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 presented a guest online lecture, “The Trump Presidential Transition: What is New and What is Not,” for the American Studies Program at the University of Warsaw, Poland. Dr. Farnsworth served as a 2024 Fulbright Distinguished Scholar at the University of Warsaw.
In addition, recent media mentions for Farnsworth include:
Virginia special election could decide control in Richmond (NBC Washington)
“The odds are that we are looking at a status quo,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/politics/virginia-special-election-could-decide-control-in-richmond/3807999/
2025 Virginia Legislative Preview (Commentary, FXBG Advance)
If you like legislative gridlock, then you have come to the right place, Virginia.
https://www.fxbgadvance.com/p/2025-virginia-legislative-preview?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&triedRedirect=true
New poll indicates Spanberger, Earle-Sears in tight Virginia governor’s race (Virginia Dogwood; CBS 19 News; WWBT)
“The poll shows that, once again, purple state Virginia, is in for a pretty compelling election season,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in an interview with The Dogwood.
https://vadogwood.com/2025/01/09/new-poll-indicates-spanberger-earle-sears-in-tight-virginia-governors-race/
https://www.cbs19news.com/news/state/spanberger-earle-sears-deadlocked-in-tight-virginia-governor-s-race-new-poll-finds/article_3412330a-26d1-58e3-ad43-44279111f92f.html
https://www.12onyourside.com/2025/01/09/spanberger-earle-sears-deadlocked-tight-virginia-governors-race-new-poll-finds/?outputType=amp
Virginia elections signal no major shift in voter sentiment in a state watched closely for clues (The Seattle Times; Newsbreak; WFMJ; MSN)
Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, said unlike the special elections, Virginia at-large is more competitive, rendering the races a better indicator of where voters are nationally.
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/virginia-elections-signal-no-major-shift-in-voter-sentiment-in-a-state-watched-closely-for-clues/
https://www.newsbreak.com/wtvr-cbs-6-563678/3750373741389-virginia-elections-signal-no-major-shift-in-voter-sentiment
https://www.wfmj.com/story/52138648/virginia-elections-signal-no-major-shift-in-voter-sentiment-in-a-state-watched-closely-for-clueshttps://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/elections/virginia-elections-signal-no-major-shift-in-voter-sentiment-in-a-state-watched-closely-for-clues/ar-AA1xc1N6?apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1
Young generations honor late President Jimmy Carter’s influence and leadership (WJLA)
“He saw a partner in the District. He sent his daughter Amy to public school, something that presidents do not do other than Jimmy Carter in recent decades. You see, of course, with Jimmy Carter, he worshipped at local churches. He was very much connected to the community at a time that was really, really, important for the District in the rise of home rule,” Farnsworth said.
https://wjla.com/news/local/thousands-come-out-for-second-night-to-pay-tribute-to-president-carter-thousands-turn-out-to-honor-president-jimmy-carter-late-tribute-funeral-procession-us-capitol-security-presidential-mourning-national-day-travelers-washington-dc-capitol-hill-natio
Start of Virginia’s General Assembly session delayed because of Richmond water outage (Virginia Pilot)
“The big uncertainty going into the election today is the weather,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington. “Will people get out and turn out in sufficient numbers today to match previous special elections in January? My guess is that won’t be the case.”
https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/01/07/start-of-virginias-general-assembly-session-delayed-because-of-richmond-water-outage/?share=sseowty2allawassegse
Trump doubles down on threats of U.S. control in Greenland as son visits country (Global News)
“There has been a pattern throughout Donald Trump’s career in politics and his business to ask for very extreme things in the hope that something less unreasonable will be part of an eventual compromise,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
https://globalnews.ca/video/10947886/trump-doubles-down-on-threats-of-u-s-control-in-greenland-as-son-visits-country/
Virginia’s legislative gridlock looms as Gov. Youngkin’s term nears end (WUSA 9; YourGV.com; Fauquier Now )
With a Republican governor and Democratic-controlled House and Senate, Dr. Stephen Farnsworth of University of Mary Washington said expect a legislative hurdle once again. “I expect a gridlock,” Farnsworth said. “The governor and the Democratic majorities in the legislature have shown little interest in working with each other since Gov. Youngkin first became governor. Year four will likely be marked with pushing things into next year.”
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/virginia/virginia-general-assembly-session-returns-this-week-with-gridlock-expected/65-601aa68a-b436-46ee-8cc5-30fa2cb4375d
https://www.yourgv.com/news/state/battles-loom-as-general-assembly-returns-to-richmond/article_c706ad92-cd29-11ef-9fbc-9b9e6e655be7.html
https://www.fauquiernow.com/news/government_politics/legislative-battles-ahead-in-richmond-as-session-kicks-off-this-week/article_84905fd2-ccff-11ef-8218-532f879fc2b8.html
Virginia special elections suggest no major political shift since November (Roll Call)
“You’re not looking at races that one would describe as swing districts or representative of larger trends in the commonwealth, much less nationally,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science and international affairs professor at the University of Mary Washington. “At most, you could say that the partisan divisions of November continue to exist in January.” https://rollcall.com/2025/01/08/virginia-special-elections/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-07/elon-musk-and-donald-trump-will-the-bromance-last/104793578
U.S. House Passes Government Funding Bill (CTV News Canada)
“This was a big defeat for the president-elect,” said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington. “He engaged in this question to get an extension of the debt ceiling, and he wasn’t able to get it. He wasn’t able to get it in fact because a significant number of Republicans, members of Trump’s own party, said they weren’t going to go along with it.” https://review.bellmedia.ca/view/1373185395
Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal (Newsday; FOX 2 Now; The Minnesota Star Tribune; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Spectrum News; Los Angeles Times; WTOP)
Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, said Trump tweaking friendly countries harkens back to an aggressive style he used during his days in business. “You ask something unreasonable and it’s more likely you can get something less unreasonable,” said Farnsworth, who is also author of the book “Presidential Communication and Character.”
