Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right

Please join e and Nighthawk for a conversation with political theorist Laura Field about her new book “Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right,” the story of the radical conservative intellectual movement shaping Donald Trump’s agenda.

About the book

Donald Trump is not a big thinker, but his 2016 presidential victory presented a grand opportunity for people who are, and it set off a radicalization and reconfiguration of the American conservative intellectual world. In “Furious Minds,” Laura Field, who spent close to a decade in conservative academic circles, chronicles the rise of the New Right — the network of academics, public intellectuals and influencers who provide ideological fuel to Trumpism. This movement includes figures such as Patrick Deneen, Christopher Rufo, Peter Thiel and JD Vance. Their agenda is built to last, and it has dire long-term implications for liberal democracy.

The New Right has precedents in American history, but it is distinct for its youthfulness, misogyny and extraordinary successes — most notably the elevation of Vance to the vice presidency. The movement — which draws together associates of the right-wing Claremont Institute, national conservatives, postliberals, and the hard right — advocates nationalist economics, tight borders, isolationism and reactionary social values. It helped to strategize Jan. 6 and created Project 2025. But above all, the New Right is engaged in a vast culture war against modern liberal pluralism. It is determined to harness state power and use it in new, illiberal ways, from college campuses to the international scene — all driven by the fantasy of restoring a pure America.

About the author

Laura Field is an associate with the Illiberalism Studies Program at George Washington University, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution and visiting scholar in residence at American University. In addition to her academic work she has written for The New Republic, Politico, The Bulwark, Le Monde, The New York Times and The Atlantic.

This event is part of the new series Juxtapositions: Conversations on Art, Ideas and Global Cross-Currents, a co-production of and Nighthawk. It’s free of charge and open to the public, but register to secure a spot — seating is limited.

Copies of “Furious Minds” will be available for sale by the Book Cellar.

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