April 25, 2024

Farnsworth Lectures on Political Humor

Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth

Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth

Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, recently delivered an online lecture to American University students entitled, “Political Humor and Donald Trump, the president and former president,” which was drawn from his co-authored book, Late Night With Trump: Political Humor and the American Presidency. Discover more info on the book.

Farnsworth has also appeared in several recent media mentions, including:

Experience vs. generational change: Deeds and Hudson square off for Democratic state Senate nomination (Cardinal News)
“In the wake of the redistricting, a lot of younger candidates for office are emerging, hoping to take advantage of new districts and electorates that may be more supportive of a more liberal vision of the Democratic party,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington.

Three Democrats hope to succeed John Edwards in the state Senate (Cardinal News)

“The big challenge for Virginia Democrats in any rural Virginia district is to figure out a way to thread the needle in a way Edwards did,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington. “You have to be sufficiently conservative to not scare voters who are independent, but sufficiently liberal so Democrats turn out in decent numbers.”
Who’ll control the House and Senate? Early voting begins for Virginia primary elections (WJLA)
“Given the Democratic gains over the last several election cycles, I think a number of Democrats are thinking they might be okay with a more liberal nominee, that they might be able to win regardless,” said Dr. Stephen Farnsworth, the professor of Political Science at the University of Mary Washington. “And so, you’re looking at a whole series of Democratic incumbents that are facing challenges, more aggressive challengers that they’ve seen in primaries in years past, challengers that are making an argument that the party needs to be more liberal, needs to move further to the left, but also that it’s time for a new generation of democratic elected officials to come to the fore. It’s a really, really compelling cycle. In terms of the choices that voters have. This is also going on of course on the Republican side, too.
Cortez: Local and National Marketing on Cinco de Mayo (Bearing Drift)
Conservatives are privately, however, questioning the unbiased actuality of the forum. So are many professionals such as the respected University of Mary Washington Director of political science, Dr. Stephen Farnsworth, or The Republican Standard’s Shaun Kenney.

Senator Ben Cardin will retire in 2024. Who might his successor be? (DC News Now)
“Ben took his job seriously. He looked at budgets, he looked at Medicaid and healthcare financing issues, and a lot of people have benefited from this serious attention. … It’s always a sad day when the number of serious Senators in Washington drops by one,” said Stephen Farnsworth, Professor of Political Science at the University of Mary Washington.
https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/maryland/senator-ben-cardin-will-retire-in-2024-who-might-his-successor-be/

Northern Virginia Poised to Lose Influence (The Connection)
“This is going to be one of the hardest fought campaign cycles in Virginia history,” said Stephen Farnsworth, director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington. “Both parties are raising immense amounts of money compared to the past, and both parties are going to be looking at a lot of vulnerable incumbents and promising challengers as they try to reshape the legislature that takes office next January.”