The election of Donald Trump confounded pollsters and much of the pundit class. But how do we interpret the political significance of this event? Does it mark a realignment in American politics, or was it a fluke? What must Trump do to maintain and expand his coalition? And where does the Democratic Party go from here?

On Wednesday, May 10, the Manhattan Institute (MI) and Young Leaders’ Circle (YLC) are proud to welcome two of the nation’s preeminent political experts to discuss the current state and future prospects of the two major U.S. parties: author, professor, and New York Times columnist Thomas Edsall; and senior fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center (EPPC) Henry Olsen.

Tom Edsall writes a weekly opinion column for the New York Times; before his tenure at the Times, he wrote for decades about politics for the Washington Post (and, before that, for the Baltimore Sun). Edsall has taught political journalism at Columbia University since 2006. He attended Brown University and holds a B.A. from Boston University.

Henry Olsen studies and writes commentary on American politics. He has worked in senior executive positions at many center-right think tanks—most recently, as vice president and director of the National Research Initiative at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Previously, Olsen worked as vice president of programs at MI and was president of the Commonwealth Foundation. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Review, and The Weekly Standard.

I very much look forward to moderating the conversation between Edsall and Olsen, and I hope that you will join us.