Democrats: did you feel worse after 2016 or 2024?

[wbrocks67]

I guess 2016 because it felt more unexpected, but 2024 feels darker because we have the knowledge of the last 8 years. Voting for Trump in 2016 was abhorrent but in retrospect I can at least partially understand it - it's also easier to digest when you realize he couldn't even get 46% of the popular vote nationally too.

This was less surprising because we knew it could get close with the polls, etc., but this feels darker because everything Trump has done. But it's also slightly easier to accept I guess because of the context of the situation (global anti-incumbency, etc.)

[President Johnson]

2016, somehow. Maybe because Trump winning in 2024 was a much bigger possibility ahead of the election. On November 7, 2016, I never thought he'd have a chance.

[PALiberal]

2024, because Trump did not have the track record of being an authoritarian war hawk in 2016, and he did not win the popular vote then. You could chalk his 2016 win up as a fluke, and I had hope that the democrats would learn and pivot their messaging/policies more towards working class people (they did somewhat), to win back the rust belt. But now with Trump's 2024 win being decisive and the trends among working class and younger people being terrible for dems, I fear the worst.

Trump is going to govern above the checks and balances of our system and his MAGA cult are more emboldened than ever before. Democrats are looking back on 2024, and thinking to themselves "yeah we should be less woke" or "we should be more fascist" or "we just need more propaganda" than doing more for the average person, or rebranding the brand of their party which is extremely toxic atm.

And even if Trump is bad as us on the left think he will be, will it even matter? Will Republicans get shellacked electorally; will the Democrats work harder to get a bill like Build back Better passed? Probably not.

[Averroës]

2024, easily. Three reasons:

1. Trump winning the popular vote, especially as he won on such a broad swing. Whatever our fears in 2016, it was hard to believe that the future belonged to his coalition. Now the elderly are about the only group among whom Democrats are not hemorrhaging support. The future belongs to the dollar-worshipers.

2. The big lie. The lies that the party told about Joe Biden bother me more with every passing day, especially as he continues to serve as president. Almost every major figure in the party was complicit. They threw away our best chance at defeating Donald Trump to pacify the ego of this decaying husk of a man and preserve the careers of those in his entourage. Anyone who spoke out against him was relegated to the political wilderness.

3. January 6 changed everything for me. Trump conspired to steal an election and set a lynch mob on his Vice President when he refused to comply. I honestly believed that the country would not accept this. I didn't even think the Republican Party would. I was wrong.

2016 felt like it could be a temporary setback. 2024 feels like a definitive period. The world will go on, but the world in which my values hold any relevance is dying.

[New World Man]

2024. Trump led millions of people to their deaths by his lack of leadership during Covid. Truly appeared to be both incredibly scared and lazy at the same time. He loses,and then tries a coup. Commits treason,but it's ok to most voters.

[ProgressiveModerate]

2024, easily. Three reasons:

1. Trump winning the popular vote, especially as he won on such a broad swing. Whatever our fears in 2016, it was hard to believe that the future belonged to his coalition. Now the elderly are about the only group among whom Democrats are not hemorrhaging support. The future belongs to the dollar-worshipers.

2. The big lie. The lies that the party told about Joe Biden bother me more with every passing day, especially as he continues to serve as president. Almost every major figure in the party was complicit. They threw away our best chance at defeating Donald Trump to pacify the ego of this decaying husk of a man and preserve the careers of those in his entourage. Anyone who spoke out against him was relegated to the political wilderness.

3. January 6 changed everything for me. Trump conspired to steal an election and set a lynch mob on his Vice President when he refused to comply. I honestly believed that the country would not accept this. I didn't even think the Republican Party would. I was wrong.

2016 felt like it could be a temporary setback. 2024 feels like a definitive period. The world will go on, but the world in which my values hold any relevance is dying.

In general, the increasingly "Trump-adjacent" culture I see amongst many in my generation is very concerning. Hedonistic, superiority complexes, celebration of stupidity, low social trust, ect.

[Trends Are Fake]

I think it's easier to accept that the public had settled on making the wrong decision, rather than it almost being that the terrible outcome happened by accident. 2016 was so close and would have gone the other way if not for Hillary's horrendous luck of Comey's terrible breach of protocol.

It is easier to just move to acceptance when it is harder to think of how it easily could or should have gone differently. Of course Harris could have won, but there is no sense that this was a fluke.

No, 2024 actually felt worse to me because of this. Trump won in 2016 due to an accident of history, the country wanting someone else but arcane artifacts of a 240 year old document electing him regardless. 2024 wasn't an accident of history or arcane bull****, it was the country actually wanting a race-baiting, corrupt, incompetent, treasonous con artist. This being the will of the people is so much worse than the uncorrected stupidity and ignorance and shortsightedness of people hundreds of years ago causing the will of the people to be ignored.

[CatMan21]

Definitely 2016. I thought I'd be celebrating the First Woman President that and I even bought a bottle of sparkling cider in anticipation of a celebrating, and then...SURPRISE. One of the biggest disappointments ever.

As for this year, I wouldn't have been surprised either way since the polls were neck-and-neck, but the level of enthusiasm at the Harris rallies gave me a feeling she would pull it off. But I was wrong. The way I looked at it is at least the swing state polls were much more on target this time and I guess people had their reasons for voting the way they did.

[Red Velvet]

I think it was different based on their reactions.

2016 - They were more shocked, resented and emotionally scared

2024 - They are more crushed, depressed and emotionally numb