Publications
Chandler James (2022). “Does President Trump’s Outrageous Behavior Work?: Results from Two Randomized-Controlled Trials.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 52(2): 411–28.
Chandler James (2022). “Does President Trump’s Outrageous Behavior Work?: Results from Two Randomized-Controlled Trials.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 52(2): 411–28.
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Working Papers
The Politics of Presidential Norms
Abstract: Despite President Trump’s prodigious norm violations, he has achieved considerable political success. Prominent scholars argue norms are vital to a well-functioning democracy; however, little is known regarding what or how the public thinks about presidential norms. I deployed an original survey to a nationally representative sample of nearly 800 Americans eligible to vote in the United States to investigate public attitudes toward a novel battery of presidential norms. I find widespread public support for almost every norm in the battery. However, dividing presidential norms into two sub-categories—what I call structural norms and presentation norms—the results also show that important political constituencies value the two types of presidential norms differently. I also present evidence that presidents can use presidential norms as technologies to appeal to key constituencies.