Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty Images
Seven years ago, a group of respectable conservatives wrote eloquent essays about why the rise in demagoguery, authoritarianism, nationalism, and hedonism on the right (in other words, Trumpism) was not the way forward.
I’m referring, of course, to National Review’s (in)famous “Against Trump” edition (there’s a reason why it was Ronald Reagan’s favorite magazine). Along with an editorial castigating The Donald, the edition also featured a symposium of more than 20 elite conservatives criticizing Donald Trump. A look back at what they had to say is both stunning and (let’s be honest) laughable.
“If Donald Trump wins the Republican nomination, there will once again be no opposition to an ever-expanding government,” warned Glenn Beck. “Conservatives should reject Trump’s hollow, Euro-style identity politics,” declared Ben Domenech, then-publisher of The Federalist.