President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency has caused a bit of a national emergency itself. The president has decided to make the Southern border wall his legacy and if the democratic congress will not give him the money needed, he plans to go around them with the use of a national emergency. A lot … Continue reading National Emergencies
Tag: Trump
Legitimacy of Political Parties
With the government shutdown now over, it is historically intriguing that one of the central players, President Donald Trump, with plenty of help from the Democrats, is helping to destroy the political reality that his hero, Andrew Jackson, helped create--legitimate political parties. The Founding Fathers all abhorred the idea of parties. George Washington made parties … Continue reading Legitimacy of Political Parties
Midterm Election
With the midterms approaching, it is finally time for the American people to voice their opinion of the Trump presidency, or so we are being told. Since Trump’s victory, with every special election we are bombarded with how this one election is the touchstone of America’s approval of the president. I have two statement about … Continue reading Midterm Election
Presidential Retaliation
One of the big stories last week was President Trump revoking John Brennan’s security clearance. Let me start by admitting my ignorance, I assumed everyone lost their clearance when they left the job, and I am not sure why he still needs it. Obviously, I am wrong in my assumptions because stripping Brennan of his … Continue reading Presidential Retaliation
How the 1884 Election Could Have Predicted the Trump Victory
As I give lectures, I am often asked about the Trump Presidency in historical terms. Commonly, my answer is there is no historic precedence for Trump. His campaign went against all the rules and he is running his presidency in his own unique way. There are some similarities, I have already written about how presidents … Continue reading How the 1884 Election Could Have Predicted the Trump Victory
Presidential Summits
Coming out of the summit meeting with the Russian leader, America has a black eye. Our President looks weaker now than before, while the Russians are praising their leader’s political abilities. While this can easily be said about President Trump’s meeting with Putin, I am actually talking about President Kennedy’s 1961 Vienna Summit with Nikita … Continue reading Presidential Summits
Jerusalem
Most of the columns I write are inspired by something I saw in the news, something that just does not sit right with me historically. One area where I find a great amount of misunderstanding is in reporting on the Middle East. I am an American historian, but my secondary Ph.D. field was in the … Continue reading Jerusalem
Executive Orders
With President Trump pulling out the Iran deal, I have heard many ask the question, “How can the president unilaterally pull out of a deal that America has already agreed to?” This was the same question asked after President Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Accords. The answer is a simple one, a previous … Continue reading Executive Orders
Russian Interference
With the indictment of thirteen Russians for interfering in our past election, much of the media and social media has rightfully condemned Russia for meddling. Foreign nations should not have a say in America’s election. However, as I watched the morning news programs, one conversation caught my attention. The expert speaking said these indictments change … Continue reading Russian Interference
Trump and Twitter
I hope those who take my classes or read my articles will quickly learn that I do not believe my job is to convince anyone that my political beliefs are correct. I do have strong political beliefs, but those are mine. I hope to give students information they need to make their own political choices. … Continue reading Trump and Twitter
Historically Speaking 