Experts Under Fire: The Growing Threat to Knowledge in American Governance

An On Point discussion with Tom Nichols argues decades of anti-elitism have eroded trust in experts, hollowing out national security and governance under the Trump era. It cites a string of examples—from misstatements about Iran’s nuclear program and a questionable reliance on ICE at airports to planning gaps at the State Department and a nuclear-regulatory purge—as evidence that sidelining expertise endangers lives and democracy. The piece calls for defending expertise, restoring the civil service, and restoring evidence-based policymaking to safeguard the country.