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Jeanne Hey, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, served as a guest on the August 22 installment of Maine Public’s radio show “Maine Calling.” Along with co-guests James Melcher, professor of political science at the University of Maine Farmington, and Colin Woodard, author and political journalist for the Portland Press Herald, Hey participated in a discussion about the latest political news out of Washington, D.C., covering issues that included the departure of Steve Bannon from his role as President Trump’s chief strategist and the previous night’s presidential address about strategy in Afghanistan.

Hey expressed her belief that the ousting of Bannon and what many view as an “about face” by Trump on the issue of Afghanistan would not have a significant impact on Trump’s core supporters. “We’ve … seen that core Trump supporters are pretty much, for the most part, willing to stick with him independent of what he says or does, partly because they feel they have no better alternative,” Hey said.

Hey also discussed ways in which Trump taps into his base of followers, namely, demonstrating an affinity for the military, which, she said, could be viewed as problematic. “He loves being surrounded by generals. He talks about it all the time,” said Hey. “I would say what kind of scares me about that is he’s not surrounding himself with diplomats, and when you’re talking about Afghanistan or anything else, the military side is but one side of the advice you need.”

To learn more about the College of Arts and Sciences, visit www.une.edu/cas

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