Claremont Institute

Not to be confused with the Claremont Institution.

Claremont Institute

Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy
Formation	1979 (45 years ago) (1979)
Founded at	Claremont, California United States
Type	Nonprofit
Tax ID no.	95-3443202
Legal status	501(c)(3)
Purpose	Policy advocacy
Headquarters	Ste 120 1317 W Foothill Blvd Upland, CA 91786-3675 United States [a][1]
Location	Claremont, California, US Upland, California, US
President	Ryan P. Williams[b][2]
Chair	Thomas D. Klingenstein[c][2]
Key people	John C. Eastman Charles R. Kesler
Revenue	$9,466,224[3] (2020[d])
Expenses	$8,071,035[3] (2020[d])
Website	claremont.org

The Claremont Institute is an American conservative think tank based in Upland, California, founded in 1979 by four students of Harry V. Jaffa.^[4] It produces the Claremont Review of Books, The American Mind, and other publications.

The institute was an early defender of Donald Trump.^[4] After Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election and Trump refused to concede, Claremont Institute senior fellow John Eastman aided Trump in his failed attempts to overturn the election results.^[5][6]

History

The Claremont Institute was founded in 1979 by four students of Straussian political theorist Harry V. Jaffa, a professor emeritus at Claremont McKenna College and the Claremont Graduate University, although the institute has no affiliation with any of the Claremont Colleges.^[4] Under Jaffa and Larry P. Arnn, the institute became a leading Straussian-influenced conservative think tank, publishing on topics such as statesmanship, Lincoln scholarship, and modern conservative issues.^{[7][non-primary source needed]}

Arnn served as its president from 1985 until 2000, when he became the twelfth president of Hillsdale College.^[8] Thomas Klingenstein has been the chairman of the board of trustees since approximately 2010.^[c][9] Michael Pack was president from 2015 to 2017.^[10] Ryan P. Williams assumed the post in 2017. ^[2][11]

The Claremont Institute publishes The Claremont Review of Books,^[12] The American Mind,^[13] The American Story Podcast,^[14] and Claremont Books.^[15] A Washington, D.C., branch of the Claremont Institute, called the Center for the American Way of Life, opened in February 2021.^[16]

Claremont Institute fellowships have gone to prominent figures on the right such as Laura Ingraham, Ben Shapiro, Mark Levin, Mary Kissel, and Charles C. Johnson.^{[17][18][19][20]} The institute caused controversy by granting a fellowship in 2019 to the Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec.^[21][22][23] National Review columnist Mona Charen wrote that "Claremont stands out for beclowning itself with this embrace of the smarmy underside of American politics."^[21] In 2020, Mark Joseph Stern of Slate magazine called the institute "a racist fever swamp with deep connections to the conspiratorial alt-right", citing Posobiec's fellowship and the publication of a 2020 essay by senior fellow John Eastman that questioned Kamala Harris's eligibility for the vice presidency.^[24][25] In 2022, The American Mind published an editorial by Raw Egg Nationalist,^[26] an author affiliated with neo-Nazi publishing house Antelope Hill.^[27][28]

Trump advocacy and connections

The Claremont Institute was an early defender of Donald Trump.^[4] The Daily Beast stated Claremont "arguably has done more than any other group to build a philosophical case for Trump's brand of conservatism".^[29]

In September 2016, the institute's Claremont Review of Books published Michael Anton's "The Flight 93 Election" editorial. Written under a pseudonym, it compared the prospect of conservatives letting Trump lose to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election with passengers not charging the cockpit of the United Airlines aircraft hijacked by Al-Qaeda in 2001.^[30][31] The article went viral and received widespread coverage across the political spectrum. Rush Limbaugh devoted a day of his radio series to reading the entire essay.^[32] Anton would go on to serve under President Trump as spokesman for the National Security Council, holding the position from 2017 to 2018.^[31]

The institute became a significant player in the Trump administration, adding a Washington office and contributing ideas and personnel to the administration.^[33] In 2019, Trump awarded the Claremont Institute with a National Humanities Medal.^[34][35] In June 2020, former Claremont Institute president Michael Pack became head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media under Trump.^[36]

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the institute received between $350,000 and $1 million in federally backed small-business loans from Chain Bridge Bank as part of the Paycheck Protection Program. The institute stated this would allow it to retain 29 jobs.^[29][37]

According to a November 2021 Vice article,^[38] the actions of pro-Trump Claremont Institute leaders—senior fellows John Eastman, Brian Kennedy, Angelo Codevilla, and Michael Anton, as well as Ryan P. Williams (the institute's president), and Thomas D. Klingenstein^[39][40] (chairman of the board)—culminated in the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Williams has stated that the institute's mission "is to save western civilization". Vice asserted that Codevilla, who frequently denounced the "ruling class", coined the term "cold civil war" in 2017. On January 5, 2021, using the hashtag #HoldTheLine, Claremont president emeritus Brian Kennedy tweeted from Capitol Hill: "We are in a constitutional crisis and also in a revolutionary moment... We must embrace the spirit of the American Revolution to stop this communist revolution."^[41] In early January 2021, along with Trump and other advisors, Eastman unsuccessfully attempted to persuade then-vice president Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. He also spoke at Trump's rally on January 6, 2021, before the attack on the Capitol.^[6][42][43] The details of Eastman's attempt, described in a book by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, made national headlines in September 2021.^[42][43]

