Rebellion: How Antiliberalism Is Tearing America Apart – Again

by Robert Kagan

Trump’s hold on the imaginations of millions of Americans is extraordinary. Rarely in American history has a political figure drawn such adoration and complete loyalty while still alive and politically active. Even the revered Reagan was frequently attacked by conservatives for falling short of their expectations. Trump’s supporters never criticize him or tolerate criticism of him, even on issues on which they disagree with him. The conservative rebellion against Covid lockdowns and vaccinations during Trump’s term in office, for instance, was not driven primarily by paranoia about the government and vaccines. After all, it was their government in charge; it was the vaccine that the Trump administration had approved and worked to produce as quickly as possible. Rather, it was Trump’s critics whom they reviled. Trump said the virus would be minor and would pass quickly, and his supporters not only believed him but came up with “proof” that he was right. They turned against Anthony Fauci and the country’s health officials because their statements contradicted and embarrassed their hero and leader. A famous conservative law professor at New York University, Richard Epstein, was so slavishly loyal to Trump that he insisted at the beginning of Covid that the virus would cost no more than five hundred lives. (As of November 1, 2023, the number of Covid deaths according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was 1,150,119.) Some Trump supporters who contracted Covid wo...