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Conservatism in the age of Trump

Michael J. Lee (Charleston): Considering Political Identity: Conservatives, Republicans, and Donald Trump. Lily Geismer reviews The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump by Corey Robin. Trump is a typical conservative — that says a lot about the conservative tradition: Henry Farrell interviews Corey Robin. Donald Trump is the most pure conservative president ever. Conservatism unleashed: The Republican Party, aided by Donald Trump, has eagerly descended to unprecedented levels of self-dealing, rule-flouting, and ideological extremism. Why don’t Trump voters feel betrayed? Because they’re getting what they wanted. If Trump acted normal, he’d be an unpopular president with an unpopular agenda. Conservative lead in U.S. ideology is down to single digits.

In the age of Trump, the movement Bill Buckley founded needs rebuilding. The lively irrelevance of conservative magazines: The rise of Trumpism has enlivened legacy publications like National Review, but Republicans are flocking to more partisan outlets. Teaching conservatism in the age of Trump: Historians who teach U.S. conservatism say their jobs got a lot harder last year but that Trump’s presidency also provides new opportunities for student engagement. The “j” stands for genius: Scott McLemee highlights the panoply of books on Trump, or matters related to his presidency, that scholarly presses plan to publish between now and this summer’s end.

How will CPAC grapple with Trump-era conservatism? The Trumpist temptation: Ambitious young Republicans at CPAC are torn over embracing the new nationalism of the president. CPAC 2018 lineup shows Trump owns today’s conservative movement.