Conspiracy theories? JFK and Trump

November 22, 2020

Read the full article in The Washington Post

President Trump’s bogus claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him is the latest in a long list of conspiracy theories he has promoted, which in turn have been amplified by cable television and social media. Yet, rather than being banished to the fringes of American politics, Trump has amassed a cultlike following and has now falsely managed to convince a majority of Republicans that he won despite all evidence to the contrary.

Such behavior was unimaginable for earlier presidents. And yet conspiracy theories have a long history in right-wing politics. But tempting though it may be to chalk conspiracies up as a conservative phenomenon, the truth is more complicated. In fact, it was the assassination of John F. Kennedy 57 years ago today that transformed such paranoid thinking into more widespread distrust of government, ultimately creating openings for a demagogue like Trump.

Read the full article in The Washington Post

Steven M. Gillon

Steve Gillon is a Miller Center nonresident senior fellow, a scholar-in-residence at the History Channel, and a professor of history at the University of Oklahoma. Gillon received his BA in history from Widener University, where he graduated summa cum laude with honors in history. He was named the recipient of the faculty prize for maintaining the highest undergraduate GPA. He went on to earn his MA and PhD in American civilization from Brown University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving his PhD, Gillon spent nine years teaching history at Yale University, where he won the prestigious DeVane Medal for outstanding undergraduate teaching.