Rutgers University experts are available to discuss how President Trump’s positive coronavirus test could affect the presidential campaign and election.
- Ross Baker, professor of political science
Baker said: “The president, by his imprudent behavior and embrace of dubious treatments for COVID-19, has now, with his own illness, thrown the election process into further chaos. The possibility of medical complications for a man of 74 are considerable and beg the question of whether the 25th Amendment might have to be invoked.”
Baker is a former research associate at the Brookings Institution who has served as a consultant and resident scholar for Democrats in the House and Senate. He is an expert in American government, U.S. legislative politics, congressional issues and the presidency.
He can be reached at rosbaker@polisci.rutgers.edu or 609-933-5445.
- David Greenberg, professor of history and of journalism and media studies
Greenberg said: “If nothing else, Trump’s diagnosis raises fears of the coronavirus at a time when people were just starting to feel that normalcy was returning and it turns attention all over again to his handling of the pandemic. News changes fast these days, and in the last week alone, we’ve moved from a Supreme Court nomination to Trump’s taxes to a disastrous debate. But it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the coronavirus will remain the central issue for the rest of the 2020 presidential election campaign.”
Greenberg is an expert on American political and cultural history, including the presidency, campaigns and elections, political parties, political ideas, public policy. He is also a contributing editor and columnist at Politico.
He can be reached at davidgr@rutgers.edu or 646-504-5071.
- John J. Farmer, Jr., director of the Rutgers’ Eagleton Institute of Politics
Farmer said: “President Trump’s and the first lady’s infection with the virus injects a new level of uncertainty into an already chaotic campaign season. Will he and Melania be able to campaign at all while they are ill and recovering? If so, what form will his campaigning take? Are the large in-person rallies that have been the hallmarks of his campaigning out of the question? How do you contact trace the president and first lady? I suspect that campaign resources will be redirected to increased media presence and remote campaigning techniques will be developed. Just as so many businesses and educational institutions have had to adapt to remoteness and have done so successfully, so the president’s campaign will have to adapt. I’m sure it will.”
Farmer is an expert in American politics, redistricting, law, national security and community protection for vulnerable populations. He is also the director of Rutgers’ Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience.
For interviews, contact Gabriella Morrone at gmorrone@eagleton.rutgers.edu or 732-570-2163.
