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How the Heritage Foundation Sold Its Birthright

The storied think tank traded Reaganite conservatism for rabid populism in the Trump era.
Michael Warren /
Nation’s Capital Prepares For President-Elect Donald Trump’s Second Inauguration
A Donald Trump banner hangs on the side of the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. on January 17, 2025. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

The giant poster on the side of the Heritage Foundation’s eight-story Capitol Hill headquarters is impossible to miss. Underneath the think tank’s bell logo and the phrase “Congratulations, President Trump,” the now-iconic photograph of Donald Trump raising his fist in the air moments after a bullet nearly killed him looks out defiantly toward Union Station and Massachusetts Avenue.

Michael Warren is a politics editor at The Dispatch and is based in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the company in 2023, he was an on-air reporter at CNN and a senior writer at the Weekly Standard. When Mike is not reporting, writing, editing, and podcasting, he is probably spending time with his wife and three sons.

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