Shortly afterward, the American Political Science Association canceled panels involving Eastman and Claremont at its 2021 conference.^[42] In April 2022, Thomas B. Edsall of The New York Times wrote in a guest essay that the Claremont Institute, as well as the institute's magazine American Mind and other publications, comprised the "substantial intellectual infrastructure that has buoyed the Trumpist right and its willingness to rupture moral codes and to discard traditional norms".^[44] An anonymous former fellow said Eastman's ideas are based on the doctrine of natural rights, which has been a key element of the institute's politics for many years. He said, "That's how Claremont goes from this quirky intellectual outfit to one of the main intellectual architects of trying to overthrow the republic."^[33] Senior fellow Charles Kesler, who believes Eastman's advice was wrong, said the institute is split between "some who continue to believe that the election was stolen and some who have denied that from the beginning".^[33]

The Claremont Institute has hosted Charles Haywood on their podcast. Haywood, a far-right extremist, has described the January 6 attacks as an "electoral justice protest" and wrote about his desire to lead as a "warlord" of an "armed patronage network" following the collapse of the United States.^[45] Haywood founded an organisation, the Society for American Civic Renewal, to which Claremont has donated $26,248.^[46] Claremont's president Ryan Williams acknowledged that Claremont "acted as a fiscal sponsor to help the Society for American Civic Renewal (SACR) establish itself as an incorporated 501(c)(10)"; he also acknowledged being a founding board member of SACR, continuing into 2024.^[47] The Guardian described SACR as an "exclusive, men-only fraternal order which aims to replace the US government with an authoritarian 'aligned regime', and which experts say is rooted in extreme Christian nationalism and religious autocracy.^[47]

Biden years

In 2021, Claremont senior fellow Glenn Ellmers wrote a controversial essay in The American Mind, arguing that the United States had been destroyed by internal enemies and that a "counter-revolution" was necessary to defeat the majority of the people who "can no longer be considered fellow citizens". According to Ellmers, "Most people living in the United States today—certainly more than half—are not Americans in any meaningful sense of the term."^[48]

Williams, the institute's president, said its mission is to "save Western civilization", particularly from the threat he said is posed by the progressive movement.^[49] In 2023, the Claremont Institute hired Boise State University professor Scott Yenor as its inaugural senior director of state coalitions.^[50]

Claremont is a member of the advisory board of Project 2025,^[51] a collection of conservative and right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation to reshape the US federal government and consolidate executive power should the Republican nominee win the 2024 presidential election.^[52]

Publications

The Claremont Institute publishes the Claremont Review of Books, edited by Charles R. Kesler, which features regular columns by Martha Bayles, Mark Helprin, Michael Anton, and Spencer Klavan. The institute also publishes The American Mind. Claremont Vice President of Education Matt Peterson serves as editor, and James Poulos is executive editor. The publication has featured essays by Newt Gingrich, Todd Young, Marco Rubio, Jim Banks, and Tom Cotton.^[53][54][55]

Finances

The fiscal year for the organization is from the beginning of July to the end of June of the following calendar year. Finances for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021^[e] (the latest available), consist of: revenue of $9,466,224; expenses of $8,071,035; and donations of $8,392,413. ^[3]

Notes

1. IRS Form-990 yr2018 shows corporate address in Upland
2. Williams became president in 2017
3. Klingenstein became chairman in fiscal year ending June 30, 2011
4. fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 – IRS Form-990 yr2020
5. as shown on IRS Form-990 yr2020

