West LA Times

Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States on January 20, in Washington D.C. The political landscape he enters includes Republican control of both houses of Congress. Trump has described his election win as a "massive landslide victory" and claims a "historic mandate" to influence policies in areas such as taxation, federal social spending, immigration, energy production, family values, and defense.

Mark Peterson, a UCLA expert in public policy and political science, provides historical context for Trump's claims. He notes that there have been instances in modern American history where presidents with significant electoral victories and congressional control have enacted substantial policy changes. Examples include Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930s and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society in the 1960s for Democrats, and Ronald Reagan's policy shifts in the 1980s for Republicans.

Peterson points out that these leaders achieved their mandates through massive electoral college victories and popular vote majorities with double-digit margins over opposition parties. In contrast, Trump secured only a plurality of the popular vote with one of the narrowest margins historically and among the smallest electoral college wins. Additionally, Peterson highlights that the GOP's majority is slim in both chambers of Congress—far from what previous presidents like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama experienced when they assumed office.

"Perhaps the only thing empirically historic about the Trump and Republican win is the gap between the mandate claims and the actual evidence," says Peterson.

Mark Peterson serves as a professor at UCLA specializing in public policy, political science, health policy management, law, and is also a senior fellow at UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.