Free Republic

People in their right minds who care about the country could never defend the factual details of Donald Trump’s conduct, as alleged in the federal indictment unsealed last week. No one is going to say, “It makes total sense to me that he was storing the crown jewels of national defense — such as how other countries could go about attacking American military vulnerabilities — next to the toilet at a beach club.” No one is going to say, “I can certainly see why Trump would refuse to return such top-secret intelligence to government officials, who pleaded with him for...

The decline of an American institution heralded by smears and contempt. The poseurs really stepped in it this time. The “conservative” elitists at National Review may well have caused irreparable damage to their already tottering reputations, with their knee-jerk attack on a group of Kentucky high school kids in MAGA hats. Then they made things much worse with the barely concealed contempt in their shallow “apologies,” offered begrudgingly when the smear blew up in their faces.The pile-on assault of the Covington Catholic high school kids who attended the March for Life wearing Make America Great Again hats gave full witness...

Glenn Beck: Why Do Conservative Pundits Support Trump? Glenn Beck wants to stage a conservative intervention. The former Fox News host and prominent conservative commentator is confounded that so many Republican voters are attracted to Donald Trump. And Beck is particularly bewildered by the conservative pundits who are hooked on the bombastic real estate mogul. "Why are big name 'conservatives' supporting him?" Beck asked wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday. Beck went on to name names, calling out some of Trump's biggest boosters in conservative media: Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage. "I am not talking...

So I just stopped by the Corner blog at National Review Online to see their reaction to Trump's speech today. To my surprise, there wasn't a single post commenting on it. The NR writers spent the day posting about Brexit, and about Rubio's senate run, and about a picture of Trump they don't like. But not a word about Trump's speech. If that isn't proof that Trump hit a home run today, I don't know what is.

National Review, the conservative magazine founded by William F. Buckley, will publish a special issue on Friday opposing Donald Trump's bid for the presidency, according to a source with knowledge of the issue's contents. The issue will feature a blistering editorial that labels Trump a threat to conservatism, as well as essays by 22 prominent conservative thinkers from various ideological factions, in opposition to Trump's candidacy, the source said. "Donald Trump is a menace to American conservatism who would take the work of generations and trample it underfoot on behalf of a populism as heedless and crude as The Donald...

Jonah Goldberg, writing at National Review, says that President Trump is guilty and should apologize. In l’affaire Ukraine, the president is guilty as charged. And the best strategy for him to avoid impeachment by the House and perhaps even removal by the Senate is to admit it, apologize, and let voters make their own judgment. It’s also the best way to fend off a disaster for Senate Republicans.   This is one pathetic piece of advice which could have been written by any of many NeverTrumpers like Boot, Noonan, Rubin, Brooks and Romney, who like to pretend they still are...

It may be difficult to believe in this enlightened age but there was a time not so long ago when the National Review was the intellectual heart of America's conservative movement. Its writers were sharp, gifted and irreverent. Their appearances on Fox News and other TV outlets made them rock stars. All that ended on January 22, 2016, when the magazine posted online its "Against Trump" issue. Once again, the editors proudly chose to stand athwart history rather than make it. They chose to lose with what they consider honor rather than win. 22 writers signed on, each penning...

Editor's note: The views expressed here are those solely of the author.  It's been nearly one week since National Review published their special edition magazine titled, "Against Trump," a symposium of 22-diverse conservatives making a case against Donald Trump's run for the White House. I have a signed copy of "God & Man at Yale" on my bookshelf and copies of letters from William F. Buckley, Jr. written to my late great uncle tucked away in a drawer. The two were friends. In 2013, I went through the competitive National Review Institute program and had the privilege of learning from...