Cato’s Gene Healy on The Cult of the Presidency

Cato Institute Vice President Gene Healy is available for interviews to discuss presidential powers and the 2024 election.

In the updated edition of his book The Cult of the Presidency: America’s Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power, Healy made the case that more than ever before, “In the 2024 campaign, the presidency itself is the problem.”

Healy wrote that the modern presidency has strayed far from its constitutional roots and become an increasingly powerful—and dangerous—office, and that the rise of partisan hatred lends new urgency to the cause of re-limiting executive power.

The American presidency has transformed into a “glorified savior,” Healy says, promising to solve all the nation’s problems and centralize authority in ways the Founding Fathers never intended. Drawing on historical analysis, legal scholarship, and contemporary political examples, Healy illuminates the risks of unchecked executive power and calls for a return to the Constitution’s original vision of a limited presidency.

If you would be interested in speaking with Healy on this topic, please contact me to set up an interview.

Best regards,
Emily Adamec
Media Relations Manager
The Cato Institute
202–216-1410