Talks from the Hoover Institution America and the World at 250 | Hoover Applied History Working Group Symposium
Feb 17, 2026
Michael Anton, Jack Ross Senior Fellow and former White House official, reflects on his public‑service career and controversial 2016 essay. He revisits conservative grievances about media, immigration, and foreign interventions. He assesses recent presidencies, trade and border achievements, Middle East diplomacy, and strategic debates on China, Russia, Iran, and Taiwan.
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Pessimism With Policy Vindications
- Ten years on, Anton remains pessimistic but judges some Trump-era shifts as valuable corrections.
- He argues foreign policy and trade realignments under Trump forced later administrations to adopt similar measures.
Act Rather Than Passively Accept Decline
- Anton counsels that attempting change was worth the political risk rather than passive acceptance.
- He stresses acting against long-term decline even when success is uncertain.
Concrete Domestic Gains
- Anton credits the first Trump term with reducing border crossings and initiating reshoring and wage improvements.
- He treats these outcomes as measurable policy successes despite incomplete implementation.