Maxwell School News and Commentary

“It was definitely always a long shot and the ruling is not surprising,” says Thomas Keck, professor of political science and Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics. But, he adds, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling opened up larger questions about what guardrails exist to protect US democracy.

“Even among the Republican primary voters, there are 40% of the people in that state who preferred Haley to Trump,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. “So, bearing in mind that Trump is a former president, has four years of a presidential record, lost a pretty close election in 2020...there's a significant chunk of the Republican Party that is not happy with him.”

"I thought the Russian invasion two years ago would have been more successful. I thought Russia would have managed to seize and hold more territory than they did. ...That’s because Russia fought worse than I thought they would and Ukraine has fought much better," says Brian Taylor, director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

"We've seen moments where there are more heavy exits from Congress, and that it is like a canary in the coal mine," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute. "If I'm the speaker, I'm definitely worried."

"We don’t know every detail about the circumstances of his death today, but it is 100 percent fair to say that Alexei Navalny was killed by Vladimir Putin and the Russian state," says Brian Taylor, professor of political science and director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

"It’s time to think beyond left, right and center," writes James-Christian Blockwood, adjunct professor in Maxwell's Washington programs. "Time to move beyond traditional political ideology that creates an identity trap dividing us instead of unifying us and encouraging compromise.

“If I were a Democratic consultant or strategist, I would be taking a huge grain of salt before I base my playbook on this election,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

"It's hurt the general population's views of him, but it's fueled and strengthened his base, and even driven some Republicans on the fence to 'stay loyal' to the cause," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. "Trump has been trying to wear these legal troubles as a badge of honor for his victimization, and of his commitment to his supporters."

The Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship (IDJC) is launching The Deciders Focus Groups project, a partnership initiative looking to gain insights from key voting blocs in 2024 presidential election battleground states. NBC News plans to report findings each month.

“Russia doesn't have real elections most of all because it's basically illegal to be an opposition politician or activist or independent journalist anymore, not just because of manipulating rules at election time,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science.