Joan Esposito is joined by David Atkins,Washington Monthly contributing writer. His latest piece is "The GOP’s Cruel Budget and the Authoritarianism Behind the ‘Big Beautiful Bill.'"

Atkins, who is also an elected Democratic National Committee member from California, highlighted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's disproportionate benefits to the wealthy and its severe cuts to social services, including Medicaid. He noted a growing dissent among Trump supporters, particularly young male podcasters, over broken promises. 

"What is happening," Atkins said, "is Donald Trump is removing the scales from their eyes, slowly but surely. Now, they still have a very large cult, no question, but, piece by piece, people who believed that he was just going to deport violent criminals -- no, that's not happening. He is deporting gardeners and nannies and stuff, and they can see that. People who believed he was going to deal with [Jeffrey] Epstein -- obviously, nope, not that. 

"Is it possible that Congress could, as they take up the next piece of the budget say, you know what, Donald Trump doesn't have the juice that he used to; I'm going to be independent? Possibly. But the problem is, he still has enough hold on the base that right now, still, we're seeing that if Trump threatens them, they resign and say they won't run for re-elect. I am not confident, but I think you might, in fact, see a crackup of the base if this continues."

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

And find the Joan Esposito (Full Episodes) podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.

Joan Esposito is joined by David Atkins, Washington Monthly contributing writer. His latest piece is "<a href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/07/01/the-gops-cruel-budget-and-the-authoritarianism-behind-the-big-beautiful-bill/">The GOP&rsquo;s Cruel Budget and the Authoritarianism Behind the &lsquo;Big Beautiful Bill</a>.'"
Atkins, who is also an elected Democratic National Committee member from California, highlighted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's disproportionate benefits to the wealthy and its severe cuts to social services, including Medicaid. He noted a growing dissent among Trump supporters, particularly young male podcasters, over broken promises.&nbsp;
"What is happening," Atkins said, "is Donald Trump is removing the scales from their eyes, slowly but surely. Now, they still have a very large cult, no question, but, piece by piece, people who believed that he was just going to deport violent criminals -- no, that's not happening. He is deporting gardeners and nannies and stuff, and they can see that. People who believed he was going to deal with [Jeffrey] Epstein -- obviously, nope, not that.&nbsp;
"Is it possible that Congress could, as they take up the next piece of the budget say, you know what, Donald Trump doesn't have the juice that he used to; I'm going to be independent? Possibly. But the problem is, he still has enough hold on the base that right now, still, we're seeing that if Trump threatens them, they resign and say they won't run for re-elect. I am not confident, but I think you might, in fact, see a crackup of the base if this continues."
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (<a href="http://heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive">heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive</a>).
And find the Joan Esposito (Full Episodes) podcast on&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2yqdk3eg4GZzkuV3dxkrce">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/driving-it-home-full-episodes/id1772728749">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/Joan-Esposito-(Full-Episodes)-p4553843/">TuneIn</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1300-joan-esposito-full-episod-224680480/">iHeartRadio</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLquOHBYhhrLPSPl6zwW-_zH6q0Tng18S3">YouTube</a>, and <a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/3511174e-20b7-400f-badb-40862505c17a/joan-esposito-full-episodes">Amazon</a>.

Here are full episodes of "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" (weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT Chicago), a topical and interactive talk show from Chicago that focuses on national, state and city politics.  

A veteran Chicago broadcaster, Joan talks to politicians and professors, activists and authors, candidates and correspondents, as well as listeners who call in to share their views on the news of the day. Her goal is to Edify, Entertain and Elect — Democrats, of course.    

Joan Esposito has hosted WCPT's afternoon show since 2019. Prior to that she spent 20 years as a Chicago television anchor and reporter for WGN Channel 9, ABC7 and NBC5, and had a stint as managing partner at media trainer J2SC.  Joan is a long-time member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). 

Here are full episodes of "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" (weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on <a href="https://heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820/">WCPT Chicago</a>), a topical and interactive talk show from Chicago that focuses on national, state and city politics.  
A veteran Chicago broadcaster, Joan talks to politicians and professors, activists and authors, candidates and correspondents, as well as listeners who call in to share their views on the news of the day. Her goal is to Edify, Entertain and Elect — Democrats, of course.    
Joan Esposito has hosted WCPT's afternoon show since 2019. Prior to that she spent 20 years as a Chicago television anchor and reporter for WGN Channel 9, ABC7 and NBC5, and had a stint as managing partner at media trainer J2SC.  Joan is a long-time member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).

Joan Esposito (Full Episodes)

"Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" (weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT Chicago) is a topical and interactive talk show from Chicago that focuses on national, state and city politics. A veteran Chicago broadcaster, Joan talks to politicians and professors, activists and authors, candidates and correspondents, as well as listeners who call in to share their views on the news of the day. Her goal is to Edify, Entertain and Elect — Democrats, of course.    

Joan Esposito has hosted WCPT's afternoon show since 2019. Prior to that she spent 20 years as a Chicago television anchor and reporter for WGN Channel 9, ABC7 and NBC5, and had a stint as managing partner at media trainer J2SC.  Joan is a long-time member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). 

"Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" (weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on <a href="https://heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820/">WCPT Chicago</a>) is a topical and interactive talk show from Chicago that focuses on national, state and city politics. A veteran Chicago broadcaster, Joan talks to politicians and professors, activists and authors, candidates and correspondents, as well as listeners who call in to share their views on the news of the day. Her goal is to Edify, Entertain and Elect — Democrats, of course.    
Joan Esposito has hosted WCPT's afternoon show since 2019. Prior to that she spent 20 years as a Chicago television anchor and reporter for WGN Channel 9, ABC7 and NBC5, and had a stint as managing partner at media trainer J2SC.  Joan is a long-time member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).

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