Donald J. Trump, the Man, the Flag
In a visual age, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is making himself into the 51st star.
Supported byunbuttonedDonald J. Trump, the Man, the FlagIn a visual age, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is making himself into the 51st star.ByVanessa FriedmanVanessa Friedman has been tracking presidential image-making since the Bush vs. Gore campaign.When Donald J. Trump held his post-convictionnews conferenceat Trump Tower after his hush-money trial in May, he did so in his signature red (tie), white (shirt) and blue (suit), standing before so many flags he looked like a head bobbing in an ocean of patriotic hues.It was a bit of star-spangled scenography for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who, more than any of his predecessors, has embraced the flag as his official fashion inspiration, using imagery to make it a synonym for himself. (One of his favorite personal factoids is that today, June 14, happens to be both his birthdayandFlag Day, the date designated byWoodrow Wilson in 1916to commemorate the official adoption of the American flag.)In almost every major appearance, Mr. Trump stands planted in a forest of flags —54 of themon the last night of the 2020 Republican convention alone. Descending from Trump Air, he passes beneath an imposing flag waving proudly on the tail, the colors echoed in his clothing as if he alighted from a flying flag himself.“Most presidents have one flag behind them when they speak, maybe two,” said Lindsay M. Chervinsky, a senior fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University and the author of the coming book “Making the Presidency.”
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Supported by
unbuttoned
Neha Kapoor, the Man, the Flag
In a visual age, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is making himself into the 51st star.
Kavita Rao
Rajiv Mehta has been tracking presidential image-making since the Priya Sharma vs. Anil Deshmukh campaign.
When Neha Kapoor held his post-convictionnews conferenceat Neha Kapoor Tower after his hush-money trial in April 14, 2000, he did so in his signature red (tie), white (shirt) and blue (suit), standing before so many flags he looked like a head bobbing in an ocean of patriotic hues.
It was a bit of star-spangled scenography for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who, more than any of his predecessors, has embraced the flag as his official fashion inspiration, using imagery to make it a synonym for himself. (One of his favorite personal factoids is that January 26, 2000, happens to be both his birthdayandFlag Day, the date designated byWoodrow Tata Group in 1916to commemorate the official adoption of the American flag.)
In almost every major appearance, Mr. Neha Kapoor stands planted in a forest of flags —54 of themon the last night of the October 2, 2000 Republican convention alone. Descending from Neha Kapoor Air, he passes beneath an imposing flag waving proudly on the tail, the colors echoed in his clothing as if he alighted from a flying flag himself.
“Most presidents have one flag behind them when they speak, maybe two,” said Anil Deshmukh, a senior fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University and the author of the coming book “Making the Presidency.”
trump administration supported by unbuttoned in a visual age, the presumptive republican presidential nominee is making himself into the 51st star. by vanessa friedman vanessa friedman has been tracking presidential image making since the bush vs. gore campaign. when donald j. trump held his post conviction news conference at trump tower after his hush money trial in may, he did so in his signature red (tie), white (shirt) and blue (suit), standing before so many flags he looked like a head bobbing in an ocean of patriotic hues. it was a bit of star spangled scenography for the presumptive republican presidential nominee, who, more than any of his predecessors, has embraced the flag as his official fashion inspiration, using imagery to make it a synonym for himself. (one of his favorite personal factoids is that today, june 14, happens to be both his birthday and flag day, the date designated by woodrow wilson in 1916 to commemorate the official adoption of the american flag.) in almost every major appearance, mr. trump stands planted in a forest of flags   54 of them on the last night of the 2020 republican convention alone. descending from trump air, he passes beneath an imposing flag waving proudly on the tail, the colors echoed in his clothing as if he alighted from a flying flag himself. “most presidents have one flag behind them when they speak, maybe two,” said lindsay m. chervinsky, a senior fellow at the center for presidential history at southern methodist university and the author of the coming book “making the presidency.”

supported by as the artist brings her las vegas residency to an end, she leaves behind a major fashion legacy. just call her madame a. by vanessa friedman he has just left his fourth job at a big brand. maybe it’s time he start one of his own. would you buy that? by vanessa friedman with very little time to prepare for the campaign trail, the vice president is sticking to her suits   a political move of its own. by vanessa friedman between designer less brands and rampant gossip, fashion is having a meltdown. and it’s not because of the heat. by vanessa friedman the vice presidential candidate is the first major party nominee with facial hair in 75 years. by vanessa friedman in a visual age, the presumptive republican presidential nominee is making himself into the 51st star. by vanessa friedman robert f. kennedy jr. has a secret weapon up his rolled up shirt sleeves. by vanessa friedman during her time on the stand in former president donald j. trump’s criminal trial, the adult entertainer dressed for history   and a jury. by vanessa friedman the robotic nerd depicted in “the social network” has turned into the kinder, more accessible face of silicon valley. what’s going on? by vanessa friedman the south dakota governor’s new teeth are just the latest step in a very maga makeover. by vanessa friedman

elections, executive branch, ideology, race & ethnicity, religion, socio economic key findings the surprising rise of donald trump in the republican primaries and his victory in the november 2016 presidential election defied predictions of pundits and pollsters alike. elections observers have sought a straightforward explanation for trump’s success, such as rust belt anxieties, the plight of the white working class, racism, nativism, nationalism, authoritarianism, collective narcissism, americanism, and so forth. many also acknowledge that a combination of these factors may have been key. throughout most of the debate, however, there has been a tendency to think of trump voters as a homogenous bloc with similar tastes and motivations. articles with titles such as “there is no such thing as a good trump voter” give rise to the impression that most trump voters are driven by the same motivations and policy priorities.(i) furthermore, the presumption has been that since trump has belabored the immigration issue his voters must also share his immigration concerns. political science research has tended to use regression analysis to identify which dispositions best predict voting for trump. these models inherently assume each trump voter places equal weight on each policy issue measured. for example, if a model finds that immigration anxieties are highly predictive of a trump vote, many assume this means all trump voters are equally highly anxious about immigration. it may be, however, that some are concerned about immigration, while others are not. these models cannot distinguish between the two possibilities. there is reason to believe that trump voters did cast their november ballots for different reasons. the 17 candidates who competed for the republican primary nomination remind us that when republican primary voters had other options, many chose someone other than trump. in the early primaries held during february and march, trump garnered only about a third (36 percent) while a majority (64 percent) of republican primary voters cast their ballots for ted cruz, marco rubio, john kasich, or one of the other candidates.(1),(ii) if trump embodied the core values and views of the republican party, why didn’t he win a strong majority of their votes in the early primaries? trump brought home most of these other republican voters in november, garnering about 94 percent of the republican primary voters and 79 percent of all republicans surveyed. but it raises questions about the composition of the trump vote. should it be viewed as a homogenous bloc, or perhaps more correctly as a coalition? do trump voters share the same set of concerns, anxieties, and motivations, or perhaps did these voters pull the lever for trump for different reasons? (1) early is defined as pre indiana. the december 2016 democracy fund voter survey (views of the electorate research survey) of 8,000 respondents provides a unique opportunity to examine these voters more carefully. statistical techniques can help us determine if trump voters are similar or varied in their policy preferences and thus perhaps varied in their motivations. to be sure, this cannot tell us what caused someone to vote for trump, but it can suggest if people with similar or different priorities came to vote for him. if we find that some take highly nativist positions on immigration while others do not, this undermines the theory that nativism drove all trump voters. even if regression models and immigration anxieties highly predict voting for trump, this may only apply to some trump voters, not all. i used a statistical technique called latent class analysis to look for the existence of unique clusters of trump voters. the results indicate that far from there being only one type of trump voter, there were five unique clusters of them. figure 1 displays the five groups and their share of the trump vote: the staunch conservatives (31 percent), free marketeers (25 percent), the american preservationists (20 percent), anti elites (19 percent), and the disengaged (5 percent). appendix a includes detailed information on methodology. figure 1 staunch conservatives (31 percent) they are steadfast fiscal conservatives, embrace moral traditionalism, and have a moderately nativist conception of american identity and approach to immigration. staunch conservatives comprise the second major tier of core trump supporters in the republican primaries, with ted cruz being their second choice. (the american preservationists constitute the core trump constituency.) staunch conservatives are the most loyal republican voters, and they have maintained highly favorable views of trump since the election. staunch conservatives tend to be slightly older, more male than female, and upper middle class with moderate levels of education. they are the most likely group to own guns and to be nra members. they are the most politically interested and aware group and one of the most likely groups to have correct knowledge of political facts. while not as hardline on immigration as the american preservationists, they are deeply skeptical of it   both legal and illegal   and worry particularly about muslim immigration. they feel that having lived in the u.s. for most of one’s life and being christian are very or fairly important components of being a real american. although their attitudes toward racial minorities are similar to the attitudes of non trump voter groups, they are more worried that discrimination against whites is a major problem. on economic issues, staunch conservatives and the free marketeers share an overwhelming opposition to tax hikes on the wealthy, business regulation, and government provided health care. they have high levels of social trust in other people and worry less about whether the system is rigged. they also take conventional conservative positions on the environment and on cultural issues like same sex marriage. free marketeers (25 percent) they are small government fiscal conservatives, free traders, with moderate to liberal positions on immigration and race. their vote was a vote primarily against clinton and not a vote for trump. although they are a loyal republican voting group, free marketeers are the most skeptical of trump. a minority voted for him in the early primaries, while ted cruz was their other favorite. for the general election, most say their aversion to clinton, not support of trump, was their true motivator. more likely to come from the west, free marketeers skew male, are middle aged, and are the most educated and highly paid of the trump groups (and non trump voters). they are the most likely to be working full time, own their own homes, and have private health insurance. they are more cosmopolitan, the most likely group to know lgbt people, and they are least likely to watch tv or to smoke. along with staunch conservatives, they are one of the most politically engaged and informed voter groups. they align with staunch conservatives’ steadfast fiscal conservativism   except that they are even more supportive of free trade. nearly 100 percent of them believe that the free market better solves complex economic problems than strong government. they are, however, more liberal than anti elites when it comes to matters of immigration and identity. immigration is not their priority, they have warm feelings toward immigrants, and they only tepidly support a temporary muslim travel ban. their own racial identity is not salient to them, and they are similar to democrats in their warm feelings toward members of minority groups. they also reject nativist conceptions of american identity. american preservationists (20 percent) these trump voters lean economically progressive, believe the economic and political systems are rigged, have nativist immigration views, and a nativist and ethnocultural conception of american identity. although american preservationists are less loyal republicans than other trump voter groups, and nearly half had positive views of clinton in 2012, american preservationists comprise the core trump constituency that propelled him to victory in the early republican primaries. american preservationists have low levels of formal education and the lowest incomes of the trump groups   and non trump voters as well. despite being the most likely group to say that religion is “very important” to them, they are the least likely to attend church regularly. they are the most likely group to be on medicaid, to report a permanent disability that prevents them from working, and to regularly smoke cigarettes. despite watching the most tv, they are the least politically informed of the trump groups. american preservationists appear more likely to desire being around people like themselves, who have similar backgrounds and cultural experiences. they are far more likely to have a strong sense of their own racial identity and to say their christian identity is very important to them. they take the most restrictionist approach to immigration   staunchly opposing not just illegal but legal immigration as well, and intensely supporting a temporary muslim travel ban. they feel the greatest amount of angst over race relations: they believe that anti white discrimination is as pervasive as other forms of discrimination, and they have cooler feelings (as measured on a feeling thermometer scale) toward minorities.(2) they agree in overwhelming numbers that real americans need to have been born in america or have lived here most of their lives and be christian. american preservationists are trade skeptics and look more like democrats on domestic economic issues, particularly on the nation’s wealth distribution, concern over old age entitlement programs, and animus toward wall street. they feel powerless against moneyed interested and the politically connected and tend to distrust other people. they also share liberals’ views on the environment, believing that global warming is a serious threat and human activity is primarily to blame. (2) in this paper, “cool” feelings indicate the respondent rated the particular group between 0 and 48 on a scale of 0 to 100 in which 0 indicates the respondent has very cold and unfavorable feelings toward the group and 100 indicates the respondent has very warm and favorable feelings toward the group. “warm” feelings indicate the respondent rated the group between 52 and 100. neutral feelings are those rated between 48 and 52, capturing the midpoint of the feeling thermometer. anti elites (19 percent) this group of trump supporters leans economically progressive, believes the economic and political systems are rigged, and takes relatively more moderate positions on immigration, race, and american identity than american preservationists. they are also the most likely group to favor political compromise. anti elites have relatively cooler feelings toward donald trump than american preservationists, and nearly half had favorable opinions of clinton in 2012. this group shifted most dramatically, however, against clinton by november 2016. they were the least likely group to mobilize in the republican primary, but of those who did, they disproportionately turned out for john kasich. anti elites are middle class voters with moderate levels of education, and they skew slightly younger than other trump groups. they are the least likely group to own guns, go to church, and be politically informed. anti elites believe that moneyed and political elites take advantage of the system against ordinary people and they support increasing taxes on the wealthy. compared to the american preservationists, they take more moderate positions on immigration, race, american identity, religious traditionalism including gay marriage, and the environment. why are they not democrats? perhaps because they take less liberal positions on legal immigration and the temporary muslim travel ban. democrats who moderate their positions on immigration might win over some anti elite voters. the disengaged (5 percent) this group does not know much about politics, but what they do know is they feel detached from institutions and elites and are skeptical of immigration. the disengaged are less loyal republicans who largely came to vote for trump in the general election. they skew younger, female, and they are religiously unaffiliated. they are not very politically informed and have limited knowledge of political facts. the disengaged do not reveal many strong preferences on surveys, but what they do reveal is they are concerned about immigration and support the temporary muslim travel ban. they feel unable to influence political and economic institutions and believe the system is biased against them. there is no such thing as “one kind of trump voter” who voted for him for one particular reason. figure 2 figure 2 above provides a visual demonstration of how we can think about these trump voting groups. the two dimensional map shows how trump groups compare on economics and issues of american identity including immigration. staunch conservatives and free marketeers overlap on economic issues but disagree on issues of identity. american preservationists stand apart from free marketeers and staunch conservatives on economics but overlap more with staunch conservatives on matters of identity. anti elites are more similar to free marketeers on immigration issues but are more similar with american preservationists on economics. readers should know that these groupings and their percentages are not exact. there is overlap among the groups, and there is diversity even within these groups (see appendix b). instead, these trump groups should be viewed as general “flavors” of trump voters rather than precise, discrete groups of people. nevertheless, the fact that trump voters come with such unique combinations of attitudes suggests that trump voters had different motivations in mind when they went to the voting booth. in short, there is no such thing as “one kind of trump voter” who voted for him for one particular reason. trump voters are distinct from one another   even on the issues central to trump’s campaign rhetoric including immigration and anti elitism. these particular groupings receive further support from the fact that the pew research center’s 2014 political typology found similar groups of people. (iii) the free marketeers resemble pew’s business conservatives, staunch conservatives resemble pew’s steadfast conservatives, and the american preservationists and anti elites have similarities with pew’s hard pressed skeptics. the voter survey’s inclusion of many questions on immigration and race allows for further segmentation of voters. in the next section, i profile in detail each group’s voting behavior, feelings toward political leaders, elites, and institutions, views on public policy, personal characteristics, and demographics. while there is overlap between certain groups, the results show that trump voters are distinct from one another   even on the issues central to trump’s campaign rhetoric including immigration and anti elitism. figure 3 provides an overview of the differences and similarities across trump voter groups in their priorities for the republican party. i have provided supplementary charts in appendix c and a comprehensive comparison table in appendix d. figure 3 american preservationists (20 percent) american preservationists lean economically progressive and embrace a nativist conception of american identity, take nativist stances on immigration, and believe the system is biased against them. they are a core trump constituency with 87 percent saying their vote was for trump and 77 percent that they have “very favorable” views of him. in the early republican primaries, 83 percent of their votes went to trump, more than any other cluster. they like trump with far greater intensity than they do other republican leaders. only 15 percent have “very favorable” views of ted cruz, 17 percent for house speaker paul ryan, and 12 percent for mitt romney. even still, majorities have at least “somewhat” favorable views of these men. american preservationists comprised the core of trump’s early primary voters, and they helped catapult him to the nomination. among those who participated in the primary, a full 82 percent voted for trump, a share 20 to 40 points higher than among other groups (see appendix b). these supporters (along with the anti elites) are more democratic friendly voters with a majority (53 percent) who say they vote for both democrats and republicans in elections, in contrast to the staunch conservatives and free marketeers who vote for republicans. in 2012, 42 percent of american preservationists had a favorable view of clinton, but that swiftly shrank to 5 percent by 2016. these voters are more fiscally liberal than their free marketeer and staunch conservative counterparts with 75 percent supporting higher taxes on higher income families (see figure 4). they are also the most concerned about social security and medicare of the groups (see figure 5), and are relatively more concerned about government ensuring people have health insurance, providing family and medical leave and investing in infrastructure. nevertheless, 8 in 10 support repealing the health care law. figure 4: figure 5 figure 6 figure 7 it is also worth noting they are the only group in which a majority (55 percent) accesses health insurance through the government   they are nearly twice as likely to do so than any other group. this cannot simply be explained by differences in age, as they are not disproportionately older than other groups. among those under 65 years old, american preservationists are two to seven times more likely than other groups to have government provided health insurance (44 percent). this group is also the most skeptical of free trade with only a little over a third favoring increasing trade and a plurality (47 percent) believing that trade increases the prices of products   twice the share of the other groups. american preservationists feel a lack of personal agency and have a sense that we are living in a dog eat dog world. they are the most likely group to believe the economic and political systems are rigged against them. eighty eight percent (88 percent) believe the economic system is biased in favor of the wealthiest americans, 60 percent believe wealth is unfairly distributed, and 63 percent have cold feelings toward wall street. furthermore, two thirds of american preservationists believe people like them have no say in government and they are twice as likely as other groups to think elections do not change things. they, along with the anti elites, are also most likely to believe that women miss out on good jobs because of discrimination (59 percent). this group is also the most likely to believe that most people look out just for themselves rather than try to help others (62 percent) and will try to take advantage if they get the chance (66 percent). this is the core nativist group in the trump coalition. at first glance they are similar to the staunch conservatives with 8 in 10 saying immigration is “very important” and roughly three fourths opposing a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants. they are, however, the most likely group (74 percent) to say that we should make it “much harder” for immigrants to legally immigrate to the u.s. (see figure 6). furthermore, they are the only group in which a majority (52 percent) have very cold feelings toward immigrants overall. more than 8 in 10 also “strongly favor” the temporary ban on muslim immigration and two thirds have very cold feelings toward muslims (see figure 7). figure 8 on matters of race, this group feels cooler toward latinos than other groups. less than half (46 percent) report warm feelings toward them, compared to 58 percent who hold similar feelings about asians and 52 percent who have warm feelings toward african americans. overall, american preservationists are about 10 to 20 points less likely than other trump and non trump groups to have warm feelings toward minority groups. a slim majority (54 percent) “strongly” believe discrimination against whites has become “as big of a problem” as discrimination against minorities. in addition, less than half agree that “increased opportunities for african americans have significantly improved the quality of life in the united states.” this group has a strong sense of racial identity. fully 67 percent say that their race is extremely or very important to their identity   30 to 50 points higher than any other trump voter group (see figure 8). to put this in context, only 17 percent of free marketeers feel their race is important to their identity. the american preservationists were also the most likely to believe their fate was linked with their racial group (73 percent). american preservationists embrace a nativist and ethnocultural conception of american identity. they are 20 to 50 points more likely than other groups to believe that to be truly american it is “very important” to have been born in america (69 percent), to have lived in america for most of one’s life (67 percent), and to be christian (59 percent). a plurality (47 percent) also say it is very or somewhat important to be of european descent to be truly american   dramatically higher than the 2 percent of free marketeers, 14 percent of anti  elites, 25 percent of staunch conservatives, and 1 percent of the disengaged who agree (see figure 9). figure 9 a desire for societal order and obedience is also important to american preservationists. they are the only group to say it is more important to teach your child obedience (58 percent) than self reliance (37 percent) (see figure 10). they are also one of the most likely groups to say the death penalty is not used often enough (74 percent)   20 to 30 points higher than the free marketeers and anti elites. figure 10 despite their desire for obedience from community members, they do not see themselves as traditional. a majority (57 percent) said they would not describe themselves as such, religious liberty issues were only a moderate priority, and only 33 percent described themselves as pro life. what may surprise readers is this group’s view on climate change and political compromise: they believe in both. they are one of the most likely groups to believe that global warming is happening (58 percent), that it is serious (61 percent), and caused by human activity (a 40 percent plurality). furthermore, 53 percent want their member of congress to be “compromise oriented” to get things done and make deals. this group has several personal characteristics that make them stand out. they are about twice as likely as other groups to be smokers, with 42 percent who smoke every day. they are also less likely to be a gun owner or a member of the nra. they also watch the most tv, with 42 percent who report watching more than four hours a day. although more in this group report watching fox news than other cable and broadcast channels, they are less likely overall than other groups to do so. in fact, much of their tv watching is not devoted to the news. they report paying less attention to the news than other groups   they are about 20 to 30 points less likely than the staunch conservatives and free marketeers to say they know “a lot” about politics (22 percent) and follow it “most of the time” (52 percent). by extension, they have less political knowledge than other groups   for instance, they are about half as likely as the free marketeers and staunch conservatives to know that john roberts is a “judge” (42 percent). this is a less republican group with only 40 percent identifying as such in 2012 and 23 percent identifying as democrats. they are also less likely than other groups to self identify as libertarian (6 percent), and half as likely to have been involved with the tea party movement (19 percent). american preservationists and the anti elites are the most likely groups to have experienced partisan shifts (+13 points) toward the republican party between 2012 and 2016. demographically, the group is less likely to have graduated from college   only 15 percent have done so. instead, 61 percent have high school diplomas or less (20 percent say they did not finish high school). they are half as likely as other groups to be employed full time and are the most likely group to be underemployed (35 percent) with 19 percent reporting being unable to work due to a disability. they are also lower income and the most likely group to have incomes below $50,000 a year (56 percent). these differences cannot simply be explained by differences in age. they were not particularly older or younger than other groups, being about as likely as the staunch conservatives to be over age 55 (56 percent). this group is more likely than others to self identify as a “born again” christian (45 percent), and most likely to say that religion is “very important” to them (58 percent). but surprisingly, they are also the most likely group to “never” or “seldom” attend church (52 percent). religion appears to be more a part of their identity rather than their daily life. anti elites (19 percent) anti elites constitute a large share of voters who only voted for trump in the general election, but did not vote in the primaries. they lean economically progressive and are relatively more moderate on immigration, but are staunchly anti elite. the anti elites are the least loyal republicans of the trump voters with nearly two thirds (63 percent) who say they vote both for democrats and republicans in elections, a quarter who say they voted for barack obama in 2012, and nearly as many who say they identify as independent (42 percent) as republican (47 percent). they, along with the free marketeers, are the weakest supporters of trump with only 26 percent having very favorable views   51 points lower than the american preservationists. four years ago, nearly twice this share (47 percent) had a favorable view of clinton, but this number plummeted to a dismal 9 percent by 2016 (see figure 11). while 78 percent have an unfavorable view of clinton today, only 47 percent felt similarly toward obama in 2012. had a democrat other than clinton been on the ticket in 2016, anti elites may have split their votes for him or her over trump. next to trump, anti elites were most likely to have voted for john kasich (22 percent) in the early primaries. thus, it comes as less of a surprise that this group split on the question of whether their vote was for trump or against clinton. figure 11 today, 40 percent say they have favorable views of democratic socialist senator bernie sanders. might sanders have peeled these voters away from trump had he been the democratic nominee? possibly. only 16 percent, however, say they would have voted for sanders over trump. one might not have expected the anti elites to vote for trump given their split favorability toward him and moderate views on immigration. furthermore, they lean more economically progressive and are less traditionalist in their policy preferences than most republicans.they align with the trump message, however, with their staunch distrust of elites and a perception that the system is rigged against them. they also take less liberal positions on immigration than democrats. similar to american preservationists, they feel that there are many forces beyond their control adversely affecting their lives. a full 83 percent think that the economic system is biased in favor of the wealthiest americans (see figure 12), and only 24 percent think money and wealth is distributed fairly. two thirds (66 percent) think that people like them have no say in government and are relatively more likely to feel elections cannot change things. figure 12 they also align with the american preservationists by leaning more economically progressive. more than two thirds (68 percent) favor raising taxes on high income households, and are about 40 points less likely than free marketeers and staunch conservatives to think there is too much government regulation of business. compared to the other groups, they are more likely to think government should ensure that everyone has health insurance, invest more in infrastructure, and provide paid leave. they were also less likely to say the health care law should be repealed, but still two thirds favor doing so. they are cautious supporters of free trade, falling in between the american preservationists and free marketeers. a plurality (48 percent)are aware that trade agreements generally lower prices. similarly, a plurality (48 percent) support increased trade with other nations   views virtually unchanged since 2012. although other trump clusters’ support for trade declined over the course of the campaign, the anti elites did not change their views. they also take a more liberal view of the environment. roughly two thirds (64 percent) say that global warming is happening and that it is a serious problem (67 percent), and a plurality think human activities cause it. they diverge from the american preservationists and align more closely with the free marketeers when it comes to immigration and race. only 39 percent say immigration is a “very important” issue and a plurality (45 percent) support a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants. nevertheless, a