Presidential historian warns Brookings crowd of danger in America’s political moment

Daschle Dialogues speaker Jon Meacham critiques President Trump, talks Thune & South Dakota's Senate legacy with former leader Tom Daschle looking on

Author and presidential historian Jon Meacham was the featured speaker during this year’s Daschle Dialogues, held Tuesday in the First Bank & trust Arena on the campus of South Dakota State University in Brookings. South Dakota native and nationally renowned journalist Chuck Raasch moderated a panel discussion with Meacham. (Joe Sneve / The Dakota Scout)

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham said Tuesday he takes some comfort in knowing a South Dakotan is leading the U.S. Senate amid a national political climate he worries has taken on a dangerous, almost religious intensity.

And he puts the blame squarely on President Donald Trump and his combative approach to politicking, the author said during the 2026 Daschle Dialogues held in Brookings Tuesday on the campus of South Dakota State University.

The event Tuesday started just before a deadline Trump had imposed for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping or else “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” The president’s call on the social medial platform Truth Social escalated worldwide tensions over the war in Iran.

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