In rural Pennsylvania, I’m hiking through the forest with Simone and Malcom Collins and discussing the executive order they wrote for Donald Trump. Just outside their house — beyond the chicken coop, where they gather their eggs for homemade cakes, and the fenced-in part of the yard where their Corgi, The Professor, plays — is a forest, a small river, and some easy hiking trails. It’s a beautiful day in late spring, and among the greenery and the birdsong, we feel very far from Washington. Yet Simone and Malcolm are surprisingly influential in the Trump administration. I’m here to work out exactly how that happened.
As we walk and talk, the day heats up. Malcolm points out a disused mine shaft on the property, and takes us further along to show us the abandoned remnants of railroad leading up to it. Simone suggests we head back to their stone cottage for some homemade lemonade. She’s pregnant with their fifth child; her fourth, one-year-old Industry Americus, is strapped to her back in a carrier. She’s struggling with the walk, but Malcolm insists we carry on a little longer. He likes to show off the scenery.
