I just finished Charlie Kirk’s The MAGA Doctrine. This book, published in September of 2025, lays out the rise of Trump as a disruptive force in American politics. Kirk makes the point that traditional party politics has only benefited those who are in “the system,” and Trump does not belong to or come from that tribe. He also argues that Trump will protect the working American from the wealthy men like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

The number inaccuracies is rather large as Kirk lays out his argument for Trump. He also take the opportunity to mock some of Trump’s adversaries, which does not sit well with me as I continue to be concerned about the lack of civility in the public forum.

I wondered as I got into some of the repetitive phrases and circular arguments of Kirk if he would still be a strong supporter now as we see the end of year one in the Trump Regime. For much of what Kirk expected has not happened.

I think Kirk is right about this part – that Trump was/is seen by his supporters as a disrupters. But he has not brought peace, rather division, and he has not solved high prices but rather created higher prices. And finally, Trump is bringing a new trading world in which the American economy may find itself on the outside.