The Rhetorical Post-presidency: Former Presidents as Elite Cue Givers.

This article examines the continued political influence of former U.S. presidents through what the authors term the "rhetorical post-presidency," whereby ex-presidents leverage their enduring rhetorical power to shape public opinion despite lacking formal authority. Using two survey experiments conducted in 2020 and 2022, the study tests whether statements attributed to former presidents affect public support for U.S. foreign policy interventions in scenarios involving piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Results indicate that while some former presidents, notably Barack Obama, can significantly influence public opinion—especially among copartisans—this influence is highly individualized and often limited by partisan alignment, with little evidence of broad postpartisan appeal. The study also finds that Donald Trump's effectiveness as a political cue diminished after leaving office, highlighting variability in post-presidential rhetorical power across individuals and political contexts.