Maxwell School News and Commentary

 According to Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher, progressives will have to sustain the movement to the midterm elections of 2018 if they want to enact fundamental change. "The question from here on in is how sustainable will this be," Reeher said. "What will this look like a year from now?"

Miriam Elman, associate professor of political science, says President Trump “really values uncertainty as a matter of strategy and policy,” leading to questions about the U.S. Israel alliance.

Regionally based strikes like the one in Oakland "are very, very uncommon in US history," said Andrew Wender Cohen, professor of history, adding that for some time now there have been only 20 to 30 larger strikes per year in the entire country. 

“It is in the government’s interest to do everything possible to avoid any appearance that rights violations are being permitted or encouraged,” says Elizabeth Cohen, professor of political science.

“Trump is not reading judicial decisions and criticizing constitutional arguments. He is denouncing a so-called judge and saying decisions are ridiculous. Those pointed attacks from a sitting president are for sure unusual," says Thomas M. Keck, professor of political science.

According to Professor Emeritus William C. Banks, terrorist groups like ISIS use Trump’s "anti-Islam rhetoric to say that the U.S. is waging war on Islam," but he is not aware of specific incitements or attacks based on the executive order.

Tom Keck was featured in The Daily Orange article, "SU political science professor evaluates President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee." "(Gorsuch) has also publicly praised Justice Scalia and indicated his hope to follow in his footsteps," he says, and notes that many Democrats and independents are unhappy with the nomination.

"One of the most significant things that's happened since the presidential campaign began is the spread of conspiracy theories, largely through Donald Trump and his representatives. In a sense, that's both a product of trends that were out there before the campaign began, but it was also a significant innovation," says Michael Barkun, professor emeritus of political science.