The Claremont Institute’s Ugly Turn

At The Bulwark, Laura Field has a thoughtful, fair, and painstaking analysis of the Claremont Institute’s ugly and irresponsible turn. 

“That Claremont has been unparalleled in its intellectual submission to Trumpism should give us pause. After all, in some respects the Claremont crowd is precisely the sort who should have known better: deeply read in political philosophy and history, and familiar with the many warning signs that Trump would be a damaging and divisive president. There is also a sense, however, in which the Claremont crowd’s submission to Trump was the most predictable thing in the world—the simple culmination of a political theory rooted in jingoism and denial.”

I especially appreciated this line (and suspect Susan does as well): “Despite the name . . . the Claremont Institute has no formal affiliation with Claremont McKenna College and the other Claremont colleges, which are reputable institutions of higher learning.” 

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