Texas A&M University
Associate Professor of Communication at Texas A&M University, where she teaches courses on presidential rhetoric, and co-author of The Rhetoric of Heroic Expectations: Establishing the Obama Presidency
PROFILE
Jennifer Mercieca
Guest
FROM Jennifer Mercieca
To the Point
The presidential campaign goes back to the future America's founding fathers accused each other of crimes, hypocrisy and sexual misbehavior, but times had changed — until last night in St. Louis. As expected, Donald Trump’s comments about groping women, recorded some ten years ago, came up early last night in St. Louis. It was billed as a Town Hall, but some of the toughest questions came from the moderators.
To the Point
Is Trump Winning the Nomination by Beating the System? New Jersey Governor Chris Christie endorsed former opponent Donald Trump last week. Christie's own national finance co-chair called that "an astonishing display of political opportunism." This weekend in Birmingham, Alabama, US Senator Jeff Sessions said Donald Trump is leading "a movement." Trump boasted, "I hate to say it. I'm becoming main stream. All these people are now endorsing me." But the Republican "mainstream" is divided. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley calls Trump's nomination, "something we don't want to see happen." There are reports of "frantic" efforts to stop Trump in his tracks — even down to a "brokered" GOP convention in Cleveland this summer. So far, he's beating the Party, the Big Money and the Establishment Media.
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To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?