For many millions of Americans, time seemed to move differently under President Donald Trump.

There was no breathing room — no calm in the eye of the storm. From beginning to end — from the “American carnage” inaugural on Jan. 20, 2017, to the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — it felt as though the country was in constant flux, each week a decade. We lurched from dysfunction to chaos and back again, eventually crashing on the shores of the nation’s worst domestic crisis since the Great Depression.

For many, if not most, of these Americans, the choice this November is no choice at all. They escaped Polyphemus once; they don’t intend to return to his den.

There are other voters who take a very different view. To them, Trump’s term was a time of peace and prosperity. They don’t register the pandemic or the subsequent economic crisis as part and parcel of the administration. They don’t hold Trump responsible.

In fact, one of the most striking findings in a number of recent polls is the extent to which a large portion of the electorate has given Trump a pass for his last year in office. For example, in an April CBS News poll of key battleground states, roughly 62 percent of registered voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin said that when they look back at 2020, their state’s economy was good. In the moment, however, a majority of voters in those states disapproved of Trump’s handling of the economy.

Again, Trump presided over a recession worsened by his total failure to manage the coronavirus. As Covid deaths mounted, Trump spread misinformation and left states scrambling for needed supplies. It was not until after the March stock market crash that the White House issued its plan to blunt the economic impact of the pandemic. And the most generous provisions found in the CARES Act, including a vast expansion of unemployment benefits, were negotiated into the bill by Democratic lawmakers.

None of this seems to matter to voters. “The economy” under Trump is simply the one that existed from Jan. 20, 2017, to March 13, 2020, when the White House declared the coronavirus a national public health emergency. For everything else after that date, the former president gets a pass.

No other president has gotten this kind of excused absence for mismanaging a crisis that happened on his watch. We don’t bracket the secession crisis from our assessment of James Buchanan or the Great Depression from our judgment of Herbert Hoover or the hostage crisis in Iran from our assessment of Jimmy Carter. And for good reason: The presidency was designed for crisis. It was structured with the power and autonomy needed for handling the acute challenges of national life.

Non-paywall link

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    1 month ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    In fact, one of the most striking findings in a number of recent polls is the extent to which a large portion of the electorate has given Trump a pass for his last year in office.

    And the most generous provisions found in the CARES Act, including a vast expansion of unemployment benefits, were negotiated into the bill by Democratic lawmakers.

    “The economy” under Trump is simply the one that existed from Jan. 20, 2017, to March 13, 2020, when the White House declared the coronavirus a national public health emergency.

    “Those politicians and statesmen who have been the most celebrated for the soundness of their principles and for the justice of their views have declared in favor of a single executive and a numerous legislature,” Hamilton wrote.

    We have made it a point to judge presidents on the basis of their ability to handle a crisis, whether war or internal rebellion or economic collapse.

    With the notable exception of Operation Warp Speed — which he now disavows as he caters to anti-vaccine sentiment among Republican voters — Trump failed to handle his crisis, and the nation paid a steep price in lives as a result.


    The original article contains 1,060 words, the summary contains 196 words. Saved 82%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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    1 month ago

    Well I’m not, and my state is not. The problem is all the other states.

    Check the map, here’s how the majority of states are going to break:

    The seven beige states are the ones that were close enough in 2020 that Trump tried the fake elector scheme to steal the election.

    Well, how’s that going for Biden now?

    Nevada - Trump +12 to +14.
    https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/nevada/

    Arizona - Trump +6 to +9
    https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/arizona/

    New Mexico - For some reason, the current poll only shows Trump vs. Kennedy and Biden vs. Kennedy with Kennedy winning both times. Not reliable as a) Kennedy is not even on the ballot there, and b) The race is not going to be artificially limited like that.

    Leaving it taupe as the last viable poll was last August.

    https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/new-mexico/

    RFK’s ballot map.
    https://elections2024.thehill.com/

    Wisconsin - Dead heat. Four recent polls show tie, Biden +2, Trump +1, Trump +1.

    Michigan - Dead heat. Four recent polls show Biden +1, Biden +3, Trump +2, Trump +7.

    https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/michigan/

    Pennsylvania - Trump +3 to +4

    https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/pennsylvania/

    Georgia - Trump +6 to +10

    https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/georgia/

    So here’s what that looks like… even with the tossup states still being tossups, Biden can’t win.

    Heck, give PA, MI, WI and NM to Biden… he still loses.

    • beardown@lemm.ee
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      1 month ago

      Why is Minnesota red in your maps? In reality, MN is about as solidly blue as Ohio is solidly red.

      And MN is a significantly bluer state than Pennsylvania, Michigan, or Wisconsin

      Also, why tf is West Virginia blue? It’s the second reddest state in the country behind Oklahoma

    • slurpinderpin@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      I’m in GA, and I’ve never answered one of these bullshit polls. And no way in hell will I vote for Sleepy Don Snoreleone. This is all just guesswork

        • beardown@lemm.ee
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          1 month ago

          Their governor is a Social Democrat and is popular

          Trump is not winning Minnesota

          Although MN does also have a sizable Muslim immigrant population, hence Ilhan Omar’s election. Which means that perhaps Biden should pivot hard on Gaza if he wants to firmly win there or Michigan

    • IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      We’re months out, and polling seems to be getting more and more unreliable, I wouldn’t put any stock in these kinds of polls.

