A Wild Ride: The New Issue of NR Is Out

“We have reached Peak Trump.” And that, writes Charles C. W. Cooke in the cover piece of the new April issue of National Review, “is a thoroughly remarkable thing to write in the year 2025.” In the decade since Trump arrived on the political scene, he won the presidency, was impeached twice, “lost reelection, brazenly lied about it, helped inspire a riot, and was subsequently convicted of a series of felonies.” And “yet it is now,” having pulled a Grover Cleveland to regain the White House, “that Trump has reached the apex of his popularity and power. Objectively, that is astonishing, isn’t it?”

The question now, of course, is what he’s going to do with that power. Will the Trump team — with its eccentric co-captain, Elon Musk — fulfill the role of corrective on “taxation, spending, immigration, affirmative action, and gender ideology”? Or will it take the country on a wild ride (as with the president’s “gleefully threatening Canada with massive tariffs”)? “Up to a point, voters will indulge Trump in his foibles,” says Charlie, “and . . . tolerate his more eccentric projects. But, once the honeymoon is over, they will continue to do so only if he can deliver on the basics.”

Charlie’s deft assessment of our political moment is matched by the mellifluousness of his pen. Read the whole thing here.

The April issue delivers the classic NR blend of politics, social commentary, culture, and humor. In this issue you’ll find:

• Noah Rothman on the bipartisan habit of patronizing the public: “They Think We’re Stupid”
• Jim Geraghty on a presidential it-wasn’t-my-fault memoir: “Bill Clinton Whines into the Sunset”
• Audrey Fahlberg’s brilliant on-the-ground reporting: “The Horror of Philadelphia’s Tranq Crisis”
• Dan Morenoff on the real work yet to be done: “DEI Meets an IED”
• John Bolton’s wary view of Trump’s foreign policy this time around: “Trump in the World”
• Our Spacious Skies, this month by John Miller, who takes us to the Dry Tortugas: “Isle of Infamy”
• And, as always, the finest back-of-the-book reviews and musings, including Ian Tuttle on Ross Douthat’s new book and, in a double dose of Douthat, Ross’s take on Emilia Pérez, the movie musical about a trans drug lord that’s gone from Oscar darling to glitterati doghouse. In this month’s Happy Warrior, find out from Christian Schneider what an AI editing tool has to say about a classic Tom Wolfe essay—it’s worse than you imagine.

Right now you can try NRPLUS (which gives you access to the normally paywalled magazine) for just $1 per week.

Or, if you’d like to receive the print magazine in the mail, I suggest you try out the print-and-digital bundle for just $65 (that’s 50 percent off the cover price). The bundle is the absolute best way to support NR’s conservative journalism. We’re proud to continue the tradition of bringing you the finest magazine written in English.