
About this episode
Donald Trump didn’t speak for the working class—he played it. In this episode, Rick Wilson sits down with Dropkick Murphys frontman Ken Casey to unpack how Trump’s brand of fake populism conned millions of working Americans while delivering power, tax cuts, and protection to billionaires and authoritarians. Rick and Ken break down how grievance replaced policy, how MAGA culture turned resentment into a loyalty test, and why the people waving the biggest flags ended up getting sold out first. Then they flip the script: punk rock as an early warning system, a working-class truth teller, and a loud, unapologetic form of resistance to fascism, cult politics, and manufactured outrage. This isn’t about music nostalgia—it’s about class consciousness, propaganda, and why real resistance has never come from strongmen at the top, but from people willing to call bullsh*t, turn up the volume, and refuse to be fooled again.
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You can find Ken Casey at dropkickmurphys.com. Check out their website for tour information and details on their upcoming album! Their updated song "Citizen ICE" is out now.
Rick Wilson is on X at @TheRickWilson, on Bluesky at @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and you can check out Rick's Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. You can check out more of LP's work at www.lincolnproject.us and on X at @ProjectLincoln.
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