Talking Points Grab Bag!
Trump and Ukraine, Crypto, Musk, Social Security and more.
I’m just processing today’s news about Trump’s speech, wildfires and other weird weather. Meanwhile, here are some of my framing takes on the news of the past week, including Trump and Ukraine, Crypto, Musk, Social Security and more. Also, how to NOT add fuel to the dumpster fire on dictators, Ponzi schemes and parasites.
Normalize This.
These are not just talking points. They are the perspectives from which we want people to see these issues. Use them as a starting point for a press statement, an Instagram reel, a letter to the editor or a topic for a podcast interview. Write a Substack piece about it or just tell it to your neighbors. I used some as posts on Bluesky. Feel free to share my posts or create your own.
Remember that we use repetition to normalize what we want people to think. The more times people are exposed to the same ideas, the stronger those ideas become in their minds. Seeing the same idea from multiple sources and in different channels convinces them that this is what ‘everybody’ thinks!
Ukraine
We have a moral and legal obligation to help Zelensky and the people of Ukraine.
People do not know this and it’s super important!
SAY THIS:
WE are the ones BETRAYING THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE. In 1994 Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons and naval fleet in exchange for a guarantee of sovereignty and protection in a treaty with the US & Russia. Russia broke the treaty when it invaded in 2014 & 2022. Trump is breaking it now.
We’re not just being nice. We’re obligated to help Ukraine. We signed a legally binding treaty called the Budapest Memorandum: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum
Why is Trump so hostile to Zelensky? Trump tried to extort Ukraine in 2019: he threatened to withhold military aid in exchange for political favors. Zelensky stood up to him then, and Trump got impeached for it. Now, Trump is doing it again.
Brian Rolling at MurMur said it perfectly:
Abandoning Ukraine isn’t just a moral failure—it’s a losing deal for America. Our support fuels the U.S. economy, weakens our enemies, and costs a fraction of past wars.
For less than 1% of our defense budget, America has boosted our economy, crippled Russia’s military, deterred China, and disrupted global terrorism—all without risking a single U.S. soldier. This isn’t charity—it’s one of the best strategic investments we’ve ever made… Cutting off Ukraine reverses all of that.
Read more at Supporting Ukraine is America First
DO NOT SAY THIS
Do not repeat anything Trump or Musk says that is negative about Ukraine or Zelensky, not even to point out how horrible it is that they said it. This only exposes more people to negative associations. We do not want people to associate the name Zelensky with the term ‘dictator’ or wonder whether or not Ukraine ‘started the war’ with or ‘provoked’ Russia.
It is better to say the words that create the associations that you do want to create. The New York Post did it exactly right.
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid
Jessica Craven has the info on the full scale gutting of Social Security and what you can do, HERE.
It is no surprise that they are going after Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, but we can’t just point out that they’re doing it. We have to remind people why it matters.
SAY THIS:
Why do we have Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid? Because we live in this society together and we give a damn what happens to each other. That's what it means to be a decent human being.
SAY THIS:
Medicaid exists because we acted together as a society to give everyone access to a baseline amount of healthcare. If we need to cut costs, we should raise wages to the level where nobody holding down a full-time job still needs the help. Now, we're just subsidizing Walmart.
Medicaid cuts will hurt children and ruin people's lives, especially in rural areas. Our economy runs on consumer demand. Take $880 billion out of local healthcare and hospitals close, people lose jobs, and communities will suffer.
We call them ‘entitlements’ because people actually are entitled to them, but the term ‘entitled’ has come to mean something different in our public debate. ‘Public insurance’ might be a better term.
SAY THIS:
Social Security and Medicare are PUBLIC INSURANCE programs. You and your employer have been paying the PREMIUMS your whole life. If Trump and Musk don't DELIVER ON THEIR OBLIGATIONS, they are committing FRAUD.
Social Security and Medicare are PUBLIC INSURANCE programs. Congress has BORROWED FROM THE TRUST FUND. They need to pay it back and lift the cap so EVERYBODY PAYS THE SAME RATE on their whole income.
