Presidents and Political Scandal

Presidential scandals draw our attention for a variety of reasons. Whether they concern sex, money, or power, the shock of scandals stresses the political system and shows in stark relief how the boarders of power that define the presidency and other institutions can expand and contract. Understanding how presidents try to manage political scandals in the modern era provides a unique vantage point on the power of individual presidents, the institution of the presidency, and the larger political environment.  In this expanded second edition of Presidents and Political Scandal, Richard Barberio applies his development of the concept of “backfire,” or the creation of a faux scandal to misdirect attention from the original scandal, to illustrate how the technique was fully implemented by Trump. Is the use of the backfire specific to the president or is it more the function of the political system at the time?  This book uses a case study format overlaid with an analytical framework to investigate these and related questions that are important to both scholars and to students studying the presidency.