The Trump Effect

Donald Trump's almost entirely unanticipated presidential candidacy and his almost as entirely unprecedented victory have changed American politics--and Americans differ bitterly on whether for the better or for the worse. In The Trump Effect, a crew of distinguished political scientists assess how Trump has changed, and is still changing, American politics and American government.

-- Michael Barone, senior political analyst, Washington Examiner, founding co-author, The Almanac of American Politics

The first words of the first chapter in this readable, perceptive collection of essays are, appropriately enough, “On January 6, 2021,” the unofficial beginning of Donald Trump’s post-presidency and an appropriate moment to assess the impact of his White House tenure on American politics and government. Eight political scientists examine where President Trump made a profound difference—on the federal judiciary, for one—and where he didn’t. Those judgments will take generations of academics, politicians, journalists and citizens to fully unravel and understand. Here’s a smart start.

-- Susan Page, USA TODAY, Washington Bureau chief, and author of Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power

This comprehensive analysis of the Trump presidency reveals its lasting and transitory impacts on American governmental institutions, political behavior, and policy. This is a must-read scholarly yet accessible account for academics, practitioners in government, nonprofits, and industry, and citizens around the world.

-- Janet Box-Steffensmeier, The Ohio State University

The Trump Effect is a bracing corrective to anyone under the illusion that Donald Trump and his movement represented a passing storm. This fine volume illuminates how the Trump years buffeted, and likely left enduring changes, on every institution in the American polity. Trump’s personal style—impulsive, opportunistic, wildly improvisational—often made it hard for journalists to do more than drop our jaws in disbelief. The illustrious scholars that Steven Schier convened in these pages take a step back and show that Trump is more connected to decades-long trends, and that there is more coherence to the broader agenda of the Trump movement, than perhaps even he understood.

-- John F. Harris, Founding Editor, POLI