Claremont Institute

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Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy
Logo Claremont Institute.png
Formation1979; 42 years ago (1979)
TypeNon-profit
Location
President
Ryan Williams[1]
Key people
John C. Eastman, Charles R. Kesler, Ryan Williams[1]
Budget
Revenue: $5,588,691
Expenses: $4,972,703
(FYE June 2016)[2]
Websitewww.claremont.org Edit this at Wikidata

The Claremont Institute is an American conservative think tank based in Upland, California. The institute was founded in 1979 by four students of Harry V. Jaffa.[3] The Institute publishes the Claremont Review of Books, as well as other books and publications.

History[]

The institute was founded in 1979 by four students of Straussian political theorist Harry V. Jaffa, a professor emeritus at Claremont McKenna College and the Claremont Graduate University, although the Institute has no affiliation with any of the Claremont Colleges.[3] Under Jaffa and Larry P. Arnn, the institute became a leading Straussian-influenced conservative think tank, publishing on topics such as statesmanship, Lincoln scholarship and modern conservative issues.[4] In the late 1990s, the institute launched projects aimed at "vindicating" the American founding fathers from progressive criticism on slavery and other issues.[5][non-primary source needed]

Arnn served as its president from 1985 until 2000, when he became the twelfth president of Hillsdale College.[6] Michael Pack served as president from 2015 to September 2017.[7] Ryan Williams, who served as the organization's Chief Operating Officer from 2013, was named president in 2017.[6]

The Claremont Institute features publications such as: The Claremont Review of Books,[8] The American Mind,[9] The American Story Podcast[10] and Claremont Books.[11] The D.C. branch of the Claremont Institute, “The Center for the American Way of Life”, opened in February 2021.[12]

The Claremont Institute has several fellowships and programs, including the Publius Fellowship, the Lincoln Fellowship, the John Marshall Fellowship, and the Speech Writers Fellowship.[13] Programs include the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence. Fellowships in the past have gone to prominent figures on the right such as Laura Ingraham, Ben Shapiro, Mark Levin and Mary Kissel.[14][15][16]

The Claremont Institute gives out the Ronald Reagan Freedom Medallion, the Statesmanship Award, and hosts yearly events such as the Claremont Institute Annual Gala. At the 40th Anniversary Gala, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was the recipient of the 2019 Statesmanship Award, delivered a speech outlining the core principles guiding the Trump Administration’s foreign policy.[17]

Trump administration connections[]

The institute was an early defender of Donald Trump.[3] The Daily Beast stated Claremont has "arguably has done more than any other group to build a philosophical case for Trump’s brand of conservatism."[18]

In September 2016 the institute's Claremont Review of Books published Michael Anton's "The Flight 93 Election" editorial. The editorial, written under a pseudonym, compared the prospect of conservatives letting Trump lose to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election with passengers not charging the cockpit of the United Airlines aircraft hijacked by Al-Qaeda.[19][20] The article went viral and received widespread coverage across the political spectrum. Rush Limbaugh devoted a day of his radio series to reading the entire essay.[21] Anton would go on to serve under President Trump as spokesman for the National Security Council, holding the position from 2017 to 2018.[20]

In 2019, Trump awarded the Claremont Institute with a National Humanities Medal.[22][23]

The institute caused controversy by granting a fellowship in 2019 to the Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec.[24][25][26] National Review columnist Mona Charen wrote that "Claremont stands out for beclowning itself with this embrace of the smarmy underside of American politics."[24] In 2020, Slate magazine called the institute "a racist fever swamp with deep connections to the conspiratorial alt-right", citing Posobiec's fellowship and the publication of a 2020 essay by senior fellow John Eastman that questioned Kamala Harris' eligibility for the vice presidency.[27][28]

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the institute received between $350,000 and $1 million in federally backed small business loans from Chain Bridge Bank as part of the Paycheck Protection Program. The institute stated this would allow it to retain 29 jobs.[18][29]

Post-Trump years[]

In 2021, Claremont senior fellow Glenn Ellmers wrote a controversial essay in Claremont's The American Mind arguing that the United States had been destroyed by internal enemies and that "Most people living in the United States today — certainly more than half — are not Americans in any meaningful sense of the term."[30][31][32][33]

Publications[]

The Claremont Institute publishes the Claremont Review of Books. The CRB is edited by Charles R. Kesler and features regular columns by Martha Bayles and Mark Helprin. The Institute also publishes The American Mind. Claremont Vice President of Education Matt Peterson serves as editor; and James Poulos is executive editor. The publication has featured essays by Newt Gingrich, Sen. Todd Young, Sen. Marco Rubio, Rep. Jim Banks, and Sen. Tom Cotton.[34][35][36]

