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The percentage of the US population that voted for Trump went up roughly half a percentage point from 2020 to 2024 and most of American society has responded as

by slg 1y ago

The percentage of the US population that voted for Trump went up roughly half a percentage point from 2020 to 2024 and most of American society has responded as if that makes him a permanent dictator. And it isn’t just his supporters, most Democratic politicians and ostensibly apolitical corporations are behaving that way too. I don’t get it.

harimau777 1y ago
I don't think that people are afraid that he will become a dictator because of his popular support so much as because no one is standing up to his abuse of power. There's also the fact that MAGA is putting their thumb more and more on the election scales. I'm already not sure I think the next election will be fair considering how much MAGA has cheated already.
- slg 1y ago
  >I don't think that people are afraid that he will become a dictator because of his popular support so much as because no one is standing up to his abuse of power. This is frustratingly self-reinforcing. Why is "no one... standing up to his abuse"? Because "no one is standing up to his abuse".
  - mmooss 1y ago
    It's trendy on the left, including among leaders, to resign, to talk about being powerlessness and afraid, etc. Today's NY Times had an article interviewing pro-Palestinian protestors mostly saying it. What a bunch of losers. And who would support them? Who is going to advocate for people who won't advocate for themselves? Have you ever heard a leader talk like that? Is that what they remember Churchill saying, standing alone against the Germans? MLK facing the overwhelming racist power structure, law enforcement, etc.? Washington at Valley Forge - 'to my soldiers, I feel really hopeless. The Brits are the most powerful military in the world and we're just a ragtag, irregular local force. There's nothing we can do. I'm going to resign, cross the Delaware, and return to my farm to wait out the war with my family.'
rand846633 1y ago
The control of the supreme court as well as the demonstrated willingness to support a coup make the threat seem real.
afavour 1y ago
It’s not entirely without reason. Just look at the electoral map proposed in NC: Trump won 51% of the vote, the GOP will be set to control over 80% of the NC House. And the Supreme Court gives permission to do whatever. You’re right to call out Democrats too. It baffles me. Like Trump destroying the East wing of the White House. Universally not popular (not necessarily unpopular with all but no one is cheering it). Where are the press conferences being held outside to highlight it and show the people how little regard Trump has for the “People’s House”. It’s an easy lay up.
- phkahler 1y ago
  >> Where are the press conferences being held outside to highlight it and show the people how little regard Trump has for the “People’s House”. It’s an easy lay up. Its also largely irrelevant. Maybe the left is starting to focus on stuff that matters instead of just trying to create outrage?
  - afavour 1y ago
    It’s a thing people care about when they’re shown it. Showing it to more people means more people feel negatively about Trump. If you oppose Trump, that’s a good thing. It’s possible to overthink politics sometimes. No one is saying “ugh, why are people pointing out that Trump is destroying the White House?”. It’s obvious why.
    - muwtyhg 1y ago
      > Showing it to more people The people obsessed with Trump do not watch any Democratic press conferences or media. They will not see it, and everyone watching already disagrees with what is happening. They would just be preaching to the choir. > No one is saying “ugh, why are people pointing out that Trump is destroying the White House?” Trump has constantly played the victim, claiming no matter what he does, the media will portray it in a negative light. And all of his cabinet echoes this. And his base seems to accept it as fact. The amount of times he's called them "nasty" and asked why they "can't focus on the good stuff" is at least 100+ this term.
Trasmatta 1y ago
> most Democratic politicians and ostensibly apolitical corporations are behaving that way too. I don’t get it. If the group in charge has made their dictatorial ambitions clear, the only rational approach for the opposition to take is to treat that seriously. Do we just pretend like they're kidding?
profsummergig 1y ago
> half a percentage point 2020: 46.8% 2024: 49.8%
- slg 1y ago
  Try reading the whole sentence next time. I specifically chose to not use the percentage of votes cast because inconsistent turnout changes the denominator in a way that can be misleading. The numbers you cited imply that Trump got more popular, but the actual reason he won in 2024 instead of losing like 2020 is because his opponent was less popular. If you look at the number of votes Trump received, his 2020 and 2024 totals are incredibly close after accounting for population growth. That is why I explicitly phrased my comment in terms of "The percentage of the US population that voted for Trump".
bsder 1y ago
[flagged]
- slg 1y ago
  >> ostensibly apolitical corporations >Oh, you sweet, summer child. As someone who has spent decades having written conversations on the internet, it really seems like basic reading comprehension skills have plummeted recently. It's frustrating how many responses are replying to some objectively incorrect reading of what was written. Here's the definition of "ostensibly"[1]. >in a way that appears or claims to be one thing when it is really something else The correct reading of "ostensibly apolitical corporations" is "corporations that claim to be apolitical but in reality aren't". Not only is it not an indication of naïveté, it is closer to the exact opposite. [1] - https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ostensibly https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ostensib...
- tempestn 1y ago
  > Oh, you sweet, summer child. Please stop saying this. It's incredibly condescending, and thereby undermines any well-supported points you're making.
  - afavour 1y ago
    I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a use of “sweet summer child” that isn’t deliberately and knowingly condescending. It’s kind of the point of the phrase.
    - tempestn 1y ago
      Agreed that it's generally intended to be condescending, but when the rest of the comment is reasonable I'll assume good faith; maybe the person has seen it used elsewhere and doesn't realize how it comes across. Or maybe they even know its condescending, but not that it undermines their other points. Either way I felt a bit of push-back couldn't hurt.

