Grand Old Unraveling

John Kenneth White is the coauthor of American Political Parties: Why They Formed, How They Function, and Where They’re Headed and the author of What Happened to the Republican Party? And What It Means for Presidential Politics among many other books.

• Preface: The Gathering StormIntroduction: Passions and Interests: Republicans Shatter a Delicate Balance1. Democracy on Trial—Again2. A Broken Party, 1932–19523. The Price of Victory: Dwight Eisenhower’s 1952 Campaign and the Cult of Personality4. Of Conspiracy Theories, Lies, and Stolen Elections5. A Party Transformed6. A Clear and Present DangerAfterword 2023: A Reflection and a ReckoningAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

"The Unraveling of the Grand Old Party: Donald Trump, Conspiracy Thinking, and the Rise of Authoritarianism is a powerful warning of the dangers presented by Trumpist conspiracy-mongering and contempt for democratic norms. John Kenneth White contends that Trumpism has been germinating within the GOP for decades, and that Donald Trump is a ‘symptom, not a cause of our present-day dilemma.’ It is, in White’s retelling, ‘the culture within the Republican Party’ that made Trump possible. This book should be required reading for all Americans concerned about the fate of the republic in 2024 and beyond."—Stephen F. Knott, author of The Lost Soul of the American Presidency: The Decline into Demagoguery and the Prospects for Renewal"Discussions of the rise of authoritarianism in the contemporary Republican Party are ubiquitous, but how did we get here? This careful historical account fills in the missing pieces to explain the development of the contemporary Republican Party’s penchant towards conspiratorial and anti-Democratic sentiments over the course of nearly a century."—Rachel M. Blum, author of How the Tea Party Captured the GOP: Insurgent Factions in American Politics"In The Unravelling of the Grand Old Party, John Kenneth White takes on a substantial undertaking: explaining how the Republican Party got to where it is today. Of course he dissects Donald Trump’s singular influence over the party during the past decade, but he also shows how the party has shifted its positions—on race, economics, the role of government, conspiratorial thinking, and more—over a vast and detailed swath of US history. White effectively demonstrates how the Republican Party became a place that Trump would view as home long before he thought about running for office."—Seth Masket, author of Learning from Loss: The Democrats, 2016–2020