Fred Bauer

New England

Writing a book on reimagining freedom. @NRO, @CityJournal, @UnHerd, @TheAtlantic, etc. | @CenterClipAudio | fredbauerblog at gmail dot com

Articles

Hegseth Leaks Expose Deepening Iran Divide in Trump Cabinet

2 days ago | realcleardefense.com | Fred Bauer

In contemporary Washington, leaks are political warfare by other means
The Smoking Dawn

5 days ago | roundingup.substack.com | Fred Bauer

Every year in April, the Boston suburb of Lexington reenacts the 1775 Battle of Lexington. Crowds of people start gathering early in the morning (well before 5 a.m.) to watch this—After a few volleys, smoke devours the battlefield. It’s the smoke that haunts me. I imagine the colonists being fired on by the Redcoats through the smoke on Lexington Common—the musket balls whizzing like comets through the clouds.
Trump’s Tariffs Won’t Work — on Their Own Terms | National Review

3 weeks ago | nationalreview.com | Fred Bauer
Liberation Day

3 weeks ago | roundingup.substack.com | Fred Bauer |Oren Cass

Over the next few days, you’re likely to read a number of takes about President Trump’s new tariff schedule. Confidence in prediction will often far exceed the evidence. These tariffs will inaugurate a new golden age. No, they’ll ignite a global depression. We'll be building flying cars to the moon with union labor in Georgia—or we’ll be crawling through the economic wreckage.
Deus apud Machinas

1 month ago | roundingup.substack.com | Fred Bauer |Noah Smith |N.S. Lyons

In a feisty jeremiad, responds to a recent viral essay by . Lyons argues that Donald Trump and populism signal the return of the “strong gods” of faith and solidarity neglected at the end of history. As Lyons puts it,This masculine-inflected spirit of thumotic vitalism was suppressed throughout the Long Twentieth Century, but now it’s back….Instead of producing a utopian world of peace and progress, the open society consensus and its soft, weak gods led to civilizational dissolution and despair.
Trump May Get Even More Power Over Tariffs

2 months ago | city-journal.org | Fred Bauer

Donald Trump opened February with the threat of a 25 percent tariff on products from Mexico and Canada, meant to convince both countries to do more to combat the flow of drugs and illegal immigrants over our mutual borders. Following commitments from both to strengthen border protection, the administration announced a 30-day reprieve—but Trump has suggested that more tariffs may be coming.
How Congress Can Deliver on Trump’s Immigration Promises

2 months ago | city-journal.org | Fred Bauer

With Republicans in control of Congress and Donald Trump back in the White House, many in the GOP see immigrationas a top priority. Focusing on the issue would help them consolidate a wavering House GOP caucus, while delivering on some core Republican campaign promises. Their chance to do so will come with a big event on the congressional calendar: passage of a reconciliation bill.
Vandals of Civilization: Why Climate Activists Attack Our Cultural Heritage

Jan 23, 2025 | nationalreview.com | Fred Bauer
Donald Trump Inauguration Speech Highlights

Jan 20, 2025 | city-journal.org | Fred Bauer

As he assumed the presidency again, Donald Trump proclaimed a “revolution of common sense” in his second Inaugural Address at the U.S. Capitol. Surrounded by the political elite and the captains of Silicon Valley, the new president pledged to restore faith in American institutions and championed a “manifest destiny into the stars,” with the United States expanding its territory and even planting a flag on Mars.
The Resistance at Midnight

Jan 17, 2025 | roundingup.substack.com | Fred Bauer

Giving his farewell address to the nation on Wednesday night, Joe Biden also delivered a requiem for the fantasies of the “resistance.”At its commanding heights, the anti-Trump “resistance” relied upon a partnership between two factions: the embattled establishment and progressive accelerationists. The conditions of the partnership were relatively clear.