How Trump Happened
A System Shock Decades in the Making
Published on 9. March 2020
Book
Hardback
176 pages
978-1-5381-2204-4 (ISBN)
Description
The stunning 2016 election and presidency of Donald Trump was decades in the making. Three trends since the 1960s created the conditions for his triumph. First, a growing popular discontent with government, long evident in public opinion, created a widespread distrust of established leaders and institutions. Second, America underwent the rise of "professional government." Governing professionals are an elite built on merit through occupational accomplishment. They now dominate interest groups, the bureaucracy, courts, presidency, and Congress. Many government professionals perceive little need to mobilize the public in the way parties did in previous eras. This has furthered the sense of disconnect among the public and created a self-reinforcing chain. Third, political parties and governing institutions are now polarized into rival teams of ideological, partisan elites. The intense battles between these divergent teams often result in government gridlock.
These conditions produce ripe opportunities for "outsider" candidates to mount popular movements against politics as usual.
How did Donald Trump leverage his outsider status into a 2016 electoral victory? Four factors propelled him into the White House. First, Trump's long career as a public celebrity gave him an identity and "brand" widely known to the public and which generated massive free media coverage as a candidate. Second, Trump and his campaign ably used social media to further amplify his message. Third, decades of polarized political elites, governmental professionalism and mounting popular discontent made an "outsider" message attractive to millions of voters in 2016. Fourth, Trump was blessed with a political opponent, Hillary Clinton, who represented the polarized and professional governing class that Trump rightly saw as an inviting target for his outsider message and demeanor.
That is how Trump happened.
These conditions produce ripe opportunities for "outsider" candidates to mount popular movements against politics as usual.
How did Donald Trump leverage his outsider status into a 2016 electoral victory? Four factors propelled him into the White House. First, Trump's long career as a public celebrity gave him an identity and "brand" widely known to the public and which generated massive free media coverage as a candidate. Second, Trump and his campaign ably used social media to further amplify his message. Third, decades of polarized political elites, governmental professionalism and mounting popular discontent made an "outsider" message attractive to millions of voters in 2016. Fourth, Trump was blessed with a political opponent, Hillary Clinton, who represented the polarized and professional governing class that Trump rightly saw as an inviting target for his outsider message and demeanor.
That is how Trump happened.
Reviews / Votes
. . .a compelling narrative. [Schier and Eberly] examine Trump's social, political, and economic agenda, and speculate about Trump's future and the future of American politics post-Trump. The book gives important perspective about both the current state and the future of American politics. * Booklist * All that astonishment when Donald Trump won the White House in 2016 - from the press, the polls, even the new president? Steven Schier and Todd Eberly argue in their provocative new book that it shouldn't have been a surprise. The rise of a celebrity, populist candidate who managed to vanquish the leading political dynasties in both parties was the predictable outcome of political trends long in the making, they say - and regardless of what happens to the Trump presidency, those powerful impulses aren't over yet. -- Susan Page, Washington Bureau Chief of USA TODAY and author of The Matriarch The authors provide critically important insights into the historic 2016 election by distilling the national, long-term trends in the evolution of American democracy and how they intersected with Trump specific factors. -- Janet Box-Steffensmier, 2019-20 President of the American Political Science Association, Ohio State University The election of Donald Trump continues to be an astounding event in American political history, and we are fortunate to have the incisive judgments and reporting of ace political observers Steven E. Schier and Todd E. Eberly on the Trump phenomenon. -- Michael Barone, senior political analyst, Washington Examiner, founding co-author, The Almanac of American Politics Donald Trump's election in 2016 shocked most journalists, and the professional political class broadly. Steven Schier and Todd Eberly assemble abundant evidence that we could have seen it coming. The questions-How was Trump able to take over the Republican Party? Why are so many partisans still with him despite the controversies of his first term?-will echo for decades in the future, but the answers begin decades in the past. These veteran political analysts identify the Trump victory not as a momentary spasm but the latest expression of a long-term revolt against elites in both parties. -- John F. Harris, Founding Editor, POLITICO How Trump Happened is written with a general audience in mind, offering accessible accounts of important moments in the 2016 campaign and the first three years of the Trump administration. It also deploys some of the tools of political science to build its argument about the election's outcome in a nontechnical fashion. * Congress & the Presidency *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
360 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5381-2204-4 (9781538122044)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2020
1st Edition
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
€31.49
Available for download
E-Book
03/2020
1st Edition
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
€31.49
Available for download
Persons
Steven E. Schier is Dorothy H. and Edward C. Congdon Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Carleton College, where he taught for thirty-six years. Twelve times he directed the Carleton in Washington program, an off-campus term of study he founded in 1983. Dr. Schier is the author, co-author or editor of twenty-two books. His most recent titles for Rowman are The Trump Presidency: Outsider in the Oval Office (2017), coauthored with Todd E. Eberly, Debating the Obama Presidency (2016), an edited volume, and Polarized: The Rise of Ideology in US Politics (2016), also coauthored with Todd E. Eberly.
Todd E. Eberly is professor of Political Science and Public Policy at St. Mary's College of Maryland. He specializes in contemporary American politics with a focus on the effect of polarization on voters, government, and governing. Professor Eberly's has written 4 books with Steven Schier of Carleton College. Their first book, American Government and Popular Discontent was released in June, 2013. Their second book, The Rise of Ideology in America, was released in 2015. Their third book, The Trump Presidency: Outsider in the Oval Office was published in September 2017. Professor Eberly is an advisor to Project Vote Smart and his analysis and commentary have been featured in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, CNBC, and Public Radio/Television. He has served as an expert witness in cases challenging gerrymandered Congressional districts and has consulted with the centrist organization Third Way. He was named one of the most influential voices in Maryland politics by Campaigns and Elections magazine and the St. Mary's College Student Government Association honored him with the Faculty Student Life Award. He lives in Southern MD with his wife and two daughters.
Todd E. Eberly is professor of Political Science and Public Policy at St. Mary's College of Maryland. He specializes in contemporary American politics with a focus on the effect of polarization on voters, government, and governing. Professor Eberly's has written 4 books with Steven Schier of Carleton College. Their first book, American Government and Popular Discontent was released in June, 2013. Their second book, The Rise of Ideology in America, was released in 2015. Their third book, The Trump Presidency: Outsider in the Oval Office was published in September 2017. Professor Eberly is an advisor to Project Vote Smart and his analysis and commentary have been featured in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, CNBC, and Public Radio/Television. He has served as an expert witness in cases challenging gerrymandered Congressional districts and has consulted with the centrist organization Third Way. He was named one of the most influential voices in Maryland politics by Campaigns and Elections magazine and the St. Mary's College Student Government Association honored him with the Faculty Student Life Award. He lives in Southern MD with his wife and two daughters.
Content
Contents
Chapter One: Our Angry Politics
Chapter Two: Our Troubled Parties
Chapter Three: Trump The Celebrity
Chapter Four: Trump's 2016 Breakthroughs
Chapter Five: President Trump
Chapter Six: The Trump Agenda
Chapter Seven: Trump's Future
Index
Chapter One: Our Angry Politics
Chapter Two: Our Troubled Parties
Chapter Three: Trump The Celebrity
Chapter Four: Trump's 2016 Breakthroughs
Chapter Five: President Trump
Chapter Six: The Trump Agenda
Chapter Seven: Trump's Future
Index