Supporters of President Donald Trump sing and wave flags in Miami. | Photo credit: AP
Key points
- The Black Lives Matter protests have struck a chord with millions of Americans, but voters are wary of the protests turning violent in cities.
- Americans want the economy back on track quickly: Trump’s record on the economic front before the pandemic helped his case
- While voters may have reservations about some of the things Trump says and the way he behaves, these are not deciding factors for many.
No matter who wins the US presidential election, and we may not know the final answer in the short term, the Democratic Party hopes that Americans are deeply disenchanted with President Donald Trump and his administration and will vote for decisively against him have been frustrated.
By claiming more than 48 percent of the popular vote (which is better than his performance in 2016), Trump has shown that he is still as popular as he was four years ago when he shocked America’s Democrats and left liberals by defeating to Hillary Clinton.
With the possible exception of Arizona, Trump has latched onto most of the traditionally red-trending states, suggesting that the much-publicized national resentment against his presidency was likely a figment of imagination or a disconnect from the elite with large sectors of American society.
Pandemic vs economy
There is also emerging evidence that many Americans do not blame Trump for mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 233,000 Americans, at least not to the extent that some of the major American media projected .
Americans want the economy to get back on track quickly: Trump’s track record on the economic front before the pandemic helped his case. While Biden argued that a full economic recovery was not possible without getting the virus under control, Republican voters and many independents still trust Trump more for jobs and economic growth.
Culture wars, gun laws and character
The Black Lives Matter protests have struck a chord with millions of Americans, but voters are wary of protests turning violent in cities and the move to discourage police. While Democrats have rightly been at the forefront of racial justice, they have at times had trouble speaking out clearly about urban violence and crime, or at least that’s the perception among many voters.
On issues like how history should be taught in schools and gun ownership, there is no reason to believe that right-wing American voters have shifted to the center.
One issue that liberal media experts and Democrats continued to raise repeatedly in the run-up to the election was the character of the president and his suitability for the highest office. However, what many voters seem to be saying is that while they may have reservations about some of the things Trump says and the way he behaves, those are not deciding factors as far as they are concerned.
The general message from voters is that the US remains a center-right country and there has been no large-scale repudiation of either Trump or Trumpism. Even if Joe Biden wins the presidency.
