How to Stop Trump and Project 2025 Before It’s Too Late

The Four Big Chunks That Could Save Democracy

How to Stop Trump and Project 2025 Before It’s Too Late

The Four Big Chunks That Could Save Democracy

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #570: Thursday, September 25th, 2025.

Every empire falls the same way. Slowly at first…then…BOOM…all at once.

And if you think America is somehow immune from this historical law…you’ve already taken the bait Trump and his Project 2025 enablers are dangling.

You’ve heard their pitch. You’ve seen the chaos. You’ve watched the intimidation. And maybe…just maybe…you’ve caught yourself thinking: “Maybe it won’t be as bad as they say. Maybe we’ll survive another four years.”

That’s exactly how autocracies win. By numbing you. By dulling your edge. By convincing you to sit down, shut up, and hope for the best.

Well, not here. Not now. Not on my watch.

Because I’m going to hand you the simple…4-step plan that can slam the door shut on Trump’s Project 2025 power-grab.

This isn’t theory.

This isn’t some pie-in-the-sky academic essay. This is trench-warfare strategy…boiled down to the four big chunks…the pillars…that anyone who loves this country can rally around.

Part II will get into the blood-and-guts tactics. But right now…we need the 30,000-ft view. The kind of blueprint generals sketch before sending troops into battle.

And make no mistake: this is a battle.

The Four Big Chunks

Here’s the map. Four pillars. Four moves. Four areas where, if we stand tall, we can stop Trump’s slide toward autocracy cold.

1. Flood the Zone with Truth

2. Mobilize Relentlessly at the Local Level

3. Fortify Institutions That Still Work

4. Create a Parallel Ecosystem of Power

That’s it. Four big chunks. But don’t confuse simple with easy.

Let’s drill in.

Pillar #1: Flood the Zone with Truth

Trump and his machine thrive on one thing: confusion.

The more chaos they stir…the easier it is for them to slip authoritarian “fixes” into place.

They scream about immigrants while they’re gutting your Social Security.
They cry “witch hunt” while they’re torching the Constitution.
They gaslight so hard…people start doubting their own memory of events.

The antidote is simple, brutal clarity. We have to flood the zone with truth.

Not trickles. Not polite editorials. A torrent. Memes. Articles. Social posts. Conversations at the dinner table. Flyers pinned to church bulletin boards. Truth everywhere. So constant, so relentless, that lies can’t breathe.

This isn’t about convincing the hardcore cultists. Forget them. It’s about making sure the movable middle…the folks who just want to live their damn lives…never get swallowed by the fog machine.

And here’s a JHN Hot Thought: truth isn’t just facts. Truth is emotional clarity. People don’t move because you gave them a white paper. They move because you made them feel.

Flood the zone with truth: loud…emotional…undeniable truth…and suddenly the con-man’s pitch falls flat.

Pillar #2: Mobilize Relentlessly at the Local Level

Here’s the part most people don’t want to hear: democracy isn’t saved in Washington, D.C.

It’s saved in school board meetings…city councils…and county commissions.

Project 2025 knows this.

That’s why their playbook talks about burrowing into local structures. That’s why they train people to seize obscure offices most Americans can’t even name.

The principle here is raw: He who controls the ground game…controls the outcome.

And the ground game is local.

That means:

• Running for dogcatcher if that’s what it takes.

• Turning out 20 people to a zoning board meeting when the other side brings three.

• Knocking on doors not just in October…but year-round.

• Making the school library battle…your battle.

It’s not glamorous. It doesn’t get you a CNN chyron. But it builds power that can’t be yanked away by a single election cycle.

Mobilize relentlessly at the local level…and you choke off Project 2025’s grassroots infiltration before it metastasizes.

Pillar #3: Fortify Institutions That Still Work

Not every part of the system is broken. Not yet.

The courts…the press…the military… local election boards…pieces of the machine still function.

But they are under siege.

And here’s where too many people make the fatal mistake of assuming they’ll “hold.” They won’t. Not without a backbone behind them.

Think about it: what happens when a small-town election official gets death threats? Do they stand tall? Or do they cave quietly…resign…and make room for a loyalist?

That’s where we come in.

We fortify institutions that still work. We shine a spotlight on officials doing their job honestly. We fund watchdog groups. We protect whistleblowers. We put heat on corporations when they bankroll attacks on the system.

This is the power move: you protect your winners. You double-down on what’s working and make it unbreakable.

Fortify what still functions…and you deny Trump the oxygen he needs to torch the rest.

Pillar #4: Create a Parallel Ecosystem of Power

This is the long game. And it’s the one almost nobody talks about.

You don’t beat a cult by begging them to stop. You beat a cult by building a stronger alternative.

That means creating media outlets…community networks…and financial power centers that don’t depend on the goodwill of MAGA billionaires. It means organizing veterans…doctors…teachers…entrepreneurs into alliances that can’t be bullied.

It means building a parallel ecosystem of power.

Because here’s the law of markets: He who controls the list…controls the game.

Trump has his list…millions of names…emails…phone numbers…credit cards. The Project 2025 crowd has theirs.

Do we? Do pro-democracy Americans? Not yet. Not at scale.

But if we build it….if we create a parallel ecosystem that funds itself…informs itself… defends itself…we can stop asking permission. We can stop playing defense.

That’s how you play to win.

The 30,000-Ft View

So there it is. Four big chunks.

• Flood the Zone with Truth

• Mobilize Relentlessly at the Local Level

• Fortify Institutions That Still Work

• Create a Parallel Ecosystem of Power

That’s the skeleton. That’s the war map.

Part II will put flesh on these bones…the tactical details…the examples…the battle plans. But don’t miss the forest for the trees.

Because right now…too many people are paralyzed. Too many people are hypnotized by the daily outrages…scrolling endlessly while the ground shifts under their feet.

This four-pillar plan slices through the noise.

It gives us a way forward. It gives us power.

We Can’t Stop Now

Trump and his Project 2025 fanatics are betting on your exhaustion.

They’re betting on your despair. They’re betting you’ll stay on the couch…convinced nothing can be done.

Prove them wrong.

Flood the zone. Mobilize locally. Fortify what works. Build your own ecosystem.

That’s the 30,000-ft view. The four pillars of survival.

Next time, I’ll hand you the tactical playbook…exactly how to put each of these chunks into action.

Because make no mistake: the clock is ticking. And history doesn’t forgive the ones who saw the storm coming and chose to look away.

Part II will come later this afternoon…or early tomorrow.

Soak this up…and then spread it around. We will prevail.

Back soon.

-Jack

P.S. If you’ve ever wondered, “What can I actually do?”…this is it. These are the four levers. And in Part II, I’ll show you how to pull them with both hands.