Braver Angels First 100 Days Debates: "Is Trump Making America Great?" Jessie Mannisto

Apr 11, 2025

Jessie Mannisto, Director of Debates at Braver Angels, is on a mission to restore civic dialogue in a polarized America. She stresses the importance of understanding opposing views as a crucial step towards healing divisions. The conversation dives into how Trump's policies have impacted political discourse, with a focus on Braver Angels’ unique debate format that encourages respectful communication. Jessie also shares how humor and trust are essential in fostering constructive conversations amidst a politically charged environment.

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INSIGHT

Importance of Feeling Heard

Feeling heard is crucial for democratic participation and voting motivation.
Many avoid politics due to the belief that their voice doesn't matter at any level.

INSIGHT

Challenges Sharing Politics at Home

People often struggle to express political beliefs even within families.
Braver Angels offers a respectful space where people can speak and be heard authentically.

INSIGHT

Drawbacks of Political Echo Chambers

Political echo chambers prevent hearing opposing views in good faith.
Disagreeing accurately helps prevent misunderstanding and unnecessary personal conflict.

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We release this show at a moment of high political drama. Economics, financial markets, and America’s relations with the rest of the world are in a state of tumult. So how on earth do we talk with and listen to people on the other side? Should you even try?

Jessie Mannisto, Director of Debates at Braver Angels says “yes!”

In this episode we learn why understanding those who you disagree with is a vital first step to repairing civic relations. We discuss the First 100 Days Debates: “Is President Trump Making America Great?” Braver Angels is holding a series of structured debates this spring on birthright citizenship, DEI, foreign policy, the limits of executive power and more.

Everyone has an opinion about the President and his Administration. “Right now we are all in some way emotionally activated, whether with triumph or with fear and anger,” Jess tells How Do We Fix It? host Richard Davies. “At Braver Angels we are coming together to try to live well in a polarized time.”

This episode is our latest report on the people, projects, and ideas of America’s largest cross-partisan group that’s boosting civic friendship. Bringing Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic is vital work. At a time of so much anger and misunderstanding the repair of our national conversation may be the biggest challenge the nation faces.

Subscribe to our podcast. Like us at your favorite podcast platform. Head to Braver Angels to learn more about the work they’re doing.

Jessie Mannisto came to Braver Angels as a volunteer after being "cancelled" by friends for disagreeing with some of their political views—an experience that led her to seek a space where she could, in the words of the Braver Angels Way, "speak freely and fully without fear." Now she works to cultivate such a space for others, regardless of their beliefs. She also trains Braver Angels members to chair their own debates; one major part of this is mastering our own responses to fear and anger so that we can support others in doing the same, learning from those emotions what they are trying to tell us and using this information constructively.

Before joining Braver Angels, Jessie served as a leadership analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency focusing on Eastern Europe. She is also the founder and editor emerita of Third Factor, a magazine and membership community for creative and intellectually excitable people striving to develop and live by their values. She is a native of Detroit, Michigan.

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