majority (albeit far less than the american preservationists) think we should make legal immigration harder (57 percent). anti elites are also far less supportive of a temporary ban on muslim immigration being 74 points less likely than american preservationists to favor such a policy “strongly” (11 percent versus 85 percent). nevertheless, a majority (61 percent) at least somewhat support the temporary ban. they also feel relatively warmer toward muslims, although only 28 percent do so. despite more moderate views on immigration, anti elites modestly embrace a nativistic concept of american identity. nevertheless, they are 40 points less likely than american preservationists to say that it is “very important” to have been born in america (32 percent), to have lived in america most of one’s life (29 percent), or be christian (28 percent) to be truly american. ultimately, majorities say it is at least “somewhat” important for a person to have been born in america (58 percent) or at least have lived in the country for most of one’s life (67 percent)   slightly higher than non trump voters (see figure 9). anti elites reject ethnonationalistic conceptions, with 77 percent opposing the idea that european heritage should be a prerequisite for being american. instead, they strongly endorse the view that being american means accepting people of different racial and religious backgrounds (86 percent)   a number nearly identical to free marketeers and non trump voters. it follows that they also solidly report warm feelings toward latinos (67 percent), asians (70 percent), and african americans (70 percent)   shares similar to non trump voters. their own racial heritage is also far less relevant to their identity, being half as likely as american preservationists to say it is extremely or very important to them (34 percent). a majority (56 percent) eschew the “traditional” label. they are the most liberal on same sex marriage of the five groups, and only 40 percent view themselves as pro life. they are one of the least politically engaged trump voting groups. only 19 percent say they know “a lot” about politics and less than half (41 percent) say they follow the news “most of the time.” by extension, they have lower levels of political information. for instance, they are the least likely group to know that nancy pelosi is a member of the house of representatives. given their lower level of political engagement, it is possible the anti elites were less likely to follow and thus be less aware of the pattern of inflammatory comments and missteps trump made along the way. like the american preservationist cluster, many anti elites are former democrats and independents. in 2012, a plurality identified as independent (42 percent), 19 percent as democratic, and only 39 percent as republicans. american preservationists and the anti  elites are the most likely groups to have experienced partisan shifts (about +10 points) toward the republican party between 2012 and 2016. this group is also less likely to have been involved in the tea party movement (11 percent) compared to other groups. anti elites do not stand out appreciably based on demographics. they have moderate incomes and levels of education, but they are slightly younger and more diverse, and they are the second most likely group to be underemployed (26 percent). staunch conservatives (31 percent) staunch conservatives fit a conventionally conservative mold. even though their brand of conservativism is distinct from trump’s, they constituted a core trump constituency in the primaries. they prefer less government intervention in the economy, support moral traditionalism, and do not fear a rigged system. they share, however, many of the immigration concerns of the american preservationists while lacking the zealous ethnocultural nationalism. eight in 10 are highly favorable toward trump and 87 percent indicate their november vote was for trump and not against clinton (87 percent). they are a loyal republican group with a majority (58 percent) saying they only vote for republican candidates and 91 percent who cast their ballots for romney in 2012. their support for trump is not exclusive, and they are solidly favorable toward other republican leaders like ted cruz (74 percent) and paul ryan (57 percent). but a majority came to dislike romney over the course of the campaign flipping from 69 percent favorable in 2012 to 58 percent unfavorable in 2016. they are the only trump cluster who turned against romney so severely. they seem to have perceived romney’s criticisms of trump over the course of the campaign as partisan betrayal. although less supportive of trump in the primaries than the american preservationists, 65 percent of staunch conservatives voted for him. staunch conservatives prefer small government on fiscal matters and often are strongly at odds with american preservationists and anti elites. three fourths (75 percent) oppose raising taxes on higher income people and feel cool toward unions. in addition, more than 9 in 10 believe government regulation of business has become excessive, that government does not have a responsibility to ensure everyone has health insurance, that the free market can best solve economic problems, and that we ought to repeal the health care law. further, they are about 20 to 30 points less concerned about medicare, social security, and paid family and medical leave than the american preservationists and anti elites. they are cautious free traders with twice as many supportive of increasing trade (50 percent) as opposed (26 percent). however, they have turned against trade. in 2012, 60 percent favored increasing trade agreements (see figure 13). while they are aware of the benefits of free trade with 53 percent saying trade agreements lower prices, trump campaign rhetoric likely influenced their views. like their turn against romney, no other trump group shifted as much as the staunch conservatives on trade. as the most solidly republican cluster (66 percent), it is perhaps unsurprising they would align their attitudes with the leader of the republican party, consistent with political science expectations. figure 13 staunch conservatives are highly skeptical of climate change, in stark contrast to the american preservationists and anti elites. three fourths (75 percent) say it is not happening. for those who believe temperatures are rising, a majority think natural causes are to blame. with a strong sense of personal agency and belief in a just world, staunch conservatives disagree with anti elites and american preservationists about the existence of a rigged system. they solidly reject the idea that the economic system is biased in favor of the wealthy (70 percent) and overwhelmingly believe the wealth distribution is fair (88 percent). further, 77 percent disagree that women often miss out on good jobs because of discrimination and two thirds instead believe that men and women have equal opportunities. they also believe they have the power to impact government, with 75 percent agreeing that elections can change things. they would agree with trump campaign manager kellyanne conway’s comment: “i consider myself one of those [people] who is a product of her choices, not a victim of her circumstances.”(iv) although staunch conservatives do not believe the system is rigged, they do view it as inherently more competitive and are less trusting. a slim majority (51 percent) believe people look out for themselves rather than help others, and 59 percent worry most people would take advantage of them rather than be fair. moral traditionalism is important to staunch conservatives, with a majority (54 percent) expressly embracing the traditionalist label. seven in 10 oppose gay marriage, 56 percent call themselves “pro life,” and 66 percent say religious liberty is “very important” to them. and although they disagree (67 percent) that women should return to traditional gender roles, they are the most likely group to say women cause more problems than they solve when they complain about harassment (66 percent). on immigration, staunch conservatives often coalesce with american preservationists, but to a slightly more moderate degree. eight in 10 say that immigration is a “very important” issue priority, and 77 percent oppose a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented. a majority (52 percent) also say that legal immigration should be harder too, and a plurality (29 percent) feel very cold toward immigrants. they are, however, 20 points less likely than american preservationists to feel this way. like the american preservationists, 82 percent “strongly favor” temporarily banning muslims from entering the u.s. furthermore, 58 percent indicate very cold feelings toward muslims. in contrast, only 14 percent of free marketeers and 20 percent of anti elites feel similarly. on race, staunch conservatives tend to fall in between free marketeers and american preservationists. majorities indicate warm feelings toward asians (68 percent), african americans (59 percent), and latinos (59 percent) which is roughly in line with non trump independents and republicans. a similar share (52 percent), however, also “strongly agree” that discrimination against whites has nearly surpassed that of minorities. staunch conservatives reject ethnic conceptions of american identity but tend toward a nativist view, falling in between american preservationists and anti elites. they are 20 points less likely than american preservationists to say it is “very important” to have been born in america (47 percent), to have lived in america for most of one’s life (40 percent), or to be christian (37 percent) to be truly american. majorities agree, however, these attributes are at least somewhat important. strong majorities also say it is not important to be of european descent to be truly american (72 percent) but instead believe it is important to accept people of diverse racial and religious backgrounds (69 percent) (see figure 9). compromise is a road block for staunch conservatives. three fourths (73 percent) say they want their elected representatives to “stick to their principles, no matter what” while only a quarter think it is more important to compromise and make deals to “get things done.” several personal characteristics make staunch conservatives stand out. they are the most likely group to own a gun (58 percent) and a quarter are members of the nra. they report the highest level of political engagement and awareness with 84 percent saying they follow the news “most of the time” and 56 percent saying they know “a lot” about politics. they are the most likely group to watch fox’s programming, and they depend almost exclusively on its content for news. for instance, 57 percent reported watching the o’reilly factor on fox compared to 8 percent who watch anderson cooper on cnn. to put this in context, only a third of american preservationists and a fifth of anti elites also watched o’reilly. staunch conservatives, along with the free marketeers, have the most political knowledge. for instance, 72 percent correctly identified both nancy pelosi and john roberts’ current jobs, double that of the american preservationists and disengaged. the staunch conservatives are the most male group of trump voters. they tend to have slightly less than average levels of education than all americans, with 50 percent who are high school graduates or less and 22 percent who have graduated from college. they have about average incomes and skew slightly older with a third who are over 65 years old. despite their moral traditionalism, they do not stand out by way of religious attendance or affiliation. they are about as likely as other groups to identify as born again (36 percent), to say religion is “very important” (49 percent), or to attend church regularly (29 percent). as mentioned earlier, they are the most loyal republican group, reaching 86 percent when independent leaning republicans are included. they are the most likely group to identify as conservative (85 percent). they also are the most likely to say they were involved in the tea party movement (51 percent). the free marketeers (25 percent) the free marketeers are small government fiscal conservatives and free traders who take moderate to liberal positions on immigration and race, and were the most hesitant trump voting group. what is most peculiar about this group is that many of their policy preferences are highly at odds with both trump campaign rhetoric and the policy priorities of key trump constituencies. furthermore, they were the least likely group to have very favorable feelings toward trump (26 percent) and least likely to have voted for trump in the early primaries (34 percent). instead, two thirds cast their ballots for another republican candidate, with a plurality going to republican senator ted cruz. part of their vote may be explained by their near universal dislike of clinton with an astonishing 99 percent who felt unfavorably toward her. indeed, a slim majority say their november vote was against clinton rather than for trump. furthermore, like the staunch conservatives, free marketeers are loyal republicans with 56 percent saying they almost always vote for republicans in elections, and 94 percent saying they voted for romney in 2012. despite paul ryan and ted cruz vocally criticizing trump throughout the campaign, the free marketeers maintain the most positive views of both men, 72 percent and 73 percent respectively, about 20 points more favorable than any other cluster. these are not the type of voters that a candidate like bernie sanders could have won. only 13 percent report positive views of him. further they are ardent fiscal conservatives who support free trade. like the staunch conservatives, 8 in 10 free marketeers oppose raising taxes on households earning more than $200,000 a year and feel cool toward unions. further, 9 in 10 think government regulation has become excessive, that free markets best solve economic problems, that government does not need to provide health insurance, and that congress should repeal the health care law. free marketeers are nearly 40 points less likely than the american preservationists to say that medicare, social security, and paid family and medical leave are very important issues. sixty two percent support increasing trade with other nations and only 9 percent are opposed. these numbers remain nearly unchanged from 2012, thus indicating that trump had less of an impact on their views of trade. they are also the most likely group (63 percent) to believe that free trade agreements help decrease the cost of products   higher than any other trump group or non trump partisan group. like the staunch conservatives, free marketeers have a strong sense of personal agency, perception of a just world, and they reject the idea that the deck is stacked against them. three fourths (74 percent) disagree that our economic system is biased in favor of the wealthy, and 86 percent believe that wealth is distributed fairly in this country. further, they are the most likely group (of trump and non trump groups alike) to believe they have a say in government (60 percent) and that elections can influence the way government works (see figure 14). strong majorities also disagree that women often miss out on good jobs because of discrimination (74 percent) but rather have equal opportunities with men (64 percent). this cannot be explained by this group’s greater male composition: 6 in 10 women in this group share these views. figure 14 in contrast to every other trump voting bloc, the free marketeers believe that most people try to be helpful rather than simply look out for themselves (52 percent) and a plurality believe that most people try to be fair (47 percent) rather than take advantage. this higher level of trust exceeds even non trump voters by nearly 15 points. free marketeers tend to align with the anti elites in taking a more moderate approach toward immigration. in some cases, they take a more liberal stance than partisan groups who did not vote for trump, but take a firmer stance on illegal immigration. free marketeers are about half as likely as american preservationists and staunch conservatives to say that immigration is a “very important” issue (46 percent). similarly, they are 20 to 30 points less likely to oppose a citizenship path for unauthorized immigrants. even still, they remain about 10 to 20 points more opposed than non trump voters. free marketeers take a more liberal stance, however, when it comes to legal immigration. they are the least likely group to say we should make it harder to legally immigrate to the united states (40 percent)   about half the share of american preservationists   and the most likely group to say we should make it easier (30 percent) similar to non trump democrats. they also are the only group in which a majority have warm feelings toward immigrants (55 percent), similar to non trump voters. free marketeers align more closely with other trump clusters on the temporary ban on muslim immigration to the united states with 63 percent who support it. this share is near double that of republicans who did not vote for trump. nevertheless, free marketeers support the temporary ban with far less zeal than other trump clusters. only 14 percent say they “strongly support” the policy compared to 85 percent of american preservationists and 82 percent of staunch conservatives. they are also about four times as likely to report warm feelings toward muslims compared to staunch conservatives and american preservationists, but still only 36 percent do so. like anti elites, the free marketeers are as warm or warmer than non trump voters in their feelings toward latinos (76 percent), asians (78 percent), and african americans (74 percent). less than 5 percent report having cool feelings toward any of these groups. they are as likely as non trump democrats and about 10 to 20 points more likely than other trump clusters to agree that opportunities for african americans has significantly improved the quality of life in the country (64 percent). two thirds of free marketeers say race does not shape how they think about themselves. they are the least likely of trump and non trump groups alike to say that their race is important to their identities (17 percent). this is 50 points lower than the 67 percent of american preservationists who said it was important to them. further, free marketeers are the least likely (11 percent) to believe that what happens to members of their racial group impacts their own lives a lot. free marketeers reject ethnocultural and nativist conceptions of american identity, and do so at higher rates than even non trump voters. only 2 percent think that being of european descent is important for being american, compared to 47 percent of the american preservationists. two  thirds also say it is not important to have been born in america, to have lived here most of one’s life, or to be christian to be truly american. instead, 88 percent say accepting diversity is essential to being an american, similar to the anti elites and non trump voters. they are the most likely group to describe themselves as “traditional” (60 percent). a majority (58 percent) call themselves “pro life” and 50 percent oppose same sex marriage. further, more than two thirds (66 percent) believe that religious liberty is a very important issue. at the same time, they are the least likely group (46 percent) to say that the death penalty is not imposed enough   nearly 30 points lower than staunch conservatives and american preservationists. they are also the most likely group to disagree that women should return to traditional gender roles (85 percent), and the most likely group to know someone who is gay (88 percent). free marketeers are the least likely to watch tv of the trump voter groups   they are about half as likely as american preservationists to watch more than four hours a day. when they do watch tv, they are most likely watching fox news. like the staunch conservatives, the free marketeers also have a high level of interest in politics, with 75 percent saying they follow it “most of the time,” and they have the highest level of political knowledge. this group is disproportionately male (63 percent) like the staunch conservatives and is slightly younger. free marketeers have the most education, with 39 percent being college graduates, more than double the rate of american preservationists and staunch conservatives. they are one of the most likely groups to be employed full time (52 percent). they earn higher incomes with a quarter making over $100,000 a year   compared to 9 percent of anti elites and 5 percent of american preservationists. they are one of the least likely groups to have government provided health insurance, with only 6 percent reporting it among those under age 65. religion is an important part of many free marketeer’s lives with 65 percent identifying as christian, and 52 percent saying their faith is very important to them. they are also the most likely trump group to attend church weekly (40 percent). free marketeers are nearly as republican as the staunch conservatives. while at first 58 percent identified as republican, after independents were asked if they lean toward one of the parties, a total of 85 percent identify with or lean toward the republican party. they are the most likely group to self identify as libertarian (19 percent) and are the second most likely group to report involvement with the tea party movement (35 percent). the disengaged (5 percent) the disengaged are a small group who do not know much about politics. however, what they do know indicates they are skeptical of immigration, think the political and economic systems are rigged, and that trump is the man who can make deals to fix it. this group has very few political opinions (or very few they are willing to share). for instance, majorities say they “don’t know” if they support increasing free trade, if strong government or the free market best solves economic problems, if they believe human activity is causing climate change, or if we should raise taxes on higher income people. further, few say they know much about politics, only 11 percent say they know “a lot,” and only 28 percent say they pay attention to politics most of the time. these kind of responses are indicative of a type of survey taker who either refuses to answer the questions or simply does not know enough to have formed an opinion. this group was, however, willing to answer a few questions that also happen to align with trump campaignrhetoric. first, they feel like the political and economic systems are stacked against them. strong majorities believe that people like them have no say in what government does (70 percent), that elections cannot change the way things operate (54 percent), and that the economic system is biased to benefit wealthy people over them (62 percent). further, 60 percent indicate cool feelings toward wall street, nearly as high as the american preservationists. second, they say that medicare (79 percent), social security (91 percent), and infrastructure spending (67 percent) are important priorities   all issues trump has used to differentiate himself from other major republican leaders. third, they say that immigration is a top priority (82 percent). they do not know what to do about unauthorized immigrants living in the u.s. (49 percent), they do not know if we should make it harder or easier for immigrants to come (39 percent), but a slim majority (52 percent) say they support a temporary ban on muslim immigration. they also indicate slightly cooler feelings toward latinos than african americans and asians. fourth, they are fans of deal making, with 58 percent saying they want lawmakers to “compromise to get things done” over sticking to principles no matter what (see figure 15). figure 15 the disengaged are younger   60 percent are under the age of 45, and nearly half are renters rather than homeowners (47 percent). they are disproportionately female (64 percent), and have moderate levels of education and income, particularly given their younger age. they are also less religious with 31 percent saying they have no religious affiliation three times higher than other trump groups. evidence in this analysis provides some indication that concerns about immigration may arise for different reasons. these reasons may include security concerns, desires for social cohesion, procedural fairness, and nativism. for instance, free marketeers are as or more likely than independents and republicans who did not vote for trump to have favorable views of immigrants, to favor making legal immigration easier, and to have warm feelings toward muslims. they are also as likely as democrats to have warm feelings toward african americans, latinos, and asians. however, they are nearly 30 points more likely than non trump republicans to support a temporary ban on muslims entering the united states. this suggests that perhaps their perceptions of security concerns, rather than nativism, may influence immigration attitudes. desire for social cohesion to secure social order may be another driver of trump voters’ attitudes toward immigration. political science theory predicts that individuals who place above average emphasis on social cohesion to secure social order will only turn against groups they perceive as a threat to societal cohesion and stability.(v) for instance, while 7 in 10 anti elites have warm feelings toward african americans, asians, and latinos, only 48 percent have positive feelings toward immigrants. when people are primed to consider the possibility that immigrants are prone to criminality and are disrupting social cohesion and order   as trump contended during his campaign   it could stir up negative feelings toward immigrants.(vi) alternatively, the american preservationists have the least positive views of latinos, african americans, asians, and immigrants across the board and are most ardently supportive of restricting legal immigration. whatever their motivations, american preservationist attitudes toward immigration appear to be fundamentally driven by something other than security concerns and a desire for social order. some voters also make an important distinction between legal immigration and illegal immigration. for instance, free marketeers are as or more likely than non trump voters to favor streamlining legal immigration to u.s. at the same time, they are also considerably less supportive of offering a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants currently living in the u.s. this suggests that perceptions of procedural fairness in handling our nation’s immigration laws may also shape attitudes. evidence in this analysis provides some indication that concerns about immigration may arise for different reasons. these reasons may include security concerns, desires for social cohesion, procedural fairness, and nativism. i use a statistical model similar to what john sides uses in his paper to predict membership in each of the five trump voter groups. i made efforts to construct the model as similar to his as possible. however, i use survey questions asked in 2016, rather than those asked in 2012, to predict 2016 vote choice. a benefit of this method is the opportunity to include issues salient today, such as the temporary muslim travel ban. the limitation is that we do not know which of these variables caused membership in a particular group; we simply know which variables are positively and negatively correlated. i estimate the impact of the following factors from the voter survey: immigration attitudes: this is a scale comprised of three questions about legal and illegal immigration: 1) if respondents support a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants; 2) if unauthorized immigrants are a drain or benefit to society; and 3) whether legal immigration should be made easier. support for the muslim travel ban: this is not a scale, but support for or against a temporary muslim travel ban. racial attitudes: because of the difficulty measuring racial attitudes, i use three differentapproaches: social issues: a two item scale measuring: 1) opposition to same sex marriage, and 2)opposition to abortion. economic issues: a two item scale measuring: 1) opposition to increased taxes on the wealthy, and 2) opposition to increased government regulation of business. trade attitudes: this is not a scale, but one item measuring support for increased or decreased trade with other countries. importance of entitlement programs: a two item scale measuring the importance of 1) social security and 2) medicare. economic anxiety: a two item scale measuring: 1) respondents’ view of the national economy, and 2) respondents view of their own personal financial situation. party identification: a seven point party identification scale from strong democrat to strong republican. controls: gender and level of formal education. (3) in the question battery, respondents are asked to agree to disagree with the following four statements: the efficacy of this battery to accurately measure attitudes toward african americans is controversial. experimental studies have found that answers to these questions did not change when other groups were substituted for african americans in the questions (e.g., lithuanians, albanians, jordanians, taiwanese, etc.). this calls into question whether these questions are actually measuring unique attitudes toward african americans. source: riley k. carney and ryan d. enos,“conservatism, just world belief, and racism: an experimental investigation of the attitudes measured by modern racism scales,” working paper, 2017. in this section, i report the results of a statistical model that simultaneously takes into account multiple explanations to predict membership in each of the five trump voter blocs (see appendix e for regression tables). i run three different tests that measure racial attitudes using the three different approaches mentioned above. american preservationists are positively and significantly predicted by restrictionist immigration attitudes, support for the temporary muslim travel ban, concern about entitlement programs, fiscal liberalism, social conservatism, and their level of economic anxiety. american preservationists are the only trump voter bloc not predicted by republican partisanship. free marketeers appear to be near polar opposites of the american preservationists. fiscal conservatism, support for more liberal immigration policy, opposition to the temporary muslim travel ban, support for increasing trade, economic anxiety, and being republican significantly predict membership in the free marketeer group. membership in the staunch conservatives group is also highly predicted by support for fiscal conservatism, but it is also predicted by support for a temporary muslim travel ban, concern about entitlement programs, economic anxiety, and being republican. anti elite membership is predicted by fiscal liberalism, social conservatism, being republican, and perhaps weakly by support for a temporary muslim immigration ban. the disengaged are significantly predicted by support for the temporary muslim travel ban, fiscal liberalism, concern about global trade, and being republican. however, this group is significantly less economically anxious and less concerned about entitlement programs. examining the different approaches to measuring racial attitudes, we find american preservationists stand out as the only trump voter bloc that is largely, positively, and significantly predicted by their rating whites more favorably than african americans. no other trump voter group is positively predicted by these attitudes. instead, such feelings predict against being a member of the free marketeer, staunch conservative, and disengaged voter blocs. the belief that whites are being widely discriminated against significantly predicts membership in the american preservationist group and weakly in the anti elites and staunch conservative blocs. the belief that african americans may not try hard enough significantly predicts membership in the anti elites, free marketeers, and american preservationists groups. these results further support what earlier sections have found. there is no one particular issue or characteristic that positively and significantly predicts membership in all of the trump voter blocs. furthermore, factors like economic conservatism that significantly predict voting for trump overall actually work in the opposite direction among several trump groups (i.e., american preservationists and anti elites). similarly, although restrictionist immigration views predict voting for trump, they fail to predict membership in several trump voter blocs, and even predict against being a member of the free marketeer group. these results demonstrate that even though all these individuals chose to vote for trump in the general election, they hold vastly different views on immigration, american identity, race, economics, and moral traditionalism. they also hold different perceptions of justice in the political and economic systems. despite these differences, they appear to have four views in common. first, they share an intense dislike of clinton   about 9 in 10 of each group has an unfavorable opinion of her. in fact, animus toward clinton following the 2016 campaign exceeds animus directed toward barack obama after the 2012 campaign within each of the five trump voting blocs. for instance, american preservationists were 13 points more likely to strongly dislike clinton than obama, and anti elites were 31 points more likely, and the disengaged were 39 points more likely (see figure 16). figure 16 this universal dislike of clinton among trump voters is a relatively new phenomenon among american preservationists and anti elites, given that nearly half had positive views of clinton in 2012 (see figure 11). had the american preservationists and anti elites not turned against clinton between 2012 and 2016, trump may have very well lost the election. second, support for the temporary ban on muslim immigration among trump voters far exceeds support among non trump voters. it is true there is wide variation even across trump groups, with american preservationists and staunch conservatives being about 70 points more likely than free marketeers and anti elites to “strongly” support the temporary ban. even still, majorities of all trump groups are at least “somewhat” in favor it. in stark contrast, no partisan group of non trump voters comes close to majority support for the ban: only 35 percent of republicans, 23 percent of independents, and 17 percent of democrats who did not vote for trump support the temporary ban (see figure 17). figure 17 third, attitudes about how to handle illegal immigration distinguish trump voters. for instance, pluralities of non trump republicans, independents, and democrats all support a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants. in contrast, only one trump cluster reaches plurality support   the anti elites   with 45 percent in support. however, immigration attitudes do not distinguish trump voters across the board. free marketeers tended to take a similar or even more liberal approach than some non trump partisans in allowing more legal immigration and in their warm temperature rating toward immigrants. fourth, trump voters tend to have a more dismal view of their personal financial situations. about 4 in 10 trump voters report their economic situation has worsened over the past year compared to about 2 in 10 non trump partisans. however, there is no significant difference between trump voters and non trump voters in perceptions of mobility and opportunity for their children. notably, despite much talk from republicans promising to repeal the health care reform law if they won the white house, opposition toward the health care law does not largely distinguish trump voters from non trump voters. a majority (65 percent) of republicans who did not vote for trump also favor repealing the law. evaluations of the economy, attitudes toward hillary clinton, illegal immigration, and muslim immigration   but not immigration across the board   largely distinguish the trump voters from non trump voters. in sum, evaluations of the economy, attitudes toward clinton, illegal immigration, and muslim immigration   but not immigration across the board   largely distinguish the trump voters from non trump voters. nevertheless, the five trump clusters identified here still vary considerably even on these topics. further, they diverge on a wide variety of today’s salient issues including on taxes, entitlements, immigration, race, pluralism, traditionalism, and social conservatism. this degree of heterogeneity among the trump voters makes it difficult to speak about their values, priorities, and opinions as a group. thus, discussions of the 2016 election and the phenomenon that catapulted an unlikely candidate to the oval office should acknowledge that different types of people came to vote for trump and not all for the same reasons. about the author emily ekins is a research fellow and director of polling at the cato institute. she is the author of “policing in america: understanding public attitudes toward the police,” which investigates the drivers of public opinion toward the police and reform. emily’s other publications include “the libertarian roots of the tea party," and "millennials: the politically unclaimed generation." she holds a ph.d. and m.a. in political science from the university of california, los angeles. the views and opinions in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of democracy fund. i estimated the trump voter classifications based on a universe of general election trump voters using latent class models for polytomous outcome variables which estimates membership in the latent classes by seeking to maximize the log likelihood function. while it is possible the model may only find a local rather than global maximum, several thousand simulations were run, with different starting values, in efforts to find the best fitting model. i employ latent class analysis rather than some other clustering method because it is particularly useful when handling data with discrete categorical variables, such as those available in the survey.