Table Of ContentTHE EVOLVING AMERICAN PRESIDENCY
Presidential
Leadership
and the Trump
Presidency
Executive Power and
Democratic Government
Edited by
Charles M. Lamb
Jacob R. Neiheisel
The Evolving American Presidency
Series Editors
Michael A. Genovese
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Todd L. Belt
Graduate School of Political Management
George Washington University
Washington, DC, USA
This series is stimulated by the clash between the presidency as invented
and the presidency as it has developed. Over time, the presidency has
evolved and grown in power, expectations, responsibilities, and authority.
Adding to the power of the presidency have been wars, crises, depressions,
industrialization. The importance and power of the modern presidency
makes understanding it so vital. How presidents resolve challenges and
paradoxes of high expectations with limited constitutional resources is the
central issue in modern governance and the central theme of this book
series.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14437
Charles M. Lamb • Jacob R. Neiheisel
Editors
Presidential
Leadership and the
Trump Presidency
Executive Power and Democratic Government
Editors
Charles M. Lamb Jacob R. Neiheisel
Department of Political Science Department of Political Science
University at Buffalo University at Buffalo
State University of New York State University of New York
Buffalo, NY, USA Buffalo, NY, USA
The Evolving American Presidency
ISBN 978-3-030-18978-5 ISBN 978-3-030-18979-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18979-2
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer
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C
ontents
1 On Studying the Trump Presidency 1
Charles M. Lamb and Jacob R. Neiheisel
2 The Lies of Donald Trump: A Taxonomy 17
James P. Pfiffner
3 Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Policies: The
Risks of Executive Branch Lawmaking That Fails to “Take
Care” 41
Nancy Kassop
4 President Donald J. Trump and the Clemency Power: Is
Claiming “Unfair” Treatment for Pardon Recipients the
New “Fake News”? 91
Jeffrey Crouch
5 How to Keep the Republic (Before It’s Too Late): Why a
New Constitution Is Necessary to Strengthen Liberal
Democracy in the United States 121
Chris Edelson
v
vi CONTENTS
6 Conclusion: The Five Rules of Trump 151
Robert J. Spitzer
7 Epilogue: Donald Trump’s Contribution to Research on
Presidential Power 169
Jacob R. Neiheisel
Index 179
L C
ist of ontributors
Jeffrey Crouch American University, Washington, DC, USA
Chris Edelson Department of Government, School of Public Affairs,
American University, Washington, DC, USA
Nancy Kassop Department of Political Science and International
Relations, State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY,
USA
Charles M. Lamb Department of Political Science, University at Buffalo,
State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA
Jacob R. Neiheisel Department of Political Science, University at
Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA
James P. Pfiffner Schar School of Policy and Government, George
Mason University, Arlington, VA, USA
Robert J. Spitzer Department of Political Science, State University of
New York College at Cortland, Cortland, NY, USA
vii
CHAPTER 1
On Studying the Trump Presidency
Charles M. Lamb and Jacob R. Neiheisel
A survey of members of the American Political Science Association’s
Presidents and Executive Politics section conducted roughly a year after
President Trump took office ranked him as the worst president in the
nation’s history (Nussbaum 2018). Notably, this ranking placed Trump
behind even James Buchanan—the chief executive whose quiescence in the
face of significant controversy and lack of presidential leadership on the
issue of slavery are often thought to have led directly to the outbreak of the
American Civil War (Kwong 2018). Although the survey also asked respon-
dents to grade presidents on several different dimensions (Guild 2018) in
addition to providing a summary evaluation of each man (dimensions on
which Trump also fared poorly according to the experts), ranking presi-
dents has long been an endeavor fraught with difficulties (Nice 1984;
Nichols 2012; Pfiffner 2003), not the least of which concerns the set of
criteria upon which each chief administrator is to be judged (Pfiffner 2003)
We thank Joshua Boston for his past research assistance.
C. M. Lamb (*) • J. R. Neiheisel
Department of Political Science, University at Buffalo,
State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA
e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
© The Author(s) 2020 1
C. M. Lamb, J. R. Neiheisel (eds.), Presidential Leadership
and the Trump Presidency, The Evolving American Presidency,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18979-2_1
2 C. M. LAMB AND J. R. NEIHEISEL
and the problems associated with making comparisons across vastly differ-
ent time periods (Nice 1984). Nevertheless, such exercises can aid students
of presidential leadership in identifying the criteria by which presidents
ought to be judged (Pfiffner 2003).
Much the same might very well be said for early appraisals of presidents
and their leadership undertaken while they still occupy the White House.
And even though most would agree with Hilliard, Lansford and Watson’s
(2004) judgment—leveled in their own inquiry into George W. Bush early
in his administration—that “evaluating presidents is a compelling and an
important exercise,” there is still significant disagreement within the schol-
arly community regarding not only how presidents should be evaluated
but also when. Hindsight is often 20/20, and events that appeared to be
of little import early in a particular presidency would later go on to define
an entire administration. Greenstein (1983) notes that Truman’s Fair Deal
and Johnson’s involvement in Vietnam would later characterize their
respective periods in office, even as their import was not apparent while
they were still serving as the nation’s chief executive. To this list one might
add Clinton’s intimate involvement with a White House intern; although
it was clear to all at the time that the scandal and resulting impeachment
would almost certainly color later evaluations of his presidency, the public,
for its part, seemed reluctant at the time to incorporate Clinton’s personal
failings into their evaluation of his overall job performance (Zaller 1998).
But Clinton’s ratings have declined in recent years—a drop that corre-
sponds with the arrival of the “#MeToo” movement (Andelic 2018).
Similarly, decisions or actions that were praised at one point in time might
very well be decried at a later date with the benefit of greater historical
perspective (Nice 1984).
Why, then, embark upon such an early appraisal of a man who, at the
time of this writing, is little over halfway through the term to which he was
elected to serve? Political scientists and public administration scholars have
engaged in such efforts since at least the Carter administration (Sundquist
1979; see also Burke 2009; Campbell and Rockman 1991, 1996;
Greenstein 2003; Hilliard et al. 2004; Jacobson 2007; King and
Riddlesperger 1996; Newland 1983).1 Few, however, have provided a
rationale for assessing a president while he (or she) is still in office.
1 Indeed, the journal Presidential Studies Quarterly has, for some time, featured within its
pages a regular segment on The Contemporary Presidency.
