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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"Trump understands that he will never be a widely beloved public figure"
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/16/opinions/trump-obamagate-strategy-joe-biden-zelizer/index.htmlWhat Trump is trying to achieve with 'Obamagate'
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Trump understands that he will never be a widely beloved public figure -- he is more like the long list of "heels" in professional wrestling who gain their fame by stirring the fans to boo them. Though his base does love him, many voters profoundly dislike what he stands for and how he conducts himself. As president, Trump has not had much success reversing that fundamental reality, and his approval ratings have consistently clocked in under 50%.
So, what's Trump to do? How do you win reelection with a raging pandemic and an economy in decline? The answer is to convince voters that your opponent is just as unlikable as you. That was the strategy Trump used in 2016 with Hillary Clinton. As candidate, Trump did everything possible to tear down her reputation, stoking allegations of wrongdoing surrounding her use of a private email server as the centerpiece of his narrative. The State Department ultimately found "no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information." Ultimately, Trump was more intent on discrediting Clinton than he was extending an olive branch to those who disagreed with him and working to expand his voter base.
Now, he is attempting to do the same with Joe Biden. The challenge won't be easy, given Biden's image as a decent public servant who has overcome immense personal challenges. So far, former Senate aide Tara Reade's sexual assault allegation against Biden does not seem to have dented his 2020 election standing. (Biden has denied the allegations by saying "it never, never happened." It also doesn't hurt that Biden has close ties with Obama, who continues to be a well-loved figure among the American public.
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)ProfessorGAC
(65,112 posts)The main premise is flawed.
If PINO understood that, he wouldn't be sending tweets about how unappreciated he is.
The author should see something as obvious as the fact that he's desperate for the approval of strangers.
unblock
(52,278 posts)Hillary clearly wanted to unite, clearly wanted to be popular, and earned the vote of 65 million, 3 million more than donnie.
Donnie's entire strategy involved making a big show of offending a big majority of Americans -- blacks, hispanics, women, the differently-abled, etc. his entire strategy relied on a combination of propaganda, cheating, and electoral quirks to turn a very white, male minority into an electoral victory, and then to give a big "f*ck you" to the majority who voted against him.
Donnie has been one of, if not *the*, most overtly divisive and offensive politicians in American history (or at least since the civil war era), and its remarkable how reluctant the media has been to talk about him in such terms and to condemn or doom him for it.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,388 posts)They all stoked the horse race for the money. CNN has tried to be Fox Lite for years.
CNN could dry up and blow away and the world would not be poorer for its passing.
sop
(10,224 posts)his healthcare initiative in '93, and for the next three decades. Biden has largely been spared that level of negativity. I don't think Trump can drive Joe's negatives down in just a few months. The last time he tried, it blew up in his face and he got himself impeached.
robbedvoter
(28,290 posts)I call this turd polishing.