the southern border. This extends beyond traditional border enforcement. Project 2025 proposes a naval blockade to intercept migrants at sea, a move that would strain relations with Latin America nations and raise serious humanitarian concerns. This could have an ugly outcome all around. 

Number three, Trump is looking to expand detention centers, the number of detained immigrants could more than double, reaching over 100,000 at any given time. Mandatory detention policies would ensure that even immigrants with no criminal record or flight risk are held in government custody, often for months or years. This would effectively create an industrial scale detention system that profits off of human suffering. 

Change number four calls for eliminating programs that help vulnerable populations. Project 2025 is a plan that aims to change immigration policies by targeting programs that help vulnerable populations gain legal status and protection. It would end DACA, taking away protections from the dreamers who were brought into the US as children. It would also repeal Temporary Protected Status, also called TPS, which currently allows nearly 700,000 people to stay in the country due to dangerous conditions in their home nations. 

In addition, the plan would cut back or completely remove important visa categories, making legal immigration much more difficult. And finally, it would impose stricter ideological screening, which could block applicants based on their political beliefs or suspected affiliations. Of course, none of this would impact the immigrants that Musk wants to bring in for his engineering projects, which is a source of friction between he and the MAGAs. 

Change number five, Trump is looking to criminalize immigration assistance. Legal defense programs for immigrants would be defunded, while attorneys and legal service providers would face heightened scrutiny, making it more difficult to represent immigrants in court. Judges would also be placed under strict quotas, accelerating deportations and limiting due process. 

Number six, Trump wants to end birthright citizenship. Trump has renewed his push to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants, a move that would likely face intense legal battles and create a generation of stateless individuals. And finally, number seven, Trump wants to designate cartels as enemy combatants. This enables Trump to classify Mexican drug cartels as unlawful enemy combatants, giving the military the authority to engage them on Mexican soil. This could lead to a US military operation, or operations in Mexico without the consent of its government, likely triggering a diplomatic crisis. 

So how do these changes undermine democracy? The immigration policies outlined in 2025 aren't just about controlling the border. They're about reshaping America into an exclusionary, authoritarian state. And here's how it happens. It undermines democracy through the consolidation of executive power. Project 2025 seeks to dismantle institutional checks on presidential authority, placing immigration enforcement directly under White House control. This erodes the separation of powers and weakens democratic governance. It undermines democracy through the erosion of civil rights and due process, expanded deportation measures would strip immigrants of legal protections allowing for removals without a court hearing. 

This sets a dangerous precedent that could be extended to other groups deemed undesirable by the administration. It undermines democracy by weaponizing immigration for political purposes. The crackdown on immigrant communities disproportionately affects people of color and lower income individuals, reinforcing racial and economic disparities. This is part of a broader effort to engineer a more homogeneous electorate, and it undermines democracy by using fear as a tool for control. Raids, mass deportations, ideological screenings instill fear, not just in immigrant communities, but in society at large, the goal is to suppress dissent, create division and make authoritarian policies seem inevitable. Oh my gosh. 

So what should we expect next? What's going to happen? The legal and political battles ahead will determine whether these policies become reality. While some of Trump's proposals, like ending birthright citizenship, will face constitutional challenges, others could be implemented swiftly through executive orders. At the same time alternative policies like The Fairness to Freedom Act and The Shield Act aim to protect immigrants' rights by assuring access to legal representation and due process. Process, the outcome of these legislative battles will shape the future of immigration and democracy itself in America. So let me give some final thoughts before I move on. 

Trump's 2025 immigration plan isn't just an immigration plan, it's a test of America's commitment to democratic values, human rights and the rule of law. If it's fully implemented, it could lead to the largest erosion of civil liberties in modern US history. The question now is whether the nation will resist or allow authoritarianism to take hold. These actions could have profound effects on immigrant communities and America's global standing on human rights. So let's move on to Pillar 10: Transparency, Accountability and Disinformation, efforts to obscure the truth. Transparency and accountability are vital for public trust in government. 

Recent actions raise concerns about the administration's commitment to these principles. Of course, that's an understatement. Our political landscape is being consumed by a war on truth. During the 2024 campaign, Trump used disinformation to get elected. Now that Trump has returned to the White House, disinformation has become a central tool of governance. The sheer volume of falsehoods spread by Trump, his allies and sympathetic media figures, has created a crisis of credibility where facts are drowned in a sea of manufactured narratives. This is not about freedom of speech. 

It's about the deliberate distortion or reality to manipulate public perception and undermine democratic institutions. In this chaotic information environment, Americans are struggling to discern fact from fiction, as disinformation floods the social media political discourse and even government policy. From fabricated election fraud claims to manufactured crises designed to justify draconian measures, the Trump administration has doubled down on the tactics of confusion and control. With truth under siege, the need for transparency, accountability and media literacy has never been more urgent, and it's no wonder that so many people are turning from the news. 

