“When the Abnormal Becomes Typical: Clinging to Memories of Normalcy Three Years into the Trump Administration”

A New Piece on Just Security

I recently shared a few thoughts on Just Security about how to maintain a sense of what’s normal three years into the decidedly abnormal Trump presidency. Here’s an excerpt:

Under any new president, change is normal. We should expect changes in policies, even changes in legal positions. But Trump’s changes are not normal. And they can’t be explained as the actions of a principled norm disruptor who needs to shake up settled institutions in order to deliver for the American people. No, the changes of the past three years represent the deliberate demolition of the very institutions that any president actually relies on to carry out his or her changes in policies and legal positions.

I hope you’ll read the full piece here.