I was 15 when Trump descended the gilded escalator and announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President, 16 when he defeated Hillary Clinton and a few weeks shy of 17 when he was inaugurated. When his term officially ended Jan. 20, I was on the cusp of turning…
Read More
Obamas’ official portraits break tradition
On Feb. 12, an attentive crowd gathered to witness the unveiling of Barack and Michelle Obama’s new portraits. The event was held at the National Portrait Gallery which is a part of the Smithsonian Museum system. Kehinde Wiley, the painter of Barack Obama’s portrait, is based in New York City.…
Read More
Trump v. Obama: Foreign Policy
After his first year of presidency, President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address, which emphasized his differences from former President Barack Obama in their approaches to foreign policy. Trump’s speech emphasized his nationalistic, isolationist focus, whereas much of Obama’s foreign policy focused on diplomacy. Landmark policies and…
Read MorePulling Out of the Paris Climate Agreement
On June 1, 2017, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would be working to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord as it stands over the next 3 ½ years. This is not necessarily a permanent withdrawal. Trump expressed his hope that the terms could be renegotiated so that they…
Read MoreStaying in the Paris Climate Agreement
This June, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. will be leaving the Paris Climate Agreement. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) passed the Agreement in 2015, and 195 countries pledged to the deal, including the U.S. under former president Barack Obama. However, because of legal processes…
Read More
A Profile of Neil Gorsuch
Image courtesy of Vanity Fair It was just over a year ago that Justice Antonin Scalia passed, leaving a vacant seat on the bench of the highest court in the land. At the time, President Obama nominated appellate court judge Merrick Garland to replace Scalia. Garland was denied even a…
Read More
Alternatives to the Affordable Care Act
Immediately after being sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, President Donald Trump signed his first executive order to begin dismantling the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), colloquially labeled Obamacare. While the order does not officially remove any of the ACA’s provisions, it is a powerful…
Read More
Letter from the Editor: President Obama’s Legacy
While preparing for an editorial in which I’m going to consider President Obama’s legacy, the first thing that came to mind was to go through his policies. This seemed like a fitting place to start, to think about the practical ways in which he used the office of the Presidency…
Read MoreObama and Biden: After the White House
Much has been made about who will enter the oval office following a highly controversial election cycle. Much has not been made, however, about the plans of the incumbent president and vice president following the end of their tenure in office. Typically, a president will work on compiling his memoirs,…
Read More