Ponzi Schemes
DO NOT SAY THIS
Every time you say Social Security is NOT a Ponzi scheme, you reinforce the association between Social Security and Ponzi schemes in people's brains. So, STOP. DO NOT take the bait!
MSNBC gets a “two-fer” by mentioning Social Security and ‘Ponzi scheme’ together and using the phrase Social Security ‘fraud.’
HINT: If you have to put the words in quotations, you are probably adding fuel to their dumpster fire.
Again, say the things that create the associations that you do want to create.
On Trump’s decision to create a “Crypto Strategic Reserve.”
SAY THIS:
CRYPTO IS THE PONZI SCHEME. Trump wants to use US taxpayers' money to inflate the prices so he can do a "pump and dump." He will bankrupt the country like he bankrupted his businesses.
Personally, I believe cryptocurrency should be illegal. If you agree:
SAY THIS:
CRYPTO SHOULD BE OUTLAWED. Its only value is speculation: a pure Ponzi scheme. It has no real-world assets and no government protections. It is used to pay for crime and uses so much power it will slow our progress against global warming.
Hostile Takeover
They’re destroying our government the same way they destroy the companies they take over.
As much as I enjoy just criticizing Elon Musk, this kind of over-arching theme really does help us and American voters make sense of a bewildering variety of actions that otherwise appear unconnected.
SAY THIS:
Elon Musk is a CORPORATE RAIDER. He bought a MAJORITY SHARE of Donald Trump. This is a HOSTILE TAKEOVER of the U.S. Gov't. He's DOWNSIZING the workers and STRIPPING IT FOR PARTS.
Elon Musk is OUTSOURCING BUSINESS to other companies he owns and acquiring PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY and SENSITIVE CONSUMER DATA. He will SADDLE IT WITH DEBT and LEAVE IT BANKRUPT.
Billionaires are the Parasite Class
DO NOT SAY THIS
Elon Musk shared an offensive post about people who use government services. We probably helped expose millions to this offensive post by sharing it as the people did below. We do NOT want to associate people who use federal assistance with parasites.
We need to debunk pervasive myths about the super-rich. One is “they got rich based on their own talent and hard work.”
SAY THIS:
Billionaires are the PARASITE CLASS. The richest corporations and individuals are those who have extracted the most from the American people, as workers, consumers, and as citizens. They need to pay us back.
The richest corporations and individuals have a moral obligation to pay their fair share for the public resources and services provided by the American people, from which they have gained the lions’ share of the benefit.
Another is “if you want to create jobs, you have to give more money to the folks who already have the most, because they will use it to expand businesses.”
SAY THIS:
Tax cuts for the rich KILL JOBS and DESTABILIZE THE ECONOMY. They already have more money than they can sensibly or productively use.
More money for the already rich and corporations enables mergers, job cuts, outsourcing and AI worker replacement, and fuels speculation that causes market bubbles and crashes! You know what creates jobs? Higher wages, tax cuts for workers, and public investment. This drives demand and creates job growth!
Trump's tax cuts for the rich blew a giant hole in the revenue side of the federal budget equation. Now he wants to do it again.
For more on the tax cut debate, see my recent post: How to Fight Back: The Case for Taxing the Rich.
Big Themes
Remember: Every story is an opportunity to hammer home our biggest, over-arching themes: CORRUPTION, ABUSE OF POWER, EXTORTION and CONFLICT OF INTEREST. Say them until you are sick to death of hearing them. That’s when they’ll just be starting to gain traction.
So much to do. So little time. I tell you what. Let’s take turns. Find a buddy and tag each other out of the ring. Seriously, don’t try to do it all. You are part of a community. Pick a job. Let others do theirs. We’ll get ‘er done.
In solidarity, always,
Antonia
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Contact me at antonia@antoniascatton.com or (202) 922-6647
Oh I love all these talking points! In particular, the one on social security, as they are not only robbing the seniors, but also workers and employers paying into the system! I’m hoping that one spurs more people into action. And now, off to protest in downtown Chicago!
Antonia,
I think your fabulous. I am always particularly irked off (or outraged or whatever, pick your day) about the right's annoyingly, confoundingly efficient use of rhetoric. So glad I found you.