Michael Gerson, President George W. Bush's head speechwriter, paid me the ultimate writer's compliment last week: he attacked me in print. I count Michael as a friend, as I hope he does me, but in this matter I must follow Aristotle who said of his teacher, Plato, that Plato was dear to him but
After “CBS Evening News” anchor Walter Cronkite said he no longer trusted America’s leaders regarding the Vietnam War, President Lyndon Johnson supposedly remarked, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.” A month later, on March 31, 1968, Johnson stunned the nation by dropping his re-election bid. So should President Trump and the
President Trump's job approval ratings had been rising for more than six months until last week. His rapid decline from 44.6 percent to 42.2 percent in the Real Clear Politics average cannot be explained by bad economic news or a foreign policy reverse. Quite the contrary: unemployment hit an 18-year low in figures released
Unlike many American Greatness readers, I both know and respect Bill Kristol. But a tweet of his on Monday crystallized for me why Trump opponents often seem oblivious to the president's appeal. It's not just that they find him odious at best and dangerous at worst: it's that they have little to no
The Electoral College has been in the news recently despite the fact that the presidential election is still over two years off. President Trump kicked this discussion off by saying that he supports eliminating the College and replacing it with a nationwide popular vote. This was quickly followed up by the Connecticut state
Republican Congressional leaders are talking about voting on a second tax cut bill later this year. The tax cuts passed last year were made permanent for corporations but will expire in 2025 for individuals. The leaders’ proposal would make the personal income tax changes permanent, too. This is much too timid. Americans worry
Rightly or wrongly, millions of Americans believe President Trump is a racist. Many others who do not go this far think he is prejudiced against Latinos and Hispanics. These perceptions help prevent him from building public support for his program and his presidency. Letting them go uncontested, as he largely has since his
President Trump's decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports has been roundly attacked from all sides. Tariffs are so beyond the pale that even the politically diametrical editorial boards of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have condemned them. This unholy alliance of Left and Right merely demonstrates just
Democrat Conor Lamb's upset win last week in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District has led many observers to claim an electoral tsunami is about to hit Republicans. Perhaps it will, but that is far from clear now. Lamb's performance is unlikely to be the norm for Democratic candidates this fall for a host of
In two prior columns, I showed that the Republican Party has been America's second-place party since the 1930s and that Ronald Reagan was the only GOP president who had significantly narrowed the Democratic Party's lead. Is Donald Trump the man to lead the party, and by extension those who want to reverse the
