Historian Meg Jacobs, Julian, and I chew over how Trump’s first 100 days. Listen to my reaction to Jacobs’s assertion that Trump is off to a strong start. If spit-up coffee could get through speakers, you would be well coated. In seriousness, my own view is that Trump has weakened the presidency through ineffectiveness at […]
Entries from April 28th, 2017
Politics & Polls w/Congressman Leonard Lance
April 24th, 2017, 5:54am by Sam Wang
Representative Leonard Lance has been in the crosshairs of activists. His Congressional district went narrowly for Clinton over Trump, and before going to Washington he had a reputation as a moderate. I interviewed Congressman Lance solo (Julian’s overseas). In our far-ranging conversation, we talked about many topics: the Affordable Care Act (he’s in favor of […]
General Petraeus: “This is fine”?
April 13th, 2017, 4:15pm by Sam Wang
For Politics & Polls #39, we were joined by Woodrow Wilson alumnus General David Petraeus. Is the “deep state” a sinister conspiracy, or an institution that prevents insane policies? As Trump brings Syria, North Korea, and Afghanistan to a boil, is it good or bad to have ex-military serve at the highest levels of government? […]
Tags: President · U.S. Institutions
Politics & Polls #38: Sarah Kendzior on Trump/Russia
April 9th, 2017, 1:52pm by Sam Wang
Sarah Kendzior was among the first writers to point out Trump’s likely rise, and to trace it to white anger in “flyover country,” a term she gets to use because she lives in Missouri. She writes for the Toronto Globe & Mail, and has a lot to say about the Trump/Russia connection. It was a […]
Tags: President
Post-November Optimism Crashes After Failure of ACA Repeal
April 4th, 2017, 5:03pm by Sam Wang
Light posting these last few months. Spring term is busy. But hey, there’s always the podcast, which is not bad. Today I post this somewhat underappreciated survey quantity, the right-track/wrong-track question. It asks whether respondents think the United States is on the right track or wrong track. This survey has been in consistently negative territory for […]
Tags: President · U.S. Institutions