President Trump is remaking Washington DC and the Republican Party. How does the Trump White House work? Who does the president listen to? How are populist and nationalist forces remaking the Republican Party and all it stands for?
Few journalists are as well-wired in Washington as Axios’ Jonathan Swan, who has scooped some of the biggest stories in US politics in 2017. Swan has published detailed accounts of President Trump’s conduct in the Oval Office, explained bitter disagreements between different ‘tribes’ of advisers in Trump’s White House, and projected an ugly fight for the future of the Republican Party.
In conversation with CEO Simon Jackman, they parsed the shifting political dynamics in the United States. The event examined the state of Washington under President Trump, with an emphasis on divisions between and within the Trump White House and Republican Congress, and the role of Republican-aligned media organisations, political donors and lobby groups.
Jonathan Swan
National Political Reporter, Axios
Jonathan Swan is a national political reporter with Axios, where he covers the Trump presidency and Republican leaders in Congress. Swan has scooped countless major stories this year, and his weekly ‘Sneak Peek’ email offers an insider’s preview of upcoming developments at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. Previously, Swan was a reporter at The Hill, where he focussed on Republican donors and campaign finance during the presidential campaign, and was named by Politico as one of the "16 breakout media stars" of 2016. Prior to joining The Hill, Swan held a yearlong fellowship with the American Political Science Association. An Australian, Swan started his career as a political correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald, based in Parliament’s Press Gallery, and in 2014 was awarded the Wallace Brown Award for most outstanding young journalist.
Professor Simon Jackman
Professor Simon Jackman was Chief Executive Officer of the United States Studies Centre from April 2016 to May 2022. Between 1996 and 2016, he was a Professor of Political Science and Statistics at Stanford University. Jackman's teaching and research centres on public opinion, election campaigns, political participation, and electoral systems with special emphasis on American and Australian politics.
