1st Edition
Trumping Ethical Norms Teachers, Preachers, Pollsters, and the Media Respond to Donald Trump
Questions of ethics and politics have a long tradition in the classroom as well as the political world. Those who act in the political realm—including the media, political strategists and consultants, educators, and religious leaders—are in professions for which a clear code of conduct or an accepted set of ethical norms exists. By contrast, Donald J. Trump, as candidate and as President, has upended the political and ethical context in which he and others operate. This book explores emerging ethical questions that face professionals interacting with a new executive order. Some say the age of Trump is unique and that the norms of ethical professional behavior must be bent to meet this challenge. Others maintain that responding to someone like Trump is precisely why their profession has ethical norms, and that they must put their judgments on hold and respond in what has always been deemed the appropriate professional manner. Each chapter opens with an introduction setting the framework of ethical analysis for a particular profession, is followed by original contributions by notable practitioners, and concludes with a set of questions for students and other readers to ponder and discuss.
First Thoughts
1 The Ethical Dilemma for the Mainstream Media
Introduction
The Mainstream Media’s Response to the Challenges of Donald Trump
- Clark Hoyt
The Role of the Mainstream Media in the Age of Trump
- David M. Shribman
Political Journalism and Analysis in an Age of Disruption
- Amy Walter
On the Front Lines of Journalism During the Trump Presidency
- Kenneth T. Walsh
Questions for Discussion
2 The Ethical Dilemma for Political Consultants and Strategists
Introduction
Ethical Dilemmas for Political Consultants in the Age of Trump
- Whit Ayres,
Polling for Democrats in an Evolving Political World
- Anna Greenberg
Do You Want to Feel Good or Do You Want the Truth?
- Daron R. Shaw
Questions for Discussion
3 The Ethical Dilemma for Professors
Introduction
Teaching American Government in the Age of Trump
- David W. Brady
Teaching Literature in the Age of Trump
- Aaron R. Hanlon
How Do You Talk About Trump When You are One of the Groups He Targets?
- Paula D. McClain
Trump, Trouble, and Teaching
- John J. Pitney. Jr.
Questions for Discussion
4 The Ethical Dilemma for Religious Leaders
Introduction
Speaking Out—and Acting—in the Age of Trump
- Erica Asch
Catholic Priesthood in the Era of Trump
- Michael Rozier
Two Different Religious Traditions Respond to the Challenge of Donald Trump
- Carl Ruby
Questions for Discussion
Concluding Thoughts
Biography
L. Sandy Maisel is the Goldfarb Family Distinguished Professor of American Government at Colby College. From 2003–2012 he served as the founding director of the College’s Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement.
Hannah E. Dineen is a graduate of Colby College and a producer at The Morning Report at Portland, Maine’s WCSH-6, an affiliate of NBC.
Praise for Trumping Ethical Norms
This nuanced and engaging volume brings together voices from a variety of professions to probe how ethical norms have been tested by the Trump presidency. Undoubtedly, the perspectives offered here will spark vigorous conversation in classrooms, at many levels of government, and in private businesses for years to come.
E.J. Dionne Jr., Brookings Institution; Co-author of One Nation After Trump
For those struggling to put the Trump presidency in context in the classroom, this timely and thoughtful book is a must-have. I found myself engrossed in analyzing the issues and effects of the campaign and first year of the Trump administration through the helpful lens of practitioners from media, consulting, education, and religion. Maisel and Dineen have crafted an excellent work that should be read by scholars, students, and those just interested in politics.
Mary McHugh, Merrimack College
