THE MAGA DOCTRINE.

• Author: Ciaramella, C.J.

Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative college group Turning Point USA, has written The MAGA Doctrine, a work of exquisite flattery and brownnosing masquerading as a field guide to Trumpism.

"There is a set of principles, however roughly hewn, behind the president's vision of national renewal," Kirk assures readers, "one that is both familiar and eternally in need of clear, firm restatement."

The goal of every MAGA-grapher is to impose detail and order on this chainsaw sculpture of an ideology. Unfortunately, The MAGA Doctrine is not a work of rigorous analysis. The cover features a photo of Trump hugging an American flag, and lest anyone doubt his fealty, Kirk both dedicates the book to Trump and thanks him in the acknowledgments. Kirk manages to contain himself for just 20 pages before writing: "If the establishment senses in our times something akin to Ancient Rome, I suggest they look to a figure very different from Nero for Trump comparisons. They...