The Institute also publishes books by Claremont scholars. Claremont scholars host the podcasts “The American Story”, “The Roundtable”, and The Close Read.[citation needed]

Staff[]

  • Ryan Williams (President of the Institute)
  • Douglas Bechler (Senior VP/Chief Development Officer)
  • Bob Gransden (Chief Financial Officer)
  • Charles Kesler (Editor of the Claremont Review of Books)
  • John Eastman (Founding Director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence)
  • Matthew Peterson (Founding Editor of The American Mind, VP of Education)
  • David Bahr (Senior Director of Communications and Marketing)
  • Christine Barton (VP of Development)
  • Arthur Milikh (Executive Director of Center for the American Way of Life)
  • James Poulos (Executive Editor of The American Mind)[37]
  • Seth Barron (Managing Editor of The American Mind)

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Leadership". The Claremont Institute. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  2. ^ "Claremont Institute" (PDF). Foundation Center. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Trump speechwriter's ouster sparks racially charged debate". Politico. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  4. ^ "The Claremont Institute". The National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  5. ^ West, Thomas G., 1945- (1997). Vindicating the founders : race, sex, class, and justice in the origins of America. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4422-1027-1. OCLC 818659268.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Claremont Institute Announces Ryan Williams As New President". The Federalist. July 18, 2017.
  7. ^ "Michael Pack". USAGM. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  8. ^ "About us". Claremont Review of Books. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  9. ^ "About". The American Mind. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
  10. ^ "About Us". The American Story. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  11. ^ "Claremont Books". www.claremont.org. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  12. ^ "About". The American Way of Life. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  13. ^ "Fellowships | The Claremont Institute". www.claremont.org. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  14. ^ "Publius Alumni". www.claremont.org. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  15. ^ Ball, Molly (2014-09-17). "The Making of a Conservative Superstar". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  16. ^ "Lincoln Fellowship Alumni". www.claremont.org. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  17. ^ "Secretary Pompeo To Deliver Remarks at the Claremont Institute's 40th Anniversary Gala". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b "Trump's Small Biz Rescue Bailed Out Kushner's Family, Obama's Aides and Other Political Elite". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  19. ^ Schuessler, Jennifer (2017-02-20). "'Charge the Cockpit or You Die': Behind an Incendiary Case for Trump (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b "Trump's national security spokesman Michael Anton is resigning". CNBC. 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  21. ^ The Editors. "'After the Flight 93 Election' by Michael Anton". RealClearBooks. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  22. ^ "The Claremont Institute". National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  23. ^ "White House announces first National Medal of Arts recipients of Trump administration: Jon Voight, more". USA TODAY. November 18, 2019. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b Charen, Mona (12 July 2019). "Claremont's New Class of Fellows Would Make Its Founders Weep". National Review Online. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  25. ^ Stuart, Gwynedd (2020-09-10). "Donald Trump's Politics of White Fear Have Roots in Southern California". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  26. ^ "Qwazy for QAnon". The Bulwark. 2020-08-13. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  27. ^ Eastman, John C. (2020-08-12). "Some Questions for Kamala Harris About Eligibility". Newsweek. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  28. ^ Stern, Mark Joseph (2020-08-14). "The White Supremacist "Scholars" Pushing the Kamala Harris Birther Lie". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  29. ^ Syed, Moiz; Willis, Derek. "CLAREMONT INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF STATESMANSHIP & POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY - Coronavirus Bailouts - ProPublica". ProPublica. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  30. ^ Beauchamp, Zack (2021-04-01). "The conservative movement is rejecting America". Vox. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  31. ^ Lewis, Matt (2021-03-30). "The Right Says Sorry In Advance for Going Fascist". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  32. ^ Blumenthal, Paul (2021-05-29). "The Insurrection Isn't Over". HuffPost. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  33. ^ Ellmers, Glenn (March 24, 2021). ""Conservatism" is no Longer Enough". The American Mind. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  34. ^ "The Soros Cover-Up". The American Mind. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  35. ^ "American Industrial Policy and the Rise of China". The American Mind. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  36. ^ "A GOP That Works". The American Mind. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  37. ^ "Claremont Institute | Leadership & Staff". www.claremont.org. Retrieved 2021-06-22.

External links[]

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