Conspiracy theory after theory, Americans cast a paranoid eye on their partisan opponents throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. ADADSome commentators view Trump as breaking from the past, with his ready willingness to fuel conspiracy theories to motivate voters to support him and his party. But a more nuanced appraisal would situate Trump in the long history of peddling conspiracy theories in American politics. The republican political theory underlying the American paranoid style had its origin in the writings of opposition politicians in 18th-century Britain. ADADThis may be the norm, but Trump’s ongoing embrace of conspiracy theories while in office can still be explained by the history of political conspiracy thinking.

Source: Washington Post October 21, 2019 09:56 UTC