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Donald Trump

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Illustration by Adrià Fruitós.

Greater America Has Been Exporting Disunion for Decades

So why are we still surprised when the tide of blood reaches our own shores?
Militarized National Guard confronts peaceful protesters in Los Angeles, 2025.

What History Tells Us to Expect From Trump’s Escalation in Los Angeles Protests

Since the 1960s, studies have shown that heavy-handed policing and militarized responses tend to make protests more volatile — not less.
White South Africans who support Donald Trump in front of the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, 2025.
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The History of White Refugee Narratives

The Trump Administration's reasons for resettling Afrikaners echo early U.S. debates about Haiti's independence.
Political cartoon depicts Roosevelt steering a ship out of a depression while his detractors are rained on.

Welcoming Their Hatred

As Elon Musk and Donald Trump engaged in a campaign of mutually-assured destruction, social media saw record new levels of schadenfreude.
A line of Marines firing from behind a barricade.

Neither Marine nor Maggot

"Full Metal Jacket" and the crisis of masculinity.
William F. Buckley reclines behind a desk, glasses in hand, a bulletin board of National Review magazine material behind him.

The Conservative Intellectual Who Laid the Groundwork for Trump

The political vision that William F. Buckley helped forge was—and remains today—focused less on adhering to principles and more on ferreting out enemies.
Political cartoon of General Jackson Slaying the Many Headed Monster (the Second National Bank).

The Ghost of Nicholas Biddle

Trump’s war against elite academia has created an uncanny parallel to the most dramatic fight in Jackson’s day—the attack on the 2nd Bank of the United States.
William F. Buckley Jr. surrounded by piles of books in his office.

What Made William F. Buckley So Unusual

The author of a new biography talks about the conservative journalist’s life and legacy.
Donald Trump speaking at a rally

Witch Hunt Nation: The Endurance of a Metaphor That Burned

A brief look at the usage of "witch hunt" in American politics through the centuries.
A train in the Texas countryside.

The Secret ‘White Trains’ That Carried Nuclear Weapons Around the U.S.

For as long as the United States has had nuclear weapons, officials have struggled with how to transport the destructive technology.
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Who Controls the Purse? Presidential Power and the Fight Over Spending

Trump is reviving a controversial budget tactic, putting a Nixon-era fight over presidential power and congressional authority back in the headlines.
Friedrich Hayek

Hokey Cowboy: Is Hayek to Blame?

Hayek suspected that nothing about the vindication of neoliberalism was likely to be straightforward.
A hand holds a small rock, with a keffiyeh draping beside it.

The Horrors Inflicted for 500 Years

How Israel’s war in Gaza echoes the ancient doctrine of conquest behind Spain’s colonization of Latin America.
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The History of Government Influence Over Universities

During the Cold War, the government relied on universities for research, but also saw scholars as dangerous.
An eraser erasing a drawing of man.

R.F.K., Jr., Anthony Fauci, and the Revolt Against Expertise

It used to be progressives who distrusted the experts. What happened?
Student Carl Griffin shows Senators Walter Mondale and Birch Bayh the bullet holes left by the police shooting at Jackson State.

DOJ Shakeup May Put Civil Rights Probe of 1970 Jackson State, Mississippi, Killings At Risk

The Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Act made way for investigations of racially motivated killings. The federal agency enforcing it is in disarray.

What If It Is Happening Here?

Lessons from the anti-fascist novel in Trump’s second term.
Picture of Yalta revealed behind torn paper

The Post-World War II System Was Always Fragile

Franklin Roosevelt warned that even in peacetime, America’s obligations to the world would continue.
Elon Musk and his son board Air Force One.

How William Howard Taft’s Approach to Efficiency Differed from Elon Musk’s

This isn’t the first effort by a president’s appointee to streamline government.
Murray Kempton

The Late, Great American Newspaper Columnist

The life and career of Murray Kempton attest to the disappearing ideals of a dying industry. But his example suggests those ideals are not beyond resurrection.