Experts in the News | Miller Center

Virginia’s New Laws on L.G.B.T. Protections, Guns and Marijuana Reflect a Shift in Power

Barbara A. Perry, the presidential studies director at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, said in an interview on Monday that Mr. Trump’s election was a catalyst for change in the state. “This is what people pointed to when Trump came into the office,” she said. “This is the progressive direction that the Commonwealth of Virginia is taking not only with this governor, but a solidly Democratic Legislature.”

Barbara Perry

Live from the Supreme Court: It's oral arguments as they happen for the first time everCourt: It's oral arguments as they happen for the first time ever

Scholars and students of the court lauded Monday's announcement, even as they questioned whether it would truly modernize. "This is good for public education. It's good for the court coming into the 21st century," said Barbara Perry, a longtime Supreme Court expert at the University of Virginia's Miller Center.

Barbara Perry

In coronavirus-gripped Washington, rhetoric rises but anti-China bills stall

“In an election year, really anything after July is not likely to happen,” said Chris Lu, a former House oversight committee lawyer who later served as Barack Obama’s White House cabinet secretary.

Chris Lu

Mnuchin flexes muscles on airline coronavirus aid — a taste of what other companies may face

“I would not undersell, especially in an election year the raw feelings associated with the bailouts that have come from TARP,” said David Leblang, a professor of politics and public policy at the University of Virginia, referring to the Troubled Asset Relief Program during the financial crisis. “The optics are horrible if there are no strings attached.”

David Leblang

Allan Stam column: The great crisis

Our leaders in Richmond and Washington are facing extraordinary challenges. We should cut them some slack. We should be thankful that we are better off than the vast majority of the rest of the world. While this is a small solace for those suffering during these difficult times, having a sense of awe at the challenge we are overcoming can help restore a sense of national pride when many are losing faith in our systems of government and society.

Allan Stam

A Very Trump Response

Presidents typically get a rally-round-the-flag reaction from the American public during a crisis, says Barbara Perry, a presidential scholar at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. President Jimmy Carter, though he would become very unpopular, got a surge of public support after Iran took hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran in late 1979. President George W. Bush, who had middling support after winning his 2000 election, saw his approval rating soar in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, as Americans united around their leader.

Barbara Perry