Conservative scholar Matthew Continetti says Trump-style populism is here to stay

Journalist and AEI senior fellow Matthew Continetti joins Margaret Hoover to discuss the evolution of the American right over the last century and its future. He explains how opposition to the New Deal, communism, and progressivism created the foundation for an enduring conservative agenda.

Continetti, author of “The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism” and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, recounts the roles prominent political figures have played in the movement, including Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, and Donald Trump.

He details how recent decades have changed the social and ideological makeup of the conservative coalition as populism and anti-elitism emerged and grassroots voters rebelled against the GOP establishment, and he looks ahead to what those forces could mean for Republicans and traditional conservatives in 2024 and beyond.

Continetti also reflects on how shifts in technology and the media have affected conservatism over the years, from William F. Buckley Jr.’s original “Firing Line” to the rise of Rush Limbaugh and talk radio to the proliferation of conspiracy theories on the internet.

Support for “Firing Line for Margaret Hoover” is provided by Stephens Inc., Robert Granieri, Charles R. Schwab, The Fairweather Foundation, Asness Family Foundation, The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Damon Button, Pritzker Military Foundation on behalf of the Pritzker Military Museum and Library, and The Marc Haas Foundation.