The Presidency GapFill

The power of the president is described as 'cyclical'. There are a number of different events which can cause a president to be strong or weak during his/her term of office. Firstly, the strength of a president's   partyviewsmanifestomandate is dependent on the   strength of his/her election victorystrength of his/her supportstrength of his/her ideologystrength of his/her message, and this can then make it difficult for   the peoplethe governorsCongressthe states to ignore his/her requests, especially if his/her election victory is strong. However, if a president is less successful in elections, it is likely that power will be harder to come by. 

One of the ways in which the strength of his/her election victory can be demonstrated is through the   bully pulpitelectoral mandatecoattails effectpowers of persuasion, which means that if a political leader does well in an election, it can lead to other candidates doing well. Conversely, the lack of this support can lead to a president not being able to attract sufficient support from Congress. The extent to which a president can push through  an ideological viewpartisanshipdivided governmenta legislative agenda depends on whether or not Congress is held by one party or two parties. 

National events can also be a significant help or hindrance to a president's power. For example,   Hurricane MariaHurricane Katrinathe Sandy Hook shootingthe 9/11 attacks allowed George Bush to push forward an aggressive foreign policy agenda due to the substantial increase in poll ratings he received afterwards and the need for America to have a strong leader to channel people's fears into action. However,  the 2016 presidential election resultthe 2008 economic crashthe 2014 midterms resultthe Sandy Hook shooting limited Obama's plans given that he needed to deal with kick-starting the economy.  

The president's power is not solely focused on such events. It is also dependent on its relationship with the other branches of government. The constitutional framework is designed to further compromise between the branches, but, more often than not, more and more partisanship is seen between the branches, even when Congress and the Executive are controlled by the same party.  If a president is not willing to engage with Congress, it becomes   fearful ofentrenched withindisenchanted withideological itself.

As has generally been the case since its inception, it is very difficult to influence the Supreme Court beyond  forced resignationimpeachment proceedingsa president nominating justicesamicus briefs. There have been times when presidents have criticised the decisions of the Supreme Court, especially during the administrations of Obama and Trump. Equally, they have praised the court when decisions are made which are in line with the presidential agenda.