Andrew Reeves, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis
Most efforts to project how well a candidate will do in an election are based largely on factors over which presidents have little to no control.
US Supreme Court associate justice Amy Coney Barrett during her swearing-in ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in October 2020, with Donald Trump in attendance.
AC News Photo/Alamy
Biden and Trump are polar opposites when it comes to policy. But they have wielded the power of the presidency in similar ways.
Eugene Debs, center, imprisoned at the Atlanta Federal Prison, was notified of his nomination for the presidency on the socialist ticket by a delegation of leading socialists who came from New York to Atlanta.
George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images
The former president made little mention of his personal legal battles as he announced his bid to retake the White House.
Vice President Mike Pence reads the final electoral vote counts declaring Joe Biden the next U.S. president during a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 7, 2021.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Concerned about problems in counting Electoral College votes that determine the next president, lawmakers are considering changes to the Electoral Count Act. What is the act, and what’s wrong with it?
The aftermath of a U.S. drone strike in January 2020 that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani.
Iraqi Prime Minister Press Office, via AP
A new proposal also puts pressure on presidents to evaluate their foreign policy objectives more clearly to determine whether military action is, in fact, appropriate.
Both Andrew Jackson, left, and Donald Trump presented themselves as men of the people.
Jackson, Library of Congress; Trump, Drew Angerer/Getty Images
A president’s persona is always a public act. In that way, Trump’s shtick – vulgar man of the people – was not exceptional. And every president has had to invent his version of the role.
Professor of Political Science and Director of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis