Influential right-wing think tank switches allegiance from Trump to DeSantis

The Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank with major sway in reactionary circles, appears to be aligning itself with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as he prepares for a likely 2024 presidential run. Such reorientation is striking considering the Institute was one of the first major right-wing institutions to support Donald Trump in the early days of his 2016 campaign. 

“They’re [sic] quite a few [at the Claremont Institute] who personally prefer DeSantis as the next candidate. And I would count myself among that group,” Charles Kesler, a senior fellow at the Institute, explained to Cameron Joseph of VICE News 

The think tank, according to The New York Times, has “helped shape the views of Clarence Thomas, Tom Cotton and the conservative activist Christopher Rufo.”

Claremont gained infamy when, in the months leading up to the 2016 presidential election, they published the “Flight 93” essay by the former Rudy Giuliani speechwriter and BlackRock investment director Michael Anton — under the insufferable pseudonym “Publius Decius Mus.” In his piece, Anton argues that not voting for Trump is akin to being a passive passenger on the United Airlines Flight 93. 

“2016 is the Flight 93 election: charge the cockpit or you die. You may die anyway. You — or the leader of your party — may make it into the cockpit and not know how to fly or land the plane. There are no guarantees,” Anton writes. 

“Except one: if you don’t try, death is certain. To compound the metaphor: a Hillary Clinton presidency is Russian Roulette with a semi-auto. With Trump, at least you can spin the cylinder and take your chances,” he continues. 

The essay, which went viral, is tinged with xenophobic rhetoric: “No more importing poverty, crime, and alien cultures,” Anton declares in one passage. 

The pivot by many Claremont fellows is striking considering the influence that the Institute had in the Trump administration. Members of the think tank exhibited input on policy, consistently mingled with Trump cabinet members like Mike Pompeo and were brought into the executive fold. Trump even awarded the National Humanities Medal to the Institute in 2019. 

Most urgently, several Claremont fellows including Michael Anton were critical players in attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. One such fellow, John Eastman, layed out a six-point memo that he presented to then-Vice President Mike Pence on how he could rescind Joe Biden’s electoral victory. 

“You really need to listen to John,” Trump allegedly told Pence. “He’s a respected constitutional scholar. Hear him out.”