My Shingetsu News Agency VM column 66: “How Trump survives scandals”, where I offer a theory for the longstanding question, “How the hell does he get away with all this?” (April 30, 2025)
Intro: The Trump Administration has just finished its first 100 days. It’s a good time to look back on what’s been done during a president’s “honeymoon period”, the high water mark of his political momentum; and b) it’s a bellwether for the pace and direction of the rest of the presidency.
So far the report card is not good.
Trump’s approval rating at this point in his presidency is the lowest of any modern president (except himself last time). His systematic yet shambolic dismantling of institutions and agreements has alarmed allies and delighted adversaries. His tariffs are ungrounded in reality and applied in ways that help nobody except insider traders on the stock market. His hiring of incompetent people in the name of “meritocracy” have caused scandal after scandal, which would be grounds for impeachment for any other president. And so on.
Anyone following the news knows all this and probably skipped the last paragraph. So what new insights could I possibly offer?
Well, one mystery has always been, “How can he get away with all this?” How does Trump survive scandal after scandal?
Political Science may have an answer….