Maxwell School News and Commentary

In an increasingly polarized political climate, Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher says the "friends and neighbors" effect of politics hasn't been so effective in recent cycles, and that it's unclear how strongly that message can sway voters in 2020. 

Leonard Burman, Paul Volcker Chair in Behavioral Economics, identifies that the major problem entailed by Senator Elizabeth Warren's "Medicare for all" proposal is that it would not be just a marginal tax on the 50th employee, but instead would apply to all previously hired employees.

"If differentiating the Huawei issue into trade and security strands makes it politically more palatable for the Trump administration to make a limited deal that lifts the ban on non-security related Huawei transactions, it is hard to see what the Chinese side stands to gain from not playing along," says Dimitar Gueorguiev, assistant professor of political science.

"What the shutdown reveals is that the Trump administration does not have a very specific game plan for what it wants," says Dimitar Gueorguiev, assistant professor of political science. "So what it is going to do is to give the Chinese negotiators reason to pause and wonder whether any sort of deal they reach would credibly exist in the future."

"Certainly, he [President Trump] won't be shy about using executive powers—that will be the same—but Obama also used his remaining time, especially in his second term, to exercise the rhetorical presidency," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

"In this instance, the negative reaction President Trump has generated throughout the Western World may complicate the situation," says Grant Reeher, director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute. "Being Trump's ambassador, say, in Norway or Denmark, is going to be trickier than in past administrations, requiring greater skill and deftness."

"If President Trump and his advisers can out-think and out-strategize [Putin] in order to get Russia to provide some useful assistance in changing North Korea’s nuclear program, then it could be a win for the president, but it’s high-risk to say the least," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, says Trump could attempt to contain the criticism from retiring Republicans by moderating his tone and laying off individual attacks on members.

"On the one hand, it takes him to a region, and to individual countries, that he's criticized, and with which he's already had tensions. So, a lot of things could go wrong," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute. "On the other hand, a diplomatic trip like this almost forces him to behave in a more conventional way, and that could help his image at home."