Rumblings Of A ‘Deep State’ Undermining Trump?

President Trump’s allegations that former President Barack Obama tapped his phone and his assertions that the bureaucracy is leaking secrets to discredit him are the latest signs of a White House preoccupation with a “deep state” working to thwart the Trump presidency. “Nixon shared a similar kind of distrust of the government and felt the government was out to get him at points,” says political scientist Peter Feaver, a former national security aide to President George W. Bush. “President Trump’s view seems to be more on the Nixon part of the spectrum. …”

Read More in The New York Times

 

The U.S. Constitution, Constitutional Conventions, and Trump

What is most concerning about the conduct of Donald Trump during and since the 2016 presidential campaign is not any potential violations of the U.S. Constitution.  Most concerning, writes law professor Neil Siegel, are his disregard of norms that had previously constrained candidates for president and his flouting of constitutional conventions that had previously guided occupants of the White House.

Read More in the Oxford Human Rights Hub

The Case for Welcoming Immigrant Families

Research shows Hispanic children in the U.S. worry a lot more than their non-Hispanic peers. Some told researchers they feared their parents would be taken from them and sent away. Given that more than one in four U.S. children live in a family with at least one immigrant parent, associate professor Anna Gassman-Pines argues we should work toward helping parents and their children feel integrated into U.S. society rather than isolated.

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When Trump, Cabinet Diverge On Foreign Policy

A tip for leaders who are confused about whether to trust the president or his emissaries is to watch how Trump reacts when Cabinet secretaries appear to contradict what he’s said. “They are not being rebuked by the White House for doing what they’re doing,” says political scientist Peter Feaver, a former member of the National Security Council staff under President George W. Bush. “That is a very important fact.”

Read More in The Boston Globe

Politics In The Pulpit: Where To Draw The Line?

A proposal by President Donald Trump would change a law that says churches and other religious organizations risk losing tax-exempt status if they endorse political candidates. Such restrictions “are designed to keep churches and government at arm’s length,” says law professor Richard Schmalbeck. “We don’t want IRS agents sitting in churches taping sermons.”

Read More in the Asheville Citizen Times

Twitter and Facebook are Politicizing the Military

The military has polled high since the administration of President Ronald Reagan, following a low point in public perceptions after the Vietnam War, says Peter Feaver, a political science professor. “The Supreme Court used to rank high, too. What happened? The Supreme Court increasingly took on a partisan appearance and looked like a group of Republicans and Democrats arguing with each other.”

Read More in Politico

We’re a Divided Nation — That Actually Agrees on a Lot

“It’s not novel to point out that with the election of President Trump, tribalism has reached new and dizzying heights — the “basket of deplorables” vs. “liberal elites.” Many of us feel sickened. And we’re right to worry. Tribal thinking is not just inherently undemocratic — it’s perilous,” writes Dirk Philipsen, associate research professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy.

Read More in The Hill