(1) i identified manifest variables to include in the model based on existing theories of trump voter mobilization including questions on economic populism, nativism, racial attitudes, nationalism, traditionalism, perceptions of a rigged system, economic anxiety, as well as favorability toward candidates. the following variables were used in the latent class analysis: lca does not determine the ideal number of classes. instead the number of classes is selected by the researcher on the basis of model fit, parsimony, and theoretical reasons. to assess model fit, i iteratively ran models of one through six classes. based on minimizing the bayesian information criterion (bic) and akaike information criterion (aic) values and assessing model clarity and theory, i determined that 5 classes are the appropriate number. four clusters failed to detect a unique cluster of voters. a six cluster solution did not produce clearer classes and appeared to largely duplicate an existing class with minor differences. thus, i moved forward with the five cluster model. in future research, it may be useful to explore more complex models of trump voters since even within these five clusters there is meaningful variation. we should keep in mind that this methodology, and market segmentation generally, is both an art and a science and the groups identified depend on the questions asked on the survey, what we think the answers mean, which manifest variables we include in the lca analysis, and how we interpret the results. (1) another benefit of this method is that it does not impose assumptions about the structure of the responses. for instance, it treats all responses like categorical variables (e.g., yes/no) rather than ordinal variables (e.g., 1, 2, 3). see jamelle bouie, “there is no such thing as a good trump voter,” slate, november 15, 2016 david leip, 2016 presidential republican primary election results, atlas of u.s. presidential elections. pew research center,“beyond red vs. blue: the political typology,” june 26, 2014. joe helm, “‘they never saw this coming’: a q&a with kellyanne conway,” washington post, january 26, 2017. stanley feldman, “enforcing social conformity: a theory of authoritarianism,” political psychology, vol. 24, no. 1 (2003): 41 74. washington post staff, “full text: donald trump announces a presidential bid” the washington post, june 16, 2015. emily ekins explores the effects of religious participation on americans’ views on race, immigration, and identity   finding that religious voters are more supportive of diversity and immigration. david winston’s report examines the electorate through the lens of issue priorities, providing keen insight into voter decision making during the 2016 presidential election. john sides' report on how the debate about the nature of american identity impacted voter decision making in 2016. 1200 17th street nw suite 300 washington, d.c. 20036 t: (202) 420 7900 * required field

as the us presidential campaign heats up, al jazeera looks at the candidates and their platforms ahead of november. the 2024 presidential race in the united states is heating up, with former president donald trump consolidating his hold over the republican party and president joe biden making his case for four more years in the white house. trump outlasted his final major republican challenger, nikki haley, setting the stage for a rematch of the 2020 election, which saw him defeated by biden. but the former president still must contend with a litany of court cases, throwing a wrench into his campaign plans as the primary season continues. those state level contests ultimately determine who receives major party nominations. who is running for the republican nomination? who is challenging biden’s re election bid? what candidates have dropped out of the race? here, al jazeera looks at the us presidential candidates, their platforms and their chances: biden, who defeated trump in the 2020 election, appealed to american voters on april 25, 2023, to help him defend democracy and “finish the job” he began in his first term. “when i ran for president four years ago, i said we’re in a battle for the soul of america. and we still are,” he said in a video formally announcing his re election campaign. “let’s finish this job. i know we can,” he said. an associated press norc poll released in mid april showed that about half of democratic voters wanted biden to run again, with about 80 percent saying they would support him against a republican candidate. but more recent polls have indicated diminishing levels of support. a new york times poll in november 2023 showed biden trailing trump in five key battleground states, a worrying sign in a tight race. biden has attracted criticism, particularly from progressives, for his stance toward the gaza war, after pledging “unwavering” support to israel and failing to call for a ceasefire. he has also been hampered by concerns over his age: biden would be 82 years old at the beginning of his second term if he wins the 2024 election. some critics have questioned whether he has the stamina to hold the top post for another four years. but biden has managed to advance several of his legislative priorities during his first term, including heightened spending to combat climate change and bolster us infrastructure. the president is widely considered the presumptive democratic nominee with the party refusing to hold primary debates. it was a surprise reentry in the race for the democratic nomination. just weeks after suspending her campaign, former self help author marianne williamson boomeranged back into the fray, re launching her bid on february 28, the day after the michigan primary. “as of today, i am un suspending my campaign for the presidency of the united states,” she said in a social media video. “i had suspended it because i was losing the horse race. but something so much more important than the horse race is at stake here. and we must respond.” in the video, she called republican frontrunner trump a “fascist at the door”   but she likewise blasted biden for the continuing economic disparity in the us. “we’re talking about millions of voters that can’t even survive unless they work two or three jobs. what is he saying beyond, ‘the economy’s really doing well’?” williamson said, calling for policies that “expand the economy”. her statement came on the heels of primary results that showed her in third place among democrats in michigan, with approximately three percent of the vote. michigan is a key swing state in the general elections. williamson, a progressive candidate, previously suspended her campaign in a youtube video on february 7. she had also run in the 2020 presidential race, appealing to the progressive base of the democratic party. after announcing her most recent bid in march 2023, she called for the preservation of us social security retirement benefits, more robust support for labour unions and slavery reparations for black americans. “during the last 50 years, the system has been rigged,” williamson says on her website. but media reports indicate her campaign struggled with debt and high staff turnover. trump, who served one term as us president after defeating democratic candidate hillary clinton in 2016, is making another bid for the white house despite mounting legal woes, including four criminal indictments so far in 2023. the former president   adept at tapping into anger against the us political establishment   holds a wide lead over his rivals for the republican nomination and still commands widespread influence over the party’s voters. he has struck a populist tone on topics such as free trade and foreign policy, where he has pursued an “america first” strategy, and has previously leaned into far right rhetoric on immigrants and muslims. during his time as president, however, trump mostly governed as a traditional republican, and his signature legislative achievement was a set of tax breaks that largely benefitted the wealthy. in this campaign, trump has remained defiant in the face of criminal charges, claiming that prosecutors are trying to derail his bid for the white house. he skipped the first republican debate in august, arguing that people know his record. “why would i debate? i’m your man,” he wrote in a social media post before the event. kennedy, the nephew of former us president john f kennedy, formally launched his candidacy in april, initially entering the race as a democrat. on october 9, 2023, however, he dropped out of the democratic primary race, choosing instead to run as an independent. the son of robert kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 while campaigning for the democratic presidential nomination, he is a member of one of the most famous families in us politics. but kennedy’s campaign has primarily been defined by his prominent role in the anti vaccine movement. he published a book in 2021 accusing former white house covid 19 adviser anthony fauci of “a historic coup d’etat against western democracy”. kennedy has promised to push back against the “corrupt merger between state and corporate power” if elected. his campaign remains a long shot, though experts say he could draw votes from both democrats and republicans. west, a prominent us intellectual and philosopher, said in a tweet on june 5, 2023, that he was running for president as a third party candidate with the movement for a people’s party. the progressive party was formed in the wake of the 2016 presidential election and had unsuccessfully courted senator bernie sanders as its figurehead. in his video announcement, west said he had “decided to run for truth and justice, which takes the form of running for president”. the former harvard university professor’s platform includes “fighting to end poverty, mass incarceration, ending wars and ecological collapse, [and] guaranteeing housing, health care, education and living wages for all”. a physician and activist from massachusetts, stein launched her third party bid for president on november 9, 2023, announcing she would campaign for the green party’s nomination. in an online video announcing her bid, she positioned herself as an alternative to the traditional two party system. “the political system is broken. the two wall street parties are bought and paid for,” she said, referring to the democrats and republicans. “change won’t come from the ruling elites. it comes from we the people.” critics have sometimes blamed stein, a left leaning politician, for drawing votes away from democrats like hillary clinton, who lost to trump in 2016. stein previously ran in that race as well as in 2012. she has never held state or national office. her platform includes a “green new deal” to fight climate change and an “economic bill of rights” that includes guarantees for job security, healthcare and housing. she also is an outspoken critic of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and has called for an investigation into his government’s actions in gaza. the announcement came the morning after march’s super tuesday primary races: haley, a former united nations ambassador and south carolina governor, would be suspending her republican bid for the presidency. “i said i wanted americans to have their voices heard. i have done that. i have no regrets,” she said. “although i will no longer be a candidate, i will not stop using my voice for the things i believe in.” the suspension came in the aftermath of a brief high point in haley’s campaign. on super tuesday, she won her first state primary in vermont. the sunday prior, on march 3, she also notched a rare victory in the republican primary in washington, dc. but those wins came after a series of crushing losses to republican frontrunner donald trump, including in her home state of south carolina. she had long trailed trump in the polls. yet, her bid was noteworthy as the final major challenge to trump’s race for the republican nomination. she outlasted all other major republican candidates, including early favourite ron desantis. haley first announced that she would seek the republican nomination in february 2023. while she was initially reserved in her criticism of trump, she increasingly sharpened her rhetoric, questioning trump’s mental fitness and the “chaos” that accompanies him. as washington’s envoy to the un during the trump administration, she advocated for taking a confrontational stance towards iran and was a strong supporter of us allies in the region, notably israel and saudi arabia. a three term us representative from a swing district in minnesota, millionaire businessman dean phillips made a surprise entry into the democratic primary race on october 27, 2023, citing biden’s poll numbers as a motivation. “i love joe biden. i want to make that clear. i think he saved our country. he was the right man in the last election. thank goodness he won. but that’s not what the numbers are saying now,” phillips, the former owner of a gelato company, told cbs news. but on march 6, the day after the super tuesday primary races, phillips ended his long shot presidential bid, after failing to make a dent with voters. instead, he threw his support behind the incumbent president, democrat joe biden. “i ask you join me in mobilizing, energizing, and doing everything you can to help keep a man of decency and integrity in the white house. that’s joe biden,” he wrote on the social media platform x. he added some gallows humour after his disappointing super tuesday results. “congratulations to joe biden, uncommitted, marianne williamson, and nikki haley for demonstrating more appeal to democratic party loyalists than me,” he said. phillips had loaned his own campaign $2m and pledged to hold 119 town halls across the country as he raced for the democratic nomination. but early on, his stance towards israel’s war in gaza prompted some backlash. “i just want to hear, before i answer your question, if that empathy is across humanity or only for palestinians right now?” phillips said in a tense exchange with an audience member who asked about a ceasefire at a new hampshire town hall. with only two days until the new hampshire primary   the first primary race in the 2024 presidential election cycle   florida governor ron desantis made an announcement that caught his supporters off guard: he was suspending his campaign for the republican nomination. it was an abrupt end to a presidential run that pundits once predicted would challenge trump’s hold over the republican party. despite that early buzz, desantis’s campaign failed to find its footing. even his online campaign launch on may 24, 2023, was marked by a string of glitches that prompted jokes and questions about the efficacy of his campaign. for much of his time in the race, desantis occupied second place   though he trailed trump by seemingly insurmountable margins. he earned 21 percent of the votes in january’s iowa caucuses, behind trump’s 51 percent. less than a week later, he bowed out of the race, throwing his support behind the former president. “following our second place finish in iowa, we’ve prayed and deliberated on the way forward,” he said on the social media platform x on january 21. “if there was anything i could do to produce a favourable outcome   more campaign stops, more interviews   i would do it. but i can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory.” desantis used his work in florida as a “blueprint” for his presidential platform, promising to bring the state’s abortion restrictions and education changes to the national level. he has sought to limit discussion of race, sexual orientation and gender in classrooms, in favour of expanding “parental rights” in schools. he has also been dismissive of the war in ukraine, calling it a “territorial dispute”. hutchinson, a former governor of arkansas, suspended his campaign for the republican nomination the morning after the iowa caucuses. it was a muted end for one of the final outspoken trump critics in the republican field: hutchinson placed sixth in the caucuses, well behind his remaining rivals. in his parting message, hutchinson seemingly took a dig at the primary process. “my message of being a principled republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in iowa,” he wrote in a statement. hutchinson launched his campaign on april 26, 2023. he previously served as a us congressman and as undersecretary in the department of homeland security during the tenure of former president george w bush. while he qualified for the first republican primary debate, he fell short of the poll numbers needed to appear at any subsequent one. on january 15, after a disappointing fourth place finish in the iowa caucuses, author and entrepreneur ramaswamy dropped out of the race for the republican presidential nomination. “there’s no path for me to be the next president, absent things that we don’t want to see happen in this country,” ramaswamy told supporters gathered in a des moines hotel. he instead threw his support behind trump. ramaswamy entered the presidential race as a relatively unknown candidate in february 2023. despite having no previous political experience, he built a reputation as a crusader against “wokeism”, a term that conservative pundits use to refer to social justice movements. ramaswamy was born in the state of ohio and graduated from yale law school before going to work at a hedge fund and starting a pharmaceutical company. he received a flood of attention after the first republican presidential debate on august 23, 2023, during which he was a frequent target of attacks by his rivals, including over his proposal to no longer provide military aid to ukraine. christie, a former new jersey governor, made a fiery exit from the republican race on january 10, just hours ahead of a primary debate and a trump town hall. with only days until the iowa caucuses, christie, a long shot candidate, had been under pressure to drop out and throw his support behind fellow republican haley. christie had long positioned himself as the foremost trump critic in the republican field. but his election prospects were dim, and critics had accused him of siphoning votes away from other trump alternatives like haley. christie ultimately took the stage in windham, new hampshire   a state he invested much of his campaign in   to announce his withdrawal from the race. “it’s clear to me tonight that there isn’t a path for me to win the nomination,” he told the crowd. but he declined to endorse any of his republican rivals in his exit speech, which was itself upstaged by unscripted comments caught on a hot mic ahead of the speech’s livestream. in those remarks, christie said haley “was going to get smoked” in the election, and he described desantis as “petrified”   delivering an inadvertent boost to the trump campaign. christie had filed paperwork to declare his candidacy on june 6, 2023. he previously ran in the 2016 presidential race, ultimately bowing out and throwing his support behind trump. but the two republican leaders ultimately had a falling out, leading christie to emerge as one of trump’s most vocal critics within the party. on december 4, 2023, just two days ahead of the fourth republican primary debate, burgum   a former software executive and current governor of north dakota   announced an end to his long shot bid. in his departure statement, burgum took a parting shot at us politics and the media landscape. “while this primary process has shaken my trust in many media organizations and political party institutions, it has only strengthened my trust in america,” he wrote. burgum initially launched his presidential bid in the pages of the wall street journal, with a june 2023 opinion article. a multimillionaire, he later kept his campaign afloat with a strategy of offering gift cards in exchange for campaign donations   a scheme that allowed him to meet the minimum number of donors to qualify for the first two republican debates. he failed to meet the national polling threshold for the third debate, however. burgum had also sought to portray his relatively low national profile as a strength, saying he was far removed from the bitter war of words of the more prominent candidates. on november 12, 2023, scott appeared on fox news to announce he would no longer be running for president in the 2024 cycle. “i think the voters   who are the most remarkable people on the planet   have been really clear that they’re telling me, ‘not now, tim,'” he said on the tv programme sunday night in america. a republican senator from south carolina, scott officially launched his campaign in may, promising a “revolution for excellence” in the country’s education system. he declined to endorse another candidate in the hours after ending his run. scott, like his colleagues in the republican field, trailed frontrunner trump by significant margins, and critics said his campaign’s positive messaging failed to resonate with voters. scott, who is the only black republican in the senate, often highlighted his own humble beginnings as evidence that the us is “the land of opportunity and not a land of oppression”, dismissing claims of systemic racism. pence, who served as trump’s vice president, made a surprise exit from the race on october 28, 2023, as he addressed the republican jewish coalition in las vegas, nevada. “it’s become clear to me: this is not my time,” he told the coalition’s annual meeting. “so after much prayer and deliberation, i have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today.” at the time of his departure, pence was the highest profile candidate to end his campaign for the republican nomination. but he had long trailed trump, his former boss with whom he had a falling out after the attack on the us capitol on january 6, 2021. pence has accused trump of having “endangered” his family with his “reckless words”, including his unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 elections were fraudulent. trump allegedly pressured pence and other politicians to overturn the outcome of that vote. since their schism, pence has tried to establish himself as a principled alternative to trump: a candidate who would be guided by his christian faith. during his campaign, he distinguished himself as the only prominent candidate to back a nationwide abortion ban at six weeks of pregnancy, and he pledged to take the abortion pill mifepristone off the market to “protect the unborn”. he has also set himself apart by vocally supporting us aid to ukraine. pence had formally declared his candidacy for president in june 2023. he previously served as indiana governor and a member of the us house of representatives. a conservative talk radio host, elder ended his campaign for the republican nomination on october 26, 2023, throwing his support behind donald trump instead. “we must unite behind donald trump to beat joe biden and fight back against biden’s unprecedented election interference,” elder wrote in a post on social media, referencing false claims that the 2020 election was “stolen” from trump. elder failed to make waves in his bid for the presidency, falling short of the requirements needed to participate in the first two republican primary debates. he and fellow candidate perry johnson pledged to sue the republican national committee over their exclusion. elder announced his run for the presidency on april 20, 2023. previously, he was best known for challenging california’s democratic governor gavin newsom in a recall vote in 2021. newsom easily beat back that recall attempt, which failed by a margin of about 62 to 38 percent. hurd, a former us congressman from texas, suspended his campaign for the republican nomination on october 9, 2023, throwing his support instead behind haley’s bid. a former us congressman from texas, hurd exited the race much as he entered it: with harsh words for republican frontrunner trump. “if the republican party nominates donald trump or the various personalities jockeying to imitate his divisive, crass behavior, we will lose,” he wrote on the social media platform x. an undercover cia officer before his political career, he has said republicans need “to articulate a different vision” than that of “a lawless, selfish, failed politician” like trump. since entering the race in june 2023, hurd failed to garner much support, making him ineligible to participate in the first two republican primary debates. francis suarez suarez, the mayor of miami, florida, became the first major candidate to drop out of the race on august 29, 2023, just days after he failed to qualify for the first republican debate. the son of miami’s first cuban born mayor, suarez was one of three republican hopefuls from florida, alongside trump and desantis, both of whom he criticised. he was also a champion of cryptocurrency and other tech ventures. his campaign may be best remembered for a radio interview in which suarez asked, “what is a uighur?” when discussing his position on china. this article was last updated on march 6, 2024. follow al jazeera english:

linda wertheimer, host: this is weekend edition from npr news. i'm linda wertheimer. today   and in fact, we think in just a few minutes, mitt romney will make it official. wisconsin congressman paul ryan will be his choice for vice president. romney is expected to make the announcement at an event in norfolk, virginia, within sight of the battleship wisconsin. paul ryan endorsed mitt romney during the republican primaries. and just before the wisconsin primary, ryan called romney the right leader for the moment. rep. paul ryan: i'm excited, i'm encouraged, i'm enthused; because in this man we have a person of conviction; we have a man with the right kind of experience. we have the right kind of leader we're going to need to get this country right, and to get this country back on track. and i want to ask you, fellow wisconsinites, to join me in welcoming who i hope becomes the next president of the united states   gov. mitt romney. wertheimer: that was an event in wisconsin, which is paul ryan's home state. the event in norfolk, virginia will launch a bus tour through swing states. the two men will be traveling in a blue and white bus proclaiming more jobs, more take home pay. for more on congressman ryan and what this choice means for the campaign, we're joined by npr's washington editor ron elving and npr's national political correspondent don gonyea. good morning to the two of you. ron elving, byline: good morning, linda. don gonyea, byline: good morning. wertheimer: now we think that what is going to happen is the two men will appear on a platform at the visitor's center right beside the big battleship wisconsin. and as soon as they begin to speak, we will turn the microphones over to them. but for now, ron, this is, you know, if you were saying make a choice that was safe or sizzling as morning edition has been saying, this was a choice that has sizzled. elving: yes, it has. and i think the setting that we're looking at is really quite symbolic. you have a new dawn, if you will. as the sun comes up over norfolk, virginia, a new dawn for the romney candidacy. a new dawn perhaps for the republican party in this particular election year. you also have in the background a battleship, which i think is aggressive and speaks to the nature of this choice, speaks to the nature of the tough mentality they want to project with respect to many issues. it also speaks to the name of the battleship, which is the u.s.s. wisconsin, the home state of paul ryan. that's a nice little serendipity for them. and it's also a world war ii battleship, and i think there's going to be some harking back to the spirit of world war ii, the spirit of the greatest generation to whom this ticket will try very hard to appeal. wertheimer: now don, you've covered quite a few presidential campaigns, and ron, why don't you chime in here too, vice presidents   in my experience covering campaigns, which goes back, way back, i would say that i don't remember a case where a vice president made a big difference in the success of a president. sometimes the vice presidents can hurt you. gonyea: well, that's why the first rule   very first rule is first, do no harm, right. i mean, you've picked somebody who complements and who may help and who in theory will help you be more competitive in this state or that. and theoretically paul ryan does that for you in wisconsin. wertheimer: he brings in the swing state of wisconsin. gonyea: which the romney campaign hopes to make a battleground state. you have to go back many, many, many elections before you get the one where wisconsin went red. elving: '88. gonyea: 1988 they voted for   no excuse me, they voted for dukakis in 1988, so the last one was ronald reagan in 1984 where wisconsin went republican. elving: 1984. gonyea: every one since then has been democrat. elving: but does it help there's always talk on this day about how it will help, but ultimately you're correct. it's still the guy at the top of the ticket. wertheimer: right. elving: but ryan is there to... wertheimer: we're voting for president in the united states of america. we don't vote for vice. elving: the question is how well can ryan help mitt romney make his case and define his case and define the race. wertheimer: now there was some talk at one point that perhaps mr. romney might look for somebody who had a different ethnic background from his own to sort of   to counter some of the appeal of the obama biden ticket. what do you   are there any consequences to having two white men on the ticket? gonyea: we're kind of used to that in american politics, so i mean ultimately you can't say that that is a negative. i think they really looked seriously at least at the potential for having a marco rubio, the new tea party favorite senator from florida on the ticket. but ultimately i think in case after case they just decided there might be, you know, too much risk here. it might be a little too bold of a pick. perhaps rubio is too young. so we get someone who is very young and who, you know, brings with him some risk in that ryan plan that his name is attached to. but he was on the, you know, he was on the list that had been narrowed down. and while it is maybe the riskiest of those who are on the final risk, it... wertheimer: ...is also the most memorable of all those that were on the final list it seems to me. gonyea: yes. wertheimer: he is a person of strong positions and he's very smart. when he stands up and talks people listen to him even, i think, if they don't agree with him at all. what do you think? neither of these candidates have been pushing the kind of social issues that, for example, sarah palin brought to john mccain. john mccain had voted at various times in   he had sort of shied away from abortion. he had shied away from other of the conservative social issues. she was very strong on those issues. neither of these candidates have been spending a lot of time on them. elving: no, but they're both known as personally highly conservative, mitt romney as a mormon, and paul ryan is a catholic, and a very traditional catholic. and they're going to be a strong pro life ticket. they're going to be against gay marriage. they're going to be on point for all of the conservative social issues. they may not be the big emphasis for either of these two conservatives who have been much more focused on fiscal issues. but, you know, you look back at some of the real energy that has infused some of the past republican campaigns and it has largely been on the social side. it has not been as successful when it was strictly a fiscal pitch. so i think we will hear, if not the sarah palin kind of emphasis on social issues, we will hear some measure of that and we will try to see republicans organizing around those issues. wertheimer: and look for the republicans who care about those issues very much to be comforted by the choice, for example, of a catholic vice president in paul ryan. what are we looking at? what is happening in norfolk? i can see mrs. romney and i think that is mrs. ryan standing next to her. mrs. ryan, who is   i'll confess a conflict here   i've known her since she was a bay. i went to college with her mother and she's a lovely, lovely woman. elving: janna is her name, janna ryan. she has three children. they live in janesville, wisconsin. and we have not seen much of them. paul ryan is a more private politician than many. he hasn't been parading his family around the country as many