Julius Krein

Julius Krein is the founder and editor-in-chief of American Affairs, a quarterly journal of policy and political thought. He founded American Affairs in 2017 to articulate the economic nationalism of the 2016 Donald Trump campaign, but the journal has since evolved into a wide-ranging, heterodox politics and policy publication. Krein initially supported Trump but publicly withdrew his support in a 2017 New York Times op-ed after Trump's reaction to the Charlottesville rally. He identifies as a conservative and nationalist, but not a white nationalist. Krein is critical of Reaganomics and the Republican Party leadership. Krein argues that the U.S. has struggled with capital-intensive industries moving overseas due to policies prioritizing intellectual property and financial rents over manufacturing. He believes the U.S. lacks a serious industrial policy to boost competitiveness, citing issues with the defense industrial base and supply chains.