United States | A Washington army in waiting

In preparation for power, America’s new right builds new institutions

The movement inspired by Donald Trump entrenches itself in Washington, DC

Jul 5th 2022|Washington, DC

A gilded conference room stocked with coffee and lanyard-wearing men in dark suits is a common enough sight in Washington. Only a sign at the door reading “The Lies of the Ruling Class”, hosted by the Claremont Institute’s year-old Centre for the American Way of Life, marks this event at the Mayflower Hotel as something more unusual. “America’s elites are not bright, not competent and not qualified,” says Michael Anton, a former national-security aide to Donald Trump, in the day’s first session. United in favour of economic nationalism, a restrained foreign policy and restricted immigration, many of the room’s self-described national conservatives see the “threat” to America from the left in existential terms. Yet they are brimming with confidence.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Trumpism’s new Washington army”