The Ordinary Presidency of Donald J. Trump

Andrew Wroe, University of Kent

Jon Herbert, Keele University

This spring sees the publication of a new book, The Ordinary Presidency of Donald J. Trump, with a striking thesis.  In this talk, Jon Herbert and Andrew Wroe will explore the key issues considered in their book (written with Trevor McCrisken).  Their argument is that the presidency of Donald J. Trump has been rather ordinary. Trump himself may be the most unusual, unorthodox and unconventional president the US has ever had. Yet, even with his extraordinary personality and approach to the job, his presidency is proving quite ordinary in its accomplishments and outcomes, both at home and abroad. Like most modern US presidents, the number and scope of Trump’s achievements are rather meagre. Despite dramatic claims to a revolution in US politics, Trump simply has not achieved very much. His few policy achievements are also mostly mainstream Republican ones, rather than the radical, anti-establishment, swamp-draining changes promised on the campaign trail. The populist insurgent who ran against Washington has followed a policy agenda largely in tune with conservative Republican traditions. The talk explains this discrepancy between Trump’s extraordinary approach and the relative mediocrity of his achievements. Ironically, it is precisely Trump’s extraordinariness as a president that has helped render his presidency ordinary.  Jon Herbert is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Keele and Andrew Wroe is Senior Lecturer in American Politics at the University of Kent.

Please note this talk replaces 'Trump, the Media and ‘Fake News’', with Jon Sopel. This talk has been postponed and will be rescheduled later in the year.