Author to dissect Trump’s first year

Author Michael Nelson will give a scholarly assessment of President Donald Trump’s first year in the White House at an event on Monday.

Nelson, the Fulmer professor of political science at Rhodes College and a senior fellow at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, will speak at noon Monday at Sturgis Hall, 1200 President Clinton Ave. He wrote Trump’s First Year.

A book signing will follow his talk.

“Donald Trump took office in January 2017 under mostly favorable conditions,” according to a news release. “He inherited neither a war nor an economic depression, and his party controlled both houses of Congress. He leveraged this successfully by delivering on his campaign promises to roll back regulations on business, and he saw his nominee for the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, approved swiftly and with little controversy.”

But then it adds, “Many more actions, however, have been perceived as failures or even threats to a safe, functional democracy, from immigration policies defied by state and local governments and volatile dealings with North Korea to unsuccessful attempts to pass major legislation and the inability to fill government positions or maintain consistent White House staff.”

The event is part of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service’s speaker series.