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Conversations about Donald Trump often begin with the question: how did he become president? In Questions of Character, Robert Smith provides some compelling answers based on his assessment of the role that personality and character played leading up to and during Trump's term in office. Smith traces the impact of Trump's character on the conduct of domestic and foreign policy, the organization of the White House staff and decisionmaking processes, and the habitual use of inflammatory rhetoric to advance policies and rally and sustain the "Make America Great Again" constituency. He also looks at Trump's reaction to defeat in the 2020 election. The result is a comprehensive exploration of the consequences of Trump's character--personal, presidential, and democratic--during this contentious period in US presidential history.

"In this book, Robert C. Smith presents a philosophical and empirical examination on the subordination of women and blacks in the United States. Comparing liberalism - specifically the major social contract philosophies - and Marxism on the nature of the subordination of blacks and women and their proposals, if any, for women's and black liberation, Smith argues that sexual and racial equalitarianism in the United States is about politics and power. He begins with a discussion of the multiple meanings of politics and its relationship to power, and an analysis of nine power bases blacks and women should acquire and manipulate in order to advance a moral and substantive equalitarianism. These power bases include money, knowledge (including technology and information), religion, morality, authority, equality, charisma, violence and status. Smith concludes by making a moral case for racial and sexual equalitarianism and advocates for black leadership to use the power bases available to it make reparations the civil rights issue of the 21st century. Power, Philosophy and Egalitarianism is an essential read for all those interested in race, women and politics today"--

Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Foreword -- Introduction -- Chapter 1 Wichita to Washington -- Chapter 2 Black Power -- Chapter 3 Black Studies -- Chapter 4 Brandeis -- Chapter 5 Howard -- Chapter 6 Paradoxes of Black Power: Community, Culture, and Ideology -- Chapter 7 White Power, White Nationalism -- Chapter 8 Leadership in Search of Black Power -- Chapter 9 Black Power and Presidential Politics -- Chapter 10 Asking for the Moon: Black Power and Reparations -- Chapter 11 Black Power and Democracy in America: The Ultimate Paradox -- Chapter 12 Ronald Walters and the Long Black Intellectual Tradition -- Chapter 13 Fighting for the Black Perspective -- Epilogue Ndaba -- Note on Sources and Research -- Books by Walters -- Selected Articles -- Selected Unpublished Material -- Selected Videos -- Interviews -- Notes -- Selected Bibliography -- About the Author -- Index

The Biden administration is the most responsive to Black interests since the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. This article places the administration's responsiveness in historical perspective by examining presidential responsiveness to Black interests, beginning with the presidency of Ulysses Grant, and focusing on the role of Black protest and the Black vote in activating responsiveness. After a brief discussion of theories of presidential power and responsiveness to Black interests, the article examines the factors that shaped the Biden administration's responsiveness, especially the role of the Black Lives Matter protests; the substantive content of the Biden policies; and their likely effectiveness in an era of partisan polarization and in the historical context of the presidency and race reform.