Donald Trump’s decisive victory in November’s presidential race, coupled with Republican control of both houses of Congress, marks a pivotal moment in American politics—one that could halt the rise of radical race and gender ideology. This push has relied on unelected progressive elites enforcing it through bureaucratic institutions. Christopher F. Rufo has played a leading role in exposing this agenda. Now, he offers a “Counterrevolution Blueprint” for the Trump administration to eliminate racialist policies from the federal government and restore color-blind principles.
The new administration also has the chance to confront what Trump, in a campaign video, called the “left-wing gender insanity being pushed on our children.” Leor Sapir’s “Gender Medicine on the Ropes” chronicles recent political and legal setbacks faced by the transgender movement. Trump’s victory could further accelerate its decline, potentially ending the use of medically dubious treatments on gender-distressed children—a practice that future generations will view with horror.
Trump’s return to Washington may dominate the headlines, but an equally important story is the fate of the Democratic Party, writes Martin Gurri in “Lost in the Funhouse.” He argues that the 2024 outcome has shattered the party, leaving its future uncertain. Abigail Shrier’s “Cabinet of the Canceled” examines Trump’s key administrative picks, noting that many share firsthand experience with progressive bullying—something that Shrier herself has endured through her courageous reporting on the gender wars.
In “New York, After November 5,” John Ketcham assesses the city and state’s political landscape. While New York predictably backed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, Trump’s multiethnic coalition made significant inroads, especially in Gotham, where residents are increasingly frustrated by violent crime, worsening street disorder, a self-inflicted migrant crisis, and a persistent housing shortage.
San Francisco continues to struggle with severe homelessness and street disorder, despite massive public spending aimed at fixing it. In “Urban Anarchy,” Sanjana Friedman explores why these efforts yield so little progress, pointing to nonprofits like Urban Alchemy, which hires ex-convicts to manage homeless shelters, de-escalate conflicts, and perform other public services. Friedman notes scant evidence that Urban Alchemy’s work is effective—and growing concerns that the group itself is spiraling out of control.
Charles Fain Lehman takes readers “Inside the East Coast’s Largest Open-Air Drug Market”—Philadelphia’s squalid Kensington neighborhood. There, “consumers” openly buy opioids, meth, and other illicit drugs, while addicts stagger zombie-like through the streets. It’s a grim spectacle that newly elected Mayor Cherelle Parker has vowed to clean up—but that will be a daunting task.
A New York jury acquitted former Marine Daniel Penny of criminally negligent homicide in the death of homeless subway rider Jordan Neely, following a nationally watched trial. In May 2023, Neely boarded a subway car and menaced passengers, until Penny restrained him with a chokehold—a move that prosecutors claimed led to Neely’s death. In “What I Saw at the Daniel Penny Trial,” Nicole Gelinas, with a Janet Malcolm–like eye for character and perception, recounts the drama.
This issue has much more compelling content, including Steven Malanga on rethinking pot legalization, Theodore Dalrymple on Boris Johnson’s memoirs, Eric Kober on Robert Moses’s New York City legacy (a sequel to Gelinas’s Moses reassessment), Rob Henderson on moving to New York, and James B. Meigs and Tal Fortgang on fighting “civic terrorism.”
—Brian C. Anderson