{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/9a03fe9e-1ff0-4dcc-b3f6-50bd1f016ea4/61e2f5ec-a8f1-4198-9953-b046bd8c9966?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Trump Stress Test","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/6195701f2eacc3a36070252a/619570bccb3c660012e3cee5.jpg?height=200","description":"<p>David talks to the historian Sarah Churchwell about how well America's political institutions have withstood the stress of the last four years.&nbsp;Have we seen the limits of presidential power or have we discovered how easy it is to trash those limits?&nbsp;Are constitutional checks and balances still intact?&nbsp;Is it really Mitch McConnell who is putting American democracy under stress?&nbsp;Plus we talk about what will be needed to restore the social contract and the perils of political humility.</p><p><br></p><p>Talking Points:</p><p><br></p><p>Many of the founding institutions in political life have been put under stress during the Trump administration.&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Trump has said a lot, but he hasn’t done much. We’ll have a better sense of the extent of the damage after the election.</li><li>Trump’s behaviour often gets more outlandish as the constraints on his power become more visible.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>The power of the U.S. executive has been growing, certainly since 9/11.</p><ul><li>Both Bush and Obama strengthened the executive presidency.&nbsp;</li><li>Some have argued that Trump’s incompetence precludes authoritarianism. Strong men have to be strong.</li><li>But from an institutional standpoint, the Trump presidency has revealed that the American system is vulnerable to strongmen leaders.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Because congressional Republicans have sanctioned his behaviour, Trump has not been as constrained as he might have been.</p><ul><li>The other institutional check that often flies under the radar is states rights.</li><li>The electoral system is bound up in local state power. Every state has a series of strong, legally required actions that go into certifying vote counts.</li><li>So far, states rights has been the most effective check on Trump’s power.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>We focus on Trump, but the lasting legacy of the Trump presidency may be elsewhere.</p><ul><li>If the lasting legacy of Trump is in the judiciary branch, it won’t be because he created a Trumpian judiciary.&nbsp;</li><li>In this sense, Trump is the enabler of Mitch McConnell rather than the other way around.</li><li>McConnell’s agenda is about obstructing the Democrats and consolidating Republican power.&nbsp;</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Trump has not been able to totalize authoritarian control.&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Certain aspects of liberalism have gotten stronger during the Trump administration.</li><li>There can be an authoritarian regime without an authoritarian state.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Mentioned in this Episode:</p><ul><li><a href=\"https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/blog/2019/209-impeaching-the-president\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Sarah on impeachment for Talking Politics American Histories</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/blog/2020/252-american-fascism-then-and-now\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Sarah on TP on American fascism</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb9_qGOa9Go&amp;feature=youtu.be\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Kimberly Jones, ‘How Can We Win’&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/10/opinion/sunday/trump-election-authoritarianism.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Ross Douthat, ‘There Will Be No Trump Coup’&nbsp;</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>Further Learning:</p><ul><li><a href=\"https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-election-forecast/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The 538 U.S. presidential election forecast&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2020/06/22/american-fascism-it-has-happened-here/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Sarah on American Fascism for NYBooks</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2016/02/14/466744465/originalism-a-primer-on-scalias-constitutional-philosophy\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">What is originalism?</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/us/supreme-court-packing.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The precedent, and perils of court packing in the...","author_name":"David Runciman and Catherine Carr"}