Donald Trump’s broken strategy has him in freefall

| 10:30 am EDT August 24, 2020
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While Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both saw bumps in their favorability numbers following the convention, Donald Trump is content with what he has. The epitome of narcissism is to believe what is not true — especially about oneself — and that is written all over Trump. He’s betting everything on his base. He has not done one thing to increase support, which will not bode well for him in November.

Whit Ayers, a Republican pollster, believes that it is a mistake for Republicans not to try to broaden the base. Ayers said, “The vast majority [of voters] have very firm views on the president, both pro and con, but elections are decided at the margins.” Indeed, they are, and Trump has steadily lost the support of people who fit in the definition of “margins.” The Hill reported that Trump has “forged ahead” with his “strategy,” if you can call it that, of pandering to his base and ignoring everyone else. Only a fool has the level of confidence of Donald Trump. Biden and Harris, on the other hand, continue to improve on people’s perceptions of them, and those improved views will help in November.

The Hill reported that Biden has seen a 5% increase in his favorability rating from 40% to 45% following the convention. That favorability rating includes increases among Democrats from 79% to 86% with his highest rating coming from the Black community at 69%. While Biden’s numbers changed little in the white community, the Latino/Hispanic community now views him favorably by 52%. The same poll reveals Trump’s favorability rating is 32%. This lends credence to the Hill’s piece regarding Trump’s inability to generate support outside of his base, which loves his abusive, racist, and divisive language.

The Republican party is hoping that they can realize success in their repeated attempts to put down Joe Biden. Good luck with that. Many of their attack ads are falling on deaf ears, as they continue to try to paint us as too stupid to see what is going on in Trump’s administration and their party. It is not helpful for them that Kamala Harris’s rating also rose following the convention. Among those who can readily identify her, Harris’s favorability rating has gone up 10% to 41%. Similarly, her numbers in the Black community rose 8 points from 52% to 67%, and overall, Biden’s numbers are higher than Hillary Clinton’s were in 2016. These numbers bode well for this team, especially as we gear up for four nights of Trump, loosely called the Republican National Convention.

According to NPR, Trump will speak all four nights of the convention. No one is clamoring to speak on behalf of “president” Donald Trump, as Newsweek has reported that half of the speakers will be Trump’s family members. Melania, Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, and Tiffany Trump are all listed as “key” speakers. With his narcissism on full display, his recent support for conspiracy group QAnon, and the fact that he has done absolutely nothing except create turmoil, few hold out much hope for this convention.