Presidential leadership in political time: reprise and reappraisal

Abstract

"In this expanded third edition of his widely used book on the US presidency, Stephen Skowronek has added a new chapter on the Trump administration. While Trump's electoral win was a shock in 2016, Skowronek argues that the real shock would have been Hillary Clinton's victory. Following Obama's preemptive presidency, Trump is a clear confirmation of political time-a late-regime affiliate who is true to type and right on schedule. Like John Quincy Adams, Franklin Pierce, Herbert Hoover, and Jimmy Carter, Trump was an outsider to the party establishment who was able to exploit the sterility and exhaustion of the older politics. Trump may seem like an anomaly, but in fact he perfectly fits the pattern. That is not to say Trump does not portend something dramatically and systemically new in American politics, and Skowronek sketches the most plausible scenarios. As always, he draws on his knowledge of presidential history to examine key standards, identify patterns and crosscurrents, consider alternatives, and probe contemporary implications"--

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