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I’ve stood in a lot of crowds in Washington, DC — some peaceful, some violent, some historic. But what happened at the Reflecting Pool during the Remove the Regime rally was something special.
20,000+ people coming together not out of fear, but out of determination.
Determination to defend democracy. Determination to push back on authoritarianism. Determination to refuse the idea that we’re supposed to “get used to” political violence.
When I walked onto that stage and looked out across the water — past the Lincoln Memorial, past the thousands of faces, past the flare-lit sky — it hit me how rare this moment is. People showed up from all over the country to say one simple thing:
We’re not going anywhere. And I meant every word I said that day.
I’m sharing the entire speech with you — filmed in 360°, so you can stand in the crowd and on stage with me to experience it exactly as it happened. This is the kind of work your support makes possible: on-the-ground reporting, real-world conversations, and coverage that doesn’t happen inside a studio… it happens where the stakes are real.
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Our GoFundMe is what allowed our team to get to DC for this rally. Our Substack is what will allow us to keep doing it.
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In that moment, surrounded by 20,000 people, I was reminded of something important:
Most Americans don’t want chaos. They don’t want revenge politics. They don’t want to live in fear of what their government might do next.
They want accountability. They want stability. They want their country back.
And they’re willing to fight for it — not with violence, but with civic action, truth, and courage.
That’s what this rally was about. That’s what this movement is about. And that’s what this community on Substack is helping build every single day.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for showing up. And thank you for making this kind of coverage possible.
If you want to be IN the moment and actually look around in 360 view, you can catch that in FULL 360 below.
