This discussion brings together an eminent and diverse panel to ponder the state of both conservatism and the Republican Party in an era in which Donald Trump is the clear dominant force in GOP—and American—politics. Panelists include: Carlos Curbelo, Jonah Goldberg, Conor Lamb, Meridith McGraw, and Sean Trende. Moderated by Brian Rosenwald.
Trump has changed both the Republican Party and the philosophy guiding it, with major ramifications for the present and the future. The panel will explore the contours of these changes, how they’re shaping our politics, and what this will mean going forward. They’ll also dive into the opportunities available to a newly populist Republican Party, as well as the risks, and what the changes mean for American democracy more broadly. The discussion will include audience questions.
Lunch will be provided. This event will take place in person and is open to the public. All are welcome to attend. Click the link above to register.
Co-sponsored by the Red and Blue Exchange (RBX), Penn Libraries Building Bridges Fund, and the SNF Paideia Program.
About the panelists:
Carlos Curbelo co-leads Vocero and serves as an on-air analyst for NBC NEWS. In 2010, he was elected to represent his community on the Miami-Dade County School Board, and in 2014 he was elected to Congress where he served until January of 2019. In Congress Mr. Curbelo was consistently ranked one of the most bipartisan Members of Congress and led on difficult issues like climate policy, immigration, gun reform, and tax policy. He was also a prominent voice in international affairs and chaired the House’s Brazil Caucus. In 2017, he was honored by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation with the New Frontier Award for his work promoting bipartisan cooperation on environmental policy.
Jonah Goldberg holds the Asness Chair in Applied Liberty at the American Enterprise Institute, where he is also a senior fellow. He writes about political and cultural issues and is concurrently the editor in chief of the Dispatch, a media company he cofounded after leaving National Review in 2019. He is also host of the podcast The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg. Mr. Goldberg is a weekly columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and his syndicated column appears in over 100 newspapers nationwide. He is also a CNN commentator and appears regularly on NPR’s Morning Edition. Mr. Goldberg is the author of three New York Times bestsellers: Suicide of the West (Crown Forum, 2018), The Tyranny of Clichés (Sentinel HC, 2012), and Liberal Fascism (Doubleday, 2008).
Conor Lamb is a former a U.S. congressman who also served as a prosecutor in the Marines and in the U.S. Department of Justice. Professor Conor Lamb is a Distinguished Lecturer of Law, teaching a course in Faith & Democracy. The former Congressman served on the committees of Science, Space, and Technology, Veterans’ Affairs, Transportation and Infrastructure. Prior to that role, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the city of Pittsburgh.
Meridith McGraw is a reporter covering the White House for The Wall Street Journal in Washington. She joined the Journal from Politico, where she was national political correspondent and covered the 2024 presidential election. She started at Politico in 2019 as a White House reporter. Ms. McGraw is the author of “Trump in Exile,” which chronicled Donald Trump’s post-presidency after he lost the 2020 election. Previously, she was a White House reporter and producer for ABC News.
Sean Trende is the Senior Elections Analyst for RealClearPolitics. He is the author of “The Lost Majority: Why the Future of Government Is Up for Grabs and Who Will Take It,” and co-authored the Almanac of American Politics 2014. Before becoming a full-time political analyst, Mr. Trende practiced law.