References

1. "Claremont Institute – IRS Form-990 yr2018". ProPublica – Nonprofit Explorer. February 4, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
2. "Board of Directors". The Claremont Institute. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
3. "Claremont Institute – IRS Form-990 yr2020" (PDF). GuideStar. June 30, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
4. Johnson, Eliana (August 23, 2018). "Trump speechwriter's ouster sparks racially charged debate". Politico. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
5. Jamie Gangel and Jeremy Herb (September 20, 2021). "Memo shows Trump lawyer's six-step plan for Pence to overturn the election". CNN. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
6. Bump, Philip (September 21, 2021). "By memo or by mob, Trump and his team positioned the country for chaos". The Washington Post.
7. "The Claremont Institute". The National Endowment for the Humanities. November 21, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
8. "National News Briefs; Conservative College Names New President". The New York Times. April 7, 2000. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
9. "Claremont Institute – IRS Form-990 yr2010". ProPublica – Nonprofit Explorer. December 27, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
10. "Michael Pack". USAGM. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
11. "Leadership". Claremont Institute. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
12. "About us". Claremont Review of Books. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
13. "About". The American Mind. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
14. "About Us". The American Story. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
15. "Claremont Books". claremont.org. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
16. "About". The American Way of Life. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
17. "Publius Alumni". claremont.org. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
18. Fisher, Mark (July 30, 2022). "The Claremont Institute triumphed in the Trump years. Then came Jan. 6". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
19. "Lincoln Fellowship Alumni". claremont.org. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
20. Ball, Molly (September 17, 2014). "The Making of a Conservative Superstar". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
21. Charen, Mona (July 12, 2019). "Claremont's New Class of Fellows Would Make Its Founders Weep". National Review Online. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
22. Stuart, Gwynedd (September 10, 2020). "Donald Trump's Politics of White Fear Have Roots in Southern California". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
23. "Qwazy for QAnon". The Bulwark. August 13, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
24. Eastman, John C. (August 12, 2020). "Some Questions for Kamala Harris About Eligibility". Newsweek. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
25. Stern, Mark Joseph (August 14, 2020). "The White Supremacist 'Scholars' Pushing the Kamala Harris Birther Lie". Slate. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
26. Nationalist, Raw Egg (March 1, 2022). "The Decline is Real". The American Mind. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
27. Field, Laura (April 22, 2022). "The Decay at the Claremont Institute Continues". The Bulwark. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
28. Gais, Hannah; Squire, Megan; Wilson, Jason; Hayden, Michael Edison (June 13, 2022). "White Nationalist Book Publishers Revealed". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
29. "Trump's Small Biz Rescue Bailed Out Kushner's Family, Obama's Aides and Other Political Elite". The Daily Beast. July 6, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
30. Schuessler, Jennifer (February 20, 2017). "'Charge the Cockpit or You Die': Behind an Incendiary Case for Trump (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
31. "Trump's national security spokesman Michael Anton is resigning". CNBC. April 9, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
32. "Review of After the Flight 93 Election by Michael Anton". RealClearBooks. February 22, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
33. Fisher, Marc; Stanley-Becker, Isaac (July 24, 2022). "The Claremont Institute triumphed in the Trump years. Then came Jan. 6". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
34. "The Claremont Institute". National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
35. "White House announces first National Medal of Arts recipients of Trump administration: Jon Voight, more". USA Today. November 18, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
36. Ellison, Sarah (June 19, 2020). "How Trump's obsessions with media and loyalty coalesced in a battle for Voice of America". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
37. Syed, Moiz; Willis, Derek. "Claremont Institute for the Study lf Statesmanship & Political Philosophy". ProPublica. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
38. Joseph, Cameron (November 4, 2021). "Meet the Obscure Think Tank Powering Trump's Biggest Lies". Vice. Washington. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
39. Klingenstein, Tom. "Winning the Cold Civil War" (PDF).
40. Tom Klingenstein (Director) (November 29, 2021). Defending The American Way of Life During a Cold Civil War. Event occurs at 4:28. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
41. Joseph, Cameron (November 4, 2021). "Meet the Obscure Think Tank Powering Trump's Biggest Lies". Vice. Washington. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
42. Hedgepeth, Lee (September 27, 2021). "Conservative group calls decision to not host Trump lawyer at conference 'gutless,' others say it's not enough". Nexstar Media. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
43. Jenkins, Cameron (September 21, 2021). "Trump lawyer offered six-point plan for Pence to overturn election: book". The Hill. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
44. Edsall, Thomas (April 20, 2022). "With or Without Trump, the MAGA Movement Is the Future of the Republican Party". The New York Times. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
45. Wilson, Jason (August 22, 2023). "US businessman is wannabe 'warlord' of secretive far-right men's network". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
46. Wilson, Jason (August 22, 2023). "US businessman is wannabe 'warlord' of secretive far-right men's network". The Guardian. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
47. Wilson, Jason (March 11, 2024). "Revealed: US conservative thinktank's links to extremist fraternal order". The Guardian. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
48. Beauchamp, Zack (April 1, 2021). "The conservative movement is rejecting America". Vox. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
49. Green, Emma (October 1, 2021). "The Conservatives Dreading – And Preparing for – Civil War". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
50. Richert, Kevin (February 9, 2023). "Boise State professor Scott Yenor takes a Florida-based job with a conservative think tank". Idaho Capital Sun. Archived from the original on July 11, 2024. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
51. "Advisory Board". The Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
52. Mascaro, Lisa (August 29, 2023). "Conservative Groups Draw Up Plan to Dismantle the US Government and Replace It with Trump's Vision". Associated Press News. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
53. "The Soros Cover-Up". The American Mind. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
54. "American Industrial Policy and the Rise of China". The American Mind. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
55. "A GOP That Works". The American Mind. Retrieved June 29, 2021.

Further reading

• Stewart, Katherine; Segers, Grace; McCormack, Win; Otten, Tori; Aronoff, Kate (August 10, 2023). "The Claremont Institute: The Anti-Democracy Think Tank". The New Republic. Retrieved August 12, 2023.

External links

• Official website
• "Claremont Institute Internal Revenue Service filings". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
• Appearances on C-SPAN

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