Connor O'Keeffe | The Libertarian Institute

The Weaponization of Media Access Did Not Start with Trump

by Connor O'Keeffe | Jun 12, 2025 | Featured Articles, Politics

One of the reasons the American political establishment really hates it when Trump is president is that his administration has a tendency to bring out and exaggerate dynamics at play in Washington DC that the establishment would prefer to keep hidden. One such example is the weaponization of media access. Right at the beginning of this term, Trump’s team shook things up by announcing that, going forward, they would control which journalists were allowed into White House press briefings and would determine where each would sit. Establishment journalists did little to hide their displeasure as...

Why Ending the War in Ukraine Is So Difficult Now

by Connor O'Keeffe | May 29, 2025 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

As President [Donald] Trump wrestles to deliver on his campaign promise to end the war on Ukraine by helping to bring about a negotiated peace deal, the effort has, in part, been undermined by an escalating exchange of kamikaze drones by both sides. The last week especially saw a sharp escalation, with Ukraine launching thousands of drones deep into Russia—most of which the Russians claim to have intercepted—and Russia, in turn, stepping up its drone attacks in Ukraine. The Russian strikes over the weekend got a lot of coverage in the American media, especially an aerial assault on Saturday...

Why Trump’s Victory Matters…And Why It Doesn’t

by Connor O'Keeffe | Nov 7, 2024 | Featured Articles, Politics

Donald Trump is the projected winner of the 2024 presidential election. After winning back states he had lost in 2020, Trump performed well in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania—states Kamala Harris needed to win. Trump has won more than enough electoral votes to win back the White House and, as of early Wednesday morning, is projected to win the popular vote. Republicans have also retaken control of the Senate. Control over the House of Representatives is still up for grabs but, so far, Republicans are on pace to take that too. Trump’s win represents another major and well-deserved...

Beware of War Hawks in ‘America First’ Clothing

by Connor O'Keeffe | Oct 29, 2024 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, Politics

For the past eight years, the two major political parties have been gripped by a messy and ongoing realignment. It began with the election of Donald Trump in 2016, which was a major repudiation of the neoconservative-establishment coalition that had dominated the Republican Party since the presidency of George W. Bush. Trump’s condemnation of the war in Iraq—which he correctly said was sold on lies—and his skepticism of continuing to fund radical Islamists in a misguided attempt to overthrow the government in Syria drove some of the staunchest Bush-era neoconservatives to leave the...

Hurricanes Are Not Going Away; How Can We Adapt?

by Connor O'Keeffe | Oct 15, 2024 | Featured Articles

Two weeks ago, Hurricane Helene slammed into the Deep South and parts of Appalachia, bringing devastating floods to a region often spared from strong hurricanes. A variety of factors combined to make Helene an especially dangerous storm. First, it formed over the Gulf of Mexico, where waters tend to be warmer than the Atlantic. Second, the globe is currently experiencing a transition to La Niña conditions where unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Pacific bring about all sorts of effects on the weather. Specifically, as it relates to hurricanes, La Niñas decrease what’s known as vertical...

Project 2025: The Good, the Bad, and the Frustrating

by Connor O'Keeffe | Aug 6, 2024 | Featured Articles, Politics

Anyone following the 2024 presidential election has undoubtedly heard about the political establishment’s latest villain, Project 2025. This policy agenda — technically named the 2025 Presidential Transition Project — was produced by a group of conservative policy analysts, most of whom are associated with the Heritage Foundation. The project centers around a 900-page book meant to provide the next Republican administration to win the White House with a plan and guide for implementing conservative policies at the helm of a federal government staffed with people who almost universally oppose...

Trump’s Attempted Assassination Exposes Establishment Deceitfulness

by Connor O'Keeffe | Jul 23, 2024 | Featured Articles

On Saturday evening, former president and 2024 frontrunner Donald Trump survived an attempted assassination at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The attack was utterly shocking, not only because a would-be assassin was able to get so close to Trump with a rifle but because of how close he was to success. The rally started off like any other. After his long walkout to the song “Proud to Be an American,” the former president began speaking just after 6:05 p.m. EDT. Four minutes later, at 6:09 p.m., people listening to the speech from just outside the venue began filming a man crawling...

If Joe Biden Isn’t Running the Government, Who Is?

by Connor O'Keeffe | Jul 11, 2024 | Featured Articles, Politics

After a disastrous debate performance two weeks ago and a weak damage-control interview last Friday, it’s finally become clear to almost everyone that President Joe Biden is not running the federal government. Every four years, we’re supposed to pretend that a single individual, who we collectively choose at the ballot box, takes charge of the federal government and acts as we would to address the problems we face at home and abroad. Biden’s inability to get through a debate and a sit-down interview without issues shatters the illusion that he is the one running things in Washington and...