5 ms·

Not sure why the downvotes, I think this is almost a tautology. My perception is that Biden is just as "mainstream" as the previous opponent of Trump was - henc

Not sure why the downvotes, I think this is almost a tautology. My perception is that Biden is just as "mainstream" as the previous opponent of Trump was - hence the slower decline of Trump's approval despite the president's performance.

SomeoneFromCA 6y ago
Well at least he doesn't not call the working clas "deplorables". Michael Moore has a very good comment on why Trump won in 2016, and why he still has a chance in 2020. Overall, Trump's performance up till COVID was okay, but he mishandled the pandemics terribly. Biden will win only because of this. Other than that Biden is boring bland candidate.
- krapp 6y ago
  Hillary Clinton didn't call the working class deplorables. Here are her words, verbatim: “You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?” “The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic—you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.” As you can read, the "basket of deplorables" refers to "about half of Trump's supporters" who she considers "“The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic—you name it." Now one can argue that she was wrong about the fraction of Trump's supporters who fit this archetype, but she did also call her own comment "grossly generalistic," so she wasn't trying to be precise and make a statement about literally 50% of Trump supporters. The only way someone can interpret this as referring to the entire working class is if, 1) they simply drink the Trumpist Kool-Aid without bothering to research because Screechy Woman Bad, or 2) they believe the entire working class comprises about half of Trump supporters, all of whom are racist, sexist, homophobic and xenophobic. And Biden being boring shouldn't be a negative. The Presidency isn't supposed to be entertainment, it's a political office in a bureaucracy.
  - SomeoneFromCA 6y ago
    It really does not matter how you spin this. What is important is how it was perceived by the working class. The most obvious understanding, which would not involve mental gymnastics is that half of the people who support Trump are indeed deplorables, or they are deplorables just because they are homophobic or Islamophobic. Guess what - many of the working class are indeed are, which does not make them lesser human being; it is the result of the environment they grew up.
  - mhh__ 6y ago
    Even if Biden is boring, he's a good man to lead the US out of the quagmire it's in at the moment. Trump is totally amoral, whereas Biden has experienced loss in a way that few can imagine. He's not perfect, but he knows how to play the congressional game and when he reaches out to people looking for change in the police who have lost a loved one you know he isn't lying. The alternative was also Bernie, which I just cannot see ending well.
    - burfog 6y ago
      What loss, his marbles? If you mean his son, well, Trump lost two brothers. When in congress, Biden pushed for the harsh sentencing that we had, with the 1994 crime bill. Trump supported and then signed the First Step Act, which is legislation to undo some of that. "Unless we do something about this, my children are going to grow up in a jungle, the jungle being a racial jungle" -- Biden, in 1977
      - mhh__ 6y ago
        As in Joe Biden's wife and children died in a car crash, and later one of his surviving sons died? Trump has no concept of morality or loss - you realise why he wasn't invited to John McCain's funeral, right?
        burfog 6y ago
        This is 100% unjustified speculation. Dehumanizing an opponent helps to unleash hate. John McCain's funeral was a political event.

SomeoneFromCA 6y ago

Well at least he doesn't not call the working clas "deplorables". Michael Moore has a very good comment on why Trump won in 2016, and why he still has a chance in 2020. Overall, Trump's performance up till COVID was okay, but he mishandled the pandemics terribly. Biden will win only because of this. Other than that Biden is boring bland candidate.

krapp 6y ago
Hillary Clinton didn't call the working class deplorables. Here are her words, verbatim: “You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?” “The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic—you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.” As you can read, the "basket of deplorables" refers to "about half of Trump's supporters" who she considers "“The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic—you name it." Now one can argue that she was wrong about the fraction of Trump's supporters who fit this archetype, but she did also call her own comment "grossly generalistic," so she wasn't trying to be precise and make a statement about literally 50% of Trump supporters. The only way someone can interpret this as referring to the entire working class is if, 1) they simply drink the Trumpist Kool-Aid without bothering to research because Screechy Woman Bad, or 2) they believe the entire working class comprises about half of Trump supporters, all of whom are racist, sexist, homophobic and xenophobic. And Biden being boring shouldn't be a negative. The Presidency isn't supposed to be entertainment, it's a political office in a bureaucracy.
- SomeoneFromCA 6y ago
  It really does not matter how you spin this. What is important is how it was perceived by the working class. The most obvious understanding, which would not involve mental gymnastics is that half of the people who support Trump are indeed deplorables, or they are deplorables just because they are homophobic or Islamophobic. Guess what - many of the working class are indeed are, which does not make them lesser human being; it is the result of the environment they grew up.
- mhh__ 6y ago
  Even if Biden is boring, he's a good man to lead the US out of the quagmire it's in at the moment. Trump is totally amoral, whereas Biden has experienced loss in a way that few can imagine. He's not perfect, but he knows how to play the congressional game and when he reaches out to people looking for change in the police who have lost a loved one you know he isn't lying. The alternative was also Bernie, which I just cannot see ending well.
  - burfog 6y ago
    What loss, his marbles? If you mean his son, well, Trump lost two brothers. When in congress, Biden pushed for the harsh sentencing that we had, with the 1994 crime bill. Trump supported and then signed the First Step Act, which is legislation to undo some of that. "Unless we do something about this, my children are going to grow up in a jungle, the jungle being a racial jungle" -- Biden, in 1977
    - mhh__ 6y ago
      As in Joe Biden's wife and children died in a car crash, and later one of his surviving sons died? Trump has no concept of morality or loss - you realise why he wasn't invited to John McCain's funeral, right?
      - burfog 6y ago
        This is 100% unjustified speculation. Dehumanizing an opponent helps to unleash hate. John McCain's funeral was a political event.