Title: There's No Such Thing as a Presidential Mandate - Foundation for Economic Education
Headings: There's No Such Thing as a Presidential Mandate
There's No Such Thing as a Presidential Mandate
What Is a Presidential Mandate?
Votes Are Not Policy
No Consensus among Trump Voters
The Myth of Democratic Socialism
Even Voting with Dollars Is Hard to Interpret

Content: Because the people prefer the president’s policies, the president’s policies should triumph if Congress and the president disagree. A majority of voters never prefer a specific policy. In other words, the presidential mandate derives from a sycophantic view of the presidency and the significance of elections. It claims that a majority of all voters prefer all of the new president’s policies. It presumes that the President is some sort of special representative of the people, and that unique position grants him special powers — powers that transcend the Constitution. The latter claim is, of course, not true, and we should denounce any president who seriously claims that Congress should bow to his or her will. But it’s the former claim that is most interesting. While no one would seriously argue the strong version of this claim — the president isn’t even directly elected — there is a sense that Congress should put special effort into passing a president’s signature campaign promises. After all, “the people want it.” But a majority of voters never prefer a specific policy.