politicians have been in recent months. and we're going to be introduced to a new republican family, and they are, of course, much younger than mitt romney's children. in fact, paul ryan himself is about the same age as one of mitt romney's sons and sometimes has been described as his sixth son. wertheimer: we've been watching the   we've been watching flags being passed out around the   through the crowd on the podium and we're just   we're seeing the very first announcement i think that we are about to have an event here. bob mcdonnell, who is the governor of virginia, has taken to the podium. do we want to listen to mr. mcdonnell, to governor mcdonnell? gov. bob mcdonnell: ...having us here today. you know, this is the mother of presidents, the birthplace of democracy, where just 405 years ago a couple miles away from here the greatest country on earth were given birth at cape henry, the united states of america. (applause) mcdonnell: and what a treat to be in hampton roads, the home of more veterans than just about any place in the world. (applause) mcdonnell: the home of the greatest navy base in the world. (applause) mcdonnell: all of you that are veterans, raise your hands so we can give you a round of applause and say thank you for what you've done. (applause) mcdonnell: 'cause you understand like the people that serve... wertheimer: that is governor mcdonnell of virginia. he is   he was briefly mentioned by the great mentioner as a possible vice president candidate. and he is a very conservative republican who   and joins with the republicans in wisconsin in his efforts to reduce the size of state government, cut spending, many   i think many of the same kinds of things that mr. ryan stands for. i assume they are friends. elving: yes, and i think there was a little bit of a tremor last night when the announcement came that this was going to happen in virginia and this morning rather than next tuesday in ohio where a lot of people were a lot of people were expecting the choice to be rob portman, the senator from ohio. instead they were going to do it this morning in virginia, and for a moment that seemed to be a stage setting for this man to be the recipient of the offer. but it was not to be. gonyea: he's also someone who has run well in the independent areas with independent voters, at least in his election. mcdonnell: ...creating jobs in virginia, but boy, we've got some headwinds in washington. won't it be easier creating jobs in virginia if we've got a president mitt romney. (soundbite of cheers) mcdonnell: well, i'm delighted to be here with my wife, the first lady, and my sons, my daughters, how about that veteran jeanine mcdonnell singing the national anthem. she did ok? (soundbite of cheers) mcdonnell: well, i am so delighted to have our next president here today. you know, his opponent has been here a little bit. it seems like every time he comes here he makes a little news. he was (unintelligible) , he was here last week and he said, and i want you to help me with this. he was here last week and he said, if i don't win virginia, i won't be president again. i want you to help me keep that promise. (applause) mcdonnell: but you know, a couple of months ago he came to roanoke, virginia and he said something i still can't believe. i'm still looking at that transcript to see if it was right. he said, if you are successful in a business, you didn't build that, somebody else made that happen. (soundbite of disapproval) mcdonnell: well, ladies and gentlemen, i think that shows why we need a new president because that statement tells you everything you need to know. this is a president that does not understand the american free enterprise system and the great american dream, and we need a change. (applause) mcdonnell: now let's suppose that you were interviewing for a job or you were interviewing to get rehired or your contract extended, that's what the president is asking us to do, and you go in and you've got resume and you're trying to tell the boss the american people, or the 8.2 million people of virginia that you want to get rehired. well, let's look at this resume of the president. well, he says, how about jobs? you know, we've had an 8 percent unemployment rate now for 42 months and we've got the lowest number of entrepreneurs starting new businesses for 30 years. not so good, mr. president. when it comes to energy, his record of making it harder for our great coal industry to stab new permits, make it harder for our people in the great new natural gas industry to engage in fracking, making it harder to dispose of nuclear materials so we can't build new nuclear power plants. refusing to allow virginians to use their god given natural resources off the coast of virginia to drill for oil and natural gas. (soundbite of disapproval) mcdonnell: when it comes to the debt, let's look at that record. wertheimer: we're listening to governor bob mcdonnell of virginia who is taking this opportunity to make a political speech. and pretty soon we'll hear from mitt romney who's the republican presidential candidate, or he will be at the end of the republican convention, who is going to announce his choice for vice president, and that will be congressman paul ryan of wisconsin. we're watching this great event which is taking place at norfolk, virginia. we'll rejoin and listen to governor mcdonnell. gov. robert mcdonnell: ...this election. and this election is about really one thing and that is which candidate's got the vision and the ideas to get the greatest country on earth out of debt and back to work. you know, one the hand, we've got this obama vision of more entitlements and more guarantees and more taxes and more government as the way to prosperity. and mr. president, with all due respect, that failed america now for the last three and a half years. but then we've got the gop the great opportunity party and its vision and its candidates. we've got that incredible reagan, romney enthusiastic visions that recognizes the american dream and if you work hard and if you dream big and you pursue opportunity and use your god given talents, you can still be anything you want to be in this great land of freedom, america. a hundred years ago, poor farm boy from mayo county, ireland left on a ship and landed in boston, massachusetts. that was my grandfather. he worked as a laborer in a glue factory and as a tanner. he never thought that a hundred years later, that his grandson would end up with the same job of patrick henry and thomas jefferson, being governor of virginia. but that's the united states of america, the land of dreams and opportunity. so being an average middle class kid from fairfax county, i'm incredibly thrilled to be governor of virginia and that's the heart and soul of this campaign for mitt romney is doing things and putting policies in place that support and expand and offer hope and opportunity for our middle class families in america. governor romney's put forth a visionary five point plan to be able to get people back to work, promoting entrepreneurship and small business because you did build it and if you do, you'll provide jobs and opportunity for other people. to get our country out of debt by balancing a budget... wertheimer: if you're just joining us, we have been listening to the run up to the event where republican nominee mitt romney will announce his choice to be his running mate. it's paul ryan of wisconsin. and we'll presumably hear from both of those gentlemen in a little while, but first, we're listening to the governor of virginia, bob mcdonnell. mcdonnell: ...comprehensive plan to use all of our red, white and blue god given natural resources to promote american energy independence. that's going to help the middle class create jobs and opportunity for a long time. so ladies and gentlemen, you know the issues and you know the ideas of mitt romney. but i want to say above all of those policies, what really matters is heart and character and vision and passion. the scriptures say, for lack of vision, the people perish. but just the opposite is true. with vision, the people prosper. one of the loneliest places anywhere you can find is the inside of that oval office. when the cabinet members leave and the advisors are gone, the president of the united states has got to have faith and know what they believe and make the right decisions for the people of the united states. that's what you get with mitt romney. he's a man of faith, a man of principle, a man who's been successful as governor, successful on the private sector, successful running the olympics. he's a great family man, five kids, 18 grandkids. he's been incredibly generous to people all over the country and all over the world. he's got an amazing passion and vision for the country. he's got a deep and abiding love for america, what it stands for and the great american dream. so ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the next president of the united states, governor mitt romney. wertheimer: and here comes the presumptive republican candidate, governor mitt romney who is stepping up to the podium where he will stand in front of the battleship wisconsin. he's on the ship. it looks as though he's going to come down the gangway and speak to the crowd that's gathered and introduce them to the new vice presidential choice, paul ryan of wisconsin. i must say, i thought mr. romney was going stay at the top of the stairs and sort of bless the crowd as candidates usually do. but he's a man on a mission. he's in a hurry. he's going right straight to the platform. mitt romney: thank you. wow. what a welcome. thank you so much, virginia. hey, guys. thank you so much. what a great governor you have. what a terrific man and a terrific leader. way to go. (soundbite of crowd chanting mitt) romney: thank you so very much. it's great to be back in virginia and here in norfolk. your city's beauty is matched only by its proud heritage as a defender of freedom. thank you, virginia, thank you, norfolk. today, we take another step forward in helping restore the promise of america as we move forward in this campaign and on to help lead the nation to better days. it's an honor to announce my running mate and the next vice president of the united states, paul ryan. (applause) romney: his leadership begins with character and values. paul is a man of tremendous character shaped, in large part, by his early life. paul's father died when he was in high school. that forced him to grow earlier than any young man should. but paul did with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sister and a supportive community. and as he did, he internalized the virtues and hard working ethic of the midwest. paul ryan works in washington, but his beliefs remain firmly rooted in janesville, wisconsin. he's a person of great steadiness whose integrity is unquestioned and his word is good. paul's upbringing is obvious in how he's conducted himself throughout his life, including his leadership in washington. in a city that's far too often characterized by pettiness and personal attacks, paul ryan is a shining exception. he doesn't demonize his opponents. he understands that honorable people can have honest differences and he appeals to the better angels of our nature. there are a lot of people in the other party who might disagree with paul ryan. i don't know of anyone who doesn't respect his character and judgment. wertheimer: you're listening to governor mitt romney, who's just about to   was explaining to us why he has chosen congressman paul ryan of wisconsin to be his running mate. romney: ...which would advance the ideals of freedom and justice and to increase opportunity and prosperity to people of every class and faith, every age and ethnic background. a faithful catholic, paul believes in the worth and dignity of every human life. (applause) romney: with energy and vision, paul ryan has become in intellectual leader of the republican party. he understands the fiscal challenges facing america, our exploding deficits and crushing debt and the fiscal catastrophe that awaits us if we don't change course. he combines a profound sense of responsibility for what we owe the next generation with an unbounded optimism in america's future and understanding of all the wonderful things the american people can do. paul also combines firm principles with a practical concern for getting things done. he's never been content to simply curse the darkness. he'd rather light candles. and throughout his legislative career, he's shown the ability to work with members of both parties to find common ground on some of the hardest issues confronting the american people. so paul and i are beginning on a journey that will take us to every corner of america. we're offering a positive governing agenda that will lead to economic growth, to widespread and shared prosperity; and that will improve the lives of our fellow citizens. (applause) wertheimer: you're listening to gov. mitt romney, who is about to introduce congressman paul ryan, romney's choice to be his vice presidential running mate. romney: ...get our country back on track. we offer solutions that are bold, specific and achievable. we offer our commitment to help create 12 million new jobs, and to bring better take home pay to middle class families. (cheers, applause) romney: romney: to strengthen the middle class, we'll provide our workers, and our children, with the skills to succeed. we'll cut the deficit; have trade that works for america, and champions small business. and finally, we'll unleash our energy resource to   resources to achieve north american energy independence. (cheers, applause) romney: we will help care for those who can't care for themselves, and we will return work to welfare. (cheers, applause) romney: as poverty has risen to historic and tragic levels   with nearly one out of six americans now having fallen into poverty   we will act to bring these families into the middle class. unlike the current president, who's cut medicare funding by $700 billion... (boos) romney:...we will preserve and protect medicare and social security, and keep them there for future generations. (cheers, applause) romney: and under the current president, health care's only become more expensive. we're going to reform health care so that more americans have access to affordable health care. and we'll get that started by repealing and replacing obamacare. (cheers, applause) romney: at a time when the president's campaign is taking american politics to new lows... unidentified man: obama looting! unidentified woman: yeah! (laughter) romney: ...we're going to do something very differently. we're going to talk about aspirations and american ideals, of bring   about bringing people together to serve, to solve the urgent problems facing our nation. and when that message wins in america, it will be a victory for every american. today is a good day for america, and there are better days ahead. join me... (applause) romney: join me in welcoming the next president of the united states, paul ryan. (cheers, applause, music) wertheimer: congressman paul ryan of wisconsin is now coming down from the deck of the wisconsin to the platform where he's just been introduced by governor mitt romney. ryan is 42 years old. he's been a congressman from his hometown of janesville, wisconsin for a number of terms. very experienced, the chairmen of the senate   of the house budget committee and he has his own budget which lays out some very conservative views about what ought to happen next in the united states. mr. ryan and mr. romney have moved to the front of the platform to wave to the crowd. there's quite a large crowd here. and of course, as you might imagine, there are a lot of those little american flags that people like to wave at ceremonies of this kind. so we have the two men who will be leading the republican ticket together at last. now we know who the vice presidential candidate will be. and it looks as though we're going to get to hear from congressman paul ryan. ryan: wow. hey. and right in front of the uss wisconsin, huh? man. romney: every now and then, i'm known to make a mistake. i did not make a mistake with this guy, but i can tell you this, he's going to be the next vice president of the united states. (applause) ryan: governor romney, ann, thank you. (applause) ryan: i am deeply honored and excited to join you as your running mate. (applause) ryan: i want to tell you about mitt romney. mitt romney is a leader with the skills, the background and the character that our country needs at this crucial time in its history. (applause) ryan: following four years of failed leadership, the hopes of our country   which have inspired the world   our growing dim. they need someone to revive them. governor romney is the man for this moment. (applause) ryan: and he and i share one commitment. we will restore the greatness of this country. (applause) ryan: i want you to meet my family. this is my wife janna... (applause) ryan: ...my daughter liza and our sons charlie and sam. (applause) ryan: i'm surrounded by the people i love. i love you, too. (laughter) ryan: and i've been asked by governor romney to serve the country that i love. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: janesville, wisconsin is where i was born and raised and i never really left it. it's our home now. for the last 14 years, i have proudly represented wisconsin in congress. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: there i have focused on solving the problems that confront our country and turning ideas into action and action into solutions. i am committed, in heart and mind, to putting that experience to work in a romney administration. (applause) ryan: this is a crucial moment in the life of our nation; and it is absolutely vital that we select the right man to lead america back to prosperity and greatness. (applause) ryan: that man is standing right next to me. his name is mitt romney. and he will be the next president of the united states of america. (applause) ryan: my dad died when i was young. he was a good and decent man. there are a few things he would say that have just always stuck with me. he'd say, son, you're either part of the problem or part of the solution. well, regrettably, president obama has become part of the problem and mitt romney is the solution. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: the other thing my dad would always say is that every generation of americans leaves their children better off. that's the american legacy. sadly, for the first time in our history, we are on a path which will undo that legacy. that is why we need new leadership to become part of the solution   new leadership to restore prosperity, economic growth, and jobs. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: it is our duty to save the american dream for our children, and theirs. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: i believe there is no person in america who is better prepared   because of his experience, because of the principles he holds and because of his achievements and excellence in so many different arenas   to lead america at this point in our history. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: let me say a word about the man mitt romney is about to replace. (soundbite of cheering and boos) ryan: no one disputes that president obama inherited a difficult situation. and, in his first two years, with his party in complete control of washington, he passed nearly every item on his agenda. but that didn't make things better. in fact, we find ourselves in a nation facing debt, doubt, and despair. this is the worst economic recovery in 70 years. unemployment has been above 8 percent for more than three years, the longest run since the great depression. families are hurting. we have the largest deficits and the biggest federal government since world war ii. nearly one out of six americans are in poverty   the worst rate in a generation. moms and dads are struggling to make ends meet. household incomes have dropped by more than $4,000 over the past four years. (soundbite of boos) ryan: whatever the explanations, whatever the excuses, this is a record of failure. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: president obama, and too many like him in washington, have refused to make difficult decisions, because they're more worried about their next election than they are about the next generation. (applause) ryan: we might've been able to get away with that before, but not now. we're in a different and dangerous moment. we're running out of time and we can't afford four more years of this. unidentified group: no. ryan: politicians from both parties have made empty promises which will soon become broken promises   with painful consequences   if we fail to act now. (applause) ryan: i represent a part of america that includes inner cities, rural areas, suburbs, and factory towns. over the years i have seen and heard from a lot from families, from a lot of those who are running small businesses and from people who are in need. but what i've heard lately that's what troubles me the most. there's something different in their voice, in their words. what i hear from them are diminished dreams, lowered expectations, uncertain futures. i hear some people say that this is just the new normal. unidentified group: no. ryan: high unemployment, declining incomes and crushing debt is not a new normal. (applause) ryan: it is the result of misguided policies. and next january, our economy will begin a comeback with the romney plan for a stronger middle class that will lead to more jobs and more take home pay for working americans. (applause) ryan: america is on the wrong track, but mitt romney and i will take the right steps, in the right time, to get us back on the right track. (applause) ryan: i believe that my record of getting things done in congress will be a very helpful complement to governor romney's executive and private sector success outside of washington. (applause) ryan: i've worked closely with republicans as well as democrats to advance an agenda of economic growth, fiscal discipline, and job creation. i'm proud to stand with a man who understands what it takes to foster job creation in our economy, someone who knows from experience, that if you have a small business you did build that. (applause) ryan: at bain capital, he launched new businesses and he turned around failing ones   companies like staples, bright horizons, sports authority, just to name a few. mitt romney created jobs and he showed he knows how a free economy works. at the olympics, he took a failing enterprise and made it the pride of our entire nation. (applause) ryan: as governor of massachusetts, he worked with democrats and republicans to balance budgets without increasing taxes, lower unemployment, increase income and improve people's lives. (applause) ryan: in all of these things, mitt romney has shown himself to be a man of achievement, excellence and integrity. (applause) ryan: janna and i tell liza, charlie, and sam that america is a place where, if you work hard and play by the rules, you can get ahead. (applause) ryan: we look at one another's success with pride, not resentment, because we know... (applause) ryan: ...we know that as more americans work hard, take risks, succeed, more people will prosper, our communities will benefit, and individual lives will be uplifted and improved. (applause) ryan: america is more than just a place, though. america is an idea. unidentified woman: yeah. unidentified man: yeah. unidentified group: yeah. ryan: it's the only country founded on an idea. our rights come from nature and god, not from government. (applause) ryan: that's right. that's who we are. that's how we built this country. that's who we are. unidentified group: (chanting) u.s.a., u.s.a., u.s.a., u.s.a. ryan: that's what made us great. that's our founding. we promise equal opportunity, not equal outcomes. unidentified group: yeah. (applause) ryan: and this idea was founded on the principles of liberty, freedom, free enterprise, self determination and government by consent of the governed. (applause) ryan: this idea, this idea is under assault. so we have a critical decision to make as a nation. we are on an unsustainable path that is robbing america of our freedom and security. it doesn't have to be this way. the commitment mitt romney and i make to you is this: we won't duck the tough issues, we will lead! (applause) ryan: we won't blame others. we will take responsibility. (applause) ryan: and we won't replace our founding principles, we will reapply them. that's what we will do. (applause) ryan: we will honor you, our fellow citizens, by giving you the right and opportunity to make the choice. (applause) ryan: what kind of country do we want to have? what kind of people do we want to be? we can turn this thing around. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: we can. we can turn this thing around. real solutions can be delivered. but it will take leadership and the courage to tell you the truth. (applause) ryan: mitt romney is this kind of leader. i'm ecstatic for what lies ahead. i'm thrilled to be a part of america's comeback team and together we will unite america and get this done. thank you. thank you very much. (soundbite of cheers) ryan: thanks. thank you. wertheimer: that is the presumed republican nominee for vice president, congressman paul ryan of wisconsin, promising leadership and a campaign against debt, doubt, and despair. mr. ryan and his running mate, mr. romney, appeared at an even in norfolk, virginia as they launch a bus tour through the swing states. they spoke standing in front of the decommissioned world war ii battleship the u.s.s. wisconsin, no coincidence there. for more on the pick and what it means we're going to listen to some voices from around the country as well as our washington editor ron elving, npr's national and political correspondent don gonyea. ron, this was a sendoff event. how does it set the stage? elving: we did not hear paul ryan talk about the paul ryan budget. we did not hear him talk too much specifically about fiscal policy, tax cuts, medicare, any of those things. this was, however, very much the house budget committee chairman paul ryan talking about the principles on which he basis his politics: liberty, freedom, free enterprise, many reiterations of those words and that concept. wertheimer: don, the romney ticket has struggled in the last few months with some bad news, particularly in the last week or so, with some very discouraging poll numbers. do you think that choosing ryan hits the reset button? gonyea: it certainly allows them to start a different conversation. and a conversation about what they plan on doing. i mean, paul ryan has always said that it's not enough to criticize; one also has to propose alternatives. his ryan plan is out there. as ron said, he did not mention it here. governor romney did not mention it here. it will be the basis for much discussion going forward, and i'll tell you, the obama campaign has already sent out the press releases highlighting the ryan plan and basically saying, well, i'll read you just the first line of it. mitt romney has chosen a leader of the house republicans who shares his commitment to the flawed theory that new budget busting tax cuts for the wealthy while placing greater burdens on the middle class and seniors will somehow deliver a stronger economy. so there is the argument, going forward at least. wertheimer: there is the argument and there are the themes. thank you very much. npr's national and political correspondent don gonyea, npr's washington editor ron elving. if you're just joining us, we're following the big story in politics this hour. mitt romney has chosen his running mate and it is paul ryan, congressman from wisconsin. now, let's get some reaction from people in other parts of the country. bob vander plaats is the president and ceo of the iowa based organization called the family leader which focuses on conservative social issues. he joins us by phone now from des moines, iowa, where the family leadership summit is currently taking place. mr. vander plaats, welcome. bob vander plaats: well, thrilled to be with you. wertheimer: so your concern revolves around bringing conservatives to social issues. are you happy with this choice? do you think this is going to work for the people that you are attempting to serve? plaats: well, first of all, we're concerned about all conservatives but i do believe congressman ryan is a solid choice for governor romney to put as his vp pick. i think, as you heard congressman ryan say, that our freedoms and our rights come from god, not from government. we base our law on the law of nature and the law of nature's god. as your earlier guest said, you know, he's laying out the principles for which he bases his policy decisions and we really believe that we need a candidate that's going to be bold. congressman ryan has shown a willingness to be bold. because this country faces some real issues that we need to come to grips with and i think what romney's sending a message here is that they're willing to address those tough issues. wertheimer: now you originally endorsed former senator rick santorum from pennsylvania. has the choice that mr. romney has made, does he sort of shore up your confidence that mr. romney is the right kind of candidate for you? plaats: i think he has. as a matter of fact, we've often said that governor romney is going to show us what kind of leader he's going to be by who he surrounds himself with. and so i always said it'd be great if he appointed somebody like mike huckabee or rick santorum   someone who's capable to be president. i think paul ryan fits that bill, someone who's rock solid on their values. i believe paul ryan fits that bill. and someone who's got a bold and courageous spirit to address the issues of the day with some real solutions, and i think paul ryan demonstrates that as well. so i think it's a solid pick. i'm a little bit surprised. i didn't think ryan was in the running anymore but i think it's a solid pick. wertheimer: thank you very much, mr. vander plaats. plaats: i appreciate being on your show. wertheimer: bob vander plaats is the president and ceo of the iowa based organization which is called the family leader, focusing on conservative and social issues. and his group is holding a meeting on this big, and i suppose very entertaining, day for the   good exciting time for politicians to be meeting. we're joined also now by democratic congressman chris van hollen. he is from our area here in washington. he represents maryland's eighth district. but he is also the ranking member of the house budget committee. paul ryan is the chairman of that committee. mr. van hollen, welcome. rep. chris van hollen: morning. it's great to be with you. wertheimer: now, i wonder if you could tell me what you think of this choice. you've worked closely with paul ryan. hollen: well, i like paul personally and i've enjoyed our very sharp but always civil debates in the budget committee, and those debates are about the important choices that we face and in making this choice, mitt romney has sent a very clear signal that he supports an economic agenda that helps people like mitt romney and the rest of the country and at the expense of the rest of the country. because what the republican budget does, and it was designed by congressman ryan, is it provides another round of big tax breaks for folks at the very, very top at the expense of everybody else. at the expense of seniors on medicare, at the expense of very important investments in our kids' education and in our economic future, and at the expense of middle income taxpayers. so this clearly sharpens the debate in a way that i think will reveal very clearly that mitt romney wants an america that helps people like him but at the expense of everybody else. wertheimer: so did you hear anything in the speeches this morning that sort of set off some bells for you about things that you would imagine you and other democrats will be talking about? hollen: well, sure, because what we have is really just a recycled version of the failed trickle down economic policies we saw during the bush administration. again, the underlying idea here is that somehow providing another round of windfall tax breaks to very wealthy people will trickle down and lift everybody else up. we know the end of that movie. it didn't work. we tried it. at the end of the eight years of the bush administration millions of americans had lost their jobs. the economy tanked and i don't think anybody really wants to go back to that failed agenda. you can dress it up, you can soup it up, you can call it something else, but that strategy failed as opposed to a strategy of trying to invest in the middle class and have an economy built from the middle out, not this failed idea of the top down economy. wertheimer: now, i wonder. the obama campaign must've been breathing a bit easier in the last few days because there was a pop in the polls in the president. and even some very conservative polls like fox news polls, for example, were suggesting that the president was in better shape than had been previously thought. do you think this pops mr. romney back up and puts him back up into a completely equal contention? hollen: no, i don't. and i'm sure that the president, the obama campaign, are taking nothing for granted despite the obvious good news in the polls. politically, the choice of paul ryan is throwing a bone to the right wing idealities in the republican party. it's essentially telling independent voters to take a hike. so what this choice tells us is that mitt romney is working very hard to shore up excitement among the most right wing parts of the republican party. wertheimer: mr. van hollen? hollen: yeah? wertheimer: thank you very much for this. we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. hollen: thank you. thank you for having me. wertheimer: chris van hollen represents maryland's eighth district. he's a democrat, a member of the democratic leadership. the top political news today   mitt romney, the likely republican nominee, has announced his choice for vice president. (soundbite of speech) wertheimer: paul ryan is a congressman from wisconsin, the chairman of the house budget committee. mr. romney made the announcement standing in front of a decommissioned battleship, the u.s.s. wisconsin. in his first public appearance as a candidate for vice president, ryan said president obama had a record of failure on the economy and he said a romney administration would return america to its founding principles. (soundbite of speech) wertheimer: ryan is known controversially to some for his comprehensive conservative budget plan. he said the campaign would not, quote, "duck the tough issues." (soundbite of speech) wertheimer: that was paul ryan, speaking earlier this hour. he is a congressman from wisconsin, from janesville, wisconsin, chairman of the house budget committee, and now the republican candidate for vice president of the united states. romney and ryan will be campaigning throughout the swing states over the next few days. we'll continue to follow this story today on air and online at npr.org. this is weekend edition, from npr news. i'm linda wertheimer. transcript provided by npr, copyright npr.

