This historian’s time-tested theory explains Trump: conservative

U.S. President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, U.S., June 8, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

Thomas Carlyle, a Scotland-born historian who was 85 when he died in London in 1881, is remembered for the "great man theory." And according to conservative New York Times columnist David French, Carlyle's theory explains U.S. President Donald Trump's impact perfectly.

French, in a Times column, emphasizes that by "great," the theory doesn't necessarily mean "good" or virtuous. In fact, Trump is very much in the Never Trump camp and is a scathing critic of the president.

"History moves mainly through the operations of powerful and influential individuals, and they influence history and culture more than history and culture influence them," the conservative columnist explains. "In this formulation, 'great' isn't a synonym for good. It refers more to impact rather than virtue. Winston Churchill was great and good. Adolf Hitler was great and evil. But they were both men who moved history."

Back in the 1980s, the controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan set off one of his many controversies when he described Hitler as a "great man." Farrakhan, on Phil Donahue's show, insisted that he wasn't praising Hitler but rather, meant "great" as in consequential — not virtuous. Hitler, Farrakhan told Donahue, was "no friend to Black people." And Farrakhan's defenders said he was using Carlyle's theory.

Although Carlyle died 145 years ago, his great man theory is still being used to describe figures who were consequential in either a positive or negative way. And French cites Trump as a prime example of someone whose major impact is quite negative.

When Trump recently "said something deranged," French laments, Republicans instinctively "rallied to his side."

"In other words, it was a day ending in y," French argues. "But that's exactly the problem. The fact that we're so accustomed to Trump's behavior that even egregious misconduct barely raises an eyebrow helps demonstrate that Trump isn't just reshaping American policy; in many ways he's reshaping the American people. Republicans, as we all know, now defend and even cheer conduct they once found abhorrent. Trump's own corruption has corrupted virtually the entire party, turning it into a magnet for grifters and conspiracy theorists. And it's obvious that Trump has influenced the evangelical church more than the evangelical church has influenced Trump."

The conservative Times columnist continues, "But here's the even more insidious part. Trump's influence has spread beyond Trump’s base. By lowering the bar of acceptable behavior below the floor of normal human decency, he's made a mockery of the idea that character matters in politics. ... If you wonder whether leaders truly do corrupt their followers, look no further than to the continued Republican devotion to a man who is so clearly out of control. The solution to Trumpism isn’t to conform to the spirit of the age, but to transform it, and the great man theory of history tells us that we could be one good leader away from turning the page on this miserable age."

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