Matters of Policy & Politics

Last November, President Donald Trump gave back five states he carried in 2016, as a normally urban-centric Democratic Party made inroads into America’s suburbs. David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists, discuss America’s post-Trump political landscape and whether a genuine realignment occurred in 2020, or if the 45^th President’s impact won’t be all that lasting. 

Amid an otherwise chaotic presidency, the last four years witnessed a methodical, prolific appointment of conservatives to the federal bench. John Yoo, a Hoover Institution fellow and UC-Berkeley law professor, assesses the Trump record on judges and previews how the Biden White House might differ. But first, some thoughts on the constitutionality of convicting Trump in a post-presidency Senate impeachment trial.

How radical will the economic departure be from the outgoing Trump administration to the incoming Biden administration? Michael Boskin, the Hoover Institution’s Wohlford Family Senior Fellow and the Tully M. Friedman Professor of Economics at Stanford University, weighs the good, the bad, and the unresolved of the Trump years as well as what actions Biden might take on taxation, spending, and regulation and their consequences for the American and world economies.

What comes after Election Day in America? Legal maneuvering by the two presidential campaigns as votes/ballots are counted and ballot integrity comes under scrutiny. John Yoo, a Hoover Institution fellow, and constitutional law professor, explains what the Supreme Court might be asked to decide should a Republican challenge in Pennsylvania reach the highest court in the land. 

As the presidential election enters its last days, what do the polls suggest about the health of the two candidacies? David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover senior fellows and Stanford political scientists, discuss differences in voter demographics over the past four years and likely Election Night outcomes for control of the White House and U.S. Senate.  

With the election less than a month away and polls showing Joe Biden with a healthy lead, is there room – and ample time – for a Trump rally? David Brady, a Hoover Institution senior fellow emeritus and Stanford political scientist, reviews polling data showing how the 2020 race compares, at this point, to 2016’s contest nationally and in battleground states.  

The 25^th Amendment to the US Constitution clarifies presidential succession in the event of death or resignation. What’s not so clear is prolonged incapacitation. John Yoo, a Hoover Institution fellow, and constitutional law professor, explains how that amendment, written in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination, applies to President Trump’s current health crisis. 

In a presidential election dominated by news of a pandemic, economic disruption, climate events, and now the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, what’s there to be said about the world beyond America’s shores? Hoover Institution fellow Markos Kounalakis discusses unrest in Egypt and Iran – and offers a few foreign policy questions in advance of next week’s presidential debate.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death makes an already fierce presidential election even more contentious. John Yoo, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and UC-Berkeley law professor, reflects on the legacy of “notorious RBG” and weighs the pros and cons of waging a bitter confirmation battle before or after Election Day and January’s presidential inauguration. 

Hoover Institution research fellow Lanhee Chen explains the politics behind the social media companies, the World Health Organization, and what the future may hold for social media outlets amidst the current cancel-culture phenomenon.