{"id":17825,"date":"2016-12-27T12:08:55","date_gmt":"2016-12-27T12:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=17825"},"modified":"2016-12-27T12:08:55","modified_gmt":"2016-12-27T12:08:55","slug":"can-donald-trump-persuade-americans-support-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/can-donald-trump-persuade-americans-support-agenda.html","title":{"rendered":"Can Donald Trump persuade Americans to support his agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Can Donald Trump persuade Americans to support his agenda<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Public support is a key resource that modern presidents have typically sought for themselves and their policies. They seek to leverage public opinion to garner support in Congress.<\/span><\/p>\n

New presidents, basking in the glow of victory, often assume that they can move the public. After all, they have just won the biggest prize in American politics because they persuaded enough voters to support their candidacy. Why shouldn\u2019t they be able to persuade Americans to support their policies?<\/span><\/p>\n

Campaigning is different from governing, however. To win an election, a candidate need only convince voters in the short term that he or she is a better choice than the few available alternatives. In addition, someone always wins, whether or not voters support the victor\u2019s policy positions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Governing, on the other hand, involves deliberation, negotiation and often compromise over an extended period. The president\u2019s policy is just one of a wide range of alternatives. To succeed, the president frequently needs to increase public support beyond his electoral coalition.<\/span><\/p>\n

This brings us to Donald Trump. Is President Trump likely to enjoy broad public support to revolutionize public policy? Here are four questions to predict this critical aspect of his presidency.<\/span><\/p>\n

Did Trump receive a mandate from the people?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It is a great advantage for a president to start his tenure with broad public support. Trump is following a long tradition of new presidents claiming a mandate from the people, a widespread endorsement by the public for a candidate\u2019s policy proposals. The perception of an electoral mandate adds legitimacy and credibility to the new president\u2019s proposals and encourages members of Congress to support the president. Indeed, major changes in policy, as in 1933, 1965 and 1981, rarely occur in the absence of such perceptions. Mandates can be powerful symbols in American politics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the claims from Trump Tower, however, the president-elect did not receive a mandate. He received only 46 percent of the vote, hardly a landslide. Moreover, he did not win even a plurality of the votes, receiving nearly 3 million fewer than Hillary Clinton.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, pre-election polls found that no candidate since 1980 has had a lower percentage of voters saying they planned to cast a vote for their candidate. In late October, most Trump voters were voting against Hillary Clinton rather than for him. Immediately after the election, 43 percent of the public had a positive response, but 52 percent were upset or dissatisfied.<\/span><\/p>\n

Approval of his transition has been unusually low, as have expectations of his presidency. The president-elect\u2019s favorability ratings have also been historically low and have not increased during the transition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, Trump did not emphasize many specific policies during the campaign. Instead, he stressed general aspirations, such as making America great again. So there is little evidence to support claims of a mandate.<\/span><\/p>\n

The public seems to agree. After the election, just 29 percent said Trump had a mandate to carry out the agenda he presented during the campaign, while 59 percent thought he should compromise with Democrats when they strongly disagreed with the specifics of his policy proposals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do Americans support the general direction of Trump\u2019s policies?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

To bring about change, presidents generally require broad public support for the general direction of their initiatives. Everyone supports peace and prosperity in campaigns, but presidents have to govern with more specificity. Most Americans like tax cuts (except for the wealthy), rebuilding the nation\u2019s infrastructure and improving veterans\u2019 services.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s policies often have been unclear, however, and they contain numerous contradictions, such as those between tax cuts and increased spending. We know the public does not support his general approach to immigration, trade and environmental protection. Opinion is more divided on health care, an issue on which he has been especially vague.<\/span><\/p>\n

How polarized is public opinion?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the absence of large majorities in Congress, enacting major changes in public policy usually requires expanding public support beyond those who identify with the president\u2019s party. The degree of partisan polarization will influence the prospects of doing so.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is it possible to reach out to the center and add those who might be sympathetic to Trump\u2019s policies to his coalition? Not really. The United States has very high levels of partisan polarization, and the policy divide between the Democratic and Republican electoral coalitions now encompasses a wide variety of issues, including both economic and social concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the Pew Research Center found that 45 percent of Republicans said that Democratic policies were not only wrong but \u201cthreaten the nation.\u201d Forty-one percent of Democrats viewed GOP policies in equally stark terms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump is highly polarizing, and he has focused on emotionally laden issues such as those dealing with ethnicity, race and gender. Bridging the partisan divide will be one of his greatest challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

How malleable is public opinion?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Can the president persuade non-supporters to change their minds and support his initiatives? There are many impediments to leading the public, including:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  • the difficulty of obtaining and maintaining the public\u2019s attention<\/span><\/li>\n
  • the dependence on the media to reach the public<\/span><\/li>\n
  • the distrust of the White House created by partisan media<\/span><\/li>\n
  • the need to overcome the public\u2019s policy and partisan predispositions (which are reinforced by partisan media)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • the public\u2019s misinformation and resistance to correction<\/span><\/li>\n
  • the public\u2019s aversion to loss and thus wariness of policy change<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/monkey-cage\/wp\/2016\/12\/27\/can-donald-trump-convince-americans-to-support-his-agenda-hell-soon-find-out-how-difficult-this-is\/?utm_term=.0b884eefef7b<\/span><\/div>\n

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