Clodagh Harrington

After four years of a presidency unbound, President Biden consciously moved to a calmer style of leadership. Yet, the political environment remained ferociously partisan and former President Trump continued to wield influence on the Republican Party. Against this backdrop, Trump vs Biden examines the durability of the Trump regime, focusing on the extent to which the political footprint of the forty-fifth president remains after his dramatic departure from office. Clodagh Harrington and Alex Waddan analyse meaningful priority shifts, policy changes and the imprint of presidential leadership, providing a framework for assessing Trump’s legacy. In turn, this provides context to the Biden administration’s efforts to reverse course and steer the US back to a more established form of politics and policy. Looking beyond the noise and hyperbole, the book also reflects on areas where Biden in fact reinforced elements of Trumpism. In an epilogue, the authors discuss the 2024 election and the opening six months of Trump’s 2nd term.

Examines how Trump's election as President signals a rollback of the Obama yearsIn 2008, in what seemed a seminal moment for the country's politics, the United States elected an African American as President. Yet, eight years later, in the form of Donald Trump, the nation put in office a man who was the very antithesis of his predecessor. This book determines what can legitimately be regarded as the legacy of the Obama presidency and investigates how far the Trump administration has reversed it. The analysis is embedded in a historical context, based on examination and scrutiny of how, and how successfully, presidents in the modern era have overturned the work of their predecessor when they have attempted to do so. The authors focus on meaningful priority shifts, policy changes and the imprint of presidential leadership, providing a framework for assessing Obama's legacy, which in turn affords context to a discussion of the Trump administration's capacity to fulfil its promise to reverse the direction taken by the Obama White House. Looking beyond the noise and hyperbole, the book examines how robust the Obama legacy has proved to be in the face of Trump's challenge.

Examines how Trump's election as President signals a rollback of the Obama yearsEstablishes what can be regarded as Obama's legacy, in both domestic and foreign policy Investigates how far the Trump administration (up to the 2018 mid-terms) undoes Obama's legacy legacyFocuses on meaningful shifts in presidential priorities, policy changes, and the imprint of presidential leadershipCase studies on specific policy areas where presidential 'undoing' has had a significant impact or has been thwarted,such ashealth care reform andimmigration policyIn 2008, in what seemed a seminal moment for the country's politics, the United States elected an African American as President. Yet, eight years later, in the form of Donald Trump, the nation put in office a man who was the very antithesis of his predecessor. This book determines what can legitimately be regarded as the legacy of the Obama presidency and investigates how far the Trump administration has reversed it. The analysis is embedded in a historical context, based on examination and scrutiny of how, and how successfully, presidents in the modern era have overturned the work of their predecessor when they have attempted to do so. The authors focus on meaningful priority shifts, policy changes and the imprint of presidential leadership, providing a framework for assessing Obama's legacy, which in turn affords context to a discussion of the Trump administration's capacity to fulfil its promise to reverse the direction taken by the Obama White House. Looking beyond the noise and hyperbole, the book examines how robust the Obama legacy has proved to be in the face of Trump's challenge.