In the News: Grant Reeher

Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher says that "Joe Biden is so old, that he may not finish out his term, and Donald Trump is also almost as old as Biden, but also has these health issues now that we don't know where they are going to go, and how severe they are going to be."

"I think the tone of things would shift quickly if Biden were elected," Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher says. He adds that there would be "more pushback" if Biden and Democrats actually pushed adding seats to the Supreme Court forward.

"I do think it is clear, after almost four years of his presidency, that editorial choices...are very clearly very critical of the president [Donald Trump]," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

Professor Grant Reeher says that Trump's exaggerations of labeling Democrats as socialists and radicals are having little impact, and that, "after four years, voters are used to the hyperbole."

"The conventions this year might actually be more important than in relatively recent years past since the campaigns are very constrained in what they can do in person," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. "Those in-person events would normally drive a lot of the media coverage in the last few months of the campaign. But that is only if people watch the conventions."

Grant Reeher, professor of political science, says that while Trump had said much worse than Biden in terms of "levels of offensiveness or levels of insensitivity or thoughtlessness," the peril for the Democrat lay in a somewhat different area. "It is less clear that Biden is saying those things on purpose." 

"If the public is fundamentally dissatisfied with where the country is going, that is also going to open up opportunities for different political messages—and different political messengers—to tap that dissatisfaction in different ways," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

"At this point, it is just completely baffling to me,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science, of President Trump's decision to hold his campaign rally in Tulsa, the site of one of the worst racial massacres in modern U.S. history back in 1921. "He is going all-in on ‘Law and Order’ and rejecting the very premise of the protests and sticking it in your eye."

When asked how hard it would be for any incumbent to overcome low voter satisfaction figures, Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher says, "If we’re going by the history, the answer is 'very difficult.'" He claims that voter satisfaction has always been a key indicator of the incumbent party's likelihood of winning reelection.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science, says Biden could have a hard time getting enthusiastic support from former Sanders supporters due to his lengthy record—three decades of Senate votes and two terms in the White House as President Barack Obama's vice president.

The polarization of American life had been going on for years before Trump was even a political figure, says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. But, "what is different now [the COVID-19 pandemic], and what gives this a sharper edge is the fact that emotions are running so high."

"I don’t think the issue is likely to cause someone to vote for Trump instead of Biden," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. "The problem is what it does for the level of enthusiasm for Biden among different constituencies, and the turnout for him. It could have a dampening effect there."

"This campaign is going to be about how people think and feel about how the government has responded to this crisis [COVID-19]," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science, says that while the primary focus needs to be on the human cost of the crisis, "it is in fact a very good natural experiment to answer the question of how deep our polarization goes — and the answer is, very damn deep."

The plan "demonstrates to the American public that the federal government is taking a very proactive and very strong approach toward trying to shore up the economy and the economic pain that’s coming from this," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

"In the last two weeks, there are moments when he [President Trump] has sounded more ‘presidential’ than I have ever heard him," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute. "At the same time, he will revert to the old Trump. It’s hard to make sense of those things."

Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute says, "If it’s constant updates and endless press conferences with nothing new but an updated number, it doesn’t help," about how much information should be shared about the coronavirus pandemic.

Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher likens the 2020 Democratic primary to the 2016 GOP primary when several rivals of then-candidate Donald Trump kept their campaigns alive for as long as possible in hopes of stopping the eventual nominee's rise.