Person

Donald Trump

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Ross Perot at a press conference.

Did the Early 1990s Break American Politics?

John Ganz offers a whirlwind tour of the cranks, conservatives, and con artists who helped remake the American right at the turn of the 21st century.
NATO leaders in the 1950s sitting together at a conference.

Ill-Suited to Reality: NATO’s Delusions

It has suddenly become popular to cast NATO as the first benign military alliance in history, without concealed politics.
The White House surrounded by outlines of Iran, Russia, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, China, Syria, and Afghanistan.

How Four U.S. Presidents Unleashed Economic Warfare Across the Globe

U.S. sanctions have surged over the last two decades and are now in effect on almost one-third of all nations. But are they doing more harm than we realize?
Indiana Dunes National Park.

Inside the Fight to Save the Indiana Dunes, One of America’s Most Vulnerable National Parks

Caught between steel mills, suburbs and a hard place, the 15,000-acre site is a fantasia of biodiversity—and a case study for hard-fought conservation.
William Hanson with Brigadier General Jacob Walters and Texas Rangers in Longview in 1919.

The Banality of Border Evil

What a long-dead, cartoonishly corrupt Texas bureaucrat can tell us about the nature of immigration enforcement and the U.S.-Mexico divide.
A political cartoon of Charles Guiteau holding a pistol and a sign that reads "An Office or Your Life."

Why Are Presidential Assassins Such Sad Sacks?

What would-be killers of the US commander in chief have in common is that they aren’t fervent ideologues; they’re outcasts.
Joseph Berkowitz and Rae Kushner, Jared Kushner's grandparents, in Budapest in 1945.

Jared Kushner’s Grandparents Relied on Aid and Shelter as Refugees, Documents Show

Kushner was a top official in a Trump administration that sharply restricted immigration and refugee admissions. His grandparents were Holocaust refugees.
A yuppie surrounded by money and luxury items.

When Yuppies Ruled

Defining a social type is a way of defining an era. What can the time of the young urban professional tell us about our own?
The Hall of the House of Representatives.

Are We Living Through Another 1850s?

It’s difficult to see how these profound antipathies and fears will dissipate soon through any normal political processes.
Charles Lindbergh addressing a rally of the America First Committee in 1941.

Stop Saying "Isolationist"

It's misleading, invidious, and it obscures what's actually bad and scary about right-wing nationalist foreign policy.
Barack Obama speaking in front of a museum exhibit titled "Writing the Constitution."

The Constitution and the American Left

A culture of reverence for the U.S. Constitution shields the founding document from criticism, despite its many shortcomings.
Photos of assassination attempts on Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, and Gerald Ford.

Stop Pretending You Know How This Will End

The failed assassination of Donald Trump might not have any lasting effect on the election or politics in general.
Cover of "Cue The Sun!" featuring videographers filming people lounging in backyard.

Time to Face Reality

Charting the history of a TV phenomenon.
Ross Perot laughing, surrounded by reporters.

Donald Trump Didn’t Spark Our Current Political Chaos. The ’90s Did.

In ‘When the Clock Broke,’ John Ganz revisits the era of Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot to find the roots of our populist moment.
Republican elephant and Democratic donkey with crossed arms turned away from each other.

Party People

Many recoil at the thought of stronger political parties. But revitalized parties could be exactly what our ailing democracy needs.
Then-Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton speaks at the Human Rights Campaign forum in Washington, July 15, 2003.

Remembrance of Ratf**ks Past

As Cornel West is receiving ballot access help from Republicans, 20 years ago Al Sharpton’s campaign for president was largely orchestrated by Roger Stone.
Japanese American community leaders Tom Yamaski, Ted Okahashi, and Karl Yoneda, who holds his son, Tommy, at a meeting at the Manzanar War Relocation Center in Owens Valley, Calif. on May 5, 1942. Yoneda's wife, the activist Elaine Black Yoneda, who was not Japanese, also spent time in the camp.
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On Loving Day, Remember the Families Separated by the U.S.

During Japanese-American incarceration, what happened to mixed-race families and individuals?
Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, beneath a red GOP elephant logo.
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How Conservatives Changed the Whole Point of American Political Parties

The rise of the right remade the GOP—and fundamentally changed how parties operated in American politics.
Montage of 1980s Yuppies and a Trump rally.

How 1980s Yuppies Gave Us Donald Trump

If it weren’t for the young urban professionals of the 1980s, we’d never have MAGA.
President Ronald Reagan is applauded by Beverly LaHaye, President of Concerned Women for America, right, shortly before he addressed a group in Arlington, Va., Sept. 25, 1987.
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The Woman Who Helped Build the Christian Right

How one activist helped turn evangelical women into the backbone of right-wing conservatism.