Acclaimed historian Victor Davis Hanson explores whether Trumpism can survive without Donald Trump in an excerpt from his new book, The Counterrevolution: The Fall and Rise of Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement. Hanson considers what happens to the movement when its founder relinquishes leadership. The book is set to be released next week and marks Hanson's analysis of the Trump phenomenon since 2015. Hanson has been a prominent explainer of the Trump revolution, and his book examines the future of the movement without Trump at the helm.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Donald Trump's impact on American politics will likely be the central theme in historical accounts of the past decade. His presidency was marked by both adoration and hatred, as well as fear and faith. Since June 16, 2015, when he announced his candidacy, Trump has been a dominant figure in US politics. Now, with his possible comeback in 2024, acclaimed historian Victor Davis Hanson explores the future of the MAGA movement and what will happen to it if Trump relinquishes leadership.
Written for “Trump's Post-Presidency Future” on 2026-09-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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Leaning score +0.35 for article 3693 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-04
It’s Friday, September 4.
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It → ’ → ?
Today: Should you “redshirt” your kids?
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you → redshirt → kids
When the story of the past decade in American public life is written, it will, for better or worse, center on one man.
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it → write → man
Since descending the golden escalator on June 16, 2015, Donald Trump has been an omnipresent force in American politics—an object of hatred as much as adoration, fear as much as faith.
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Trump → descend → faith
Much of that story will turn on what happened in 2024: Trump’s remarkable political comeback, which made him only the second president in American history to win nonconsecutive terms.
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him → turn → terms
That is the story acclaimed historian Victor Davis Hanson tells in his new book, The Counterrevolution: The Fall and Rise of Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement, out next week.
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Hanson → tell → Trump
In the following exclusive excerpt, he takes on the questions now at the heart of the movement the president built: What happens to MAGA when its founder finally relinquishes leadership? Will Trumpism outlast Trump?
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Trumpism → follow → Trump
Next week will mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the deadliest attack on American soil in history.
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week → mark → history
And while radical Islam continues to threaten the West two decades later, a new war has begun, “one over the origin and meaning of the 9/11 attacks,” writes Douglas Murray, as discredited conspiracies about that tragic day are recycled and regurgitated in our podcast age.
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conspiracies → continue → age
Read his thoughts on the “9/11 truthers,” a group not searching for the truth but for another dose of the mental drug that is indulging disinformation.
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that → read → disinformation
Supporters of the mother who strangled her children in January 2023 are sure she isn’t legally responsible.
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she → strangle → January
What began as compassion for a woman who potentially suffered from postpartum psychosis, according to Caitlin Flanagan, has turned into “an almost exultant, fanlike celebration of Lindsay Clancy.”
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who → begin → Clancy
What these clamoring supporters forget: the three innocent children who lost their lives.
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who → clamor → lives
We shouldn’t forget them, either.
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We → forget → them
The big cultural headline this week was John Galliano pulling out of his show and gala at the Met.
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Galliano → pull → Met
Anna Wintour’s pick for the next Costume Institute exhibition had been controversial ever since it was announced, thanks to a string of vulgar antisemitic remarks from Galliano more than a decade ago.
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it → announce → Galliano
Should the show have gone on?
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show → go → ?
And who is to blame?
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who → blame → ?
Suzy Weiss dives into the controversy.
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Weiss → dive → controversy
AI hacks may sound like a dry subject, but this one matters, because it has some of the experts in the field warning that a total AI takeover is far more likely than they previously realized.
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they → sound → field
Not necessarily, says Tyler Cowen.
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Cowen → say → ?
AI security expert John-Clark Levin disagrees.
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Levin → disagree → ?
An AI takeover really is possible, he says, and the stakes get higher with every advance of the new technology.
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stakes → say → technology
If proper guardrails are not built to keep AI in check, it will be too late for humans to conduct a cost-benefit analysis.
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humans → build → analysis
We should act now—before it is too late, Levin writes.
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Levin → act → ?
