Maxwell School News and Commentary

"Until there are more moderates elected they aren’t going to be able to galvanize and be able to leverage the votes that they need to have any influence," says Danielle Thomsen, assistant professor of political science.

"They failed to drill down on the biggest frictions facing U.S. businesses and on those where we are most able to move the Chinese," Mary Lovely, professor of economics, says of the vague statement the U.S. and China released regarding the trade conflict.

"If something big is revealed—an impeachable offense by the president—that could be a significant factor in creating a blue (Democratic) wave," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute. On the other hand, he says, if the investigations end with nothing really significant or new "it gives power to President Trump's narrative that it has all been a witch hunt, which could give Republicans a boost."

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks says that the recently released meeting transcripts between the Trump campaign and Russian lawyers corroborated what was already known, that "the Russians did attempt to influence the election, and they attempted to do so in favor of the candidate Donald Trump, who they hoped would win."

"It has obviously been an enormous distraction for the administration," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. "Whatever the amount of political capital [Trump had], it has been diminished."

"The economics profession still struggles to be inclusive. But my hope is that one day, when a woman (of whatever height) presents her research, no one will be surprised when she does a stellar job," writes Mary Daly ’91 M.Phil. (Econ)/’94 Ph.D. (Econ).

"The proposed tariffs will hit bilateral trade in fast-growing, knowledge-based sectors the hardest," say Mary Lovely, professor of economics, and Yang Liang, a Ph.D. candidate in economics. "Rather than hitting the administration’s intended target—Chinese firms that may have unfairly obtained American technology—the proposed tariffs would actually inflict damage on U.S. high-technology sectors."

Lerner Chair Shannon Monnat's research found that the Rust Belt counties that put Trump over the top were those that lost the most people in recent years to deaths of despair—those due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide.

Kristi Andersen, professor emeritus of political science, discussed Gina Haspel, President Trump's nominee for director of the CIA, Congresswoman Claudia Tenney and New York's 22nd congressional district, and the resignation of New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.