Journal of American Greatness
Anonymous blog; 2015–2016; written by pseudonymous authors using ancient Roman pen names; the immediate intellectual precursor to American Affairs and The Flight 93 Election; described themselves as “Paleo-Straussians”
What It Was
The Journal of American Greatness (JAG) was an anonymous blog active in 2015–2016 during the rise of Trump’s candidacy. Its authors — who used pen names from ancient Rome — were among the first to develop a sophisticated intellectual defense of Trumpism from a right-wing perspective.
Their self-designation as “Paleo-Straussians” captures their position: they drew on Straussian political philosophy but inflected it with paleoconservative concerns (immigration, trade, civilizational decline). They cited authors like Sam Francis and Peter Brimelow (a white supremacist) alongside Strauss and Jaffa.
Significance
JAG proved that intellectualized Trumpism could find an audience — that there was a market for high-theory defenses of populist nationalism in educated conservative circles. This discovery set the template for what the Claremonters would do post-2016.
The blog was, in Field’s words, “novel for its hysterical alarmism and early flirtation with the remedy of strongman politics (or Caesarism) as a possible solution for America’s ailments.” This Caesarist possibility — elected strongman as emergency executive — would become a recurring theme of the New Right.
The Authors
Three JAG authors eventually broke their anonymity:
- Michael Anton (“Publius Decius Mus”) — went on to write The Flight 93 Election and serve in the Trump White House
- Julius Krein (“Plautus”) — went on to co-found American Affairs journal
- Gladden Pappin — went on to become a Catholic integralist political philosopher; also co-founded American Affairs
Their divergent trajectories after JAG illustrate the range of positions available within the early Trump intellectual ecosystem.
Cross-References
- Michael Anton — “Publius Decius Mus”; most famous JAG author
- Julius Krein — “Plautus”; went on to found American Affairs
- Gladden Pappin — co-founder of American Affairs
- The Claremonters — the broader movement JAG belonged to
- The Flight 93 Election — Anton’s next major work after JAG
- American Affairs — Krein’s post-JAG institution
- Paleoconservatism — the “paleo” half of “Paleo-Straussian”
- West Coast Straussianism — the “Straussian” half