After nearly a decade of being forced to take Trump seriously, Democrats increasingly call BS on the whole charade

Sure, Donald Trump is a threat to democracy — a would-be dictator on day one who has called for terminating the U.S. Constitution so he can hold onto power even after losing a free and fair election. But while draped in the rhetoric of populism, Trump and his MAGA movement are not actually popular; the man himself has never won more votes than the person he ran against, a majority of Americans twice rejecting him and his off-putting cult of personality. That he was ever president is more or less because a few thousand swing voters in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania thought it would be fun.

President Joe Biden won in 2020 largely by promising to a return to normalcy and baseline competency. In 2024, Democrats are making a similar argument but more forcibly: They’re pointing, laughing and dismissing Trump and his circus as a total freak show to which we can’t return.

  • zarkanian@sh.itjust.works
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    4 months ago

    Did you read the article? It explains this.

    By taking a buffoon seriously, you help legitimize their buffoonery. Eventually, somebody has to say “Look, this is ridiculous! The emperor wears no clothes!”

    We don’t need to stoop to their level

    It depends. When Republicans steal elections, Democrats shouldn’t stoop to stealing elections, too.

    When somebody’s slinging mud at you, though, it’s appropriate to sling mud back. You can’t just stand there and say “My, what an astonishing lack of decorum!” as the mud slides off your face and onto your shirt. That was Biden’s way, and it wasn’t working. It made him look like a wimp.