11-05-2020, 01:50 PM
(11-05-2020, 12:50 PM)Genuine Realist Wrote: I'm going to join the chorus of 'Trump wins without covid'. In fact, I believe that one of the reasons for all the nonsense he spouted about Covid was frustration at having some of the genuine progress of the economy under his administration erased by the virus - which, typically, he was too narcissistic to accept.
I'm going to push back against the framing, because it really should be "Trump wins but for his response to COVID". To suggest that COVID is something that happened to his presidency and not something whose trajectory was influenced by his response seems a bit misguided. Hell, Trump probably wins even with COVID being about as bad as it is, but showing a little empathy towards the people who suffered from it, and if he had actually managed to mount a competent response, Trump would have won in a landslide. Then the narrative becomes "Trump may be a bit unconventional, but when faced with a crisis, he rose to the occasion." Just look at Jocinda Ardern in New Zealand, who was actually trailing in polls before the pandemic hit, and won in a landslide.
BC