Video 06.17.2016 1:23:34

The Trump Phenomenon: How Did We Get Here, and What’s at Stake?

The polls were right, and the pundits were wrong. A Republican presidential field that was hailed as the most talented in a generation has been flummoxed, humbled, and finally beaten by Donald Trump. The Party of Lincoln is now firmly in the hands of a Manhattan billionaire, and conservatives seem hopelessly divided about how to proceed.

Martha Bayles is the film and TV critic for The Claremont Review of Books. Since 2003 she has taught in the Arts & Sciences Honors Program at Boston College.

Charles Kesler is a Senior Fellow of the Claremont Institute, Editor of the Claremont Review of Books, host of Claremont’s The American Mind video series, and the Dengler-Dykema Distinguished Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College.

Wendy E. Long is counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network and was a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas at the Supreme Court during the 1997-98 term.

William Voegeli is a senior editor of the Claremont Review of Books.

Peter Wehner is Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center and Contributing Opinion Writer, New York Times.

Michael Pack (moderator), is a Senior Fellow of the Claremont Institute, formerly serving as president from 2015 to 2017. Pack founded Manifold Productions, an independent film and television production company, in 1977.

The American Mind presents a range of perspectives. Views are writers’ own and do not necessarily represent those of The Claremont Institute.

The American Mind is a publication of the Claremont Institute, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated to restoring the principles of the American Founding to their rightful, preeminent authority in our national life. Interested in supporting our work? Gifts to the Claremont Institute are tax-deductible.

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