This is a snapshot overview of President Biden's first weeks in office compared to several prior presidents. For this snapshot, we simply tally the number of certain kinds of actions.
President Trump's lengthy daily news conferences on the novel coronavirus are an unprecedented leadership strategy for the nation facing a crisis. In no prior national crisis of any sort, have Presidents placed themselves so visibly at the center of all crisis decision-making. This APP analysis provides historical context for current policy by examining the practice of prior presidents in dealing with contagious disease.
A long evolution of the idea and meaning of Thanksgiving Day can be traced in Presidential thanksgiving proclamations. From being a call to participate in a day of solemn reflection and expression of thanks to a Supreme Being, the Thanksgiving Proclamation has evolved to evoke a distinctively American history and celebration of certain core values. (Jump to the list of proclamations)
The table below includes APP documents issued by US President upon the death of a predecessor. Practices have evolved substantially.
The earliest observances (see J. Q. Adam's 1826 Order noting the death of Thomas Jefferson) called primarily for members of the military to mark the event. These practices included wearing mourning crape on their left arms for six months; troops parading and firing cannon; and placing the flag at half-staff for one day.
How different are Trump Administration press Secretary Sarah Sanders's press briefings? Recently, The Washington Post presented both an analysis and an editorial critical of Sanders' briefings. The
Many commentators took special note of President Trump's Signing Statement of August 13, 2018 accompanying the Defense appropriations authorization Act (see USA Today, the New York Times, and
President Trump addressed one commencement ceremony in 2018—at the Naval Academy. The speech marked the 15th time a president spoke at the Naval Academy--the all-time leading destination for Presidents giving commencement addresses.
Starting with Truman, every president has made at least one commencement address in the second year after winning election. George H. W. Bush set the record with 5 in 1980. Obama was runner-up with 4 in 2010.
1. How does President Trump's pace of executive orders compare to his predecessors? (see graph below)
His written orders include documents titled "Executive Order," Memorandum, and Proclamation. His pace is similar to that of President Obama. Click here to see a list of the Obama and Trump orders (with links to the text) side-by-side by day.
Presidents starting at least with Harry Truman, have met with "Girls Nation" delegates at the White House. Often the President's remarks turned to the future careers of the young women in the group. John Kennedy surmised that, "it may not be possible for you to be President." But, he added, "I am sure we are talking to a future First Lady."
