Crisis Presidency

A compelling new interpretation of the American presidency from one of the leading scholars of American constitutionalism.What is the true purpose of the US presidency? For more than 250 years, scholars and citizens alike have debated the role of America’s chief executive. In this provocative new work, renowned presidential scholar Benjamin A. Kleinerman offers a bold answer: presidents are ultimately judged by how they confront crisis. As Joe Biden remarked during the 2020 election, “A President who cannot handle a crisis is no President at all.” Kleinerman argues that this instinctive understanding lies at the very heart of the presidency itself.Crises do not simply elevate presidents—they reveal them. When presidents respond effectively, even political opponents may rally behind them. When they fail, public confidence quickly erodes. Challenging conventional scholarship, Kleinerman argues that presidential power is inseparable from the responsibility to preserve security, order, and constitutional stability. From the beginning, the framers designed the office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” making crisis leadership central to the presidency’s constitutional purpose.Drawing on pivotal moments in American history, Kleinerman examines George Washington’s decisive suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion alongside modern presidential tests, including Jimmy Carter’s failure in the Iranian hostage crisis, George W. Bush’s success after 9/11 but failure with Hurricane Katrina, Barack Obama’s success with Hurricane Sandy, and Donald Trump’s failure with COVID-19. Across centuries of political change, Americans continue to judge presidents by one enduring standard: their ability to lead the nation through moments of uncertainty and danger.Timely, incisive, and deeply relevant, this book offers a powerful new framework for understanding the presidency and the constitutional expectations Americans continue to place upon it.