William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

Presidential power today 449

These findings explain why most recent presidents have had little success with their

efforts to go public. President George W. Bush gave many speeches to build support for

his Iraq war policies and for his proposal to privatize Social Security. President Barack

Obama did the same in an effort to enact gun control legislation. And while President

Trump has used a broader range of media outlets compared to his predecessors (most

notably, Twitter), his efforts to shape public opinion on issues such as the travel ban, the

border wall, or immigration reform have not significantly changed what people think

(see Figure 12.3). Thus, while presidents have a unique platform from which to deliver

their arguments directly to the American people, in practice they are often frustrated

in their ability to shape public opinion.

The difficulty presidents have in shaping public opinion is another reason why

some presidents seem to accomplish more than others. Political scientist Stephen

Skowronek argues that presidents are constrained by the era in which they govern.^39

Some presidents (such as Ronald Reagan in 1981) take office when public opinion

is strongly behind their policy agenda, making it easier for them to persuade

Congress and bureaucrats to comply with their requests. Other presidents have the

misfortune to hold office when public opinion is not supportive of significant policy

change in the form of new laws or changes in regulations. Under these conditions,

presidents are limited in what they can do, even with all their powers and capability

for unilateral action. Even though President Donald Trump has held office with

unified Republican control of the House and Senate, there has been only modest

public support for many Republican initiatives, such as repealing Obamacare,

cutting entitlement programs, or curtailing government regulations. This political

climate has contributed to the difficulties Trump has faced in trying to enact these

parts of his agenda.

FIGURE

12.3

Approval ratings

Jan. 23,

2017

Jan. 23,

2018

Oct. 1,

2018

20

0

40

60

80

100%

Source: FiveThirtyEight, “How Popular is Donald Trump?,” https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-

ratings (accessed 10/1/18).

Presidential

Approval

Ratings for

Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s approval ratings

were remarkably stable during the

first two years of his presidency,

which is what we would expect given

steady economic growth and high

levels of partisan polarization. Many

Democrats argued that Trump should

be blamed for tax cuts that favored the

rich as well as statements and actions

that damaged America’s relations

with other nations. Does the trend

in Trump’s approval ratings suggest

these attacks had much effect?

Full_13_APT_64431_ch12_418-453.indd 449 16/11/18 10:34 AM