Somebody needs to start re-running the 2016-2021 Donald Trump Highlights…..
The American attention span has shrunk since Al Gore invented the Internet, and the pandemic disrupted the time-space continuum. Our memories are foggy, but it’s still stunning that large swaths of the populace — including those who cover politics for a living — have forgotten what life was like with Donald J. Trump in the White House.
Anyone who has listened to a focus group in the last couple of years knows that there is a real nostalgia for the pre-pandemic economy — even though that’s the economy Barack Obama and Joe Biden built and Donald Trump destroyed by mismanaging the pandemic. This sentiment may be misguided. Yet, it is understandable as people navigate higher prices and higher interest rates. The misplaced nostalgia doesn’t stop there. In a September Wall Street Journal poll, 52% of voters believe former president Trump “has a strong record of accomplishments” compared to only 40% for Biden. Once again, this is an incorrect assessment of Trump’s presidency. This foggy memory helps explain the declining share of Americans with concerns about Trump’s mental fitness and temperament — two things that were top concerns only a few years ago.
This forgetfulness is frustrating to the folks who continue to believe Trump is an existential threat. A deeper exploration of how this happened is in order. More research must be conducted to determine how feasible it is to change people’s revised memories of the Trump years. I worry that it may not be possible or cost effective to focus limited time and resources on the past. However, one thing is for certain: Democrats must paint a vivid and credible picture of how a second Trump presidency would impact their lives….
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We are, however, in a moment when the differences between Biden and Trump are being blurred in the media, and some voters say they will sit out the election because of legitimate disagreements with the Biden Administration’s policy decisions. Hopefully, these examples can help in your conversations about the stakes of the 2024 election…..