- Pritzker Fellows
- Former Fellows
- McKay Coppins
McKay Coppins
Author & Staff Writer at The Atlantic
Biography
McKay Coppins is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he reports on national politics and the Trump presidency. He was previously a reporter for BuzzFeed News, where he covered two presidential campaigns and served as the site's first political editor, and before that he wrote for Newsweek. He is the author of The Wilderness, a book about the battle over the future of the Republican Party, and his work has also appeared in The New York Times and The Washington Post. A frequent contributor to cable news and public radio, he has been featured on Forbes’s 30 Under 30 list.
Seminars
“The Partisan Media & the Future of Trumpism"
The Trump Era has given rise in America to two highly partisan and increasingly influential new-media ecosystems - one on the right, and one on the left - both of which are teeming with political propaganda, conspiracy theories, and fake news. In these "fever swamps," the goal is not to report the news or even to comment on it - it is to weaponize and monetize information, often at the cost of accuracy, fairness, and truth. I'll share stories that illustrate the dangers these media trends pose to America's democratic process and discuss what we can do to combat the spread of fake news and misinformation.
For the past half-century, the GOP has been controlled by conservatives - people who believed in fiscal discipline, small government, and traditional social values. But the rise of President Trump - and the unique brand of populist nationalism he campaigned on - could be throwing his party into an ideological identity crisis. In the wake of Roy Moore’s defeat in Alabama, and with Steve Bannon still threatening to lead an insurgency of Trump-style populists in next year's midterms, what does it mean to be a Republican today? And could Trumpism conquer conservatism in the long term?