Welcome to Power Players, The i Paper’s opinion series in which our writers and experts take an in-depth look at the key figures in American politics as the US reshapes itself and the world.
• The most powerful woman in the world you’ve never heard of• The ‘swamp creature’ eclipsing JD Vance in the race to succeed Trump• The greatest hope of the Trump resistance is a 34-year-old immigrant• The 28-year-old Trump attack dog ripping up the Washington playbook• The ‘pro-white nationalist’ whose power over Trump grows every day• Trump’s military cheerleader who is learning about war the hard way• The high-flying lawyer who turned tradwife for JD Vance
Who might make the list of the top ten most consequential Americans of the 21st century? Naturally, the five US presidents would feature, from Bill Clinton through to Donald Trump. So, too, Silicon Valley tech giants, such as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. A brace of Capitol Hill powerbrokers would probably make the cut: former Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell. Pop culture icons such as Taylor Swift or Kim Kardashian might feature as global influencers who have helped maintain America’s cultural pre-eminence. No US power list would be complete, though, without the name John Glover Roberts Jr., the current Chief Justice of the highest court in the land.