Let's dive into Trump's administration's disinformation playbook and what they're doing to mess with our heads. For one, they're flooding the zone with falsehoods. Trump's return to power has been marked by an immediate and aggressive disinformation campaign. His strategy, echoing that of an authoritarian regime, is not to convince people of a single falsehood, but to create a fog of confusion so thick that distinguishing between truth and lies becomes nearly impossible. Steve Bannon once described this method as "flooding the zone with shit." And the effects are evident. From fabricated claims about immigrants committing crimes to false narratives about election fraud, Trump and its allies have leveraged their media platforms, particularly X and now Facebook to amplify misleading or outright false content. 

The goal is not merely to persuade, but to overwhelm, making the very concept of objective truth seem unattainable. They're weaponizing social media. Social media, now largely unregulated and lacking meaningful content moderation has become a breeding ground for disinformation. Musk's X after eliminating most of its fact checking mechanisms, has allowed falsehoods to spread unchecked. Viral videos claiming to show election fraud or violent immigrants are often debunked, but not before they shape public perception. The rapid advancement of AI has further exacerbated this issue, enabling the creation of deep fake videos and synthetic news stories that are indistinguishable from reality. We also now have state sanctioned falsehoods. 

Unlike in his first term, Trump is now protected from criminal prosecution for official actions since the Supreme Court has granted him broad immunity. This effectively allows him to use levers of government to legitimize disinformation without fear of legal consequences. His administration has already removed 1000s of government web pages that contain factual information on vaccines, hate crimes and climate change, replacing them with narratives that serve his political agenda. 

The administration's willingness to fabricate crises was on full display following the terrorist attack in New Orleans. Within hours, Trump and Fox News falsely blamed immigrants despite evidence that the perpetrator was a US born Army veteran. Such misrepresentations serve as justification for sweeping policies including mass deportations and restrictive immigration orders. Trump is also using "The Big Lie" as a political identity. Trump's false claims of the stolen 2020 election have only gained traction amongst his supporters, evolving into a core component of their political identity. 

Research shows that belief in "The Big Lie" has fueled support for Trump's anti democratic policies, including his attacks on the judiciary and the rule of law. This belief is not merely a misunderstanding of facts, it is an identity driven commitment to Trump as a leader where truth is second to loyalty, kissing the ring of the king. It's the dismantling of transparency and oversight. The administration has launched a systematic effort to suppress transparency. Trump has fired independent watchdogs, dismantled ethics committees, purged officials who might challenge his claims. His executive order on restoring free speech is in reality, a directive to end disinformation enforcement, removing any barriers to the spread of falsehoods. 

This move not only enables the spread of propaganda, but also weakens national security by impeding efforts to counteract foreign disinformation campaigns. So with that, I feel like we're living in post truth America, and the consequences are devastating to democracy. Post truth America means an erosion in trust in institutions. The most dangerous effect of mass disinformation is the erosion of trust in democratic institutions when citizens can no longer agree on a shared set of facts, on faith in elections, on the judicial system and even scientific research, democracy crumbles, this distrust creates fertile ground for authoritarianism as leaders can justify extreme measures under the guise of addressing manufactured crises. Post truth America also means policies built on lies. 

Disinformation is not just a campaign tool, it's shaping policy. Immigration Enforcement is being driven by false narratives of crime, climate policies are being gutted based on conspiracy theories. Trump's executive orders on immigration, environmental policy and civil rights are based on misinformation leading to real world consequences for millions of Americans. Post truth America also has global implications. The United States is not the only country grappling with disinformation. Around the world authoritarians are using similar tactics to suppress oppression and consolidate power. 

The erosion of American democracy sends a dangerous signal to other nations, emboldening leaders who seek to undermine press freedom and judicial independence. Allies such as the EU and Brazil have taken steps to regulate AI generated disinformation and social media manipulation, but the US lags behind, further exacerbating the problem on a global scale. So what can be done and how do we fight back? The battle against disinformation is not lost, but it requires coordinated efforts from multiple sectors. We need to strengthen media literacy. 

Citizens must be equipped with the skills to critically analyze information. Schools, universities and civic organizations should prioritize media literacy programs to help people recognize disinformation tactics. We need to regulate social media platforms while federal regulation remains uncertain, state governments and international partners must step in to demand transparency from tech companies. Content moderation policies need to be reinstated and AI generated disinformation should be flagged. We need independent journalism and fact checking. Journalistic institutions must continue to expose falsehoods and hold power accountable, while mainstream media faces financial and political pressure, independent outlets and investigative reporters are essential in countering state sponsored disinformation. 

We need legal accountability for disinformation. Laws against fraudulent political advertising and intentional disinformation campaigns must be enforced. Holding political leaders and media figures accountable for spreading falsehoods can deter the worst offenders. 

