Maxwell School News

"There is always higher turnout in a presidential election year, but what that will mean in any given district is less clear," says Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science. 

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks says the changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act process in the bill would increase accountability for abuses of the system and require the FBI to disclose more information to the court.

"We would hope now is that cooler heads will prevail within the Trump administration that can reason with the President that the time is now for negotiations rather than further escalation," says Osamah Khalil, associate professor of history.

"It’s damning by any account just for the mere fact that he asked a foreign leader to investigate private citizens for potential personal political gain is egregious," says Christopher Faricy, associate professor of political science. "The question, what else is out there that we are not aware of, either with the Ukranian President or even other countries and leaders."

"If there was a year in which I'd be suspicious of polling numbers, this would be it,” Grant Reeher, professor of political science, tells CNY Central. "The reason is that the models of likely voters have to come from somewhere, and usually they use previous midterms. 2018 is nothing like 2014." 

"For [Elise] Stefanik, she is betting that the district will distinguish and appreciate the nuance of her approach toward the president— of supporting at a distance, in order to help with the district," says Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher.

"Perez Williams has higher name recognition than [Dana] Balter due to her previous run for mayor. She also has the support of the national party organization. But this is the kind of race in which the actual result might not match polling," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

Chris Faricy, associate professor of political science, says that typically when a vice president comes to town, it's significant and a way for Republicans to raise money and create a buzz. He adds that these visit are "a signal that the establishment Republicans are behind his [the vice president's] candidacy."

Corri Zoli, research assistant professor of political science, says we should approach the developments on North Korea's non-nuclear status with a "healthy dose of skepticism" based on Kim Jong Un's past broken promises.

William C. Banks, professor emeritus, of public administration and international affairs, spoke with several media outlets about the Nunes memo, how the FISA process works, and what the controversy means for the Trump presidency and the U.S. intelligence community.

"New York City and the surrounding region is a much bigger stage, so political figures emerging from there are often already statewide and even national figures because of that," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

Corri Zoli, researcj assistant professor of political science, says that the missile shows "that Kim Jong Un is going to poke the bear [Donald Trump]." She adds, "in ordinary times, you wouldn't see this kind of desperate measure on the part of North Korea," but that North Korea is trying to "push this particular president as far as they can."