Donald Trump and the Norms of the Presidency

Abstract

Constitution. Most behavior that is considered central to the presidency is not spelled out in the Constitution, which lays out the formal authority of the presidency. This article begins with common civility and other customs of the presidency, then turns to major political and civil institutions of the American polity, and concludes with Trump's unprecedented undermining of national security institutions (the military and intelligence communities).

Trump and Congress

“…Despite this, scholars have struggled to assess Trump's performance as president. Whilst it is logical to judge presidential success by their ability to fulfil their stated objectives, comparing Trump's actions solely to his articulated aims, as exemplified by Karen M. Hult, is ill-suited for a president who was consistently inarticulate on policy details, let alone aims (Hult 2021;James 2021). Trump's lack of policies was evident in how in 2020, the Republican National Convention "had no platform to pass, something that had not occurred since the party ran its first candidate in 1856," leaving them to rely on their platform from 2016, representing a litany of promises that remained unfulfilled (Edwards III 2021).…”

“…This reflection on an individual president is especially pertinent for scholars who identify Trump as "a new kind of president" (Renshon 2020). James P. Pfiffner's approach of judging Trump against presidential norms appears more appropriate, particularly for a more detailed study and comparative study (Pfiffner 2021;James 2021). This can also be said of Fred I. Greenstein's consideration of presidents' policy vision, political skill, organizational capacity, cognitive style, emotional intelligence and public communication (Greenstein 1988(Greenstein , 2009(Greenstein , 2013James 2021).…”

“…Indeed, in their analysis of the consequences of the TCJA, the Center for American Progress headlined that, "Trump's Corporate Tax Cut Is Not Trickling Down," using a phrase reminiscent of Reaganomics (Hendricks, Hanlon, and Madowitz 2019). Stephen Skowronek further recognizes Trump within the context of, as James explains, "the Reaganite political order, an order under considerable pressure with a divided Republican party, which made governing difficult" (Skowronek 2020;James 2021).…”

“…coupled with the uncertainty surrounding Trump's possible political future or impact, this creates an environment where it is less likely that "The legislation passed during his term in office could be just as quickly repealed" (James 2021). Nonetheless, it remains true that depending on presidential priorities between a partisan or bipartisan approach to the legislative branch "can have a lasting effect on the norms of interaction" (James 2021).…”

“…Analysing these domestic policy actions, both of which were based on longstanding Republican policy positions, and Trump's use of the bully pulpit provides greater understanding of the impact of his political leadership. This reflects how presidents, as James describes, "have considerable scope to shape and affect policy by trying to initiate new policies or repeal old ones," as Trump attempted to do with tax cuts and Obamacare (James 2021). The opportunity for policy activism was especially ripe, prior to Trump's loss of the House of Representatives to the Democrats in the 2018 midterms.…”