- The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence arrives amid national embarrassment, with the U.S. having elected a 'mad king' akin to the one it overthrew, reflecting a dramatic self-destructive streak.
- Historians may question how a wealthy, powerful nation chose to throw away its advantages; the author's research for 'The Next Civil War' reveals underlying causes of decline, yet the self-destruction remains a mystery even to those close to it.
- Causes of collapse are debated—some point to the 2008 financial crisis, others to 1980's inequality spike, 1876's end of reconstruction, or earlier conflicts—but Trump's presidency highlights that the crisis has existed since America's founding.
- Early American leaders like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln foresaw the nation's potential for hyperpartisanship and self-destruction, suggesting the seeds of decline were planted at the origin.