SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – There’s no question that a second Trump presidency, from the election cycle to the actual term, will have a historical impact. Now, political scientists are waiting to see just how significant it’ll be.
Grover Cleveland was the last and only president to serve non-consecutive terms in 1892. President-elect Trump’s second term is already set up to have a historical impact.
Dr. Kevin Pybas, a political science professor at Missouri State University, says that a number of things made this Trump win happen, but he says very little changed with Trump. Instead, failures on the Democratic side may have cost them the win.
“I don’t know that he changed that much again. It’s kind of what I was getting at earlier. I think the Democrats overplayed their hand right, that Biden was sold and campaigned as a moderate kind of the sane choice, stable, but then hasn’t governed in that way,” said Dr. Pybas. “A lot of dissatisfaction with the current configuration or current Democratic Party. Allowing someone who clearly, and I think to many at least, clearly wasn’t capable of serving a second term, and then when all that came to light in that debate back in June, then pushing him out on the side and not really having a competitive primary season, just elevating the vice president who was very unpopular.”
So, where do we go from here? Dr. Pybas says that that is a good question.
“I think that’s what all professional political sciences are trying to figure out is what does it mean? It’s hard to know when you’re in the middle of something. I think you can only kind of get a glimpse of things and intimations of things. You know, 20 years down the road, we’ll have a better understanding,” said Dr. Pybas.
Dr. Pybas says one thing to consider with the Democratic party is they’ll have to shift from here, reestablish, and find stronger leadership.
“That’s one of the interesting things always after an election is what the internal sort of the navel-gazing that the losing party does, so that that’s ongoing. Now you have these conflicts though among Democrats,” said Dr. Pybas. “It’s a very stinging loss to to lose to someone who was defeated four years ago.”
As for the Republican party, it depends on how this administration goes. If this term doesn’t go well, it’s not certain who will rise to the challenge of replacing President-elect Trump, who has been a staple in the party for the last decade. If it is successful, however, Dr. Pybas says it could be a clear succession.
“In two or three years, how we were beginning to look about look on this administration, if we see it generally successful as terms are, I mean as presidents are are historically just, inflation is controlled. If Trump can have a role in ending the conflicts in the Middle East and in Ukraine, for example. So, if Trumpism to use the word is looking good and going strong, if JD Vance aspires to the Presidency, and I assume he does or he wouldn’t have accepted the position as vice president, I would think that he would be unstoppable as the Republican nominee,” said Dr. Pybas.
As for U.S. politics as a whole, it’s unsure how they’ll turn out. Midterms will be a big player. Political experts recommend keeping an eye on politics will be crucial over the next four years.
To report a correction or typo, please email [email protected]. Please include the article info in the subject line of the email.
Copyright 2025 KY3. All rights reserved.
This post was originally published on here
