Our friend John Judis had an essay over the weekend in NOTUS airing the provocative and audacious claim that Trump is a world-historical figure in the way that the German philosopher Hegel used the term. This is a proposition sure to drive many to distraction. And perhaps for good reason. But as I told John in an email I largely agree with him, but with an important exception or difference in the way he articulated the claim. Before getting to that, let me give a very, very brief outline of the concept.

The idea here is not that the figures in question — an Alexander or Caesar or Bonaparte, the figures Hegel thought of — are good people. It’s not even that they necessarily have any articulate awareness of their role in history. It’s that there are some individuals who have an intuitive sense of the opportunities of the historical moment. They then acquire power and force huge changes that drive the course of history in dramatically new directions, directions that are essentially impossible to undo. The key is there’s really no going back from the changes these people make.

The Jan. 28 FBI raid on Fulton County, Georgia’s election hub brought new urgency to concerns that the Trump administration is trying to interfere in upcoming elections, including the midterms this fall.

And as Hunter Walker explained during a Wednesday Substack Live, “the call is coming from inside the house.” The raid came about thanks to a referral from special government employee Kurt Olsen, and thanks to the analysis of another special government employee, Clay Parikh.

In a conversation with editor Allegra Kirkland, Hunter breaks down exactly who these people are and why the Fulton County raid is so dangerous.