This monograph examines how Trump’s election as President signals a rollback of the Obama years. In 2008, in what seemed a seminal moment for the country’s politics, the United States elected an African American as President. Yet, eight years later, in the form of Donald Trump, the nation put in office a man who was the very antithesis of his predecessor. The book determines what can legitimately be regarded as the legacy of the Obama presidency and investigates how far the Trump administration has reversed it. The analysis is embedded in a historical context, based on examination and scrutiny ... More

This monograph examines how Trump’s election as President signals a rollback of the Obama years. In 2008, in what seemed a seminal moment for the country’s politics, the United States elected an African American as President. Yet, eight years later, in the form of Donald Trump, the nation put in office a man who was the very antithesis of his predecessor. The book determines what can legitimately be regarded as the legacy of the Obama presidency and investigates how far the Trump administration has reversed it. The analysis is embedded in a historical context, based on examination and scrutiny of how, and how successfully, presidents in the modern era have overturned the work of their predecessor when they have attempted to do so. The authors focus on meaningful priority shifts, policy changes and the imprint of presidential leadership, providing a framework for assessing Obama’s legacy, which in turn affords context to a discussion of the Trump administration’s capacity to fulfil its promise to reverse the direction taken by the Obama White House. Looking beyond the noise and hyperbole, the book examines how robust the Obama legacy has proved to be in the face of Trump’s challenge. Clodagh Harrington is Associate Professor of American Politics at De Montfort University. Alex Waddan is Associate Professor in American Politics at the University of Leicester.