“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” —George Santayana,
The Life of Reason
Despite a nearly unanimous chorus of opinion polls predicting a massive victory for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, President Donald Trump mounted a spirited fightback, highlighting a deep divide between a rural America and an urban America, a deeply religious America and a worldly America, an angry America and a kinder America — a Trump America and a Never-Trump America.
For four years the Democrats refused to believe that Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 was real. He could not be their president. If the young had just voted. If the Russians had not interfered. If people just had not hated Hillary Clinton so much. If everyone had only realised who Trump was, the belief went, they would have resoundingly rejected him and his style. They counted the hours until the day Trump would know that this would be the day he was kicked out.
The Democrats looked at the opinion polls and thought of a Biden landslide. There would be control of the senate and an expanded majority in the house of representatives. The Democratic strategy was to get maximum people to vote under the theory that the more the people voted, the more they would repudiate Trump and Trumpism. They took Hispanics and African Americans for granted. Surprisingly, the Democrats also had the money advantage. Trump had blown a billion dollars in early (and questionable) campaign expenditures, so he was short of cash. Biden held a $100 million-plus advantage.
Denne historien er fra November 15, 2020-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November 15, 2020-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The female act
The 19th edition of the Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Festival was of the women and by the women
A SHOT OF ARCHER
An excerpt from the prologue of An Eye for an Eye
MASTER OF MAKE-BELIEVE
50 years. after his first book, Jeffrey*Archer refuses to put down his'felt-tip Pilot pen
Smart and sassy Passi
Pop culture works according to its own unpredictable, crazy logic. An unlikely, overnight celebrity has become the talk of India. Everyone, especially on social media, is discussing, dissing, hissing and mimicking just one person—Shalini Passi.
Energy transition and AI are reshaping shipping
PORTS AND ALLIED infrastructure development are at the heart of India's ambitions to become a maritime heavyweight.
MADE FOR EACH OTHER
Trump’s preferred transactional approach to foreign policy meshes well with Modi’s bent towards strategic autonomy
DOOM AND GLOOM
Democrats’ message came across as vague, preachy and hopelessly removed from reality. And voters believed Trump’s depiction of illegal immigrants as a source of their economic woes
WOES TO WOWS
The fundamental reason behind Trump’s success was his ability to convert average Americans’ feelings of grievance into votes for him
POWER HOUSE
Trump International Hotel was the only place outside the White House where Trump ever dined during his four years as president
DON 2.0
Trump returns to presidency stronger than before, but just as unpredictable