Could Donald Trump's trade policies make trouble? 
Paul Musgrave, political science, says the Chinese state-owned rail car manufacturing plant being built in Springfield could be the victim of changing political views about dealing with China reflected by the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump. “The worst kind of risk is political risk because it touches every part of a deal. But the entire atmosphere of doing business internationally is going to be affected by the fact that the president doesn’t see maintaining good relationships with China as a priority,” Musgrave says. (Republican)

Experts offer diverging views on Trump's pick for Secretary of State

Paul Musgrave, political science, says Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be secretary of state, has experience in international negotiations and knows how to talk to foreign governments. M.J. Peterson, political science, says Trump has been picking nominees for top jobs in the government from business, but they may find the rules of politics are different. Peterson says success in politics could mean avoiding conflicts or disputes and isn’t the same as either making or losing money. (Gazette)

How big is the gap between the donor class and ordinary Americans? Bigger than you think.

A column co-authored by Jesse H. Rhodes and Brian F. Schaffner, political science, finds that donors to political parties, what they call the “donor class,” are overwhelmingly white, male and wealthy. They also hold more consistently ideological views than average Americans, and this is particularly true for Republicans, Rhodes and Schaffner say. In 2016, 95 percent of Donald Trump’s donors were white and 64 percent were white men, compared to 33 percent who were Hillary Clinton donors. They also found that while 3 percent of Americans are millionaires, 17 percent of political donors were. (Washington Post)