40 years ago Republican candidate Ronald Reagan asked the nation an important question:
Are you better off than you were 4 years ago??
At the time the answer was "No".... Though he was an honest and likable guy, Jimmy Carter wasn't much of a President, and the economy was struggling. This question enabled Reagan to become the 40th President. Fast forward to 2020 and that question is still valid: Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?? If you're honest, the answer is "No"
When Donald Trump took office in 2017 the American economy was in good shape, there were no major military threats, and illegal border crossings were at historic lows. Today the unemployment rate is over 8%, farmers are losing their farms at a record pace, the much promised manufacturing jobs have never materialized, and millions of people have been stripped of badly needed healthcare coverage. No - we're not better off at all.
Trump supporters can attack the Liberals, Socialism, the mail, the deep state, Kamala Harris, the mainstream media, and all your usual enemies, as well as try to gerrymander the election, but it's not going to work. Americans are worse off than they were 4 years ago, and because of this Trump and Co. are going to lose.
Those are the facts Jack - Just the facts!
@mchill saidAlmost half the country voted directly against their best interests in 2016. I see no reason to believe they've learned anything from it.
40 years ago Republican candidate Ronald Reagan asked the nation an important question:
Are you better off than you were 4 years ago??
At the time the answer was "No".... Though he was an honest and likable guy, Jimmy Carter wasn't much of a President, and the economy was struggling. This question enabled Reagan to become the 40th President. Fast forward to 2020 and that ...[text shortened]... , and because of this Trump and Co. are going to lose.
Those are the facts Jack - Just the facts!
I, too, think Trump will lose, but it's going to be real, real close.
@mchill saidPeople hate Trump, but not enough to put an old senile man and a socialist Indian woman in power.
40 years ago Republican candidate Ronald Reagan asked the nation an important question:
Are you better off than you were 4 years ago??
At the time the answer was "No".... Though he was an honest and likable guy, Jimmy Carter wasn't much of a President, and the economy was struggling. This question enabled Reagan to become the 40th President. Fast forward to 2020 and that ...[text shortened]... , and because of this Trump and Co. are going to lose.
Those are the facts Jack - Just the facts!
@suzianne saidTrump will declare himself the winner, regardless how the public and the EC votes go, and his supporters will agree with his narrative. I think how America deals with the aftermath of the election is going to be more telling than the actual tally.
Almost half the country voted directly against their best interests in 2016. I see no reason to believe they've learned anything from it.
I, too, think Trump will lose, but it's going to be real, real close.
@moonbus saidwhat do you mean, how america deals with aftermath. We all know that if Biden wins, grownups like me will accept the new president. Period. We republicans will not burn down Mr. Goldberg's shoe repair shop. or burn things.
Trump will declare himself the winner, regardless how the public and the EC votes go, and his supporters will agree with his narrative. I think how America deals with the aftermath of the election is going to be more telling than the actual tally.
So what is aftermath? It has a negative feel about it, that word. It suggests that if Trump wins, bad things will happen. Do you think the democrats in that case will burn down Mr. Goldberg's shop? You are making me nervous
Please be clear
@Dendron
One aspect of 'aftermath' is what Trump did to the security and influence of the US which was to basically destroy both security AND world influence.
Without that, the US stands alone, 4% of the population of the world and we NEED good allies, which Trump just dumped under the bus, giving Putin all he wanted in Europe. Putin has SOMETHING on Trump, as yet we don't know what that something is but we will find out in due time, of course not before November.
On thing I see worrying is what will Trump do when he in fact loses, especially if it is just a few percent more for Biden, he WILL call it a rigged election and not accept the result. Regardless of that, unless he starts a real war with someone, say Iran,
then bets are off but still, come Jan 20, he will be frog marched out the WH if he starts kicking and screaming. One thing for sure, he has already dissed the military, calling top 4 star generals 'idiots or some such, and now we have reporting Trump really put down those who lost their lives in service to the US.
Losers and suckers will stay with the US for generations and history will paint a black picture of a sociopath, narcissist pathological liar who didn't have a CLUE as to how to actually run the US. All you have to do is see the revolving door of experts he has dismissed because they told him the truth, not something you do in Trump world if you want to keep your job.
