STU lecture breaks down Donald Trump’s first nine months in office

Attendees who filled the room watched as Tom Bateman, Connor Barry, Amanda DiPaolo, Shaun Narine, Jamie Gillies and Laura Levick (left to right) discussed the Trump Administration's nine months in the Oval Office. (Submitted: Gisele Gallibois)

On Sept. 17, Shaun Narine, the chair of STU’s political science department, took the stage at Brian Mulroney Hall at St. Thomas University (STU) to start the forum “Chaos Rules: (Nearly) Nine Months of the Trump Administration.” 

The room was filled to its capacity and as students grabbed chairs from nearby classrooms to be part of the lecture, attendees waited to hear from STU professors about Donald Trump’s actions and how they have impacted global affairs and human rights.

The political science, human rights and communications and public policy departments gave a ten-minute presentation on Trump’s threats to democracy, his extreme rhetoric and the growing political polarization in the U.S.

Political science professor Laura Levick began the discussion.

“Looking at the U.S. today, what's striking about the present state of this debate is how the political right has adopted the very tactics it wants to cry. If cancelling a speaker for holding objectionable views is wrong, how is it different to cancel a research grant because the word ‘gender’ or ‘diversity’ appears in its abstract?” said Levick. 

She highlighted the Trump administration's threats to withhold $400 million from Columbia University and $2.2 billion from Harvard over perceived ideological indoctrination.

Levick pointed to the University of Florida's use of surveillance tools as an example of how political agendas are reshaping higher education under the guise of defending free speech.

Tom Bateman, political science professor at STU, compared Trump’s family to a “New York crime family.” 

“Mafia families are interested in vendettas and there are lots of examples of the Trump administration going after enemies made recently or enemies made some time ago, even former members of his administration,” said Bateman. 

Bateman argued that Trump's volatile policy-making and transactional politics lead to unpredictable outcomes. He described Trump’s second term as “a slow-motion train wreck.”

The forum was also co-hosted by Connor Barry, political science professor, Amanda DiPaolo, human rights professor, and Jamie Gillies, STU’s coordinator of communications and public policy. 

Under Trump’s administration, executive orders have targeted immigration policies, transgender rights and basic human rights protection.

DiPaolo mentioned that Trump's first week in office saw the escalation of discrimination within the country. 

“The Department of Justice ordered an immediate halt to new civil rights cases or investigations from being initiated,” she said. 

She also highlighted the recent cuts the Trump administration made to health care, with uninsured women and underserved communities feeling the impact the most.

“I am so exhausted talking about human rights violations with the Trump administration. It is absolutely overwhelming,” said DiPaolo. “The Democrats in Congress have not been any help in stopping the president.”

Gillies was the last professor to make his remarks, highlighting Trump’s control over the media and the Democratic Party’s inability to take over the media cycle. 

“The entire [Democratic] Party is narrow, casting their message, not broadcasting it to get more voters … elected officials are so disconnected, not just from the base, but from the American people,” said Gillies.  

The forum concluded with questions from the audience raising further debate on topics such as Charlie Kirk’s assassination and the next steps of the Democratic Party in the 2028 elections.