The reality of American life for the past four years is that Trump barely won the White House, it took less than a month for a majority of the country to disapprove of his presidency, and that has hardly ever changed. (For a brief period in late March and early April 2020, during a fleeting moment when it seemed like Trump was attempting to exercise leadership against the COVID-19 pandemic, his disapproval rating fell slightly below 50 percent. It took about two weeks for the numbers to revert to the norm.) The pattern is clear and incredibly consistent: A little more than two-fifths of the country laps up Trump’s B.S. like it’s a gourmet meal. But a solid, consistent majority opposes him and wants to kick him out of the people’s house.
That isn’t a “take.” That isn’t a “narrative.” That isn’t a “story.” It’s a fact.
Yes, Trump can get several thousand people to show up for a rally, just as if you live in a very pro-Trump area you may see nothing but Trump yard signs and encounter people who think Biden’s a senile socialist who smiles every time a riot breaks out in an American city. In my neighborhood in suburban Philadelphia, I see Biden signs in every direction. That doesn’t mean he’s going to win 98 percent of the popular vote. It’s a big country! My perspective is severely limited, as is that of any particular voter in any particular place. I live in a pro-Biden area. But if I drive ten minutes further out from the city, I’ll see a mixture of Biden and Trump signs. If I go a half-hour further, the Trump signs will dominate. None of this can be taken as determinative about the overall results in Pennsylvania or in the country as a whole.
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