George C. Edwards III is University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies Emeritus at Texas A&M University. He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Oxford. A leading scholar of the presidency, he has written or edited twenty-six books on American politics. He is also editor of Presidential Studies Quarterly and general editor of the Oxford Handbook of American Politics series. His most recent books are Predicting the Presidency: The Path to Successful Leadership and Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America.

• PrefaceChapter 1. Trump as a TestPart 1. The Promoter? Leading the PublicChapter 2. Strategic Position with the PublicChapter 3. Going PublicChapter 4. On Deaf EarsChapter 5. The Bully in the PulpitPart 2. The Closer? Leading CongressChapter 6. Strategic Position with CongressChapter 7. No Deal: Negotiating with CongressChapter 8. At the MarginsPart 3. Trump as a LeaderChapter 9. Plus ça ChangeNotes  Index

“Edwards uses a scholar’s tools to dissect Trump’s presidency, asking all the right questions and answering them with careful and thorough analysis. In Edwards’s telling, Trump neither found a way to sway public opinion nor found a way to manage the government. The result is a smart and unsparing portrait of the nation’s forty-fifth president—from his corrosive effect on the public discourse to his impact on democratic institutions.”

George C. Edwards III is University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies Emeritus at Texas A&M University. He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Oxford. A leading scholar of the presidency, he has written or edited twenty-six books on American politics. He is also editor of Presidential Studies Quarterly and general editor of the Oxford Handbook of American Politics series. His most recent books are Predicting the Presidency: The Path to Successful Leadership and Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America.

• PrefaceChapter 1. Trump as a TestPart 1. The Promoter? Leading the PublicChapter 2. Strategic Position with the PublicChapter 3. Going PublicChapter 4. On Deaf EarsChapter 5. The Bully in the PulpitPart 2. The Closer? Leading CongressChapter 6. Strategic Position with CongressChapter 7. No Deal: Negotiating with CongressChapter 8. At the MarginsPart 3. Trump as a LeaderChapter 9. Plus ça ChangeNotes  Index

“Edwards uses a scholar’s tools to dissect Trump’s presidency, asking all the right questions and answering them with careful and thorough analysis. In Edwards’s telling, Trump neither found a way to sway public opinion nor found a way to manage the government. The result is a smart and unsparing portrait of the nation’s forty-fifth president—from his corrosive effect on the public discourse to his impact on democratic institutions.”

George C. Edwards III is University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies Emeritus at Texas A&M University. He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Oxford. A leading scholar of the presidency, he has written or edited twenty-six books on American politics. He is also editor of Presidential Studies Quarterly and general editor of the Oxford Handbook of American Politics series. His most recent books are Predicting the Presidency: The Path to Successful Leadership and Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America.

• PrefaceChapter 1. Trump as a TestPart 1. The Promoter? Leading the PublicChapter 2. Strategic Position with the PublicChapter 3. Going PublicChapter 4. On Deaf EarsChapter 5. The Bully in the PulpitPart 2. The Closer? Leading CongressChapter 6. Strategic Position with CongressChapter 7. No Deal: Negotiating with CongressChapter 8. At the MarginsPart 3. Trump as a LeaderChapter 9. Plus ça ChangeNotes  Index

“Edwards uses a scholar’s tools to dissect Trump’s presidency, asking all the right questions and answering them with careful and thorough analysis. In Edwards’s telling, Trump neither found a way to sway public opinion nor found a way to manage the government. The result is a smart and unsparing portrait of the nation’s forty-fifth president—from his corrosive effect on the public discourse to his impact on democratic institutions.”