      For example, I’ll be amazed if MN goes red.

  • snownyte@kbin.social
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    1 month ago

    It’s really Biden’s fault in some ways for why he’s cornered himself into potentially losing. We can’t entirely say it’s the voter’s fault.

    It’s the Republican’s fault for taking the time to try and make it as painful as it is to vote through mail-in ballots, so long as DeJoy remains.

  • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    From the newspaper that’s been championing the #BidenSoOld stuff!

    …yes, I realize it’s an op-ed piece, but still. How much ink/screen space has NYT spent on #BidenSoOld to prop up the horse-race bullshit? I’m thinking all the very rich owners of these outlets are thinking all their wealth will shield them from the very worst outcomes of another Ronald McDonald presidency. Apparently, they have learned little from the past.

  • NutWrench@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Every damn day during the Trump presidency would be about some stupid sh*t that Donald said or did. You literally couldn’t keep up with it.

    • Fredselfish@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Between Trump getting back in office to the nut jobs drinking raw milk to purposely catch the bird flu, I say if he winss and it mutates then we are fucked.

  • stevedidwhat_infosec@infosec.pub
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    1 month ago

    It’s pretty simple. He failed to help out average people, but people mistake current actions with current administration. Some bills and other items don’t take effect for years to come (including the bills trump put in which were now seeing tank things for the middle class again)

    People, so long as they are not educated and kept busy, will not ever look past surface level findings, and the era we are in, is very much so complicated and well below surface level. That’s the reality.

    If you seriously can get behind a tyrant who’s literally said he’d jail opponents, media, etc. then that’s symptomatic of the class/culture in your area. That purely anti American and if you can’t see that you are beyond talking to.

    We cannot afford to have trump back in office again. Vote. Fight for others rights to vote. Do whatever you can, when you can, how you can. Every little bit matters and unity against the nation of kings is vital if we’re serious about real change for ALL.

    Time to remove these leaches and treat the infection.

  • brain_in_a_box@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    Well you failed to learn anything at all and have insisted on doing the exact same things that lead to him getting elected the first time. So yes, probably

  • BreadstickNinja@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    He’s not going to “fail” in his second term. If anything, we should be glad his first term failed - that due to the chaos and incompetence of his administration they failed to achieve any of the horrific shit he had discussed on the campaign trail. His only legislative win was a tax cut for the wealthy.

    Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 will make sure that doesn’t happen during a second administration. They will purge the civil service and restaff with party loyalists who won’t be held up by due process or legality.

    The terrifying thing is not another Trump failure. The terrifying thing is if he and the Christian nationalists backing him succeed.

    • paf0@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      His only legislative win was a tax cut? Let’s not forget the Supreme Court. The Christian nationalists already won a big prize with Roe being overturned. Some of them want to take away more civil rights with gay marriage and now even divorce, hopefully people are paying attention.

    • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      He didn’t fail at his agenda at all. He succeeded in repealing 112 climate regulations, appointed 234 judges (three to the Supreme Court), repealing civil rights for LGBTQ+, Black, and Muslim rights, allowed for the detainment, torture, and sexual assault of immigrant children while deporting their parents, set up alliances with Russia, North Korea, and Hungary, cut taxes disproportionately for the wealthy which widened the already exploitative wealth inequality, and much more.

      That was his first time holding any office, and it happened during a pandemic. How much damage do you think he will cause if he gets another chance?

  • hperrin@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    This is what you get with democracy. Whoever gets the most votes, wi… wait… Trump has never gotten the most votes…

    • Kühe sind toll@feddit.de
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      1 month ago

      The voting system in the US is so incredibly dumb. Just because you got a few more votes in the right places you are able to win, even if you don’t have the majority of votes.

    • Naz@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      Listen, sometimes democracy needs a little helping hand, or in this case, a giant …

      Who am I kidding, we’ve learned our lesson.

      Right? Right?

      Vote.

  • lettruthout@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    He succeeded for the rich and failed for the rest of us - and future generations (increased debt, doubting climate change, etc).

  • Suavevillain@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Biden and The Dems pretty much want Trump to win at this point. They don’t plan to change course or address any material needs or issues.

    • vonbaronhans@midwest.social
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      1 month ago

      Ah, yes, a political party that spends millions and millions of dollars and countless labor hours running campaigns really wants to lose the election.

      Biden et al may not do everything we want, but it’s ignorant to suggest they aren’t at least trying to change some things.

      • Suavevillain@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        If you believe that political party has any of your interests at heart, you’re extremely gullible. People aren’t asking them for the world just a basic standard of living and to stop enabling genocide.

          • Suavevillain@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            How did you get that out of that statement? One party can be better than another, and both could still not have your interests at heart. Standing beside fascists throwing immigrants under the bus and enabling genocide and police violence isn’t a good way to say you want to save Democracy.

    • zerog_bandit@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      It’s almost like a large aggregation of people don’t agree with supporting the terrorist Hamas organization.