It is hardly news that President Trump has deliberately provoked liberal outrage, as a candidate and as president. But in case anyone is still wondering whether his inflammatory language is the result of design or impulse, recent comments from current and former White House strategists are revealing. Last month, an […] Read more »
When the Supreme Court Locks Arms With Republicans
This term, the five Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices locked arms with their GOP counterparts in the White House and Congress against the unstinting forces of demographic change. In muscling through a series of 5–4 decisions on voting rights, redistricting, and President Trump’s travel ban over the unified objections of the […] Read more »
Military, Small Business, Police Still Stir Most Confidence
Americans’ confidence in an array of U.S. societal institutions is holding steady in 2018, with the military continuing to earn the highest confidence of 15 institutions tested. Small business and the police retain their second and third place rankings, and Congress continues to rank last — consistent with the patterns […] Read more »
The Uncertain Political Ramifications of Justice Kennedy’s Exit
An already turbulent national political environment was rocked by another major development Wednesday afternoon: Justice Anthony Kennedy, the closest thing there is to a swing vote on the Supreme Court, decided to retire. … Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who sees pushing the judiciary to the right as a […] Read more »
Americans Motivated to Take Action On Key Issue Fights
… Hot-button issue fights are stronger motivators than topics that feel settled or too late to change. Specific activism related to key issues is also more likely to motivate progressives than more generic protests. Progressives feel most motivated by issues where there is lively, on-going national debate and a desired […] Read more »
Trump’s Chance To Reshape The Supreme Court
Justice Anthony Kennedy announced on Wednesday that he is retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court, creating a vacancy that President Trump will have the chance to fill. FiveThirtyEight contributor Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux joins Nate Silver on the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast to react to the news. They discuss what it means for […] Read more »