Maxwell School News and Commentary

"Smoother, more refined, younger, better informed on the issues, but still aggressive on policy and willing to fight the cultural battles the Right seems to care about. Is that enough to persuade a loyal Republican voter, who is weighing that against a proven battler? Apparently not," says Grant Reeher, director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

"It's possible they just did this to simply freak out the American people and the U.S. Navy," says Sean McFate, adjunct professor in Maxwell's Washington programs.

"Doing well in New Hampshire or doing better than expected can give campaign attention and a sense of momentum that will bring new media attention as well as donations and support from party members in states that come later in the process," says Shana Gadarian, associate dean for research and professor of political science.

“The control of oil and gas resources has been a key factor in many conflicts and geopolitical imperialism, either by providing part of the motivation for an invasion or by helping countries fund their militaries,” says Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment. “Conflict, in turn, feeds production by driving up oil and gas prices,” she adds.

“This is a mix we haven’t seen before, and it does represent a new wrinkle,” says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs, of the types of munitions the Navy is intercepting and the sustained nature of the threat.

Gary Engelhardt, professor of economics, expects the bulk of the boomer generation to age out of the market between 2030 and 2040. "In the next 15 years, this stuff's really going to start happening," Engelhardt says.

“The party didn’t coalesce around one alternative to Trump, and that’s what the skeptics needed,” says Shana Gadarian, associate dean for research and professor of political science.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science, tells Newsweek that Trump will continue to use his legal difficulties to rile up his MAGA base. However, Reeher adds that it remains to be seen if this will ultimately damage Trump's White House ambitions.

"The ongoing attacks by the Houthi fighters in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, increased activity by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and the steady attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Syria and Iraq represent a clear risk of escalation throughout the region," says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.

With little indication that the U.S. will attempt to assert leverage over Israel, Blinken’s latest trip to the Middle East is fundamentally “performative,” says Osamah Khalil, professor of history. “There is a face-saving domestic consumption element for [the Biden administration] and a separate face-saving element to allow Israel to claim some kind of victory,” he says.