I admit it: I underestimated Trump’s political ability. Let’s first look at his current approval rating:
From the Pew article:
“Trump’s current 47% approval rating is higher today than it was at the beginning of his first term in office.
His rating is also higher than at any other point in his first four-year term, and far higher than when he left office in early 2021 (Trump’s approval fell to 29% in the wake of the 2020 presidential election and his rejection of its results)”
Add to that how poorly the Democrats are viewed right now:
“A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday had this stunning finding: While Americans were about evenly split in their views of the Republican Party (43 percent favorable to 45 percent unfavorable), negative views of the Democratic Party outpaced positive ones by 26 points — 31 percent favorable to 57 percent unfavorable.
That’s not only a huge imbalance but also an unprecedented one.
In fact, Democrats’ 57 percent unfavorable rating is their highest ever in Quinnipiac’s polling, dating back to 2008, while the GOP’s 43 percent favorable rating is its highest ever.”
And, the Democrats appear to have not changed their minds at all. The Bernie types think is because the Democrats didn’t run a “tax the billionaires and give the poor free stuff” type campaign. The wokes: well, the Democrats didn’t back Hamas or perhaps it was because they didn’t push for reparations for Black people, etc.
It appears to me that every block that normally associates with the Democratic party is utterly blind to how those outside the block views them.
Take a look at some of the protests. You have the pro-Mexican migrants marching…waving…Mexican flags. That is a weird way to try to make the point that you want to remain in the United States.
Take a look at some of the pushback against, well, in this case, a genuine racist in government:
Uh..so you insult one of the largest voting blocks? By the way, she was responding to a genuinely racist statement from a sitting undersecretary.
I think much of the problem is the divide between the academic and non-academic worlds. In academia: the “not-privileged” has a green light to throw rocks at the “privileged.” It does not work that way in the rest of society.
And, by nature, the Democrats want to see themselves the “ally” of “the marginalized.” Well, almost by definition, “the marginalized” are unpopular with the public. So, that is a handicap right at the start.
And so Trump takes advantage of this. He signs executive orders such as the ones that bans transwomen from competing in women’s divisions (yes, the correct call..but this is a tiny issue). Yes, the Democrats can’t help but rally around the unpopular position.
Trump attacks DEI, which, frankly, IS unpopular. Yes, a “fair shot” is popular, but what DEI means, *in practice* is dreary HR mandated training and often unfunded mandates which makes more uncompensated work for everyone else.
Trump has a good feel for what people resent and he attacks that.
By the way, I am still sorry that Trump won; I voted Harris. But my goodness, the Democrats have made themselves toxic.
The message appears to be: “The Democrats are for everyone BUT you, and Trump is for YOU.” Yes, it is a damned lie, but it sells.
Life of an old goat 