Robert Schmuhl
Journalists and political pundits have repeatedly stressed that the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign is like nothing they鈥檝e ever seen. , Walter H. Annenberg-Edmund P. Joyce Professor of American 91视频 and Journalism at the University of Notre Dame, believes that the campaign may indicate that American politics has reached a breaking point.
鈥淒onald Trump is running as his own person and without a strong association with the Republican Party,鈥� Schmuhl said. 鈥淗e, in effect, is an independent running as a Republican. His candidacy in itself is a critique of the current party system in the U.S. He is showing that a dominant personality can overshadow both party and policy.
鈥淔or a number of years, political experts have worried that American politics might be heading toward a breaking point. The 2016 campaign proves that we鈥檝e reached that point. A high percentage of Republicans and Democrats are unhappy with their choices this year, and that unhappiness 鈥� if not anger 鈥� signifies that larger, institutional forces are provoking these feelings and opinions. The unanswerable question is: How will this political period play out, and what will it mean to future governance?鈥�
Schmuhl, director of Notre Dame鈥檚 , often serves as an expert resource for reporters seeking comment on the American political landscape and its relationship with the media.
Contact: Robert Schmuhl, rschmuhl@nd.edu