I find myself disliking him less this time around than I did in 2016, and I don’t exactly know why. Sure, there’s a ton I disagree with him on, but that applies to both candidates. I guess I have some sympathy for the people in the center who were pushed away by the left and ended up on the right.
No need to worry though - I’m not a US citizen, so I’m not voting for him.
I don’t understand this sentiment at all. I know it’s a popular one - but how in the hell does instigating a violent coup attempt improve people’s views of the man?
It probably would’ve been the same had Clinton been President. He wasn’t a vaccine skeptic like much of his base, but he certainly played up the rhetoric a bit, while pushing for a rapid rollout of the vaccine.
He belittled and ignored Fauci and downplayed the severity of the virus. He refused to wear a mask which would’ve helped get a lot of the right wing on board with mask-wearing. He held huge rallies without taking precautions, and some attendees got sick and died as a result. (Most notably, Herman Cain.)
Jan & Feb - downplayed the virus - I’d expect any President to do that, the entire point is to reduce panic
March - declares emergency as cases rise, extends the “slow the spread” policies
April - discusses masks, emphasizing that it’s optional, not mandatory (needs to say that to retain his base, it’s an election year, after all); maintains travel restrictions, but recommends states relax policies
May - mentions that he uses hydroxychloroquine
June - indoor campaign rally
July - continued to downplay COVID saying it’ll go away
August - encouraged social distancing
September - continued questioning effectiveness of masks
Basically, he was against masks, in favor of social distancing, and urged rapid development of vaccines (Pfizer vaccine was available around the end of 2020). He took and recommended others take the vaccine as well.
It’s impossible to know exactly how Clinton would’ve responded, but I imagine it would be quite similar, with a bit less rhetoric and perhaps a little more distancing at rallies, just given what Biden did (but it’s hard to say exactly, since mask-wearing became a form of speech).
So the main difference I see between Trump and Clinton/Biden is optics, not policy. And given the death rates between states (e.g. Florida vs California), there isn’t a clear difference based on the party that was in power, and differences are more easily explained by climate, population density, and demographics. So sure, you can probably point to cases where people contracted COVID at a rally or something, but in terms of policy, there doesn’t seem to be much difference between left and right on the COVID response outcomes.
So all in all, I think Trump’s rhetoric around COVID was terrible, but I don’t think it’s fair to pin those deaths on him because they likely would’ve happened had he lost in 2016.
You seem to be implying that is the reason I find myself disliking him less now than in 2016 which couldn’t be further from the truth. That’s among the most pressing arguments against him.
That’s equally unfair as me saying ‘I don’t see how Harris supporting gender-affirming surgeries for undocumented immigrants in custody’ makes people want to vote for her.
I find myself disliking him less this time around than I did in 2016, and I don’t exactly know why. Sure, there’s a ton I disagree with him on, but that applies to both candidates. I guess I have some sympathy for the people in the center who were pushed away by the left and ended up on the right.
No need to worry though - I’m not a US citizen, so I’m not voting for him.
I don’t understand this sentiment at all. I know it’s a popular one - but how in the hell does instigating a violent coup attempt improve people’s views of the man?
The coup was bad, yes, but don’t forget the hundreds of thousands dead from COVID. Trump has even less plausible deniability for that.
It probably would’ve been the same had Clinton been President. He wasn’t a vaccine skeptic like much of his base, but he certainly played up the rhetoric a bit, while pushing for a rapid rollout of the vaccine.
He belittled and ignored Fauci and downplayed the severity of the virus. He refused to wear a mask which would’ve helped get a lot of the right wing on board with mask-wearing. He held huge rallies without taking precautions, and some attendees got sick and died as a result. (Most notably, Herman Cain.)
Sure, but none of that has anything to do with policy, nor do I think him wearing a mask would do all that much to get his base on board.
His _actual_ public actions
Source:
Basically, he was against masks, in favor of social distancing, and urged rapid development of vaccines (Pfizer vaccine was available around the end of 2020). He took and recommended others take the vaccine as well.
It’s impossible to know exactly how Clinton would’ve responded, but I imagine it would be quite similar, with a bit less rhetoric and perhaps a little more distancing at rallies, just given what Biden did (but it’s hard to say exactly, since mask-wearing became a form of speech).
So the main difference I see between Trump and Clinton/Biden is optics, not policy. And given the death rates between states (e.g. Florida vs California), there isn’t a clear difference based on the party that was in power, and differences are more easily explained by climate, population density, and demographics. So sure, you can probably point to cases where people contracted COVID at a rally or something, but in terms of policy, there doesn’t seem to be much difference between left and right on the COVID response outcomes.
So all in all, I think Trump’s rhetoric around COVID was terrible, but I don’t think it’s fair to pin those deaths on him because they likely would’ve happened had he lost in 2016.
You seem to be implying that is the reason I find myself disliking him less now than in 2016 which couldn’t be further from the truth. That’s among the most pressing arguments against him.
That’s equally unfair as me saying ‘I don’t see how Harris supporting gender-affirming surgeries for undocumented immigrants in custody’ makes people want to vote for her.
Shouldn’t that be a disqualifying factor?
Sure but that doesn’t really change anything. I don’t think he was fit for the job to begin with.