2020 Elections & The Presidency: Reelection
There are many things about the presidency that help a president when they run for reelection. As the center of government, the media and the public pay attention to the president more than any other public official. This puts the president in a good position to influence how people think about the job the president is doing. The president usually faces little opposition for renomination, so they have time to build a campaign and define their opponent. The president can use executive orders to take actions that will help him win support from the public. In 2020 Donald Trump had all these advantages and tried to use all of them as he pursued reelection.
Instructors, click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.
Download the PowerPoint Lecture Spark for “The Presidency"
Links
“Trump’s Primary Advantage: No Real Competition”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-big-advantage-no-serious-challenge-from-within-11565618460
“9 Reasons Trump Could Win Reelection in 2020”
https://www.businessinsider.com/reasons-why-president-donald-trump-could-win-reelection-in-2020-2019-5
“Incumbent Presidents Usually Get More Popular When They Run for Reelection. Will Trump?”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/01/07/incumbent-presidents-usually-get-more-popular-when-they-run-reelection-will-trump/
“The top 3 unanswered questions about Trump’s executive orders on coronavirus relief”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/10/trump-executive-orders-covid-19-relief-top-3-unanswered-questions/3333632001/
“Breaking down the executive actions Trump signed on coronavirus relief”
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/09/politics/trump-executive-actions-coronavirus-explainer/index.html
“Trump Signs Executive Actions on Coronavirus Economic Relief”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/trump-sign-executive-order-coronavirus-economic-relief-n1236202
Assessment
- Debate: Should presidents use executive orders to change policy?
- Why do you think presidential approval is a great predictor of who will win the election?
- Poll: Do you think incumbent presidents are advantaged when they seek reelection?
- Short Answer: Why do some people think incumbent president are advantaged when running for reelection?
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Featured Image Credit: Team Marsha
