
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


How well have political and legal norms held up in our politics during the Trump presidency? In November 2017, Jack Goldsmith, a professor of Law at Harvard and a former Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel, shared his assessment of the early days of the Trump presidency. Now, as we head to the end of 2020, Goldsmith re-joins us to consider where things stand today. Goldsmith argues that American institutions and legal norms have retained some resilience over the course of Trump’s presidency. However, he analyzes how checks and constraints on norm-violating or corrupt behavior have weakened in many areas over the last three years. Drawing on his recent book (coauthored with Bob Bauer), After Trump: Reconstructing the Presidency, Goldsmith explains how future congresses should consider legislative remedies to restore norms in politics. But the heart of the matter, Goldsmith contends, is that the potential for a restoration of norms in our politics principally depends on whether future presidents will make adherence to norms a priority.
By Bill Kristol4.7
19501,950 ratings
How well have political and legal norms held up in our politics during the Trump presidency? In November 2017, Jack Goldsmith, a professor of Law at Harvard and a former Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel, shared his assessment of the early days of the Trump presidency. Now, as we head to the end of 2020, Goldsmith re-joins us to consider where things stand today. Goldsmith argues that American institutions and legal norms have retained some resilience over the course of Trump’s presidency. However, he analyzes how checks and constraints on norm-violating or corrupt behavior have weakened in many areas over the last three years. Drawing on his recent book (coauthored with Bob Bauer), After Trump: Reconstructing the Presidency, Goldsmith explains how future congresses should consider legislative remedies to restore norms in politics. But the heart of the matter, Goldsmith contends, is that the potential for a restoration of norms in our politics principally depends on whether future presidents will make adherence to norms a priority.

6,305 Listeners

2,138 Listeners

12,525 Listeners

4,665 Listeners

8,053 Listeners

1,342 Listeners

4,046 Listeners

4,715 Listeners

2,570 Listeners

494 Listeners

3,146 Listeners

4,013 Listeners

3,536 Listeners

993 Listeners

759 Listeners