Donald Trump and American Populism - (New Perspectives on the American Presidency) by Richard S Conley (Paperback)

About the Book

This book evaluates the presidency of Donald Trump from a comparative, historical approach to connect his populist style to his predecessors.

Book Synopsis

Dissecting the populist leadership style of President Donald Trump
Places Trump's presidential leadership style within a comparatively historical and political development theoretical framework Considers Trump's use of social media as a form of public politics that represents an adaptation of presidential communication style to new technology while rebuffing the traditional bully pulpitAssesses the impact of Trump's negative rhetoric and efforts to challenge if not delegitimize other national institutions (Courts, Congress), question media truthfulness, and his personalization of political opponents Employs case studies to weigh Trump's political strategy, from mobilizing grassroots support to foreign diplomacy This book evaluates the presidency of Donald Trump from a comparative, historical approach to connect his populist style to his predecessors.
Trump's method of communication through social media obviously differs from previous candidates and presidents with populist platforms, but his themes - a disdain for elites, grassroots support, majoritarianism, anti-intellectual discourse, and nativism--borrow variably from such figures as Andrew Jackson, Huey Long, Barry Goldwater, and Ross Perot. As such, Trump's approach to governance falls within a long tradition of populism dating to the 19th Century.

From the Back Cover

Dissecting the populist leadership style of President Donald Trump This book evaluates the presidency of Donald Trump from a comparative, historical approach to connect his populist style to his predecessors. Trump's method of communication through social media obviously differs from previous candidates and presidents with populist platforms, but his themes - a disdain for elites, grassroots support, majoritarianism, anti-intellectual discourse, and nativism--borrow variably from such figures as Andrew Jackson, Huey Long, Barry Goldwater, and Ross Perot. As such, Trump's approach to governance falls within a long tradition of populism dating to the 19th Century. Richard S. Conley assesses various aspects of Trump's career, including the nature of his presidential campaign; his post-campaign rallies; his style of governance and reliance on executive unilateralism; and his longstanding core themes, in order to develop a theoretical framework to explicate Trump's singular style of populism. Dr Richard S. Conley is an Associate Professor in Political Science at the University of Florida.

Review Quotes

Scholars will try to make sense of President Trump for decades to come. Marrying populist theory with well-established theories of the American Presidency, Richard Conley's keen analysis and insights help us make sense of Trump, America's most successful populist. The work is essential reading for students of the presidency.--Jeffrey Peake, Clemson University

About the Author

Dr Richard S. Conley is an Associate Professor in Political Science at the University of Florida. He is the author and editor of twelve academic books, including Presidential Leadership and National Security: The Obama Legacy and Trump Trajectory. (Routledge, 2017). His main research interests include American presidency, Congress, executive-legislative relations and comparative executives.