Trump moved too far right between 2016 and 2020

[Da2017]

https://twitter.com/databyler/status/1430624485846233094?s=20

I thought I'd share this. What stood out to me was how similar voters rated Clinton and Biden.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I suppose that's true. While there were clearly some voters who gave Trump the very undeserved benefit of the doubt; those he ended up turning off, by living up to or exceeding the low expectations that Democrats had for him, probably made the difference in this election.

[Podgy the Bear]

Trump did broaden the tent in that he brought more people in by going further right.  But he alienated more than that and the 7 million deficit in the popular votes reflects that alienation.

The question is whether those people will continue to be rabid Republican voters or will simply drop out if there is no more Trump. 

[perpetual_cynic]

Trump did broaden the tent in that he brought more people in by going further right.  But he alienated more than that and the 7 million deficit in the popular votes reflects that alienation.

The question is whether those people will continue to be rabid Republican voters or will simply drop out if there is no more Trump. 

I also question whether these voters that are traditional Republicans, that voted for Biden will stay with the Dems. They voted more Republican downballot.

[TML]

Trump did broaden the tent in that he brought more people in by going further right.  But he alienated more than that and the 7 million deficit in the popular votes reflects that alienation.

The question is whether those people will continue to be rabid Republican voters or will simply drop out if there is no more Trump. 

I also question whether these voters that are traditional Republicans, that voted for Biden will stay with the Dems. They voted more Republican downballot.

Here's a hint: the phenomenon of left-leaning parties gaining ground in suburban, college-educated areas and losing ground in rural, work-class areas is not just limited to the US - it has also appeared in countries like the UK and Canada.

[perpetual_cynic]

Trump did broaden the tent in that he brought more people in by going further right.  But he alienated more than that and the 7 million deficit in the popular votes reflects that alienation.

The question is whether those people will continue to be rabid Republican voters or will simply drop out if there is no more Trump. 

I also question whether these voters that are traditional Republicans, that voted for Biden will stay with the Dems. They voted more Republican downballot.

Here's a hint: the phenomenon of left-leaning parties gaining ground in suburban, college-educated areas and losing ground in rural, work-class areas is not just limited to the US - it has also appeared in countries like the UK and Canada.

I know. If you look at any of my posts or comments within, you can see I made the exact same point. However, the gains at the Presidential level, weren't reflected downballot in many instances. Once a more moderate Republican is on the ballot, they may go back.

[Non Swing Voter]

yup.  I literally said to people "well at least he's not a right wing republican" after he was elected in 2016.  I also wondered if he'd be less hawkish than Hillary.  There was a very real perception that he was somewhat of a moderate but he zoomed to the far right immediately after taking office, which was a mistake for him. 

[perpetual_cynic]

yup.  I literally said to people "well at least he's not a right wing republican" after he was elected in 2016.  I also wondered if he'd be less hawkish than Hillary.  There was a very real perception that he was somewhat of a moderate but he zoomed to the far right immediately after taking office, which was a mistake for him. 

I thought he might have been a New England Republican at first, moderate, but those hopes quickly faded.

[OSR stands with Israel]

yup.  I literally said to people "well at least he's not a right wing republican" after he was elected in 2016.  I also wondered if he'd be less hawkish than Hillary.  There was a very real perception that he was somewhat of a moderate but he zoomed to the far right immediately after taking office, which was a mistake for him. 

I thought he might have been a New England Republican at first, moderate, but those hopes quickly faded.

Trump spent  9 months of political capital trying to repeal Obamacare, when that wasn’t even the core issue of his 2016 campaign. His core issue was securing the borders and other than some tweets here and There , or spontaneous moments he didn’t try anywhere close to as hard in getting a bill that does that passed vs the amount of effort he put in trying to repeal Obamacare

[perpetual_cynic]

yup.  I literally said to people "well at least he's not a right wing republican" after he was elected in 2016.  I also wondered if he'd be less hawkish than Hillary.  There was a very real perception that he was somewhat of a moderate but he zoomed to the far right immediately after taking office, which was a mistake for him. 

I thought he might have been a New England Republican at first, moderate, but those hopes quickly faded.

Trump spent  9 months of political capital trying to repeal Obamacare, when that wasn’t even the core issue of his 2016 campaign. His core issue was securing the borders and other than some tweets here and There , or spontaneous moments he didn’t try anywhere close to as hard in getting a bill that does that passed vs the amount of effort he put in trying to repeal Obamacare

I think he truly is a NE moderate Republican, but he had to be conservative in policy to be in today's GOP.

[Progressive Pessimist]

yup.  I literally said to people "well at least he's not a right wing republican" after he was elected in 2016.  I also wondered if he'd be less hawkish than Hillary.  There was a very real perception that he was somewhat of a moderate but he zoomed to the far right immediately after taking office, which was a mistake for him.  

I thought he might have been a New England Republican at first, moderate, but those hopes quickly faded.

Trump spent  9 months of political capital trying to repeal Obamacare, when that wasn’t even the core issue of his 2016 campaign. His core issue was securing the borders and other than some tweets here and There , or spontaneous moments he didn’t try anywhere close to as hard in getting a bill that does that passed vs the amount of effort he put in trying to repeal Obamacare

I think he truly is a NE moderate Republican, but he had to be conservative in policy to be in today's GOP.

Because he has no real principles and will say and do whatever he to get elected, and his followers will follow along. This is the only real answer. He is the biggest most conniving politician in the world even as he ran against that very perception in 2016. People should have known better then, but at least enough that mattered finally came to that realization in 2020. Not as much as they should have, of course.

The only thing I will say in his favor is that in 2016 he was so idiosyncratic and unconventional for a Republican, and ran on such vague policies (if any policies at all) that it was easy for a voter to project what they wanted onto him, whether seeing him as a new type of politician who could change Washington or as a right wing savior. He tried to be everything to everybody, and it worked for awhile.

[Alben Barkley]

Doesn’t surprise me, especially in light of Trump’s massive drop-off in places like New England and Minnesota. I always figured he only was able to keep it close in those places because his lack of a record to defend and vague “Choose Your Own Adventure” ideology gave many moderate “independents” the impression he was more moderate than previous Republican nominees. His actual presidency totally torpedoed that notion, of course.