Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams18 Sep 2025

Stacey Abrams’ On The Ten Steps to Save Democracy

On this week’s episode of Assembly Required, Stacey Abrams breaks down the “Ten Steps to Autocracy,” a framework inspired by Princeton Professor Kim Scheppele that outlines the warning signs of a country sliding toward authoritarian rule. We’re watching Trump and the Republicans check off those steps in plain sight: expand and consolidate executive power, break down government institutions, sow distrust in the media, scapegoate vulnerable communities, incentivize violence, and their final goal: undermine free and fair elections in order to cement authoritarian rule. Today, Stacey is joined by Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent at Mother Jones and author of Project 2026: Trump’s Plan to Rig the Next Election, to examine how Trump is poised to use this authoritarian playbook to undermine the 2026 midterms.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Learn & Do More:

BE CURIOUS: Visit 10StepsCampaign.org to learn more about the Ten Steps Campaign and how you can help your friends, family, and community recognize the signs, activate, and build power together.
SOLVE PROBLEMS: Pick one of the Ten Steps to Freedom and Power and make it your personal mission this week.
DO GOOD: Reach out to someone who may be feeling lost, and share what you’ve learned. We grow our confidence by growing our numbers.

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