Policy Breakfast: “One Year into the Trump Administration”

The French-American Foundation recently hosted its first Policy Breakfast of 2018 with two experts in politics and journalism. They discussed their thoughts on the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency with a unique perspective on the French-American relationship.

The guest speaker, Douglas Schoen, has been one of the most influential American Democratic consultants for nearly forty years. He has worked with heads of state both domestically and internationally, including President Bill Clinton and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He was accompanied by French journalist and entrepreneur Emmanuel Saint-Martin, New York correspondent for France 24 and the CEO and founder of the e-magazine French Morning. The magazine covers news for French speakers in New York City.

Mr. Schoen shared his opinions on a range of topics encouraged by questions from Mr. Saint-Martin. As a centrist Democrat, and drawing upon his experience working for Donald Trump in a corporate capacity over two decades ago, Mr. Scheon examined the president’s public image, political strategies, and specific policies. He analyzed the reactions to his presidency by supporters and opponents, both in an out of office, and spoke about possible scenarios for the 2020 presidential election.

The discussion between Mr. Schoen, Mr. Saint-Martin, and the group of participants touched on comparisons between Trump’s presidency and Emmanuel Macron’s. Both elections were shocks to their respective political systems for very different reasons. Macron, a relative newcomer to the political sphere, won the election against the longstanding party of Marine Le Pen. Trump ran for president as an outsider within the Republican Party, winning despite a loss of the popular vote. The Q&A at the end of the breakfast analyzed the current US administration through an international lens with input from French and American professionals in various fields living in New York.