Trumpism, Carl Schmitt, and the Threat of Anti-Liberalism in the United States

In this timely, important, and sobering work, Adams considers what the political thought of Trumpism augurs for constitutional government in the United States. Invoking several key elements of the work of Carl Schmitt, Adams convincingly argues that Trumpism rests on assumptions about political life that are irreducibly incompatible with liberal democratic ideals. Seen in this light, the political thought of Trumpism, far from incoherent, nonsensical, or even deluded, has an inner logic that organizes the world around assumptions and precepts that renounce the very norms and presuppositions that make constitutional government possible. Trumpism, then, is not just an odd or different way of thinking about politics—it represents an existential threat to liberalism and democratic constitutionalism as constituent principles of political life. An essential read for every student and citizen of the Constitution. - John E. Finn, Professor of Government Emeritus, Wesleyan University. -- John E. Finn Ever since 2016, when Donald Trump ruptured the American political world and remade it in his own image, elected officials, political scientists, historians, and pundits have been trying to make sense of this brash iconoclast. In Bobbi Adams’s ambitious new monograph, she makes a startling and convincing case that the political thought of Carl Schmitt provides an invaluable guidebook for orienting us amidst the strange new landscape of Trumpian politics. Through a wide array of phenomena—including Trump’s challenge to the rule of law, his focus on immigration and citizenship, courting of violence, and populist identification of a true and endangered American people—Adams traces fascinating links between America’s 45th president and the anti-liberal political philosopher. With the 2024 presidential election in full-swing, Adams’s powerful and, at times, eschatological analysis could not be more pertinent—or chilling. - Bruce Peabody, Professor of Government and Law, Fairleigh Dickinson University -- David B. Peabody