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: There's No Such Thing as a Presidential Mandate - Foundation for Economic Education
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There's No Such Thing as a Presidential Mandate
Teasing out actionable policy from election results is not only impossible but irresponsible. Wednesday, January 10, 2018
David Youngberg
Politics Trump Border Wall Voting Democratic Socialism Mandates DACA
President Trump wants a border wall so much, he’s making its funding a condition of passing DACA. The wall was his signature campaign promise, a fact he surely uses to justify his resolve. Such is the foolish reasoning of the presidential mandate. It is not a new idea: presidents often rely on their election victory to cajole Congress into compliance. But the presidential mandate does not exist. What Is a Presidential Mandate? In his 1990 article, “The Myth of the Presidential Mandate,” political scientist Robert A. Dahl notes how the presidential mandate is based on two lofty claims: A majority of voters prefer the winner’s policies.