Recently, Ayn Rand Institute (ARI) Chairman of the Board Yaron Brook decided to “unload” on fellow Objectivists Andrew Bernstein, David Harriman, and (to a lesser extent) Leonard Peikoff. This was surprising for a couple of reasons. First, Brook has said over the years that he doesn’t want to comment on specific Objectivists. Second, Leonard Peikoff is 92 and the status of his estate (and Rand’s papers most importantly) might still be up in the air.
What prompted this tirade was a question about Andrew Bernstein’s recent essay on President Trump, where he argued that Trump was a hero. Brook said that, on the contrary, Trump is a horrible president and may be the worst president in American history. Not only that, but he’s also a flat out “villain,” hates the United States, and says Bernstein’s piece is “B.S.” (he didn’t use the abbreviation). However, he went on to say that Trump is supportive of business and businessmen. In addition, he says that Trump – for whatever his flaws – speaks his mind and doesn’t care what people think about him. However, the few topics he mentioned was Trump’s support for tariffs and attacking drug dealers. At the end of the day, it looks like what is driving Brook is that Trump is an anti-intellectual populist.
