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Paul Musgrave, political science, comments in a news analysis about why some political observers believe the atmosphere in the White House has become toxic, as evidenced by President Donald J. Trump’s public quarrels with his staff and cabinet. “The administration is toxic and dysfunctional,” Musgrave says. “The weak link is Trump himself.” He says Trump demands loyalty from his cabinet but still abuses and yells at them when he is displeased. (Vox [1], MSNBC [2], 10/5/17)
“Tillerson would be at or near the bottom of the list of secretaries of state, not just in the post-Second World War world but in the record of U.S. secretaries of state,” he says. “He took the job and made it smaller.” The main reason for his failure, Musgrave says, is because Tillerson never build a relationship with staff at the State Department and instead relies on a small group of longtime confidants. (Vox [3], 9/20/17)
Paul Musgrave, political science, says it is difficult to know what effect the new sanctions imposed on North Korea by the United Nations on fuel supplies will have. He says this is because it’s not clear how much oil they import. “These are areas where experts disagree, and there is a big difference in the impact based on how much the North Korean regime relies on outside sources bases on those estimates,” he says. Experts agree, however, that the amount of oil North Korea imports is very small compared to other advanced economies, so reductions don’t have the huge impact on them. (Hellenic Shipping News [4], World Oil, [5] 9/12/17)
News Type:
- Faculty News