by slg 1y ago

harimau777 1y ago

I don't think that people are afraid that he will become a dictator because of his popular support so much as because no one is standing up to his abuse of power. There's also the fact that MAGA is putting their thumb more and more on the election scales. I'm already not sure I think the next election will be fair considering how much MAGA has cheated already.

slg 1y ago
>I don't think that people are afraid that he will become a dictator because of his popular support so much as because no one is standing up to his abuse of power. This is frustratingly self-reinforcing. Why is "no one... standing up to his abuse"? Because "no one is standing up to his abuse".
- mmooss 1y ago
  It's trendy on the left, including among leaders, to resign, to talk about being powerlessness and afraid, etc. Today's NY Times had an article interviewing pro-Palestinian protestors mostly saying it. What a bunch of losers. And who would support them? Who is going to advocate for people who won't advocate for themselves? Have you ever heard a leader talk like that? Is that what they remember Churchill saying, standing alone against the Germans? MLK facing the overwhelming racist power structure, law enforcement, etc.? Washington at Valley Forge - 'to my soldiers, I feel really hopeless. The Brits are the most powerful military in the world and we're just a ragtag, irregular local force. There's nothing we can do. I'm going to resign, cross the Delaware, and return to my farm to wait out the war with my family.'

rand846633 1y ago

The control of the supreme court as well as the demonstrated willingness to support a coup make the threat seem real.

afavour 1y ago

It’s not entirely without reason. Just look at the electoral map proposed in NC: Trump won 51% of the vote, the GOP will be set to control over 80% of the NC House. And the Supreme Court gives permission to do whatever. You’re right to call out Democrats too. It baffles me. Like Trump destroying the East wing of the White House. Universally not popular (not necessarily unpopular with all but no one is cheering it). Where are the press conferences being held outside to highlight it and show the people how little regard Trump has for the “People’s House”. It’s an easy lay up.

phkahler 1y ago
>> Where are the press conferences being held outside to highlight it and show the people how little regard Trump has for the “People’s House”. It’s an easy lay up. Its also largely irrelevant. Maybe the left is starting to focus on stuff that matters instead of just trying to create outrage?
- afavour 1y ago
  It’s a thing people care about when they’re shown it. Showing it to more people means more people feel negatively about Trump. If you oppose Trump, that’s a good thing. It’s possible to overthink politics sometimes. No one is saying “ugh, why are people pointing out that Trump is destroying the White House?”. It’s obvious why.
  - muwtyhg 1y ago
    > Showing it to more people The people obsessed with Trump do not watch any Democratic press conferences or media. They will not see it, and everyone watching already disagrees with what is happening. They would just be preaching to the choir. > No one is saying “ugh, why are people pointing out that Trump is destroying the White House?” Trump has constantly played the victim, claiming no matter what he does, the media will portray it in a negative light. And all of his cabinet echoes this. And his base seems to accept it as fact. The amount of times he's called them "nasty" and asked why they "can't focus on the good stuff" is at least 100+ this term.

Trasmatta 1y ago

> most Democratic politicians and ostensibly apolitical corporations are behaving that way too. I don’t get it. If the group in charge has made their dictatorial ambitions clear, the only rational approach for the opposition to take is to treat that seriously. Do we just pretend like they're kidding?

profsummergig 1y ago

> half a percentage point 2020: 46.8% 2024: 49.8%

slg 1y ago
Try reading the whole sentence next time. I specifically chose to not use the percentage of votes cast because inconsistent turnout changes the denominator in a way that can be misleading. The numbers you cited imply that Trump got more popular, but the actual reason he won in 2024 instead of losing like 2020 is because his opponent was less popular. If you look at the number of votes Trump received, his 2020 and 2024 totals are incredibly close after accounting for population growth. That is why I explicitly phrased my comment in terms of "The percentage of the US population that voted for Trump".

bsder 1y ago

[flagged]

slg 1y ago
>> ostensibly apolitical corporations >Oh, you sweet, summer child. As someone who has spent decades having written conversations on the internet, it really seems like basic reading comprehension skills have plummeted recently. It's frustrating how many responses are replying to some objectively incorrect reading of what was written. Here's the definition of "ostensibly"[1]. >in a way that appears or claims to be one thing when it is really something else The correct reading of "ostensibly apolitical corporations" is "corporations that claim to be apolitical but in reality aren't". Not only is it not an indication of naïveté, it is closer to the exact opposite. [1] - https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ostensibly https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ostensib...
tempestn 1y ago
> Oh, you sweet, summer child. Please stop saying this. It's incredibly condescending, and thereby undermines any well-supported points you're making.
- afavour 1y ago
  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a use of “sweet summer child” that isn’t deliberately and knowingly condescending. It’s kind of the point of the phrase.
  - tempestn 1y ago
    Agreed that it's generally intended to be condescending, but when the rest of the comment is reasonable I'll assume good faith; maybe the person has seen it used elsewhere and doesn't realize how it comes across. Or maybe they even know its condescending, but not that it undermines their other points. Either way I felt a bit of push-back couldn't hurt.