Objectively he is. It's just in 2 out of 3 presidential elections he's been up against someone worse and he had the polished facade of an accomplished no-nonsense businessman from The Apprentice going into 2016. (Obviously he had his string of failed businesses, shorted contractors, and legal issues as well but they didn't seem to gain traction or be as well known outside of NY.)
I don’t quite agree. People know Trump now, they know his secrets and his issues. But he succeeded in convincing many people that the US was in trouble because of the Democrats. He was very good at that. Also, Harris and Biden both faired poorly at acknowledging the economic struggles many people are facing, while Trump echoed or exaggerated those criticisms.
2024 was not a referendum on the American people approving of Trump. It was just proof that Bill Clinton’s campaign in the 90s had it right: “it’s the economy, stupid.”
I’m not doing badly for myself and I’m still making less money adjusted for inflation than I did in 2019. I can only imagine how it must feel living paycheck to paycheck. Meanwhile, the Harris campaign was pissing on those people’s legs and telling them it was raining.
I agree, the Dems spent so much time trying to generate anti-Trump sentiment, which I am OK with, but they ignored the economic issues and lost the gamble.
Trump so normalizes being bad/corrupt that people weren’t swayed by stories of his bad deeds, if anything they were probably getting sick of hearing about… democracy being on the line. And maybe it is, but Harris lost.
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u/bearcatjoe Right Visitor Nov 16 '24
I'd categorize Trump as a bad candidate, but he's also won two elections.