Taking David Horowitz Seriously
On this episode of The Time of Monsters, David Klion on a right-wing provocateur who shaped Trumpism.
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Taking David Horowitz Seriously | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
The late David Horowitz, who died in April at age 86, was often dismissed as a fringe figure not just by liberals and leftists but even many on the right. Horowitz would often complain that his books — crude polemics with titles such as BLITZ: Trump Will Smash the Left and Win (2020) and The Enemy Within: How a Totalitarian Movement Is Destroying America (2021) — were ignored by respectable conservative publications such as National Review and Commentary. Horowitz got one thing right: that both his friends and foes underestimated him. In truth, as David Klion notes in an obituary for The Nation, Horowitz for all his shrillness and absurdity, had an enormous influence on right-wing politics and deserves to be seen as a precursor to Trumpism. Among other claims to infamy, Horowitz was the mentor of Trump’s anti-immigration advisor Stephen Miller.
I talked to David about Horowitz’s long shadow and tumultuous journey from being a red-diaper baby to a New Left radical to an right-wing polemicist who tried to revive the very McCarthism that damaged his parent’s life. Horowitz left a terrible legacy but was also a figure whose impact can’t be ignored.
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Speaker David Horowitz delivers his call for cleansing politics from the higher education environment Tuesday at the Tivoli on the Auraria Campus.
(Brian Brainerd / The Denver Post via Getty Images)The late David Horowitz, who died in April at age 86, was often dismissed as a fringe figure not just by liberals and leftists but even many on the right. Horowitz would often complain that his books—crude polemics with titles such as BLITZ: Trump Will Smash the Left and Win (2020) and The Enemy Within: How a Totalitarian Movement Is Destroying America (2021)—were ignored by respectable conservative publications such as National Review and Commentary. Horowitz got one thing right: that both his friends and foes underestimated him. In truth, as David Klion notes in an obituary for The Nation, Horowitz, for all his shrillness and absurdity, had an enormous influence on right-wing politics and deserves to be seen as a precursor to Trumpism. Among other claims to infamy, Horowitz was the mentor of Trump’s anti-immigration adviser Stephen Miller.
I talked to David about Horowitz’s long shadow and tumultuous journey from being a red-diaper baby to a New Left radical to an right-wing polemicist who tried to revive the very McCarthism that damaged his parent’s life. Horowitz left a terrible legacy but was also a figure whose impact can’t be ignored.
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The Nation Podcasts
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
After Iran War, Can America Still Be Trusted? w/ Annelle Sheline | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
The US/Israel war against Iran has been devastating to many US allies, both in the Middle
East and the wider world. It could easily lead to a Global Depression. Even before the
war, Annelle Sheline of the Quincy Institute noted that countries such as Qatar and
Saudi Arabia had good reason to wean themselves away from a close reliance on the
US. I talked to Annelle about the current state of the war and why it will only intensify
the alienation of traditional US allies.
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