Trump touts how he saved MILLIONS of lives of people who would have died of C19 if he had not stepped in to stop visits from China to US, which was way too late and the wrong continent, the virus had already made its way around the world and that is why NY state had the highest first outbreaks because people flew in from EUROPE. BTT Trump got around to that banning, it was WAY too late.
Trump literally has no idea how to effectively run a company, He sincerely believed only TRUMP himself can help the country out of the mess we are in today.
If it’s a clear victory for either, I presume the outcome will be respected by all.
If it’s a muddle, then no matter who wins, it’s going to get nasty.
trump, though, has been trying to muddy the results for months: postal ballots, for example.
His message has been that there cannot be a fair election at the moment.
And that should be worrying to anyone in a democracy.
@dendron saidWrong.
what do you mean, how america deals with aftermath. We all know that if Biden wins, grownups like me will accept the new president. Period. We republicans will not burn down Mr. Goldberg's shoe repair shop. or burn things.
So what is aftermath? It has a negative feel about it, that word. It suggests that if Trump wins, bad things will happen. Do you think the democrats in that case will burn down Mr. Goldberg's shop? You are making me nervous
Please be clear
We already know that the vast majority of violence surrounding the otherwise peaceful protests supporting BLM in this country came from white supremacist groups. If Trump loses, this is sure to set off these supporters of Trump.
Here is an interesting article on how senior voters voted in 2016 and how they are likely to vote again:
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54099242
Trump did well with seniors then, but mostly because they voted against Hilary. This time, many who voted against Hilary then will be voting against Trump. Against-ism shows that America’s two-party system is failing.
@dendron saidTrump is going to dispute the result if he loses, even if the result is quite obviously by a large margin. Disputing the result will be protracted and politically divisive, probably as protracted and politically divisive as the impending Nixon impeachment was. America was spared that trauma only by Nixon's resignation and retreat from public life. It is not in Trump's character to admit defeat, back down, or retreat; if he loses, he will fight it to the bitter end, whatever the cost to the nation.
what do you mean, how america deals with aftermath. We all know that if Biden wins, grownups like me will accept the new president. Period. We republicans will not burn down Mr. Goldberg's shoe repair shop. or burn things.
So what is aftermath? It has a negative feel about it, that word. It suggests that if Trump wins, bad things will happen. Do you think the democrats in that case will burn down Mr. Goldberg's shop? You are making me nervous
Please be clear
Moreover, we have already seen cases of heavily armed right-wing militias, vigilantes, taking their cue from Trump's off-hand comments, stirring up trouble (civil unrest) in public places. I see more of that happening, if Trump loses. (I would advise Mr. Goldberg to buy adequate insurance coverage.)
Given that Trump has actively called the process (mail-in ballots) in question in advance of the result, I don't see either himself or his supporters accepting the result, if he loses.
A protracted legal battle and civil unrest; that is aftermath scenario 1.
Aftermath scenario 2.: Trump wins an undisputed 2d term. More of what the last four years have brought the country: divisiveness. More impulsive, uninformed, flat-out stupid, and flat-out illegal, decision-making. Increased resistance from state governors (including Rep. governors) to his heavy-handed authoritarianism. Increased loss of respect and influence abroad:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54169732
Increased, and increasingly secretive, resistance to Trump's actions by 'adults in the room', effectively making his 'deep state conspiracy' a self-fulfilling prophecy. A beleaguered president more concerned with how his hair is presented in the press (ooooh, might get wet if he goes to honor the war dead!), than with real issues (such as pandemics). That is aftermath scenario 2.
Aftermath scenario 3.: Trump wins a disputed election (for example, not all of the mail-in ballots are delivered or counted on time--because the Rep.-controlled Senate refused to make the necessary funds available to the USPS to do its job). In which case, expect a protracted legal battle which preoccupies America's attention and paralyzes it from acting decisively on pressing issues (such as systematic racism, police brutality, climate change policy, etc.) until the election result is resolved.
That is what "aftermath" means.