DR. JAMES D. BOYS

What began as a journal paper for the Cambridge Review of International Affairs in 2021, will conclude in 2026 as my fourth book, The Madman In Chief: Trump, Nixon, and the Madman Theory.

The state of the economy was at the heart of Donald Trump’s campaign for a second- non-consecutive term as president, and in many ways, things have taken an upturn since his election. The latest GDP figures, however, coupled with the introduction of tariffs, appears likely to have a negative impact on consumer spending, a vital component in the nation’s economic wellbeing.

Remarkably enough we have already reached that first milestone in any presidency, the first 100-days. Technically, of course, this is Donald Trump’s second 100-days, but who’s counting? Whatever one makes of his administration, and the jury will doubtless remain stubbornly divided regardless of events, it has surely done more in its first 100 days than any other since the concept was first introduced during FDR’s first term.

Today has seen a classic example of how the Trump administration’s rapid response to events can bring about rapid change. Speaking at the White House during a briefing to mark the Trump administration’s 100th day in office press secretary Karoline Leavitt tore into plans that Amazon was preparing to provide customers with the cost of Trump’s tariffs next to the price of products on its website.

For the past six months, President Biden and his surrogates have repeatedly insisted that no pardon would be forthcoming for his son, Robert Hunter Biden. Time after time the president, his press secretary, their acolytes on the US news channels, and news anchors themselves, were adamant that there would be no act of clemency forthcoming and that to suggest such a thing was verging on heresy. This, however, has proven not to be the case.

In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s stunning victory here in the US presidential election, several attempts to explain the result have been attempted by a steady stream of individuals eager to blame Harris’s defeat on a combination of racism and sexism/ misogyny. This clearly overlooks the overwhelming support that Trump gained from women and ethnic minorities in all parts of the country. 

So. He’s back. In many ways, of course, he never really left. But in a remarkable turn of events, unforeseeable 4-years ago, Donald Trump has become only the second American ever elected to two non-consecutive terms as president.  Having predicted this result in September, I am in the all-too rare and fortunate position of not being smart after the event, as so many will prove to be in the coming weeks and years, as pubs and TV studios inevitably fill with those claiming to h

Donald Trump has been re-elected, in part, because he understands that there is a flawed vision of America. Barack Obama famously said, ‘there’s no red states, or blue states, just the United States.’ This is great rhetoric, but it is demonstrably false. In fact, there are red (Republican) states and there are blue (Democratic) cities. Donald Trump appeals to those rural voters where Republicans traditionally dwell, but he also managed to win the suburban vote and therefore o

Last night’s debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz reminds us that dedicated public servants can come together, be civil to one another, exchange views, and shake hands amicably in a manner that unites even as the country moves to vote on the highest office in the land.

Ok, so it’s that time again. Every 4 years at this point in a presidential election, every self-centered, self-satisfied academic who ever glanced through a Disney Resort brochure in a Thomas Cook travel agent suddenly fancies themselves as an expert on U.S. politics and decides that they can suddenly offer some mystical insight as to the next occupant of the White House. This is always done in such a way, of course, to ensure that whatever the result, they will be correct.