Unexpectedly, the 2020 presidential campaign is drilling down on petty crime and homelessness. Donald Trump and his Republican allies are reviving law-and-order themes similar to those used effectively by Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew in the late 1960s and early 1970s to demonize racial minorities. To this end, Republicans seek […] Read more »
Reflexive anti-Trumpism, AOC’s shrink-the-tent strategy will cost Democrats in November
For those of you who read this column regularly, you’ve heard me often urge Republicans to put their focus on building a broader majority coalition through a more positive political strategy. It’s the best path to electoral victory instead of relying heavily on negative campaigns. But watching the Democrats over […] Read more »
The Trump Effect
The 2016 election was a powerful reminder of the power of leading figures to fundamentally reshape public opinion. Once Donald Trump became the Republican Party’s standard bearer, partisans on both sides polarized around that new reality on issues from trade to opinions of Russia. Seeing this powerful effect in the […] Read more »
If Democrats nominate a woman for president, don’t try to make predictions about how she’ll do
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arrives onstage during a primary night rally at the Duggal Greenhouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, June 7, 2016. Getty/ Drew Angerer Nathaniel Swigger, The Ohio State University Four women remain out of an original six in the Democratic primary for president: Sens. Elizabeth Warren […] Read more »
The two words that could tip the debate on Iran — and help decide the next election
The fierce political debate over President Donald Trump’s decision to order the killing of a top Iranian military leader ultimately may turn on just two words. Republicans cheering Trump’s decision to target Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani have invariably described it as decisive. Democrats criticizing his choice have denounced it […] Read more »
Party Preferences Steady During Trump Era
In 2019, on average, 47% of U.S. adults identified politically as Democrats or said they were independents who leaned toward the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, 42% identified as Republicans or were Republican-leaning independents. Americans’ political leanings have been quite stable since 2016, the year Donald Trump was elected president. The Democratic […] Read more »