https://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/trump-greenland-norway-panama-canal-canada-r07657
https://fox2now.com/news/national/ap-us-news/ap-trump-again-calls-to-buy-greenland-after-eyeing-canada-and-the-panama-canal/
https://www.startribune.com/trump-again-calls-to-buy-greenland-after-eyeing-canada-and-the-panama-canal/601198423
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2024/12/23/president-elect-trump-greenland-canada-panama-canal/stories/202412230066
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/triad/news/2024/12/23/trump-again-calls-to-buy-greenland-after-eyeing-canada-and-the-panama-canal
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-12-23/trump-again-calls-to-buy-greenland-after-eyeing-canada-and-the-panama-canal
https://wtop.com/national/2024/12/trump-again-calls-to-buy-greenland-after-eyeing-canada-and-the-panama-canal/
Trump reveals who he wants to replace Justin Trudeau: ‘It would be so much fun to watch’ (Daily Mail, UK)
“Canada is not going to become part of the United States, but Trump’s comments are more about leveraging what he says to get concessions from Canada by putting Canada off balance, particularly given the precarious current political environment in Canada,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14226387/donald-trump-candidate-replace-justin-trudeau-canada-wayne-gretzky.html
Women lead the way in Trump’s second administration (Washington Times)
“One of the challenges that Trump’s press secretaries always have is the conviction that Donald Trump has that he’s the best messenger anyway, and so he tends to manage the public relations aspect of his presidency to a much greater degree than other presidents have,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a politics professor at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/dec/26/women-lead-way-donald-trump-second-administration/
Canada needs leadership to deal with a second Trump term (Niagara Independent)
Professor Stephen Farnsworth, author of the book “Presidential Communication and Character,” says that Trump makes such statements to keep his opponents off balance. “You ask for something unreasonable, and it is more likely you can get something less unreasonable,” he has been quoted as saying.
https://niagaraindependent.ca/canada-needs-leadership-to-deal-with-a-second-trump-term/
The White House of Palm Beach (Le Nouvel Observateur, France)
“During his first term, many people stayed at his hotel just outside the White House to do business with him or curry favor,” notes political scientist Stephen Farnsworth of the University of Mary Washington in Virginia. “He uses his business to political advantage by rewarding those who pay him for privileged access to him. In truth, Trump is a transactional president.”
What to expect from the 2025 Va. General Assembly (Virginia Business)
“What can be put off will be put off,” says political scientist Stephen Farnsworth of the University of Mary Washington. “Expect a session where not much changes. Everybody’s looking ahead to the next election, so they’re not really interested in doing anything that’s going to make their path to another term more difficult.”
https://virginiabusiness.com/inaction-packed/
Exit interview: Rep. Spanberger reflects on six years in Washington, looks ahead to gubernatorial bid (Inside NOVA)
Stephen J. Farnsworth, a political science professor and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington, said Spanberger’s outreach to the ideological middle has been integral to her success in the “purple” 7th District. “She worked very aggressively at focusing on concerns in more rural parts of the area where Republicans are more numerous and basically did better in rural parts of the district than most Democrats usually do,” Farnsworth said. “Issues of importance to farmers, issues of expanding broadband, these are some key things that she focused on to connect with more Republican-leaning parts of the district.”
https://www.insidenova.com/news/exit-interview-rep-spanberger-reflects-on-six-years-in-washington-looks-ahead-to-gubernatorial-bid/article_df29b0d8-c4b2-11ef-975c-274a340fa020.html
Judge upholds Trump’s hush money conviction (CTV News Canada)
“There was no indication that this judge would not proceed with the sentencing relating to the conviction,” said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington. “This conviction was a decision reached by a jury.” https://review.bellmedia.ca/view/364064656
America Pays Tribute to President Carter (CTV News Canada)
If you think about the former president’s life after he left the Oval Office, you saw a commitment that was extraordinary,” said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington. “Most former presidents, they write books, they become consultants, and they figure out ways to give very profitable speaking tours. Jimmy Carter in contrast was focused on eradicating diseases, to building houses and to promoting human rights from start to finish of his political. It’s extraordinary record, one deserving of a great deal of respect.”
https://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=3056951
Trump has two years to cause real chaos and harm and only these people will be able to stop him (The Independent, UK)
Senator Marco Rubio is also someone who would be seen as credible on the international stage, says Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and international affairs at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia. “I’d make the same argument about the treasury secretary designate [hedge fund manager Scott Bessent] who is somebody with a long career in Wall Street, somebody who has been very, very successful in business and economics, and somebody who would be seen as very credible in the financial community. So when you’re looking at Trump’s picks, they’re not all monochromatic, blind loyalists.” https://www.the-independent.com/us/usa-trump-hegseth-rfk-musk-b2669070.html
Legislative battles ahead in Richmond as session kicks off this week (Virginia Mercury; Yahoo News)
Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said that Democrats are unlikely to make many concessions to Youngkin during an election year when the governorship and all 100 seats of the House of Delegates are on the ballot.
https://virginiamercury.com/2025/01/06/legislative-battles-ahead-in-richmond-as-session-kicks-off-this-week/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/legislative-battles-ahead-richmond-session-103037232.html
Biden’s Legacy (The Public Morality)
“The key thing to appreciate is the extent to which it is really hard to see in the moment what really the impacts are,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
https://soundcloud.com/the-public-morality/episode-346-stephen-farnsworth