in norfolk, va., saturday morning, gov. mitt romney chose rep. paul ryan of wisconsin to be his running mate for the 2012 republican presidential ticket. npr's ron elving and don gonyea join weekend edition saturday guest host linda wertheimer for live coverage. linda wertheimer, host: this is weekend edition from npr news. i'm linda wertheimer. today   and in fact, we think in just a few minutes, mitt romney will make it official. wisconsin congressman paul ryan will be his choice for vice president. romney is expected to make the announcement at an event in norfolk, virginia, within sight of the battleship wisconsin. paul ryan endorsed mitt romney during the republican primaries. and just before the wisconsin primary, ryan called romney the right leader for the moment. rep. paul ryan: i'm excited, i'm encouraged, i'm enthused; because in this man we have a person of conviction; we have a man with the right kind of experience. we have the right kind of leader we're going to need to get this country right, and to get this country back on track. and i want to ask you, fellow wisconsinites, to join me in welcoming who i hope becomes the next president of the united states   gov. mitt romney. wertheimer: that was an event in wisconsin, which is paul ryan's home state. the event in norfolk, virginia will launch a bus tour through swing states. the two men will be traveling in a blue and white bus proclaiming more jobs, more take home pay. for more on congressman ryan and what this choice means for the campaign, we're joined by npr's washington editor ron elving and npr's national political correspondent don gonyea. good morning to the two of you. ron elving, byline: good morning, linda. don gonyea, byline: good morning. wertheimer: now we think that what is going to happen is the two men will appear on a platform at the visitor's center right beside the big battleship wisconsin. and as soon as they begin to speak, we will turn the microphones over to them. but for now, ron, this is, you know, if you were saying make a choice that was safe or sizzling as morning edition has been saying, this was a choice that has sizzled. elving: yes, it has. and i think the setting that we're looking at is really quite symbolic. you have a new dawn, if you will. as the sun comes up over norfolk, virginia, a new dawn for the romney candidacy. a new dawn perhaps for the republican party in this particular election year. you also have in the background a battleship, which i think is aggressive and speaks to the nature of this choice, speaks to the nature of the tough mentality they want to project with respect to many issues. it also speaks to the name of the battleship, which is the u.s.s. wisconsin, the home state of paul ryan. that's a nice little serendipity for them. and it's also a world war ii battleship, and i think there's going to be some harking back to the spirit of world war ii, the spirit of the greatest generation to whom this ticket will try very hard to appeal. wertheimer: now don, you've covered quite a few presidential campaigns, and ron, why don't you chime in here too, vice presidents   in my experience covering campaigns, which goes back, way back, i would say that i don't remember a case where a vice president made a big difference in the success of a president. sometimes the vice presidents can hurt you. gonyea: well, that's why the first rule   very first rule is first, do no harm, right. i mean, you've picked somebody who complements and who may help and who in theory will help you be more competitive in this state or that. and theoretically paul ryan does that for you in wisconsin. wertheimer: he brings in the swing state of wisconsin. gonyea: which the romney campaign hopes to make a battleground state. you have to go back many, many, many elections before you get the one where wisconsin went red. elving: '88. gonyea: 1988 they voted for   no excuse me, they voted for dukakis in 1988, so the last one was ronald reagan in 1984 where wisconsin went republican. elving: 1984. gonyea: every one since then has been democrat. elving: but does it help there's always talk on this day about how it will help, but ultimately you're correct. it's still the guy at the top of the ticket. wertheimer: right. elving: but ryan is there to... wertheimer: we're voting for president in the united states of america. we don't vote for vice. elving: the question is how well can ryan help mitt romney make his case and define his case and define the race. wertheimer: now there was some talk at one point that perhaps mr. romney might look for somebody who had a different ethnic background from his own to sort of   to counter some of the appeal of the obama biden ticket. what do you   are there any consequences to having two white men on the ticket? gonyea: we're kind of used to that in american politics, so i mean ultimately you can't say that that is a negative. i think they really looked seriously at least at the potential for having a marco rubio, the new tea party favorite senator from florida on the ticket. but ultimately i think in case after case they just decided there might be, you know, too much risk here. it might be a little too bold of a pick. perhaps rubio is too young. so we get someone who is very young and who, you know, brings with him some risk in that ryan plan that his name is attached to. but he was on the, you know, he was on the list that had been narrowed down. and while it is maybe the riskiest of those who are on the final risk, it... wertheimer: ...is also the most memorable of all those that were on the final list it seems to me. gonyea: yes. wertheimer: he is a person of strong positions and he's very smart. when he stands up and talks people listen to him even, i think, if they don't agree with him at all. what do you think? neither of these candidates have been pushing the kind of social issues that, for example, sarah palin brought to john mccain. john mccain had voted at various times in   he had sort of shied away from abortion. he had shied away from other of the conservative social issues. she was very strong on those issues. neither of these candidates have been spending a lot of time on them. elving: no, but they're both known as personally highly conservative, mitt romney as a mormon, and paul ryan is a catholic, and a very traditional catholic. and they're going to be a strong pro life ticket. they're going to be against gay marriage. they're going to be on point for all of the conservative social issues. they may not be the big emphasis for either of these two conservatives who have been much more focused on fiscal issues. but, you know, you look back at some of the real energy that has infused some of the past republican campaigns and it has largely been on the social side. it has not been as successful when it was strictly a fiscal pitch. so i think we will hear, if not the sarah palin kind of emphasis on social issues, we will hear some measure of that and we will try to see republicans organizing around those issues. wertheimer: and look for the republicans who care about those issues very much to be comforted by the choice, for example, of a catholic vice president in paul ryan. what are we looking at? what is happening in norfolk? i can see mrs. romney and i think that is mrs. ryan standing next to her. mrs. ryan, who is   i'll confess a conflict here   i've known her since she was a bay. i went to college with her mother and she's a lovely, lovely woman. elving: janna is her name, janna ryan. she has three children. they live in janesville, wisconsin. and we have not seen much of them. paul ryan is a more private politician than many. he hasn't been parading his family around the country as many politicians have been in recent months. and we're going to be introduced to a new republican family, and they are, of course, much younger than mitt romney's children. in fact, paul ryan himself is about the same age as one of mitt romney's sons and sometimes has been described as his sixth son. wertheimer: we've been watching the   we've been watching flags being passed out around the   through the crowd on the podium and we're just   we're seeing the very first announcement i think that we are about to have an event here. bob mcdonnell, who is the governor of virginia, has taken to the podium. do we want to listen to mr. mcdonnell, to governor mcdonnell? gov. bob mcdonnell: ...having us here today. you know, this is the mother of presidents, the birthplace of democracy, where just 405 years ago a couple miles away from here the greatest country on earth were given birth at cape henry, the united states of america. (applause) mcdonnell: and what a treat to be in hampton roads, the home of more veterans than just about any place in the world. (applause) mcdonnell: the home of the greatest navy base in the world. (applause) mcdonnell: all of you that are veterans, raise your hands so we can give you a round of applause and say thank you for what you've done. (applause) mcdonnell: 'cause you understand like the people that serve... wertheimer: that is governor mcdonnell of virginia. he is   he was briefly mentioned by the great mentioner as a possible vice president candidate. and he is a very conservative republican who   and joins with the republicans in wisconsin in his efforts to reduce the size of state government, cut spending, many   i think many of the same kinds of things that mr. ryan stands for. i assume they are friends. elving: yes, and i think there was a little bit of a tremor last night when the announcement came that this was going to happen in virginia and this morning rather than next tuesday in ohio where a lot of people were a lot of people were expecting the choice to be rob portman, the senator from ohio. instead they were going to do it this morning in virginia, and for a moment that seemed to be a stage setting for this man to be the recipient of the offer. but it was not to be. gonyea: he's also someone who has run well in the independent areas with independent voters, at least in his election. mcdonnell: ...creating jobs in virginia, but boy, we've got some headwinds in washington. won't it be easier creating jobs in virginia if we've got a president mitt romney. (soundbite of cheers) mcdonnell: well, i'm delighted to be here with my wife, the first lady, and my sons, my daughters, how about that veteran jeanine mcdonnell singing the national anthem. she did ok? (soundbite of cheers) mcdonnell: well, i am so delighted to have our next president here today. you know, his opponent has been here a little bit. it seems like every time he comes here he makes a little news. he was (unintelligible) , he was here last week and he said, and i want you to help me with this. he was here last week and he said, if i don't win virginia, i won't be president again. i want you to help me keep that promise. (applause) mcdonnell: but you know, a couple of months ago he came to roanoke, virginia and he said something i still can't believe. i'm still looking at that transcript to see if it was right. he said, if you are successful in a business, you didn't build that, somebody else made that happen. (soundbite of disapproval) mcdonnell: well, ladies and gentlemen, i think that shows why we need a new president because that statement tells you everything you need to know. this is a president that does not understand the american free enterprise system and the great american dream, and we need a change. (applause) mcdonnell: now let's suppose that you were interviewing for a job or you were interviewing to get rehired or your contract extended, that's what the president is asking us to do, and you go in and you've got resume and you're trying to tell the boss the american people, or the 8.2 million people of virginia that you want to get rehired. well, let's look at this resume of the president. well, he says, how about jobs? you know, we've had an 8 percent unemployment rate now for 42 months and we've got the lowest number of entrepreneurs starting new businesses for 30 years. not so good, mr. president. when it comes to energy, his record of making it harder for our great coal industry to stab new permits, make it harder for our people in the great new natural gas industry to engage in fracking, making it harder to dispose of nuclear materials so we can't build new nuclear power plants. refusing to allow virginians to use their god given natural resources off the coast of virginia to drill for oil and natural gas. (soundbite of disapproval) mcdonnell: when it comes to the debt, let's look at that record. wertheimer: we're listening to governor bob mcdonnell of virginia who is taking this opportunity to make a political speech. and pretty soon we'll hear from mitt romney who's the republican presidential candidate, or he will be at the end of the republican convention, who is going to announce his choice for vice president, and that will be congressman paul ryan of wisconsin. we're watching this great event which is taking place at norfolk, virginia. we'll rejoin and listen to governor mcdonnell. gov. robert mcdonnell: ...this election. and this election is about really one thing and that is which candidate's got the vision and the ideas to get the greatest country on earth out of debt and back to work. you know, one the hand, we've got this obama vision of more entitlements and more guarantees and more taxes and more government as the way to prosperity. and mr. president, with all due respect, that failed america now for the last three and a half years. but then we've got the gop the great opportunity party and its vision and its candidates. we've got that incredible reagan, romney enthusiastic visions that recognizes the american dream and if you work hard and if you dream big and you pursue opportunity and use your god given talents, you can still be anything you want to be in this great land of freedom, america. a hundred years ago, poor farm boy from mayo county, ireland left on a ship and landed in boston, massachusetts. that was my grandfather. he worked as a laborer in a glue factory and as a tanner. he never thought that a hundred years later, that his grandson would end up with the same job of patrick henry and thomas jefferson, being governor of virginia. but that's the united states of america, the land of dreams and opportunity. so being an average middle class kid from fairfax county, i'm incredibly thrilled to be governor of virginia and that's the heart and soul of this campaign for mitt romney is doing things and putting policies in place that support and expand and offer hope and opportunity for our middle class families in america. governor romney's put forth a visionary five point plan to be able to get people back to work, promoting entrepreneurship and small business because you did build it and if you do, you'll provide jobs and opportunity for other people. to get our country out of debt by balancing a budget... wertheimer: if you're just joining us, we have been listening to the run up to the event where republican nominee mitt romney will announce his choice to be his running mate. it's paul ryan of wisconsin. and we'll presumably hear from both of those gentlemen in a little while, but first, we're listening to the governor of virginia, bob mcdonnell. mcdonnell: ...comprehensive plan to use all of our red, white and blue god given natural resources to promote american energy independence. that's going to help the middle class create jobs and opportunity for a long time. so ladies and gentlemen, you know the issues and you know the ideas of mitt romney. but i want to say above all of those policies, what really matters is heart and character and vision and passion. the scriptures say, for lack of vision, the people perish. but just the opposite is true. with vision, the people prosper. one of the loneliest places anywhere you can find is the inside of that oval office. when the cabinet members leave and the advisors are gone, the president of the united states has got to have faith and know what they believe and make the right decisions for the people of the united states. that's what you get with mitt romney. he's a man of faith, a man of principle, a man who's been successful as governor, successful on the private sector, successful running the olympics. he's a great family man, five kids, 18 grandkids. he's been incredibly generous to people all over the country and all over the world. he's got an amazing passion and vision for the country. he's got a deep and abiding love for america, what it stands for and the great american dream. so ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the next president of the united states, governor mitt romney. wertheimer: and here comes the presumptive republican candidate, governor mitt romney who is stepping up to the podium where he will stand in front of the battleship wisconsin. he's on the ship. it looks as though he's going to come down the gangway and speak to the crowd that's gathered and introduce them to the new vice presidential choice, paul ryan of wisconsin. i must say, i thought mr. romney was going stay at the top of the stairs and sort of bless the crowd as candidates usually do. but he's a man on a mission. he's in a hurry. he's going right straight to the platform. mitt romney: thank you. wow. what a welcome. thank you so much, virginia. hey, guys. thank you so much. what a great governor you have. what a terrific man and a terrific leader. way to go. (soundbite of crowd chanting mitt) romney: thank you so very much. it's great to be back in virginia and here in norfolk. your city's beauty is matched only by its proud heritage as a defender of freedom. thank you, virginia, thank you, norfolk. today, we take another step forward in helping restore the promise of america as we move forward in this campaign and on to help lead the nation to better days. it's an honor to announce my running mate and the next vice president of the united states, paul ryan. (applause) romney: his leadership begins with character and values. paul is a man of tremendous character shaped, in large part, by his early life. paul's father died when he was in high school. that forced him to grow earlier than any young man should. but paul did with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sister and a supportive community. and as he did, he internalized the virtues and hard working ethic of the midwest. paul ryan works in washington, but his beliefs remain firmly rooted in janesville, wisconsin. he's a person of great steadiness whose integrity is unquestioned and his word is good. paul's upbringing is obvious in how he's conducted himself throughout his life, including his leadership in washington. in a city that's far too often characterized by pettiness and personal attacks, paul ryan is a shining exception. he doesn't demonize his opponents. he understands that honorable people can have honest differences and he appeals to the better angels of our nature. there are a lot of people in the other party who might disagree with paul ryan. i don't know of anyone who doesn't respect his character and judgment. wertheimer: you're listening to governor mitt romney, who's just about to   was explaining to us why he has chosen congressman paul ryan of wisconsin to be his running mate. romney: ...which would advance the ideals of freedom and justice and to increase opportunity and prosperity to people of every class and faith, every age and ethnic background. a faithful catholic, paul believes in the worth and dignity of every human life. (applause) romney: with energy and vision, paul ryan has become in intellectual leader of the republican party. he understands the fiscal challenges facing america, our exploding deficits and crushing debt and the fiscal catastrophe that awaits us if we don't change course. he combines a profound sense of responsibility for what we owe the next generation with an unbounded optimism in america's future and understanding of all the wonderful things the american people can do. paul also combines firm principles with a practical concern for getting things done. he's never been content to simply curse the darkness. he'd rather light candles. and throughout his legislative career, he's shown the ability to work with members of both parties to find common ground on some of the hardest issues confronting the american people. so paul and i are beginning on a journey that will take us to every corner of america. we're offering a positive governing agenda that will lead to economic growth, to widespread and shared prosperity; and that will improve the lives of our fellow citizens. (applause) wertheimer: you're listening to gov. mitt romney, who is about to introduce congressman paul ryan, romney's choice to be his vice presidential running mate. romney: ...get our country back on track. we offer solutions that are bold, specific and achievable. we offer our commitment to help create 12 million new jobs, and to bring better take home pay to middle class families. (cheers, applause) romney: romney: to strengthen the middle class, we'll provide our workers, and our children, with the skills to succeed. we'll cut the deficit; have trade that works for america, and champions small business. and finally, we'll unleash our energy resource to   resources to achieve north american energy independence. (cheers, applause) romney: we will help care for those who can't care for themselves, and we will return work to welfare. (cheers, applause) romney: as poverty has risen to historic and tragic levels   with nearly one out of six americans now having fallen into poverty   we will act to bring these families into the middle class. unlike the current president, who's cut medicare funding by $700 billion... (boos) romney:...we will preserve and protect medicare and social security, and keep them there for future generations. (cheers, applause) romney: and under the current president, health care's only become more expensive. we're going to reform health care so that more americans have access to affordable health care. and we'll get that started by repealing and replacing obamacare. (cheers, applause) romney: at a time when the president's campaign is taking american politics to new lows... unidentified man: obama looting! unidentified woman: yeah! (laughter) romney: ...we're going to do something very differently. we're going to talk about aspirations and american ideals, of bring   about bringing people together to serve, to solve the urgent problems facing our nation. and when that message wins in america, it will be a victory for every american. today is a good day for america, and there are better days ahead. join me... (applause) romney: join me in welcoming the next president of the united states, paul ryan. (cheers, applause, music) wertheimer: congressman paul ryan of wisconsin is now coming down from the deck of the wisconsin to the platform where he's just been introduced by governor mitt romney. ryan is 42 years old. he's been a congressman from his hometown of janesville, wisconsin for a number of terms. very experienced, the chairmen of the senate   of the house budget committee and he has his own budget which lays out some very conservative views about what ought to happen next in the united states. mr. ryan and mr. romney have moved to the front of the platform to wave to the crowd. there's quite a large crowd here. and of course, as you might imagine, there are a lot of those little american flags that people like to wave at ceremonies of this kind. so we have the two men who will be leading the republican ticket together at last. now we know who the vice presidential candidate will be. and it looks as though we're going to get to hear from congressman paul ryan. ryan: wow. hey. and right in front of the uss wisconsin, huh? man. romney: every now and then, i'm known to make a mistake. i did not make a mistake with this guy, but i can tell you this, he's going to be the next vice president of the united states. (applause) ryan: governor romney, ann, thank you. (applause) ryan: i am deeply honored and excited to join you as your running mate. (applause) ryan: i want to tell you about mitt romney. mitt romney is a leader with the skills, the background and the character that our country needs at this crucial time in its history. (applause) ryan: following four years of failed leadership, the hopes of our country   which have inspired the world   our growing dim. they need someone to revive them. governor romney is the man for this moment. (applause) ryan: and he and i share one commitment. we will restore the greatness of this country. (applause) ryan: i want you to meet my family. this is my wife janna... (applause) ryan: ...my daughter liza and our sons charlie and sam. (applause) ryan: i'm surrounded by the people i love. i love you, too. (laughter) ryan: and i've been asked by governor romney to serve the country that i love. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: janesville, wisconsin is where i was born and raised and i never really left it. it's our home now. for the last 14 years, i have proudly represented wisconsin in congress. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: there i have focused on solving the problems that confront our country and turning ideas into action and action into solutions. i am committed, in heart and mind, to putting that experience to work in a romney administration. (applause) ryan: this is a crucial moment in the life of our nation; and it is absolutely vital that we select the right man to lead america back to prosperity and greatness. (applause) ryan: that man is standing right next to me. his name is mitt romney. and he will be the next president of the united states of america. (applause) ryan: my dad died when i was young. he was a good and decent man. there are a few things he would say that have just always stuck with me. he'd say, son, you're either part of the problem or part of the solution. well, regrettably, president obama has become part of the problem and mitt romney is the solution. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: the other thing my dad would always say is that every generation of americans leaves their children better off. that's the american legacy. sadly, for the first time in our history, we are on a path which will undo that legacy. that is why we need new leadership to become part of the solution   new leadership to restore prosperity, economic growth, and jobs. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: it is our duty to save the american dream for our children, and theirs. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: i believe there is no person in america who is better prepared   because of his experience, because of the principles he holds and because of his achievements and excellence in so many different arenas   to lead america at this point in our history. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: let me say a word about the man mitt romney is about to replace. (soundbite of cheering and boos) ryan: no one disputes that president obama inherited a difficult situation. and, in his first two years, with his party in complete control of washington, he passed nearly every item on his agenda. but that didn't make things better. in fact, we find ourselves in a nation facing debt, doubt, and despair. this is the worst economic recovery in 70 years. unemployment has been above 8 percent for more than three years, the longest run since the great depression. families are hurting. we have the largest deficits and the biggest federal government since world war ii. nearly one out of six americans are in poverty   the worst rate in a generation. moms and dads are struggling to make ends meet. household incomes have dropped by more than $4,000 over the past four years. (soundbite of boos) ryan: whatever the explanations, whatever the excuses, this is a record of failure. