Invoking 25th Amendment will further divide the nation, UB political scientist says

BUFFALO, N.Y. — University at Buffalo political scientist James E. Campbell is available to discuss the national political landscape in the wake of the violence Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol.

“If you want to heal the nation, I can’t think of a worse idea than using the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump. It’s like pouring gasoline on a bonfire,” says Campbell, a UB Distinguished Professor of political science in the UB College of Arts and Sciences.

Campbell studies polarization and has written extensively on the subject, including his book, “Polarized: Making Sense of a Divided America,” which was named to Choice’s 2016 list of Outstanding Academic Titles.

He says that even if lawmakers pull back from calls to invoke the 25th Amendment, the nation will remain deeply divided.

“I just don’t see people coming together, especially after a bitterly divisive campaign and contentious post-campaign controversies,” Campbell says. “There is a substantial divide over whether the 2020 presidential election was a free and fair election. Though most Democrats and the mainstream media believe that it was, polls indicate about three out of four Republicans believe it was not. This will, undoubtedly, fuel further polarized conflict in the coming years.”

In addition to his research on polarization, Campbell is a recognized leader in the field of election forecasting and has a record extending back the early 1990s of highly accurate forecasts of presidential and congressional elections based on statistical models.