Christopher Buskirk

Christopher Buskirk (born February 1, 1969) is an American conservative media figure, writer, and venture capitalist. He is known for his connections to Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, including through Rockbridge Network and 1789 Capital, both of which he co-founded.

Early life and education Buskirk was born in 1969 to American parents on a military base in Germany. He was also a Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. He began pursuing a master's degree but did not complete it, instead beginning his career in finance.

In one of his early experiences, he became frustrated watching American factory jobs disappear after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. While visiting family in Michigan, he said he watched as entire “factories were literally just packed up, crated into 40-foot containers and sent to China". Around 2015, he sold most of his businesses and began focusing on political writing in the period leading up to the 2016 elections.

News & media Since 2015, Buskirk has written for several publications, including American Compass, The American Mind, Compact Magazine, The Critic, The Hill, The New Criterion, The Patriot-News, The Spectator, The Telegraph, USA Today, and The Washington Post. He has been a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times since 2018.

He has also been interviewed on Channel 4 News, The Charlie Kirk Show, Grand Canyon Times, Conservative Conversations (a podcast by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute), Economic War Room, Maganomics (posted by the Donald Trump YouTube channel), NPR, and the Salem News Channel.

He has contributed to PBS News Hour and Fox News, including a Fox News podcast called The Positive Populist. Most of his articles are opinion pieces about American conservative politics, and he has served as an expert on the American political landscape in relation to Donald Trump.

American Greatness In early 2016, Buskirk created an online journal called American Greatness with the intent to provide an alternative to "legacy conservative media." He has been editor and publisher since its inception.

Author Buskirk is the author of multiple books, published through conservative publishing companies like Encounter Books and Regnery Publishing. He wrote Trump vs. The Leviathan (2018) and America and the Art of the Possible (2023), and Blinders: How the Experts Missed the Biggest Election Upset in American History (2017).

Podcasts and speaking engagements alt=Photo of four people smiling. There are two men are two women, all of them in formal attire.thumb alt=Photo of three men sitting and speaking on a stage. Behind them are the logos for Turning Point USA and its Student Action Summit.He hosts a podcast called Downstream Politics, had an AM radio show with Seth Leibsohn, and ran a podcast called The Chris Buskirk Show, hosting guests like JD Vance and Roger Kimball. He has spoken at the Aspen Ideas Festival, at Turning Point USA events, and at the 2019 and 2021 National Conservatism Conference, and attended a dinner with Jair Bolsonaro when he was president of Brazil.

Rockbridge Network In 2019, Buskirk and JD Vance co-founded the Rockbridge Network, which helped fund Trump's presidential campaign and ran get-out-the-vote operations for the 2024 presidential election. Vance has described Buskirk as an original thinker who understood how ideas, organization, and funding could lead to lasting Republican success. Buskirk currently serves as CIO of the firm.

Executive Branch social club Buskirk helped launch Executive Branch, a members-only social club in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Membership costs $500,000. The club is intended as a gathering place for business leaders and government officials aligned with President Trump. He has stated that he believes conservative government should center around "government, family, [and] church", which he describes as "the pillars of civilization." One of these connections is through American Reformer, where he is a member of the board.

According to Buskirk, “You either have an extractive elite — an oligarchy — or you have a productive elite — an aristocracy — in every society," and society needs an aristocracy, which he defines as “a proper elite that takes care of the country and governs it well so that everyone prospers.”

Political activities The Washington Post has described Buskirk as a central organizer within a network of technology and business donors who are involved in conservative politics. According to the newspaper, Buskirk helped connect tech investors, entrepreneurs, and political figures within the MAGA movement.

Personal life Buskirk has a family office in Scottsdale, Arizona. They have four children. In 2010, the Buskirks co-founded a prepared food business called Gina's Homemade. The business specialized in Italian cuisine, especially cheeses and cakes, based on recipes from Gina's family. Gina's Homemade became Gina At Home in 2014 and sold goods to restaurants and retailers, including Whole Foods Market.

He is a confidant of Peter Thiel, and is friends with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and JD Vance. Friends describe Buskirk as a determined and perceptive strategist, rather than a strongly partisan figure.