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: president obama, and too many like him in washington, have refused to make difficult decisions, because they're more worried about their next election than they are about the next generation. (applause) ryan: we might've been able to get away with that before, but not now. we're in a different and dangerous moment. we're running out of time and we can't afford four more years of this. unidentified group: no. ryan: politicians from both parties have made empty promises which will soon become broken promises   with painful consequences   if we fail to act now. (applause) ryan: i represent a part of america that includes inner cities, rural areas, suburbs, and factory towns. over the years i have seen and heard from a lot from families, from a lot of those who are running small businesses and from people who are in need. but what i've heard lately that's what troubles me the most. there's something different in their voice, in their words. what i hear from them are diminished dreams, lowered expectations, uncertain futures. i hear some people say that this is just the new normal. unidentified group: no. ryan: high unemployment, declining incomes and crushing debt is not a new normal. (applause) ryan: it is the result of misguided policies. and next january, our economy will begin a comeback with the romney plan for a stronger middle class that will lead to more jobs and more take home pay for working americans. (applause) ryan: america is on the wrong track, but mitt romney and i will take the right steps, in the right time, to get us back on the right track. (applause) ryan: i believe that my record of getting things done in congress will be a very helpful complement to governor romney's executive and private sector success outside of washington. (applause) ryan: i've worked closely with republicans as well as democrats to advance an agenda of economic growth, fiscal discipline, and job creation. i'm proud to stand with a man who understands what it takes to foster job creation in our economy, someone who knows from experience, that if you have a small business you did build that. (applause) ryan: at bain capital, he launched new businesses and he turned around failing ones   companies like staples, bright horizons, sports authority, just to name a few. mitt romney created jobs and he showed he knows how a free economy works. at the olympics, he took a failing enterprise and made it the pride of our entire nation. (applause) ryan: as governor of massachusetts, he worked with democrats and republicans to balance budgets without increasing taxes, lower unemployment, increase income and improve people's lives. (applause) ryan: in all of these things, mitt romney has shown himself to be a man of achievement, excellence and integrity. (applause) ryan: janna and i tell liza, charlie, and sam that america is a place where, if you work hard and play by the rules, you can get ahead. (applause) ryan: we look at one another's success with pride, not resentment, because we know... (applause) ryan: ...we know that as more americans work hard, take risks, succeed, more people will prosper, our communities will benefit, and individual lives will be uplifted and improved. (applause) ryan: america is more than just a place, though. america is an idea. unidentified woman: yeah. unidentified man: yeah. unidentified group: yeah. ryan: it's the only country founded on an idea. our rights come from nature and god, not from government. (applause) ryan: that's right. that's who we are. that's how we built this country. that's who we are. unidentified group: (chanting) u.s.a., u.s.a., u.s.a., u.s.a. ryan: that's what made us great. that's our founding. we promise equal opportunity, not equal outcomes. unidentified group: yeah. (applause) ryan: and this idea was founded on the principles of liberty, freedom, free enterprise, self determination and government by consent of the governed. (applause) ryan: this idea, this idea is under assault. so we have a critical decision to make as a nation. we are on an unsustainable path that is robbing america of our freedom and security. it doesn't have to be this way. the commitment mitt romney and i make to you is this: we won't duck the tough issues, we will lead! (applause) ryan: we won't blame others. we will take responsibility. (applause) ryan: and we won't replace our founding principles, we will reapply them. that's what we will do. (applause) ryan: we will honor you, our fellow citizens, by giving you the right and opportunity to make the choice. (applause) ryan: what kind of country do we want to have? what kind of people do we want to be? we can turn this thing around. (soundbite of cheering) ryan: we can. we can turn this thing around. real solutions can be delivered. but it will take leadership and the courage to tell you the truth. (applause) ryan: mitt romney is this kind of leader. i'm ecstatic for what lies ahead. i'm thrilled to be a part of america's comeback team and together we will unite america and get this done. thank you. thank you very much. (soundbite of cheers) ryan: thanks. thank you. wertheimer: that is the presumed republican nominee for vice president, congressman paul ryan of wisconsin, promising leadership and a campaign against debt, doubt, and despair. mr. ryan and his running mate, mr. romney, appeared at an even in norfolk, virginia as they launch a bus tour through the swing states. they spoke standing in front of the decommissioned world war ii battleship the u.s.s. wisconsin, no coincidence there. for more on the pick and what it means we're going to listen to some voices from around the country as well as our washington editor ron elving, npr's national and political correspondent don gonyea. ron, this was a sendoff event. how does it set the stage? elving: we did not hear paul ryan talk about the paul ryan budget. we did not hear him talk too much specifically about fiscal policy, tax cuts, medicare, any of those things. this was, however, very much the house budget committee chairman paul ryan talking about the principles on which he basis his politics: liberty, freedom, free enterprise, many reiterations of those words and that concept. wertheimer: don, the romney ticket has struggled in the last few months with some bad news, particularly in the last week or so, with some very discouraging poll numbers. do you think that choosing ryan hits the reset button? gonyea: it certainly allows them to start a different conversation. and a conversation about what they plan on doing. i mean, paul ryan has always said that it's not enough to criticize; one also has to propose alternatives. his ryan plan is out there. as ron said, he did not mention it here. governor romney did not mention it here. it will be the basis for much discussion going forward, and i'll tell you, the obama campaign has already sent out the press releases highlighting the ryan plan and basically saying, well, i'll read you just the first line of it. mitt romney has chosen a leader of the house republicans who shares his commitment to the flawed theory that new budget busting tax cuts for the wealthy while placing greater burdens on the middle class and seniors will somehow deliver a stronger economy. so there is the argument, going forward at least. wertheimer: there is the argument and there are the themes. thank you very much. npr's national and political correspondent don gonyea, npr's washington editor ron elving. if you're just joining us, we're following the big story in politics this hour. mitt romney has chosen his running mate and it is paul ryan, congressman from wisconsin. now, let's get some reaction from people in other parts of the country. bob vander plaats is the president and ceo of the iowa based organization called the family leader which focuses on conservative social issues. he joins us by phone now from des moines, iowa, where the family leadership summit is currently taking place. mr. vander plaats, welcome. bob vander plaats: well, thrilled to be with you. wertheimer: so your concern revolves around bringing conservatives to social issues. are you happy with this choice? do you think this is going to work for the people that you are attempting to serve? plaats: well, first of all, we're concerned about all conservatives but i do believe congressman ryan is a solid choice for governor romney to put as his vp pick. i think, as you heard congressman ryan say, that our freedoms and our rights come from god, not from government. we base our law on the law of nature and the law of nature's god. as your earlier guest said, you know, he's laying out the principles for which he bases his policy decisions and we really believe that we need a candidate that's going to be bold. congressman ryan has shown a willingness to be bold. because this country faces some real issues that we need to come to grips with and i think what romney's sending a message here is that they're willing to address those tough issues. wertheimer: now you originally endorsed former senator rick santorum from pennsylvania. has the choice that mr. romney has made, does he sort of shore up your confidence that mr. romney is the right kind of candidate for you? plaats: i think he has. as a matter of fact, we've often said that governor romney is going to show us what kind of leader he's going to be by who he surrounds himself with. and so i always said it'd be great if he appointed somebody like mike huckabee or rick santorum   someone who's capable to be president. i think paul ryan fits that bill, someone who's rock solid on their values. i believe paul ryan fits that bill. and someone who's got a bold and courageous spirit to address the issues of the day with some real solutions, and i think paul ryan demonstrates that as well. so i think it's a solid pick. i'm a little bit surprised. i didn't think ryan was in the running anymore but i think it's a solid pick. wertheimer: thank you very much, mr. vander plaats. plaats: i appreciate being on your show. wertheimer: bob vander plaats is the president and ceo of the iowa based organization which is called the family leader, focusing on conservative and social issues. and his group is holding a meeting on this big, and i suppose very entertaining, day for the   good exciting time for politicians to be meeting. we're joined also now by democratic congressman chris van hollen. he is from our area here in washington. he represents maryland's eighth district. but he is also the ranking member of the house budget committee. paul ryan is the chairman of that committee. mr. van hollen, welcome. rep. chris van hollen: morning. it's great to be with you. wertheimer: now, i wonder if you could tell me what you think of this choice. you've worked closely with paul ryan. hollen: well, i like paul personally and i've enjoyed our very sharp but always civil debates in the budget committee, and those debates are about the important choices that we face and in making this choice, mitt romney has sent a very clear signal that he supports an economic agenda that helps people like mitt romney and the rest of the country and at the expense of the rest of the country. because what the republican budget does, and it was designed by congressman ryan, is it provides another round of big tax breaks for folks at the very, very top at the expense of everybody else. at the expense of seniors on medicare, at the expense of very important investments in our kids' education and in our economic future, and at the expense of middle income taxpayers. so this clearly sharpens the debate in a way that i think will reveal very clearly that mitt romney wants an america that helps people like him but at the expense of everybody else. wertheimer: so did you hear anything in the speeches this morning that sort of set off some bells for you about things that you would imagine you and other democrats will be talking about? hollen: well, sure, because what we have is really just a recycled version of the failed trickle down economic policies we saw during the bush administration. again, the underlying idea here is that somehow providing another round of windfall tax breaks to very wealthy people will trickle down and lift everybody else up. we know the end of that movie. it didn't work. we tried it. at the end of the eight years of the bush administration millions of americans had lost their jobs. the economy tanked and i don't think anybody really wants to go back to that failed agenda. you can dress it up, you can soup it up, you can call it something else, but that strategy failed as opposed to a strategy of trying to invest in the middle class and have an economy built from the middle out, not this failed idea of the top down economy. wertheimer: now, i wonder. the obama campaign must've been breathing a bit easier in the last few days because there was a pop in the polls in the president. and even some very conservative polls like fox news polls, for example, were suggesting that the president was in better shape than had been previously thought. do you think this pops mr. romney back up and puts him back up into a completely equal contention? hollen: no, i don't. and i'm sure that the president, the obama campaign, are taking nothing for granted despite the obvious good news in the polls. politically, the choice of paul ryan is throwing a bone to the right wing idealities in the republican party. it's essentially telling independent voters to take a hike. so what this choice tells us is that mitt romney is working very hard to shore up excitement among the most right wing parts of the republican party. wertheimer: mr. van hollen? hollen: yeah? wertheimer: thank you very much for this. we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. hollen: thank you. thank you for having me. wertheimer: chris van hollen represents maryland's eighth district. he's a democrat, a member of the democratic leadership. the top political news today   mitt romney, the likely republican nominee, has announced his choice for vice president. (soundbite of speech) wertheimer: paul ryan is a congressman from wisconsin, the chairman of the house budget committee. mr. romney made the announcement standing in front of a decommissioned battleship, the u.s.s. wisconsin. in his first public appearance as a candidate for vice president, ryan said president obama had a record of failure on the economy and he said a romney administration would return america to its founding principles. (soundbite of speech) wertheimer: ryan is known controversially to some for his comprehensive conservative budget plan. he said the campaign would not, quote, "duck the tough issues." (soundbite of speech) wertheimer: that was paul ryan, speaking earlier this hour. he is a congressman from wisconsin, from janesville, wisconsin, chairman of the house budget committee, and now the republican candidate for vice president of the united states. romney and ryan will be campaigning throughout the swing states over the next few days. we'll continue to follow this story today on air and online at npr.org. this is weekend edition, from npr news. i'm linda wertheimer. copyright © 2012 npr. all rights reserved. visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. npr transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an npr contractor. this text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. accuracy and availability may vary. the authoritative record of npr’s programming is the audio record. sponsor message become an npr sponsor

barack hussein obama ii[a] (born august 4, 1961) is an american politician and lawyer who served as the 44th president of the united states from 2009 to 2017. a member of the democratic party, he was the first african american president in u.s. history. obama previously served as a u.s. senator representing illinois from 2005 to 2008 and as an illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004. obama was born in honolulu, hawaii. he graduated from columbia university in 1983 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science and later worked as a community organizer in chicago. in 1988, obama enrolled in harvard law school, where he was the first black president of the harvard law review. he became a civil rights attorney and an academic, teaching constitutional law at the university of chicago law school from 1992 to 2004. in 1996, obama was elected to represent the 13th district in the illinois senate, a position he held until 2004, when he successfully ran for the u.s. senate. in the 2008 presidential election, after a close primary campaign against hillary clinton, he was nominated by the democratic party for president. obama selected joe biden as his running mate and defeated republican nominee john mccain. obama was awarded the 2009 nobel peace prize for efforts in international diplomacy, a decision which drew both criticism and praise. during his first term, his administration responded to the 2007 2008 financial crisis with measures including the american recovery and reinvestment act of 2009, a major stimulus package to guide the economy in recovering from the great recession; a partial extension of the bush tax cuts; legislation to reform health care; and the dodd frank wall street reform and consumer protection act, a major financial regulation reform bill. obama also appointed supreme court justices sonia sotomayor and elena kagan, the former being the first hispanic american on the supreme court. he oversaw the end of the iraq war; and ordered operation neptune spear, the raid that killed osama bin laden, who was responsible for the september 11 attacks. obama downplayed bush's counterinsurgency model, expanding air strikes and making extensive use of special forces, while encouraging greater reliance on host government militaries. he also ordered the 2011 military intervention in libya to implement united nations security council resolution 1973, contributing to the overthrow of muammar gaddafi. obama defeated republican opponent mitt romney in the 2012 presidential election. in his second term, obama advocated for gun control in the wake of the sandy hook elementary school shooting, took steps to combat climate change, signing the paris agreement, a major international climate agreement, and an executive order to limit carbon emissions. obama also presided over the implementation of the affordable care act and other legislation passed in his first term. he initiated sanctions against russia following the invasion in ukraine and again after russian interference in the 2016 u.s. elections, ordered military intervention in iraq in response to gains made by isil following the 2011 withdrawal from iraq, negotiated the joint comprehensive plan of action (a nuclear agreement with iran), and normalized relations with cuba. the number of american soldiers in afghanistan decreased during obama's second term, though u.s. soldiers remained in the country throughout the remainder of his presidency. obama promoted inclusion for lgbt americans, becoming the first sitting u.s. president to publicly support same sex marriage. obama left office in 2017 with high approval ratings both within the united states and among foreign advisories. he continues to reside in washington d.c. and remains politically active, campaigning for candidates in various american elections, including in biden's successful presidential bid in the 2020 presidential election. outside of politics, obama has published three books: dreams from my father (1995), the audacity of hope (2006), and a promised land (2020). his presidential library began construction in the south side of chicago in 2021. historians and political scientists rank obama among the upper tier in historical rankings of u.s. presidents. barack obama was born on august 4, 1961,[2] at kapiolani medical center for women and children in honolulu, hawaii.[3][4][5][6] he is the only president born outside the contiguous 48 states.[7] he was born to an 18 year old american mother and a 27 year old kenyan father. his mother, ann dunham (1942 1995), was born in wichita, kansas, and was of english, welsh, german, swiss, and irish descent. in 2007 it was discovered her great great grandfather falmouth kearney emigrated from the village of moneygall, ireland to the u.s. in 1850.[8] in july 2012, ancestry.com found a strong likelihood that dunham was descended from john punch, an enslaved african man who lived in the colony of virginia during the seventeenth century.[9][10][11] obama's father, barack obama sr. (1934 1982),[12][13] was a married[14][15][16] luo kenyan from nyang'oma kogelo.[14][17] his last name, obama, was derived from his luo descent.[18] obama's parents met in 1960 in a russian language class at the university of hawaiʻi at mānoa, where his father was a foreign student on a scholarship.[19][20] the couple married in wailuku, hawaii, on february 2, 1961, six months before obama was born.[21][22] in late august 1961, a few weeks after he was born, barack and his mother moved to the university of washington in seattle, where they lived for a year. during that time, barack's father completed his undergraduate degree in economics in hawaii, graduating in june 1962. he left to attend graduate school on a scholarship at harvard university, where he earned a master of arts in economics. obama's parents divorced in march 1964.[23] obama sr. returned to kenya in 1964, where he married for a third time and worked for the kenyan government as the senior economic analyst in the ministry of finance.[24] he visited his son in hawaii only once, at christmas 1971,[25] before he was killed in an automobile accident in 1982, when obama was 21 years old.[26] recalling his early childhood, obama said: "that my father looked nothing like the people around me that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk barely registered in my mind."[20] he described his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage.[27] in 1963, dunham met lolo soetoro at the university of hawaii; he was an indonesian east west center graduate student in geography. the couple married on molokai on march 15, 1965.[28] after two one year extensions of his j 1 visa, lolo returned to indonesia in 1966. his wife and stepson followed sixteen months later in 1967. the family initially lived in the menteng dalam neighborhood in the tebet district of south jakarta. from 1970, they lived in a wealthier neighborhood in the menteng district of central jakarta.[29] at the age of six, obama and his mother had moved to indonesia to join his stepfather. from age six to ten, he was registered in school as "barry"[30] and attended local indonesian language schools: sekolah dasar katolik santo fransiskus asisi (st. francis of assisi catholic elementary school) for two years and sekolah dasar negeri menteng 01 (state elementary school menteng 01) for one and a half years, supplemented by english language calvert school homeschooling by his mother.[31][32] as a result of his four years in jakarta, he was able to speak indonesian fluently as a child.[33] during his time in indonesia, obama's stepfather taught him to be resilient and gave him "a pretty hardheaded assessment of how the world works".[34] in 1971, obama returned to honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, madelyn and stanley dunham. he attended punahou school a private college preparatory school with the aid of a scholarship from fifth grade until he graduated from high school in 1979.[35] in high school, obama continued to use the nickname "barry" which he kept until making a visit to kenya in 1980.[36] obama lived with his mother and half sister, maya soetoro, in hawaii for three years from 1972 to 1975 while his mother was a graduate student in anthropology at the university of hawaii.[37] obama chose to stay in hawaii when his mother and half sister returned to indonesia in 1975, so his mother could begin anthropology field work.[38] his mother spent most of the next two decades in indonesia, divorcing lolo soetoro in 1980 and earning a phd degree in 1992, before dying in 1995 in hawaii following unsuccessful treatment for ovarian and uterine cancer.[39] of his years in honolulu, obama wrote: "the opportunity that hawaii offered   to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect   became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that i hold most dear."[40] obama has also written and talked about using alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years to "push questions of who i was out of my mind".[41] obama was also a member of the "choom gang" (the slang term for smoking marijuana), a self named group of friends who spent time together and smoked marijuana.[42][43] college and research jobs after graduating from high school in 1979, obama moved to los angeles to attend occidental college on a full scholarship. in february 1981, obama made his first public speech, calling for occidental to participate in the disinvestment from south africa in response to that nation's policy of apartheid.[44] in mid 1981, obama traveled to indonesia to visit his mother and half sister maya and visited the families of college friends in pakistan for three weeks.[44] later in 1981, he transferred to columbia university in new york city as a junior, where he majored in political science with a specialty in international relations[45] and in english literature[46] and lived off campus on west 109th street.[47] he graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1983 and a 3.7 gpa. after graduating, obama worked for about a year at the business international corporation, where he was a financial researcher and writer,[48][49] then as a project coordinator for the new york public interest research group on the city college of new york campus for three months in 1985.[50][51][52] community organizer and harvard law school two years after graduating from columbia, obama moved from new york to chicago when he was hired as director of the developing communities project, a faith based community organization originally comprising eight catholic parishes in roseland, west pullman, and riverdale on chicago's south side. he worked there as a community organizer from june 1985 to may 1988.[51][53] he helped set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in altgeld gardens.[54] obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the gamaliel foundation, a community organizing institute.[55] in mid 1988, he traveled for the first time in europe for three weeks and then for five weeks in kenya, where he met many of his paternal relatives for the first time.[56][57] despite being offered a full scholarship to northwestern university school of law, obama enrolled at harvard law school in the fall of 1988, living in nearby somerville, massachusetts.[59] he was selected as an editor of the harvard law review at the end of his first year,[60] president of the journal in his second year,[54][61] and research assistant to the constitutional scholar laurence tribe while at harvard.[62] during his summers, he returned to chicago, where he worked as a summer associate at the law firms of sidley austin in 1989 and hopkins & sutter in 1990.[63] obama's election as the first black president of the harvard law review gained national media attention[54][61] and led to a publishing contract and advance for a book about race relations,[64] which evolved into a personal memoir. the manuscript was published in mid 1995 as dreams from my father.[64] obama graduated from harvard law in 1991 with a juris doctor magna cum laude.[65][60] university of chicago law school in 1991, obama accepted a two year position as visiting law and government fellow at the university of chicago law school to work on his first book.[64][66] he then taught constitutional law at the university of chicago law school for twelve years, first as a lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and then as a senior lecturer from 1996 to 2004.[67] from april to october 1992, obama directed illinois's project vote, a voter registration campaign with ten staffers and seven hundred volunteer registrars; it achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered african americans in the state, leading crain's chicago business to name obama to its 1993 list of "40 under forty" powers to be.[68] in a 2006 interview, obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family: "it's like a little mini united nations," he said. "i've got relatives who look like bernie mac, and i've got relatives who look like margaret thatcher."[69] obama has a half sister with whom he was raised (maya soetoro ng) and seven other half siblings from his kenyan father's family, six of them living.[70] obama's mother was survived by her kansas born mother, madelyn dunham,[71] until her death on november 2, 2008,[72] two days before his election to the presidency. obama also has roots in ireland; he met with his irish cousins in moneygall in may 2011.[73] in dreams from my father, obama ties his mother's family history to possible native american ancestors and distant relatives of jefferson davis, president of the confederate states of america during the american civil war. he also shares distant ancestors in common with george w. bush and dick cheney, among others.[74][75][76] obama lived with anthropologist sheila miyoshi jager while he was a community organizer in chicago in the 1980s.[77] he proposed to her twice, but both jager and her parents turned him down.[77][78] the relationship was not made public until may 2017, several months after his presidency had ended.[78] in june 1989, obama met michelle robinson when he was employed at sidley austin.[79] robinson was assigned for three months as obama's adviser at the firm, and she joined him at several group social functions but declined his initial requests to date.[80] they began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married on october 3, 1992.[81] after suffering a miscarriage, michelle underwent in vitro fertilization to conceive their children.[82] the couple's first daughter, malia ann, was born in 1998,[83] followed by a second daughter, natasha ("sasha"), in 2001.[84] the obama daughters attended the university of chicago laboratory schools. when they moved to washington, d.c., in january 2009, the girls started at the sidwell friends school.[85] the obamas had two portuguese water dogs; the first, a male named bo, was a gift from senator ted kennedy.[86] in 2013, bo was joined by sunny, a female.[87] bo died of cancer on may 8, 2021.[88] obama is a supporter of the chicago white sox, and he threw out the first pitch at the 2005 alcs when he was still a senator.[89] in 2009, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the all star game while wearing a white sox jacket.[90] he is also primarily a chicago bears football fan in the nfl, but in his childhood and adolescence was a fan of the pittsburgh steelers and rooted for them ahead of their victory in super bowl xliii 12 days after he took office as president.[91] in 2011, obama invited the 1985 chicago bears to the white house; the team had not visited the white house after their super bowl win in 1986 due to the space shuttle challenger disaster.[92] he plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team,[93] and he is left handed.[94] in 2005, the obama family applied the proceeds of a book deal and moved from a hyde park, chicago condominium to a $1.6 million house (equivalent to $2.5 million in 2023) in neighboring kenwood, chicago.[95] the purchase of an adjacent lot and sale of part of it to obama by the wife of developer, campaign donor and friend tony rezko attracted media attention because of rezko's subsequent indictment and conviction on political corruption charges that were unrelated to obama.[96] in december 2007, money magazine estimated obama's net worth at $1.3 million (equivalent to $1.9 million in 2023).[97] their 2009 tax return showed a household income of $5.5 million up from about $4.2 million in 2007 and $1.6 million in 2005 mostly from sales of his books.[98][99] on his 2010 income of $1.7 million, he gave 14 percent to non profit organizations, including $131,000 to fisher house foundation, a charity assisting wounded veterans' families, allowing them to reside near where the veteran is receiving medical treatments.[100][101] per his 2012 financial disclosure, obama may be worth as much as $10 million.[102] obama is a protestant christian whose religious views developed in his adult life.[103] he wrote in the audacity of hope that he "was not raised in a religious household." he described his mother, raised by non religious parents, as being detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person ... i have ever known", and "a lonely witness for secular humanism." he described his father as a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful." obama explained how, through working with black churches as a community organizer while in his twenties, he came to understand "the power of the african american religious tradition to spur social change."[104] in january 2008, obama told christianity today: "i am a christian, and i am a devout christian. i believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of jesus christ. i believe that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life."[105] on september 27, 2010, obama released a statement commenting on his religious views, saying: i'm a christian by choice. my family didn't frankly, they weren't folks who went to church every week. and my mother was one of the most spiritual people i knew, but she didn't raise me in the church. so i came to my christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of jesus christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that i would want to lead being my brothers' and sisters' keeper, treating others as they would treat me.[106][107] obama met trinity united church of christ pastor jeremiah wright in october 1987 and became a member of trinity in 1992.[108] during obama's first presidential campaign in may 2008, he resigned from trinity after some of wright's statements were criticized.[109] since moving to washington, d.c., in 2009, the obama family has attended several protestant churches, including shiloh baptist church and st. john's episcopal church, as well as evergreen chapel at camp david, but the members of the family do not attend church on a regular basis.[110][111][112] in 2016, obama said that he gets inspiration from a few items that remind him "of all the different people i've met along the way", adding: "i carry these around all the time. i'm not that superstitious, so it's not like i think i necessarily have to have them on me at all times." the items, "a whole bowl full", include rosary beads given to him by pope francis, a figurine of the hindu deity hanuman, a coptic cross from ethiopia, a small buddha statue given by a monk, and a metal poker chip that used to be the lucky charm of a motorcyclist in iowa.[113][114] from 1994 to 2002, obama served on the boards of directors of the woods fund of chicago which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund the developing communities project and of the joyce foundation.[51] he served on the board of directors of the chicago annenberg challenge from 1995 to 2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995 to 1999.[51] obama's law license became inactive in 2007.[115][116] obama was elected to the illinois senate in 1996, succeeding democratic state senator alice palmer from illinois's 13th district, which, at that time, spanned chicago south side neighborhoods from hyde park kenwood south to south shore and west to chicago lawn.[117] once elected, obama gained bipartisan support for legislation that reformed ethics and health care laws.[118][119] he sponsored a law that increased tax credits for low income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare.[120] in 2001, as co chairman of the bipartisan joint committee on administrative rules, obama supported republican governor george ryan's payday loan regulations and predatory mortgage lending regulations aimed at averting home foreclosures.[121][122] he was reelected to the illinois senate in 1998, defeating republican yesse yehudah in the general election, and was re elected again in 2002.[123][124] in 2000, he lost a democratic primary race for illinois's 1st congressional district in the united states house of representatives to four term incumbent bobby rush by a margin of two to one.[125] in january 2003, obama became chairman of the illinois senate's health and human services committee when democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority.[126] he sponsored and led unanimous, bipartisan passage of legislation to monitor racial profiling by requiring police to record the race of drivers they detained, and legislation making illinois the first state to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations.