It might be best to think of Anton the way one thinks of a top baseball prospect in an organization with a depleted farm system. There is a natural bias to inflate the value of that prospect, even if everyone knows the organization is barren. Similarly, Anton’s foreign policy musings were not nearly as interesting as some would have you believe. Anton specialized in attacking the liberal international order. He had no alternatives to offer, or any viable solution to fixing its problem. The best one can say is that he made an effort.

In “The Flight 93 Election,” Anton made the case that Trump was “to the left (conventionally understood) not only of his own party, but of his Democratic opponent” on questions of war. It is therefore fitting that Anton exits the stage as John Bolton arrives. It is safe to say that Bolton is to the right (conventionally understood) of his own party when it comes to the use of force.

Anton’s departure highlights the ways in which his prediction of Trump’s dovish tendencies proved laughably wrong.