President Trump’s far-reaching executive actions have given rise to a debate about whether the president is acting within the tradition of presidential power—or whether recent events represent a departure from the constitutional order and precedent. Melody Barnes of the University of Virginia Karsh Institute for Democracy, Charles Cooke of National Review, Joanne Freeman of Yale University, and Yuval Levin of the American Enterprise Institute join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the American tradition of presidential power and evaluate analogues to our constitutional moment from across U.S. history. 

This conversation was originally recorded on February 20, 2025, as part of the NCC’s President’s Council Retreat in Miami, Fla. 

Resources

• Yuval Levin, “A Rule of Thumb for the Executive Power Debates,” National Review Online (February 5, 2025) 


• Melody Barnes et al., Karsh Institute of Democracy Statement of Principles 


• Melody Barnes, Corey D. B. Walker and Thad M. Williamson, “Introduction: Can We Make American Democracy Work?,” in Community Wealth Building and the Reconstruction of American Democracy (2020) 


• Charles Cooke, The Conservatarian Manifesto: Libertarians, Conservatives, and the Fight for the Right’s Future (2015) 


• Charles Cooke, “The American System Works, and It Will Work If Trump Wins Again,” National Review (Dec. 15, 2023)

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