1. Introduction: Trump’s Presidency; Neustadt’s Model

This chapter presents the purpose of the book, that the unorthodox and unusual presidency of Donald Trump can be understood in part by Richard Neustadt’s seminal work, Presidential Power. Fundamentally, Neustatdt’s model consists of the idea of presidential bargaining, and that presidential power is contingent on various factors, rather than absolute or assured—as he famously put it, “presidential power is the power to persuade.” Thus, his model is one of presidential negotiation and cajoling, etc., and the two main ingredients of presidential power are the president’s elite support from the Washington community, as well as support from the public at large. It also contrasts Trump’s conception of “coercive negotiation” with Neustadt’s collective bargaining.