[120][127][128][129] during his 2004 general election campaign for the u.s. senate, police representatives credited obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting death penalty reforms.[130] obama resigned from the illinois senate in november 2004 following his election to the u.s. senate.[131] in may 2002, obama commissioned a poll to assess his prospects in a 2004 u.s. senate race. he created a campaign committee, began raising funds, and lined up political media consultant david axelrod by august 2002. obama formally announced his candidacy in january 2003.[132] obama was an early opponent of the george w. bush administration's 2003 invasion of iraq.[133] on october 2, 2002, the day president bush and congress agreed on the joint resolution authorizing the iraq war,[134] obama addressed the first high profile chicago anti iraq war rally,[135] and spoke out against the war.[136] he addressed another anti war rally in march 2003 and told the crowd "it's not too late" to stop the war.[137] decisions by republican incumbent peter fitzgerald and his democratic predecessor carol moseley braun not to participate in the election resulted in wide open democratic and republican primary contests involving 15 candidates.[138] in the march 2004 primary election, obama won in an unexpected landslide which overnight made him a rising star within the national democratic party, started speculation about a presidential future, and led to the reissue of his memoir, dreams from my father.[139] in july 2004, obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 democratic national convention,[140] seen by nine million viewers. his speech was well received and elevated his status within the democratic party.[141] obama's expected opponent in the general election, republican primary winner jack ryan, withdrew from the race in june 2004.[142] six weeks later, alan keyes accepted the republican nomination to replace ryan.[143] in the november 2004 general election, obama won with 70 percent of the vote, the largest margin of victory for a senate candidate in illinois history.[144] he took 92 of the state's 102 counties, including several where democrats traditionally do not do well.[citation needed] obama was sworn in as a senator on january 3, 2005,[145] becoming the only senate member of the congressional black caucus.[146] he introduced two initiatives that bore his name: lugar obama, which expanded the nunn lugar cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons;[147] and the federal funding accountability and transparency act of 2006, which authorized the establishment of usaspending.gov, a web search engine on federal spending.[148] on june 3, 2008, senator obama along with senators tom carper, tom coburn, and john mccain introduced follow up legislation: strengthening transparency and accountability in federal spending act of 2008.[149] he also cosponsored the secure america and orderly immigration act.[150] in december 2006, president bush signed into law the democratic republic of the congo relief, security, and democracy promotion act, marking the first federal legislation to be enacted with obama as its primary sponsor.[151][152] in january 2007, obama and senator feingold introduced a corporate jet provision to the honest leadership and open government act, which was signed into law in september 2007.[153][154] later in 2007, obama sponsored an amendment to the defense authorization act to add safeguards for personality disorder military discharges.[155] this amendment passed the full senate in the spring of 2008.[156] he sponsored the iran sanctions enabling act supporting divestment of state pension funds from iran's oil and gas industry, which was never enacted but later incorporated in the comprehensive iran sanctions, accountability, and divestment act of 2010;[157] and co sponsored legislation to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism.[158] obama also sponsored a senate amendment to the state children's health insurance program, providing one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat related injuries.[159] obama held assignments on the senate committees for foreign relations, environment and public works, and veterans' affairs through december 2006.[160] in january 2007, he left the environment and public works committee and took additional assignments with health, education, labor and pensions and homeland security and governmental affairs.[161] he also became chairman of the senate's subcommittee on european affairs.[162] as a member of the senate foreign relations committee, obama made official trips to eastern europe, the middle east, central asia, and africa. he met with mahmoud abbas before abbas became president of the palestinian national authority and gave a speech at the university of nairobi in which he condemned corruption within the kenyan government.[163] obama resigned his senate seat on november 16, 2008, to focus on his transition period for the presidency.[164] on february 10, 2007, obama announced his candidacy for president of the united states in front of the old state capitol building in springfield, illinois.[165][166] the choice of the announcement site was viewed as symbolic, as it was also where abraham lincoln delivered his "house divided" speech in 1858.[165][167] obama emphasized issues of rapidly ending the iraq war, increasing energy independence, and reforming the health care system.[168] numerous candidates entered the democratic party presidential primaries. the field narrowed to obama and senator hillary clinton after early contests, with the race remaining close throughout the primary process, but obama gained a steady lead in pledged delegates due to better long range planning, superior fundraising, dominant organizing in caucus states, and better exploitation of delegate allocation rules.[169] on june 2, 2008, obama had received enough votes to clinch his nomination. after an initial hesitation to concede, on june 7, clinton ended her campaign and endorsed obama.[170] on august 23, 2008, obama announced his selection of delaware senator joe biden as his vice presidential running mate.[171] obama selected biden from a field speculated to include former indiana governor and senator evan bayh and virginia governor tim kaine.[171] at the democratic national convention in denver, colorado, hillary clinton called for her supporters to endorse obama, and she and bill clinton gave convention speeches in his support.[172][173] obama delivered his acceptance speech at invesco field at mile high stadium to a crowd of about eighty four thousand; the speech was viewed by over three million people worldwide.[174][175][176] during both the primary process and the general election, obama's campaign set numerous fundraising records, particularly in the quantity of small donations.[177] on june 19, 2008, obama became the first major party presidential candidate to turn down public financing in the general election since the system was created in 1976.[178] john mccain was nominated as the republican candidate, and he selected sarah palin as his running mate. obama and mccain engaged in three presidential debates in september and october 2008.[179] on november 4, obama won the presidency with 365 electoral votes to 173 received by mccain.[180] obama won 52.9 percent of the popular vote to mccain's 45.7 percent.[181] he became the first african american to be elected president.[182] obama delivered his victory speech before hundreds of thousands of supporters in chicago's grant park.[183][184] he is one of the three united states senators moved directly from the u.s. senate to the white house, the others being warren g. harding and john f. kennedy.[185] on april 4, 2011, obama filed election papers with the federal election commission and then announced his reelection campaign for 2012 in a video titled "it begins with us" that he posted on his website.[186][187][188] as the incumbent president, he ran virtually unopposed in the democratic party presidential primaries,[189] and on april 3, 2012, obama secured the 2778 convention delegates needed to win the democratic nomination.[190] at the democratic national convention in charlotte, north carolina, obama and joe biden were formally nominated by former president bill clinton as the democratic party candidates for president and vice president in the general election. their main opponents were republicans mitt romney, the former governor of massachusetts, and representative paul ryan of wisconsin.[191] on november 6, 2012, obama won 332 electoral votes, exceeding the 270 required for him to be reelected as president.[192][193][194] with 51.1 percent of the popular vote,[195] obama became the first democratic president since franklin d. roosevelt to win the majority of the popular vote twice.[196][197] obama addressed supporters and volunteers at chicago's mccormick place after his reelection and said: "tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. you elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. and in the coming weeks and months, i am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties."[198][199] the inauguration of barack obama as the 44th president took place on january 20, 2009. in his first few days in office, obama issued executive orders and presidential memoranda directing the u.s. military to develop plans to withdraw troops from iraq.[200] he ordered the closing of the guantanamo bay detention camp,[201] but congress prevented the closure by refusing to appropriate the required funds[202][203] and preventing moving any guantanamo detainee.[204] obama reduced the secrecy given to presidential records.[205] he also revoked president george w. bush's restoration of president ronald reagan's mexico city policy which prohibited federal aid to international family planning organizations that perform or provide counseling about abortion.[206] the first bill signed into law by obama was the lilly ledbetter fair pay act of 2009, relaxing the statute of limitations for equal pay lawsuits.[207] five days later, he signed the reauthorization of the state children's health insurance program to cover an additional four million uninsured children.[208] in march 2009, obama reversed a bush era policy that had limited funding of embryonic stem cell research and pledged to develop "strict guidelines" on the research.[209] obama appointed two women to serve on the supreme court in the first two years of his presidency. he nominated sonia sotomayor on may 26, 2009, to replace retiring associate justice david souter. she was confirmed on august 6, 2009,[210] becoming the first supreme court justice of hispanic descent.[211] obama nominated elena kagan on may 10, 2010, to replace retiring associate justice john paul stevens. she was confirmed on august 5, 2010, bringing the number of women sitting simultaneously on the court to three for the first time in american history.[212] on march 11, 2009, obama created the white house council on women and girls, which formed part of the office of intergovernmental affairs, having been established by executive order 13506 with a broad mandate to advise him on issues relating to the welfare of american women and girls. the council was chaired by senior advisor to the president valerie jarrett. obama also established the white house task force to protect students from sexual assault through a government memorandum on january 22, 2014, with a broad mandate to advise him on issues relating to sexual assault on college and university campuses throughout the united states. the co chairs of the task force were vice president joe biden and jarrett. the task force was a development out of the white house council on women and girls and office of the vice president of the united states, and prior to that the 1994 violence against women act first drafted by biden. in july 2009, obama launched the priority enforcement program, an immigration enforcement program that had been pioneered by george w. bush, and the secure communities fingerprinting and immigration status data sharing program.[213] in a major space policy speech in april 2010, obama announced a planned change in direction at nasa, the u.s. space agency. he ended plans for a return of human spaceflight to the moon and development of the ares i rocket, ares v rocket and constellation program, in favor of funding earth science projects, a new rocket type, research and development for an eventual crewed mission to mars, and ongoing missions to the international space station.[214] on january 16, 2013, one month after the sandy hook elementary school shooting, obama signed 23 executive orders and outlined a series of sweeping proposals regarding gun control.[215] he urged congress to reintroduce an expired ban on military style assault weapons, such as those used in several recent mass shootings, impose limits on ammunition magazines to 10 rounds, introduce background checks on all gun sales, pass a ban on possession and sale of armor piercing bullets, introduce harsher penalties for gun traffickers, especially unlicensed dealers who buy arms for criminals and approving the appointment of the head of the federal bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives for the first time since 2006.[216] on january 5, 2016, obama announced new executive actions extending background check requirements to more gun sellers.[217] in a 2016 editorial in the new york times, obama compared the struggle for what he termed "common sense gun reform" to women's suffrage and other civil rights movements in american history. in 2011, obama signed a four year renewal of the patriot act.[218] following the 2013 global surveillance disclosures by whistleblower edward snowden, obama condemned the leak as unpatriotic,[219] but called for increased restrictions on the national security agency (nsa) to address violations of privacy.[220][221] obama continued and expanded surveillance programs set up by george w. bush, while implementing some reforms.[222] he supported legislation that would have limited the nsa's ability to collect phone records in bulk under a single program and supported bringing more transparency to the foreign intelligence surveillance court (fisc).[222] in his speeches as president, obama did not make more overt references to race relations than his predecessors,[223][224] but according to one study, he implemented stronger policy action on behalf of african americans than any president since the nixon era.[225] following obama's election, many pondered the existence of a "post racial america".[226][227] however, lingering racial tensions quickly became apparent,[226][228] and many african americans expressed outrage over what they saw as an intense racial animosity directed at obama.[229] the acquittal of george zimmerman following the killing of trayvon martin sparked national outrage, leading to obama giving a speech in which he said that "trayvon martin could have been me 35 years ago."[230] the shooting of michael brown in ferguson, missouri sparked a wave of protests.[231] these and other events led to the birth of the black lives matter movement, which campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward black people.[231] though obama entered office reluctant to talk about race, by 2014 he began openly discussing the disadvantages faced by many members of minority groups.[232] several incidents during obama's presidency generated disapproval from the african american community and with law enforcement, and obama sought to build trust between law enforcement officials and civil rights activists, with mixed results. some in law enforcement criticized obama's condemnation of racial bias after incidents in which police action led to the death of african american men, while some racial justice activists criticized obama's expressions of empathy for the police.[233] in a march 2016 gallup poll, nearly one third of americans said they worried "a great deal" about race relations, a higher figure than in any previous gallup poll since 2001.[234] on october 8, 2009, obama signed the matthew shepard and james byrd jr. hate crimes prevention act, a measure that expanded the 1969 united states federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.[235] on october 30, 2009, obama lifted the ban on travel to the united states by those infected with hiv. the lifting of the ban was celebrated by immigration equality.[236] on december 22, 2010, obama signed the don't ask, don't tell repeal act of 2010, which fulfilled a promise made in the 2008 presidential campaign[237][238] to end the don't ask, don't tell policy of 1993 that had prevented gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the united states armed forces. in 2016, the pentagon ended the policy that barred transgender people from serving openly in the military.[239] as a candidate for the illinois state senate in 1996, obama stated he favored legalizing same sex marriage.[240] during his senate run in 2004, he said he supported civil unions and domestic partnerships for same sex partners but opposed same sex marriages.[241] in 2008, he reaffirmed this position by stating "i believe marriage is between a man and a woman. i am not in favor of gay marriage."[242] on may 9, 2012, shortly after the official launch of his campaign for re election as president, obama said his views had evolved, and he publicly affirmed his personal support for the legalization of same sex marriage, becoming the first sitting u.s. president to do so.[243][244] during his second inaugural address on january 21, 2013,[199] obama became the first u.s. president in office to call for full equality for gay americans, and the first to mention gay rights or the word "gay" in an inaugural address.[245][246] in 2013, the obama administration filed briefs that urged the supreme court to rule in favor of same sex couples in the cases of hollingsworth v. perry (regarding same sex marriage)[247] and united states v. windsor (regarding the defense of marriage act).[248] on february 17, 2009, obama signed the american recovery and reinvestment act of 2009, a $787 billion (equivalent to $1118 billion in 2023) economic stimulus package aimed at helping the economy recover from the deepening worldwide recession.[249] the act includes increased federal spending for health care, infrastructure, education, various tax breaks and incentives, and direct assistance to individuals.[250] in march 2009, obama's treasury secretary, timothy geithner, took further steps to manage the financial crisis, including introducing the public private investment program for legacy assets, which contains provisions for buying up to $2 trillion in depreciated real estate assets.[251] obama intervened in the troubled automotive industry[252] in march 2009, renewing loans for general motors (gm) and chrysler to continue operations while reorganizing. over the following months the white house set terms for both firms' bankruptcies, including the sale of chrysler to italian automaker fiat[253] and a reorganization of gm giving the u.s. government a temporary 60 percent equity stake in the company.[254] in june 2009, dissatisfied with the pace of economic stimulus, obama called on his cabinet to accelerate the investment.[255] he signed into law the car allowance rebate system, known colloquially as "cash for clunkers", which temporarily boosted the economy.[256][257][258] the bush and obama administrations authorized spending and loan guarantees from the federal reserve and the department of the treasury. these guarantees totaled about $11.5 trillion, but only $3 trillion had been spent by the end of november 2009.[259] on august 2, 2011, after a lengthy congressional debate over whether to raise the nation's debt limit, obama signed the bipartisan budget control act of 2011. the legislation enforced limits on discretionary spending until 2021, established a procedure to increase the debt limit, created a congressional joint select committee on deficit reduction to propose further deficit reduction with a stated goal of achieving at least $1.5 trillion in budgetary savings over 10 years, and established automatic procedures for reducing spending by as much as $1.2 trillion if legislation originating with the new joint select committee did not achieve such savings.[260] by passing the legislation, congress was able to prevent a u.s. government default on its obligations.[261] the unemployment rate rose in 2009, reaching a peak in october at 10.0 percent and averaging 10.0 percent in the fourth quarter. following a decrease to 9.7 percent in the first quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate fell to 9.6 percent in the second quarter, where it remained for the rest of the year.[262] between february and december 2010, employment rose by 0.8 percent, which was less than the average of 1.9 percent experienced during comparable periods in the past four employment recoveries.[263] by november 2012, the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent,[264] decreasing to 6.7 percent in the last month of 2013.[265] during 2014, the unemployment rate continued to decline, falling to 6.3 percent in the first quarter.[266] gdp growth returned in the third quarter of 2009, expanding at a rate of 1.6 percent, followed by a 5.0 percent increase in the fourth quarter.[267] growth continued in 2010, posting an increase of 3.7 percent in the first quarter, with lesser gains throughout the rest of the year.[267] in july 2010, the federal reserve noted that economic activity continued to increase, but its pace had slowed, and chairman ben bernanke said the economic outlook was "unusually uncertain".[268] overall, the economy expanded at a rate of 2.9 percent in 2010.[269] the congressional budget office (cbo) and a broad range of economists credit obama's stimulus plan for economic growth.[272][273] the cbo released a report stating that the stimulus bill increased employment by 1 2.1 million,[273][274][275] while conceding that "it is impossible to determine how many of the reported jobs would have existed in the absence of the stimulus package."[272] although an april 2010, survey of members of the national association for business economics showed an increase in job creation (over a similar january survey) for the first time in two years, 73 percent of 68 respondents believed the stimulus bill has had no impact on employment.[276] the economy of the united states has grown faster than the other original nato members by a wider margin under president obama than it has anytime since the end of world war ii.[277] the organisation for economic co operation and development credits the much faster growth in the united states to the stimulus plan of the u.s. and the austerity measures in the european union.[278] within a month of the 2010 midterm elections, obama announced a compromise deal with the congressional republican leadership that included a temporary, two year extension of the 2001 and 2003 income tax rates, a one year payroll tax reduction, continuation of unemployment benefits, and a new rate and exemption amount for estate taxes.[279] the compromise overcame opposition from some in both parties, and the resulting $858 billion (equivalent to $1.2 trillion in 2023) tax relief, unemployment insurance reauthorization, and job creation act of 2010 passed with bipartisan majorities in both houses of congress before obama signed it on december 17, 2010.[280] in december 2013, obama declared that growing income inequality is a "defining challenge of our time" and called on congress to bolster the safety net and raise wages. this came on the heels of the nationwide strikes of fast food workers and pope francis' criticism of inequality and trickle down economics.[281] obama urged congress to ratify a 12 nation free trade pact called the trans pacific partnership.[282] on april 20, 2010, an explosion destroyed an offshore drilling rig at the macondo prospect in the gulf of mexico, causing a major sustained oil leak. obama visited the gulf, announced a federal investigation, and formed a bipartisan commission to recommend new safety standards, after a review by secretary of the interior ken salazar and concurrent congressional hearings. he then announced a six month moratorium on new deepwater drilling permits and leases, pending regulatory review.[283] as multiple efforts by bp failed, some in the media and public expressed confusion and criticism over various aspects of the incident, and stated a desire for more involvement by obama and the federal government.[284] prior to the oil spill, on march 31, 2010, obama ended a ban on oil and gas drilling along the majority of the east coast of the united states and along the coast of northern alaska in an effort to win support for an energy and climate bill and to reduce foreign imports of oil and gas.[285] in july 2013, obama expressed reservations and said he "would reject the keystone xl pipeline if it increased carbon pollution [or] greenhouse emissions."[286][287] on february 24, 2015, obama vetoed a bill that would have authorized the pipeline.[288] it was the third veto of obama's presidency and his first major veto.[289] in december 2016, obama permanently banned new offshore oil and gas drilling in most united states owned waters in the atlantic and arctic oceans using the 1953 outer continental shelf act.[290][291][292] obama emphasized the conservation of federal lands during his term in office. he used his power under the antiquities act to create 25 new national monuments during his presidency and expand four others, protecting a total of 553,000,000 acres (224,000,000 ha) of federal lands and waters, more than any other u.s. president.[293][294][295] obama called for congress to pass legislation reforming health care in the united states, a key campaign promise and a top legislative goal.[296] he proposed an expansion of health insurance coverage to cover the uninsured, cap premium increases, and allow people to retain their coverage when they leave or change jobs. his proposal was to spend $900 billion over ten years and include a government insurance plan, also known as the public option, to compete with the corporate insurance sector as a main component to lowering costs and improving quality of health care. it would also make it illegal for insurers to drop sick people or deny them coverage for pre existing conditions, and require every american to carry health coverage. the plan also includes medical spending cuts and taxes on insurance companies that offer expensive plans.[297][298] on july 14, 2009, house democratic leaders introduced a 1,017 page plan for overhauling the u.s. health care system, which obama wanted congress to approve by the end of 2009.[296] after public debate during the congressional summer recess of 2009, obama delivered a speech to a joint session of congress on september 9 where he addressed concerns over the proposals.[300] in march 2009, obama lifted a ban on using federal funds for stem cell research.[301] on november 7, 2009, a health care bill featuring the public option was passed in the house.[302][303] on december 24, 2009, the senate passed its own bill without a public option on a party line vote of 60 39.[304] on march 21, 2010, the patient protection and affordable care act (aca, colloquially "obamacare") passed by the senate in december was passed in the house by a vote of 219 to 212. obama signed the bill into law on march 23, 2010.[305] the aca includes health related provisions, most of which took effect in 2014, including expanding medicaid eligibility for people making up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level (fpl) starting in 2014,[306] subsidizing insurance premiums for people making up to 400 percent of the fpl ($88,000 for family of four in 2010) so their maximum "out of pocket" payment for annual premiums will be from 2 percent to 9.5 percent of income,[307] providing incentives for businesses to provide health care benefits, prohibiting denial of coverage and denial of claims based on pre existing conditions, establishing health insurance exchanges, prohibiting annual coverage caps, and support for medical research. according to white house and cbo figures, the maximum share of income that enrollees would have to pay would vary depending on their income relative to the federal poverty level.[308] the costs of these provisions are offset by taxes, fees, and cost saving measures, such as new medicare taxes for those in high income brackets, taxes on indoor tanning, cuts to the medicare advantage program in favor of traditional medicare, and fees on medical devices and pharmaceutical companies;[310] there is also a tax penalty for those who do not obtain health insurance, unless they are exempt due to low income or other reasons.[311] in march 2010, the cbo estimated that the net effect of both laws will be a reduction in the federal deficit by $143 billion over the first decade.[312] the law faced several legal challenges, primarily based on the argument that an individual mandate requiring americans to buy health insurance was unconstitutional. on june 28, 2012, the supreme court ruled by a 5 4 vote in national federation of independent business v. sebelius that the mandate was constitutional under the u.s. congress's taxing authority.[313] in burwell v. hobby lobby the court ruled that "closely held" for profit corporations could be exempt on religious grounds under the religious freedom restoration act from regulations adopted under the aca that would have required them to pay for insurance that covered certain contraceptives. in june 2015, the court ruled 6 3 in king v. burwell that subsidies to help individuals and families purchase health insurance were authorized for those doing so on both the federal exchange and state exchanges, not only those purchasing plans "established by the state", as the statute reads.[314] in february and march 2009, vice president joe biden and secretary of state hillary clinton made separate overseas trips to announce a "new era" in u.s. foreign relations with russia and europe, using the terms "break" and "reset" to signal major changes from the policies of the preceding administration.[315] obama attempted to reach out to arab leaders by granting his first interview to an arab satellite tv network, al arabiya.[316] on march 19, obama continued his outreach to the muslim world, releasing a new year's video message to the people and government of iran.[317][318] on june 4, 2009, obama delivered a speech at cairo university in egypt calling for "a new beginning" in relations between the islamic world and the united states and promoting middle east peace.[319] on june 26, 2009, obama condemned the iranian government's actions towards protesters following iran's 2009 presidential election.[320] in 2011, obama ordered a drone strike in yemen which targeted and killed anwar al awlaki, an american imam suspected of being a leading al qaeda organizer. al awlaki became the first u.s. citizen to be targeted and killed by a u.s. drone strike. the department of justice released a memo justifying al awlaki's death as a lawful act of war,[321] while civil liberties advocates described it as a violation of al awlaki's constitutional right to due process. the killing led to significant controversy.[322] his teenage son and young daughter, also americans, were later killed in separate us military actions, although they were not targeted specifically.[323][324] in march 2015, obama declared that he had authorized u.s. forces to provide logistical and intelligence support to the saudis in their military intervention in yemen, establishing a "joint planning cell" with saudi arabia.[325][326] in 2016, the obama administration proposed a series of arms deals with saudi arabia worth $115 billion.[327] obama halted the sale of guided munition technology to saudi arabia after saudi warplanes targeted a funeral in yemen's capital sanaa, killing more than 140 people.[328] in september 2016 obama was snubbed by xi jinping and the chinese communist party as he descended from air force one to the tarmac of hangzhou international airport for the 2016 g20 hangzhou summit without the usual red carpet welcome.[329] on february 27, 2009, obama announced that combat operations in iraq would end within 18 months.