How do campaign promises affect the first year?

January 15, 2016 Sheila Blackford

Over at The Hill, Nicole Hemmer and Tony Lucadamo write about Trump's free media gambit and how his campaign promises might hamstring his first year. Voters have long memories when it comes to broken campaign promises. Just ask George H.W. Bush about his "no taxes" pledge at the 1988 Republican national convention. 

Hemmer and Lucadamo argue that some of Trump's campaign promises will not be a problem. His pledge to "cut off the head of ISIS" will not meet much opposition, but as the authors note, "his border policies remain controversial." They caution that candidates might want to consider how their campaign promises could limit them if they become the next president of the United States.

Nicole Hemmer is a Visiting Research Associate at the Miller Center, working with the Presidential Recordings Program, and Tony Lucadamo is the Lead Policy Analyst for the Miller Center’s Policy Programs department.

Read The cost of Trump's free media gambit at The Hill.