Many of our panelists in The Blue Choir have strong feelings about Pillar 10. Let me share two comments, from Art,

"I'm most concerned about Pillar 10. Trump's communication strategy has thus far successfully instilled a blanket of fear over many of our citizens, particularly those in the civil service sector, our allies, and sadly, the duly elected Republican members serving in Congress. While citizens and our allies lack the ability to respond quickly to Trump's actions, Republicans in Congress have several levers to demonstrate their ability to act responsibly on the chaos his administration has set in motion. These members should inform Trump to follow the adage Ready, Aim, Fire instead of what Trump is doing, Ready, Fire with a shotgun aim. These members have the responsibility to their constituents to share clear and disambiguous communications on actions our elected officials make. I would love to hear how several Republican congressmen and women, Republican Senators communicate Trump's discord." 

Another comment from Christy, "I guess the one right now that concerns me more than the others is Pillar 10. Probably because I've seen so many kind educated people get caught up in its crazy conspiracy theories. People I've known my whole life respected as educated, thoughtful people. It's almost like people have lost their ability to reason. No bullshit meter. If it's on Fox News, they're out. They're out perpetuating false narratives with straight faces, and hearing kids at school repeating what they're hearing at home is very troublesome. We've got another generation of people coming along who don't have the tools to tell fact from fiction. It's all very scary." 

So the situation is not pretty. The crisis of disinformation in 2025 is not a theoretical concern. It's a direct threat to democracy, the deliberate spread of falsehoods by the Trump administration, amplified by powerful media allies and social media platforms has created an environment where reality itself is under attack, but history will judge whether Americans fought back or surrendered to cynicism and apathy. Defending democracy requires more than lamenting the loss of truth, it demands action in the face of overwhelming disinformation, the greatest weapon remains an informed and engaged public unwilling to be deceived, the choice is ours to make. 

These practices undermine the foundational democratic principles of informed citizenry and governmental accountability. So this wraps up our series on The 10 Pillars of Democracy. These pillars represent our freedoms, freedoms that we've become accustomed to and freedoms that we likely now take for granted. The series has also exposed the changes underway by the Trump administration, changes that are certain to chip away at our democracy and our life in America as we know it. So this begs the question, could these freedoms really be taken away? Well, the Constitution and the courts provide some protection a determined administration with a compliant government and Supreme Court could erode these rights step by step. Emergency powers, executive orders and federal agency policies could be used to restrict freedoms without full congressional approval, and if Trump successfully undermines democratic institutions, reversing these policies could become that much more difficult. 

How Democrats and activists are preparing to fight back? Well, basically through legal challenges, civil rights groups and lawyers are preparing lawsuits against potential overreach. State level protections, Democratic led states are passing laws to protect abortion access, LGBTQ rights and voting rights and public resistance activists are mobilizing to challenge restrictive policies before they take hold. While the extent of these threats depends on political opposition and public pushback, the fear is that the second Trump term could significantly reshape this nation's legal landscape and limit personal freedoms. This is our fight. We still have time to stop it. I can urge you to vote in every election. Support independent journalism and stay informed and inform others. If we don't fight for democracy now, we might not get another chance. 

If it helps, and if you're interested, I've included a summary of information on the Show Page. This link recaps The 10 Pillars of Democracy, what changes are being pursued by the Trump administration and how these changes could impact democracy, look for it on the show page. 

Looking ahead to what's coming up, we turn our focus to the key player in this debacle, Donald J Trump. Over several episodes, we will explore his psychological profile and what makes him dangerous; his mental disorders, psychopathy and cognitive decline. We will look at his MAGA support base, otherwise known as "the cult". Why do they see him as their personal savior? 

Another episode in this series will look at Trump's second term strategy, his moves to institutionalize political warfare and how he plans to turn the government into his personal weapon.

The final episode on Trump will address the psychological toll this is taking on us and the country. How has he damaged the country's institutions and psyche, and ultimately, his threat to democracy? I hope you will join me for, hmm what's the word? Chilling, thrilling, debilitating series. Maybe they all apply. But anyway, it's four episodes coming up on the man, on Trump. 

Until then, two requests that I always make of you. Leave a comment. The transcript for today's episode is available along with references and links. Start a discussion, ask questions, challenge ideas. This is your community. This is my community. And leave a review, if this podcast resonates with you let me know. If it doesn't, tell me that too, I want to get it right. Should I keep going? Should I tweak the approach? Your honesty is invaluable. And do follow me on Blue Sky. 

And on that note, I leave you with some Borowitz humor. Dateline Washington The Borowitz Report: Desperate to halt the growing exodus from the Washington Post. This past week, Jeff Bezos offered fleeing staffers a $50 Amazon gift card in exchange for not quitting. The profusely sweating oligarch was spotted in the lobby of the former newspaper. Gift cards fanned out in his hands like a bouquet. As journalists lugging file boxes brushed past him, Bezos raised his offer to a one year membership in Amazon Prime. "You people need to get over a free press." He barked at a Pulitzer Prize winner, "I'm offering free shipping!" 

Until next time, stay engaged, stay informed, and most importantly, stay in the fight. This is Bella Goode, signing off.