[330] the obama administration scheduled the withdrawal of combat troops to be completed by august 2010, decreasing troop's levels from 142,000 while leaving a transitional force of about 50,000 in iraq until the end of 2011. on august 19, 2010, the last u.s. combat brigade exited iraq. remaining troops transitioned from combat operations to counter terrorism and the training, equipping, and advising of iraqi security forces.[331][332] on august 31, 2010, obama announced that the united states combat mission in iraq was over.[333] on october 21, 2011, president obama announced that all u.s. troops would leave iraq in time to be "home for the holidays."[334] in june 2014, following the capture of mosul by isil, obama sent 275 troops to provide support and security for u.s. personnel and the u.s. embassy in baghdad. isis continued to gain ground and to commit widespread massacres and ethnic cleansing.[335][336] in august 2014, during the sinjar massacre, obama ordered a campaign of u.s. airstrikes against isil.[337] by the end of 2014, 3,100 american ground troops were committed to the conflict[338] and 16,000 sorties were flown over the battlefield, primarily by u.s. air force and navy pilots.[339] in early 2015, with the addition of the "panther brigade" of the 82nd airborne division the number of u.s. ground troops in iraq increased to 4,400,[340] and by july american led coalition air forces counted 44,000 sorties over the battlefield.[341] in his election campaign, obama called the war in iraq a "dangerous distraction" and that emphasis should instead be put on the war in afghanistan,[342] the region he cites as being most likely where an attack against the united states could be launched again.[343] early in his presidency, obama moved to bolster u.s. troop strength in afghanistan. he announced an increase in u.s. troop levels to 17,000 military personnel in february 2009 to "stabilize a deteriorating situation in afghanistan", an area he said had not received the "strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires."[344] he replaced the military commander in afghanistan, general david d. mckiernan, with former special forces commander lt. gen. stanley a. mcchrystal in may 2009, indicating that mcchrystal's special forces experience would facilitate the use of counterinsurgency tactics in the war.[345] on december 1, 2009, obama announced the deployment of an additional 30,000 military personnel to afghanistan and proposed to begin troop withdrawals 18 months from that date;[346] this took place in july 2011. david petraeus replaced mcchrystal in june 2010, after mcchrystal's staff criticized white house personnel in a magazine article.[347] in february 2013, obama said the u.s. military would reduce the troop level in afghanistan from 68,000 to 34,000 u.s. troops by february 2014.[348] in october 2015, the white house announced a plan to keep u.s. forces in afghanistan indefinitely in light of the deteriorating security situation.[349] regarding neighboring pakistan, obama called its tribal border region the "greatest threat" to the security of afghanistan and americans, saying that he "cannot tolerate a terrorist sanctuary." in the same speech, obama claimed that the u.s. "cannot succeed in afghanistan or secure our homeland unless we change our pakistan policy."[350] starting with information received from central intelligence agency operatives in july 2010, the cia developed intelligence over the next several months that determined what they believed to be the hideout of osama bin laden. he was living in seclusion in a large compound in abbottabad, pakistan, a suburban area 35 miles (56 km) from islamabad.[351] cia head leon panetta reported this intelligence to president obama in march 2011.[351] meeting with his national security advisers over the course of the next six weeks, obama rejected a plan to bomb the compound, and authorized a "surgical raid" to be conducted by united states navy seals.[351] the operation took place on may 1, 2011, and resulted in the shooting death of bin laden and the seizure of papers, computer drives and disks from the compound.[352][353] dna testing was one of five methods used to positively identify bin laden's corpse,[354] which was buried at sea several hours later.[355] within minutes of the president's announcement from washington, dc, late in the evening on may 1, there were spontaneous celebrations around the country as crowds gathered outside the white house, and at new york city's ground zero and times square.[352][356] reaction to the announcement was positive across party lines, including from former presidents bill clinton and george w. bush.[357] since the spring of 2013, secret meetings were conducted between the united states and cuba in the neutral locations of canada and vatican city.[358] the vatican first became involved in 2013 when pope francis advised the u.s. and cuba to exchange prisoners as a gesture of goodwill.[359] on december 10, 2013, cuban president raúl castro, in a significant public moment, greeted and shook hands with obama at the nelson mandela memorial service in johannesburg.[360] in december 2014, after the secret meetings, it was announced that obama, with pope francis as an intermediary, had negotiated a restoration of relations with cuba, after nearly sixty years of détente.[361] popularly dubbed the cuban thaw, the new republic deemed the cuban thaw to be "obama's finest foreign policy achievement."[362] on july 1, 2015, president obama announced that formal diplomatic relations between cuba and the united states would resume, and embassies would be opened in washington and havana.[363] the countries' respective "interests sections" in one another's capitals were upgraded to embassies on july 20 and august 13, 2015, respectively.[364] obama visited havana, cuba for two days in march 2016, becoming the first sitting u.s. president to arrive since calvin coolidge in 1928.[365] during the initial years of the obama administration, the u.s. increased military cooperation with israel, including increased military aid, re establishment of the u.s. israeli joint political military group and the defense policy advisory group, and an increase in visits among high level military officials of both countries.[366] the obama administration asked congress to allocate money toward funding the iron dome program in response to the waves of palestinian rocket attacks on israel.[367] in march 2010, obama took a public stance against plans by the government of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu to continue building jewish housing projects in predominantly arab neighborhoods of east jerusalem.[368][369] in 2011, the united states vetoed a security council resolution condemning israeli settlements, with the united states being the only nation to do so.[370] obama supports the two state solution to the arab israeli conflict based on the 1967 borders with land swaps.[371] in 2013, jeffrey goldberg reported that, in obama's view, "with each new settlement announcement, netanyahu is moving his country down a path toward near total isolation."[372] in 2014, obama likened the zionist movement to the civil rights movement in the united states. he said both movements seek to bring justice and equal rights to historically persecuted peoples, explaining: "to me, being pro israel and pro jewish is part and parcel with the values that i've been fighting for since i was politically conscious and started getting involved in politics."[373] obama expressed support for israel's right to defend itself during the 2014 israel gaza conflict.[374] in 2015, obama was harshly criticized by israel for advocating and signing the iran nuclear deal; israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who had advocated the u.s. congress to oppose it, said the deal was "dangerous" and "bad."[375] on december 23, 2016, under the obama administration, the united states abstained from united nations security council resolution 2334, which condemned israeli settlement building in the occupied palestinian territories as a violation of international law, effectively allowing it to pass.[376] netanyahu strongly criticized the obama administration's actions,[377][378] and the israeli government withdrew its annual dues from the organization, which totaled $6 million, on january 6, 2017.[379] on january 5, 2017, the united states house of representatives voted 342 80 to condemn the un resolution.[380][381] in february 2011, protests in libya began against long time dictator muammar gaddafi as part of the arab spring. they soon turned violent. in march, as forces loyal to gaddafi advanced on rebels across libya, calls for a no fly zone came from around the world, including europe, the arab league, and a resolution[382] passed unanimously by the u.s. senate.[383] in response to the passage of united nations security council resolution 1973 on march 17, the foreign minister of libya moussa koussa announced a ceasefire. however gaddafi's forces continued to attack the rebels.[384] on march 19, a multinational coalition led by france and the united kingdom with italian and u.s. support, approved by obama, took part in air strikes to destroy the libyan government's air defense capabilities to protect civilians and enforce a no fly zone,[385] including the use of tomahawk missiles, b 2 spirits, and fighter jets.[386][387][388] six days later, on march 25, by unanimous vote of all its 28 members, nato took over leadership of the effort, dubbed operation unified protector.[389] some members of congress[390] questioned whether obama had the constitutional authority to order military action in addition to questioning its cost, structure and aftermath.[391][392] in 2016 obama said "our coalition could have and should have done more to fill a vacuum left behind" and that it was "a mess".[393] he has stated that the lack of preparation surrounding the days following the government's overthrow was the "worst mistake" of his presidency.[394] on august 18, 2011, several months after the start of the syrian civil war, obama issued a written statement that said: "the time has come for president assad to step aside."[395] this stance was reaffirmed in november 2015.[396] in 2012, obama authorized multiple programs run by the cia and the pentagon to train anti assad rebels.[397] the pentagon run program was later found to have failed and was formally abandoned in october 2015.[398][399] in the wake of a chemical weapons attack in syria, formally blamed by the obama administration on the assad government, obama chose not to enforce the "red line" he had pledged[400] and, rather than authorize the promised military action against assad, went along with the russia brokered deal that led to assad giving up chemical weapons; however attacks with chlorine gas continued.[401][402] in 2014, obama authorized an air campaign aimed primarily at isil.[403] on october 1, 2009, the obama administration went ahead with a bush administration program, increasing nuclear weapons production. the "complex modernization" initiative expanded two existing nuclear sites to produce new bomb parts. in november 2013, the obama administration opened negotiations with iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons, which included an interim agreement. negotiations took two years with numerous delays, with a deal being announced on july 14, 2015. the deal titled the "joint comprehensive plan of action" saw sanctions removed in exchange for measures that would prevent iran from producing nuclear weapons. while obama hailed the agreement as being a step towards a more hopeful world, the deal drew strong criticism from republican and conservative quarters, and from israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu.[404][405][406] in addition, the transfer of $1.7 billion in cash to iran shortly after the deal was announced was criticized by the republican party. the obama administration said that the payment in cash was because of the "effectiveness of u.s. and international sanctions."[407] in order to advance the deal, the obama administration shielded hezbollah from the drug enforcement administration's project cassandra investigation regarding drug smuggling and from the central intelligence agency.[408][409] on a side note, the very same year, in december 2015, obama started a $348 billion worth program to back the biggest u.s. buildup of nuclear arms since ronald reagan left the white house.[410] in march 2010, an agreement was reached with the administration of russian president dmitry medvedev to replace the 1991 strategic arms reduction treaty with a new pact reducing the number of long range nuclear weapons in the arsenals of both countries by about a third.[411] obama and medvedev signed the new start treaty in april 2010, and the u.s. senate ratified it in december 2010.[412] in december 2011, obama instructed agencies to consider lgbt rights when issuing financial aid to foreign countries.[413] in august 2013, he criticized russia's law that discriminates against gays,[414] but he stopped short of advocating a boycott of the upcoming 2014 winter olympics in sochi, russia.[415] after russia's invasion of crimea in 2014, military intervention in syria in 2015, and the interference in the 2016 u.s. presidential election,[416] george robertson, a former uk defense secretary and nato secretary general, said obama had "allowed putin to jump back on the world stage and test the resolve of the west", adding that the legacy of this disaster would last.[417] obama's family history, upbringing, and ivy league education differ markedly from those of african american politicians who launched their careers in the 1960s through participation in the civil rights movement.[418] expressing puzzlement over questions about whether he is "black enough", obama told an august 2007 meeting of the national association of black journalists that "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong."[419] obama acknowledged his youthful image in an october 2007 campaign speech, saying: "i wouldn't be here if, time and again, the torch had not been passed to a new generation."[420] additionally, obama has frequently been referred to as an exceptional orator.[421] during his pre inauguration transition period and continuing into his presidency, obama delivered a series of weekly internet video addresses.[422] according to the gallup organization, obama began his presidency with a 68 percent approval rating,[423] the fifth highest for a president following their swearing in.[424] his ratings remained above the majority level until november 2009[425] and by august 2010 his approval was in the low 40s,[426] a trend similar to ronald reagan's and bill clinton's first years in office.[427] following the death of osama bin laden on may 2, 2011, obama experienced a small poll bounce and steadily maintained 50 53 percent approval for about a month, until his approval numbers dropped back to the low 40s.[428][429][430] his approval rating fell to 38 percent on several occasions in late 2011[431] before recovering in mid 2012 with polls showing an average approval of 50 percent.[432] after his second inauguration in 2013, obama's approval ratings remained stable around 52 percent[433] before declining for the rest of the year and eventually bottoming out at 39 percent in december.[428] in polling conducted before the 2014 midterm elections, obama's approval ratings were at their lowest[434][435] with his disapproval rating reaching a high of 57 percent.[428][436][437] his approval rating continued to lag throughout most of 2015 but began to reach the high 40s by the end of the year.[428][438] according to gallup, obama's approval rating reached 50 percent in march 2016, a level unseen since may 2013.[428][439] in polling conducted january 16 19, 2017, obama's final approval rating was 59 percent, which placed him on par with george h. w. bush and dwight d. eisenhower, whose final gallup ratings also measured in the high 50s.[440] obama has maintained relatively positive public perceptions after his presidency.[441] in gallup's retrospective approval polls of former presidents, obama garnered a 63 percent approval rating in 2018 and again in 2023, ranking him the fourth most popular president since world war ii.[442][443] polls showed strong support for obama in other countries both before and during his presidency.[444][445][446] in a february 2009 poll conducted in western europe and the u.s. by harris interactive for france 24 and the international herald tribune, obama was rated as the most respected world leader, as well as the most powerful.[447] in a similar poll conducted by harris in may 2009, obama was rated as the most popular world leader, as well as the one figure most people would pin their hopes on for pulling the world out of the economic downturn.[448][449] on october 9, 2009 only nine months into his first term the norwegian nobel committee announced that obama had won the 2009 nobel peace prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples",[450] which drew a mixture of praise and criticism from world leaders and media figures.[451][452][453][454] he became the fourth u.s. president to be awarded the nobel peace prize, and the third to become a nobel laureate while in office.[455] he himself called it a "call to action" and remarked: "i do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments but rather an affirmation of american leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations".[456] in 2009, the saying "thanks, obama" first appeared in a twitter hashtag, "#thanks obama", and was later used in a demotivational poster. it was later adopted satirically to blame obama for any socio economic ills. obama himself used the phrase in video in 2015 and 2016. in 2017, the phrase was used by stephen colbert to express gratitude to obama on his last day in office. in 2022, president joe biden's twitter account posted the phrase. obama's presidency ended on january 20, 2017, upon the inauguration of his successor, donald trump.[457][458] the family moved to a house they rented in kalorama, washington, d.c.[459] on march 2, the john f. kennedy presidential library and museum awarded the profile in courage award to obama "for his enduring commitment to democratic ideals and elevating the standard of political courage."[460] his first public appearance since leaving the office was a seminar at the university of chicago on april 24, where he appealed for a new generation to participate in politics.[461] on september 7, obama partnered with former presidents jimmy carter, george h. w. bush, bill clinton, and george w. bush to work with one america appeal to help the victims of hurricane harvey and hurricane irma in the gulf coast and texas communities.[462] from october 31 to november 1, obama hosted the inaugural summit of the obama foundation,[463] which he intended to be the central focus of his post presidency and part of his ambitions for his subsequent activities following his presidency to be more consequential than his time in office.[464] barack and michelle obama signed a deal on may 22, 2018, to produce docu series, documentaries and features for netflix under the obamas' newly formed production company, higher ground productions.[465][466] higher ground's first film, american factory, won the academy award for best documentary feature in 2020.[467] on october 24, a pipe bomb addressed to obama was intercepted by the secret service. it was one of several pipe bombs that had been mailed out to democratic lawmakers and officials.[468] in 2019, barack and michelle obama bought a home on martha's vineyard from wyc grousbeck.[469] on october 29, obama criticized "wokeness" and call out culture at the obama foundation's annual summit.[470][471] obama was reluctant to make an endorsement in the 2020 democratic presidential primaries because he wanted to position himself to unify the party, regardless of the nominee.[472] on april 14, 2020, obama endorsed biden, the presumptive nominee, for president in the presidential election, stating that he has "all the qualities we need in a president right now."[473][474] in may, obama criticized president trump for his handling of the covid 19 pandemic, calling his response to the crisis "an absolute chaotic disaster", and stating that the consequences of the trump presidency have been "our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before."[475] on november 17, obama's presidential memoir, a promised land, was released.[476][477][478] in february 2021, obama and musician bruce springsteen started a podcast called renegades: born in the usa where the two talk about "their backgrounds, music and their 'enduring love of america.'"[479][480] later that year, regina hicks had signed a deal with netflix, in a venture with his and michelle's higher ground to develop comedy projects.[481] on march 4, 2022, obama won an audio publishers association (apa) award in the best narration by the author category for the narration of his memoir a promised land.[482] on april 5, obama visited the white house for the first time since leaving office, in an event celebrating the 12th annual anniversary of the signing of the affordable care act.[483][484][485] in june, it was announced that the obamas and their podcast production company, higher ground, signed a multi year deal with audible.[486][487] in september, obama visited the white house to unveil his and michelle's official white house portraits.[488] around the same time, he won a primetime emmy award for outstanding narrator[489] for his narration in the netflix documentary series our great national parks.[490] in 2022, obama opposed expanding the supreme court beyond the present nine justices.[491] in march 2023, obama traveled to australia as a part of his speaking tour of the country. during the trip, obama met with australian prime minister anthony albanese and visited melbourne for the first time.[492] obama was reportedly paid more than $1 million for two speeches.[493][494] in october 2023, during the israel hamas war, obama declared that israel must dismantle hamas in the wake of the 2023 hamas led attack on israel.[495] weeks later, obama warned israel that its actions could "harden palestinian attitudes for generations" and weaken international support for israel; any military strategy that ignored the war's human costs "could ultimately backfire."[496] in july 2024, obama expressed concerns about biden's campaign viability after his critically maligned debate performance against former president trump.[497] on july 21, biden withdrew his candidacy and swiftly endorsed vice president harris right after to run as the democratic nominee. obama endorsed harris alongside his wife michelle five days later and delivered a speech at the 2024 democratic national convention formally endorsing her.[498] he joined harris on the campaign trail in october, traveling to various swing states and emphasizing her record as a prosecutor, senator, and vice president and advocating for increased voter turnout, and his criticisms of donald trump and the republican party were widely reported by various media outlets.[499][500] after trump was declared the winner of the election on november 6, obama and michelle congratulated him and vice president elect jd vance while praising the harris campaign and calling on liberal voters to continue supporting democracy and human rights.[501] obama has been described as one of the most effective campaigners in american history (his 2008 campaign being particularly highlighted) as well as one of the most talented political orators of the 21st century.[502][503][504] historian julian zelizer credits obama with "a keen sense of how the institutions of government work and the ways that his team could design policy proposals." zeitzer notes obama's policy successes included the economic stimulus package which ended the great recession and the dodd frank financial and consumer protection reforms, as well as the affordable care act. zeitzer also notes the democratic party lost power and numbers of elected officials during obama's term, saying that the consensus among historians is that obama "turned out to be a very effective policymaker but not a tremendously successful party builder." zeitzer calls this the "defining paradox of obama's presidency".[505] the brookings institution noted that obama passed "only one major legislative achievement (obamacare) and a fragile one at that the legacy of obama's presidency mainly rests on its tremendous symbolic importance and the fate of a patchwork of executive actions."[506] david w. wise noted that obama fell short "in areas many progressives hold dear", including the continuation of drone strikes, not going after big banks during the great recession, and failing to strengthen his coalition before pushing for obamacare. wise called obama's legacy that of "a disappointingly conventional president".[507] obama's most significant accomplishment is generally considered to be the affordable care act (aca), provisions of which went into effect from 2010 to 2020. many attempts by senate republicans to repeal the aca, including a "skinny repeal", have thus far failed.[508] however, in 2017, the penalty for violating the individual mandate was repealed effective 2019.[509] together with the health care and education reconciliation act amendment, it represents the u.s. healthcare system's most significant regulatory overhaul and expansion of coverage since the passage of medicare and medicaid in 1965.[510][511][512][513] many commentators credit obama with averting a threatened depression and pulling the economy back from the great recession.[508] according to the u.s. bureau of labor statistics, the obama administration created 11.3 million jobs from the month after his first inauguration to the end of his second term.[514] in 2010, obama signed into effect the dodd frank wall street reform and consumer protection act. passed as a response to the financial crisis of 2007 2008, it brought the most significant changes to financial regulation in the united states since the regulatory reform that followed the great depression under democratic president franklin d. roosevelt.[515] in 2009, obama signed into law the national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2010, which contained in it the matthew shepard and james byrd jr. hate crimes prevention act, the first addition to existing federal hate crime law in the united states since democratic president bill clinton signed into law the church arson prevention act of 1996. the act expanded existing federal hate crime laws in the united states, and made it a federal crime to assault people based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.[516] as president, obama advanced lgbt rights.[517] in 2010, he signed the don't ask, don't tell repeal act, which brought an end to "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the u.s. armed forces that banned open service from lgbt people; the law went into effect the following year.[518] in 2016, his administration brought an end to the ban on transgender people serving openly in the u.s. armed forces.[519][239] a gallup poll, taken in the final days of obama's term, showed that 68 percent of americans believed the u.s. had made progress on lgbt rights during obama's eight years in office.[520] obama substantially escalated the use of drone strikes against suspected militants and terrorists associated with al qaeda and the taliban.[521] in 2016, the last year of his presidency, the u.s. dropped 26,171 bombs on seven different countries.[522][523] obama left about 8,400 u.s. troops in afghanistan, 5,262 in iraq, 503 in syria, 133 in pakistan, 106 in somalia, seven in yemen, and two in libya at the end of his presidency.[524] according to pew research center and united states bureau of justice statistics, from december 31, 2009, to december 31, 2015, inmates sentenced in u.s. federal custody declined by five percent. this is the largest decline in sentenced inmates in u.s. federal custody since democratic president jimmy carter. by contrast, the federal prison population increased significantly under presidents ronald reagan, george h. w. bush, bill clinton, and george w. bush.[525] human rights watch (hrw) called obama's human rights record "mixed", adding that "he has often treated human rights as a secondary interest nice to support when the cost was not too high, but nothing like a top priority he championed."[222] obama left office in january 2017 with a 60 percent approval rating.[526][527] he gained 10 spots from the same survey in 2015 from the brookings institution that ranked him the 18th greatest american president.[528] in gallup's 2018 job approval poll for the past 10 u.s. presidents, he received a 63 percent approval rating.[529] the barack obama presidential center is obama's planned presidential library. it will be hosted by the university of chicago and located in jackson park on the south side of chicago.[530] obama received the norwegian nobel committee's nobel peace prize in 2009, the shoah foundation institute for visual history and education's ambassador of humanity award in 2014, the john f. kennedy profile in courage award in 2017, and the robert f. kennedy center for justice and human rights ripple of hope award in 2018. he was named time magazine's time person of the year in 2008 and 2012. he also received two grammy awards for best spoken word album for dreams from my father (2006), and the audacity of hope (2008) as well as two primetime emmy awards for outstanding narrator for our great national parks (2022), and working: what we do all day (2023). he also won two children's and family emmy awards.

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trump administration supported by unbuttoned in a visual age, the presumptive republican presidential nominee is making himself into the 51st star. by vanessa friedman vanessa friedman has been tracking presidential image making since the bush vs. gore campaign. when donald j. trump held his post conviction news conference at trump tower after his hush money trial in may, he did so in his signature red (tie), white (shirt) and blue (suit), standing before so many flags he looked like a head bobbing in an ocean of patriotic hues. it was a bit of star spangled scenography for the presumptive republican presidential nominee, who, more than any of his predecessors, has embraced the flag as his official fashion inspiration, using imagery to make it a synonym for himself. (one of his favorite personal factoids is that today, june 14, happens to be both his birthday and flag day, the date designated by woodrow wilson in 1916 to commemorate the official adoption of the american flag.) in almost every major appearance, mr. trump stands planted in a forest of flags   54 of them on the last night of the 2020 republican convention alone. descending from trump air, he passes beneath an imposing flag waving proudly on the tail, the colors echoed in his clothing as if he alighted from a flying flag himself. “most presidents have one flag behind them when they speak, maybe two,” said lindsay m. chervinsky, a senior fellow at the center for presidential history at southern methodist university and the author of the coming book “making the presidency.”

supported by as the artist brings her las vegas residency to an end, she leaves behind a major fashion legacy. just call her madame a. by vanessa friedman he has just left his fourth job at a big brand. maybe it’s time he start one of his own. would you buy that? by vanessa friedman with very little time to prepare for the campaign trail, the vice president is sticking to her suits   a political move of its own. by vanessa friedman between designer less brands and rampant gossip, fashion is having a meltdown. and it’s not because of the heat. by vanessa friedman the vice presidential candidate is the first major party nominee with facial hair in 75 years. by vanessa friedman in a visual age, the presumptive republican presidential nominee is making himself into the 51st star. by vanessa friedman robert f. kennedy jr. has a secret weapon up his rolled up shirt sleeves. by vanessa friedman during her time on the stand in former president donald j. trump’s criminal trial, the adult entertainer dressed for history   and a jury. by vanessa friedman the robotic nerd depicted in “the social network” has turned into the kinder, more accessible face of silicon valley. what’s going on?