Maxwell School News and Commentary

“Whether or not people will keep buying as much stuff is very hard to predict,” says Devashish Mitra, professor of economics. “Chinese goods might still be relatively cheaper than the alternatives.”

“There are just so many things that have happened in the last six months in this presidential administration that to think that we know what the issues will be in 2028 and who the players will be—I think it's just asking too much,” says Shana Gadarian, Merle Goldberg Fabian Professor of Excellence in Citizenship and Critical Thinking.

Any funding not covered by what tariffs have raised would likely have to come through Congressional authorization, says Ryan Monarch, associate professor of economics. “It’s not something the president can just wave a magic wand and disperse the money as they see fit,” he says.

“Part of this challenge is there are people who feel empowered and emboldened to just make bald-faced lies and then there's people like this young man who was the security guard at a farm where there were undocumented workers on the farm, and he's like here's my passport. Let me just get it for you, I'm a U.S. citizen. And they didn't care,” says Nayyera Haq, assistant dean of Washington programs.

“There is no silly sensationalism in this book, merely sound storytelling and measured judgments. The author writes of ‘that particular German approach to war-making in the first half of the 20th century—tactical ingenuity in the service of strategic vacuity,’ writes Max Hastings, book critic for The Sunday Times.

“The presence of U.S. troops in Mexico will severely and irreparably undermine [President of Mexico] Sheinbaum’s counter-narcotics policies, which are netting results. Crippling the Sheinbaum administration will give rise to an even bigger and stronger enemy south of the border,” writes Gladys McCormick, Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations.

In order to persuade Trump's loyal MAGA camp to critically question the economy, the country would have to fall into a deep, prolonged recession, according to Christopher Faricy, associate professor of political science. In addition, there is a need for “more uniform reporting” in the media, which attributes the economic crisis to Trump's policies, he says.

“Mamdani’s got to get his ideas realized in policy, and New York is notoriously difficult to govern. It’s arguably the second hardest political job in the United States, after the president. So whatever he’s able to accomplish, it won’t be easy,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

“The stress that families are facing throughout the country is tremendous, not knowing how they’re going to feed their families,” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

“There's no question there would be some value to having to have some testing of our weapons, especially some of the new developments we've had recently. But it's how you do that and how extensive the testing is something that's open to question,” says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.