Henry Olsen
Senior Fellow
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, studies and provides commentary on American politics. His work focuses on how America’s political order is being upended by populist challenges, from the left and the right. He also studies populism’s impact in other democracies in the developed world.
For media inquiries or to book Mr. Olsen for an interview, contact [email protected].
Click here to view the full archive of Mr. Olsen’s writings at The Washington Post.
Click here to view the full archive of Mr. Olsen’s writings at National Review Online.
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, studies and provides commentary on American politics. His work focuses on how America’s political order is being upended by populist challenges, from the left and the right. He also studies populism’s impact in other democracies in the developed world.
Mr. Olsen is an opinion columnist for The Washington Post, where he writes daily pieces focusing on politics, populism, foreign affairs and American conservative thought. He is also the author of The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism and The Four Faces of the Republican Party, co-authored with Dante Scala.
Mr. Olsen is teaching as the Thomas W. Smith Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Arizona State University for the Winter/Spring 2023 semester.
Mr. Olsen was previously an editor at UnHerd.com and a regular contributor to American Greatness, City Journal, and World Magazine. Mr. Olsen’s work has been featured in many prominent publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, National Review, The Guardian, and The Weekly Standard.
His predictions of the 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 elections were particularly praised for their remarkable accuracy. In the 2016 campaign, he accurately identified the factors fueling the rise of Donald Trump early in the race, and his election-eve predictions were among the most accurate of any major analyst or commentator.
Mr. Olsen has worked in senior executive positions at many center-right think tanks. He most recently served from 2006 to 2013 as Vice President and Director, National Research Initiative, at the American Enterprise Institute. He previously worked as Vice President of Programs at the Manhattan Institute and President of the Commonwealth Foundation.
Mr. Olsen started his career as a political consultant at the California firm of Hoffenblum-Mollrich. He then worked with the California State Assembly Republican Caucus before attending law school. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Danny J. Boggs on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and as an associate at Dechert, Price & Rhoads. He has a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as Comment Editor for the University of Chicago Law Review.
The Democrat House Majority is Probably Cooked
Henry Olsen
Democrats are currently favorites in only three of the nine Biden-GOP toss-ups, well short of where they need to be to hold the House.
Articles
The Washington Post / October 18, 2022
Spending Data Suggest GOP Edge in Midterms
Henry Olsen
The combined spending patterns of the two parties paint a picture of Republicans nationally leading.
Articles
The Washington Post / October 12, 2022
Liz Truss Displays Limousine Conservatism
Henry Olsen
British Prime Minister Liz Truss, in a speech at her party’s annual conference on Wednesday, attempted to show that her…
Articles
The Washington Post / October 7, 2022
Herschel Walker’s alleged hypocrisy on abortion likely won’t matter
Henry Olsen
The choice between Warnock and Walker isn’t a hard one for Republicans or pro-lifers.
Articles
The Washington Post / October 4, 2022
Brazil’s polls massively underestimated populist appeal. Sound familiar?
Henry Olsen
National populism’s continued appeal worldwide should force global elites to rethink their tired approaches to problems.
Articles
The Washington Post / October 3, 2022
Biden’s student debt plan will likely be defeated in court. Good.
Henry Olsen
Biden’s specious justification flies in the face of the separation of powers.
Articles
The Washington Post / September 29, 2022
Biden is right on Taiwan. Now he needs a staff that won’t undercut him.
Henry Olsen
China clearly is building its capability to invade Taiwan sometime in the near future. That effort will succeed unless the United States stands firmly behind the island’s rulers.
Articles
The Washington Post / September 19, 2022
Elites Bear the Blame for Swedish Populism’s Rise
Henry Olsen
Sweden’s election is just the latest of a decade-long series of wake-up calls for Western elites.
Articles
The Washington Post / September 16, 2022
Ron DeSantis is the only Republican who can beat Trump
Henry Olsen
It’s not hard to figure out why DeSantis has such credibility among the Trumpy set.
Articles
The Washington Post / September 14, 2022
Democrats cannot wish away their inflation curse
Henry Olsen
Democrats may still do better than expected in the midterms, but they will not be able to wish away the inflation issue before votes are cast.
Articles
The Washington Post / September 13, 2022
Tom Cotton could help make the GOP a working-class party
Henry Olsen
Conservative successes, such as the 1996 welfare reform bill and Ronald Reagan’s presidency, have arisen only when they work within the New Deal consensus to introduce more freedom and personal responsibility.
Articles
The Washington Post / September 12, 2022
Sign up here to receive updates from Henry Olsen.