Yesterday’s conviction of President Trump at the hands of a New York judge and jury underscores a trend that has long been clear: American politics is moving toward a state of nature.
Our written constitution will not save us. The very pre-conditions that make possible republican self-governance are disintegrating. If we cannot trust the courts and juries at the foundation of the American legal system, how can we count on more intricate constitutional procedures—or even the processes by which elections are conducted—to protect us?
So while we hope for a future where constitutional principles once again govern our body politik, in the interim we must see the playing field with clear eyes. Legal appeals are necessary, but not sufficient. Electoral wins will be necessary, but not sufficient. In-kind reprisals will be necessary, but not sufficient.
In a state of nature, differences are resolved by power. We do not shirk from this reality. Our obligations as Christian men—as husbands, fathers, neighbors, and Americans—require us to accrue and wield power. If this frightens you, consider a world where only our enemies have this mindset.
We thus continue our work with renewed urgency.
New Founding exists to create the businesses, networks, and institutions that allow our people to flourish. We will invest in ventures that help realize this world, and especially that create pillars of financial and digital sovereignty for our movement. We will develop real local communities where right-wing and Christian Americans can build social capital, civic society and cultural production together. We will place workers in businesses that value their competence and align with, rather than punish, their political and cultural engagement. We will expand our national network of leaders who are drawn to these goals. In sum, we are working to build economic power that we need in a time of chaos—and to rebuild the America we want to live in.
American Reformer seeks to reinvigorate the American Protestant church. Civic stability allowed Christians to focus on narrow policy goals or retreat from politics entirely. In a state of nature, it is imperative that we again pursue politics. We must reform evangelical institutions infiltrated by regime-aligned operatives and populated by risk-averse careerists. And we must elevate a generation of true Christian statesmen, able to read circumstances and act with prudence, and anchored in scripture and the Protestant tradition. This vision must guide our political behavior in a chaotic world where legacy models are becoming obsolete.
Across our endeavors, we are organizing alliances with others who share our concerns and our interests—from Christians who represent a vast share of the conservative movement and a key pillar of America’s tradition, to new right figures at the forefront of the political fight, to technology figures who are rapidly breaking to Trump and hold enormous power in the digital age.
America’s civic institutions are losing legitimacy. The conviction of Trump brings this collapse into sharp relief. In such an environment, we must come together with political allies to build networks and institutions that accrue real power and use it to help our people, protect our way of life, and advance our interests.