Top 10 Most-Watched Democracy Docket Videos in 2025

From George Conway to Rep. Jamie Raskin, Democracy Docket Founder Marc Elias discussed the state of democracy with plenty of guests, and spoke to viewers directly about redistricting, Trump’s plan to steal the 2026 election, and more.

Check out our 10 most popular videos of 2025:

Republican Explains Why Musk is Trump’s Biggest Liability | Sarah Longwell

Republican Sarah Longwell returns to Defending Democracy with a blunt assessment of the political reality Democrats keep hoping will change: the pre-Trump Republican Party isn’t coming back — and waiting for it to “snap back” is a losing strategy. Drawing on her focus groups of 2020 Biden voters who shifted to Trump in 2024, Longwell argues that many of these voters weren’t signing up for mass deportations, constitutional chaos or an unelected billionaire ripping through the federal government. They wanted prices to fall, a sense of order restored and the status quo disrupted — and they’re already noticing Trump isn’t delivering on the economy while he prioritizes grievance and power. Longwell lays out why Elon Musk especially may be Trump’s most dangerous political drag: “They didn’t vote for Elon Musk to dismantle the government — they just wanted stuff to be cheaper.”

Trump is Making Us Less “Safe” | Rep. Eric Swalwell

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) argues Trump’s early moves aren’t just chaotic — they’re making the country less safe. He says the strategy is to “flood the zone,” knock key agencies off balance and replace experience with loyalty. As Trump targets the FBI, CIA and cybersecurity teams, Swalwell warns we’re getting weaker against terrorism, domestic violence and cyberattacks at the exact moment competence matters. He also explains why many Republicans won’t push back: fear — not just of losing elections, but for their families. His bottom line: “Our principal job in government is to make people safe — and right now, we’re not safer with these actions.”

IMPORTANT — Trump’s Worst Nightmare | Rick Wilson

Rick Wilson warns that Trump can’t be beaten by “normal” politics because Trump doesn’t run on policy — he runs on dominance, humiliation and fear. Wilson argues the most effective tool against strongman politics is the one Democrats often avoid: ridicule. He warns that corporate and institutional surrender only feeds the bully — and the bully always comes back for more. His blunt rule: “Fascists can’t be ridiculed. They hate it — ridiculing the dear leader is their kryptonite.”

The Lawyers Surrendering to Trump | George Conway

George Conway notes Trump 2.0 is exactly what people warned about — just faster and more reckless. He describes a presidency run on impulse, with no guardrails and no respect for law or reality, and he argues the most dangerous failure isn’t Trump’s behavior — it’s the silence of institutions that should know better. Conway focuses on Big Law’s capitulation: firms built on the rule of law, now staying quiet as lawyers and clients are targeted. Litigation helps, he says, but it won’t be enough if the rest of the system won’t stand up. His final warning: “There is no bottom with him — he’s always worse than you think he’s going to be.”

Trump’s Military Invasion Is Coming | Rep. Jamie Raskin

Rep. Jamie Raskin says (D-Md.) Trump’s open “dictator” talk isn’t a quirky aside — it’s a signal. When Trump feels weak, Raskin argues, he reaches for force. Raskin walks viewers through why the Constitution was designed to stop a “mad king” presidency — and why a president can’t just ignore Congress, “impound” funding or treat cities as enemy territory. He warns Trump is openly flirting with using troops and federal power to intimidate “blue” cities under pretexts like crime. Raskin’s core point is simple: “Our constitution does not allow a dictator. We have a president whose job is to ‘take care’ the laws are faithfully executed and the constitution is supreme. We don’t have a supreme leader.”

BREAKING: Court Rejects Trump’s Defamation Claims

A federal judge in Florida tossed Trump’s $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times before the paper even had to respond. Marc explains the suit wasn’t really about Trump winning — it was about intimidation, forcing critics to spend time, money and attention defending themselves. Marc connects it to a broader pattern by Trump using courts — and the threat of government power — to punish enemies and scare institutions into silence, even when the cases fail.

BREAKING: North Carolina Court Says 65k Ballots Can Be Tossed Out | Justice Allison Riggs

North Carolina’s Court of Appeals handed Republicans a roadmap for overturning close elections after the fact: toss tens of thousands of ballots unless voters complete a rushed “cure” process months later. Marc explains the stakes plainly: Justice Allison Riggs won, survived recounts and faced a do-over attempt aimed at voters who followed the rules — including military and overseas voters who may not be able to respond in time. Riggs called the ruling “deeply misinformed” and warned the danger won’t stay in North Carolina: “If we let this kind of anti-democratic effort take hold, we will not be able to contain it.”

Republicans FREAK OUT After Huge Redistricting Loss In Texas

Marc breaks down the Texas redistricting fight which started after Trump pushed for a mid-decade gerrymander to secure a U.S. House GOP majority ahead of the 2026 midterms. Texas leaned on a DOJ letter attacking “coalition districts,” and created a new map that broke apart communities where minority voters built political power. After a long evidentiary hearing, a three-judge federal panel blocked the 2025 map and put the old map back in place while Texas appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Marc also highlights the dissent, which didn’t just disagree — it turned personal, dragging Marc and George Soros into a case where neither was even a party.

URGENT: Trump’s Plan To Steal the 2026 Election Revealed

Marc argues Trump’s 2026 strategy is to change the rules at every step: make it harder to register, harder to vote and easier to throw ballots out — then pressure the counting and certification process if he still doesn’t like the outcome. He singles out “proof of citizenship” demands as a trap that sounds reasonable but in practice blocks eligible voters who don’t have the proper documents handy. From there, Marc says the playbook expands: attacks on mail voting, stricter receipt deadlines, signature-matching rejections, fewer early-voting options and longer lines in heavily Democratic areas. His message isn’t “panic,” it’s “prepare”: stay engaged locally, show up early and support the legal fights that stop suppression and sabotage.

SCARY: Trump Knows What He’s Doing | Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat warns Trump isn’t winging it — he’s following a familiar authoritarian playbook. Strongmen, she explains, fear losing office because power protects them from accountability, so they hollow out institutions, stack positions with loyalists and keep elections while rigging the conditions around them. But Ben-Ghiat’s core message is the opposite of despair: keep using the democratic tools we still have — voting, courts, organizing, speech — because once they’re gone, getting them back is far harder. Her guiding maxim is simple and energizing: “It’s never too late to use the tools and spaces you have — while you still have them.”