Trump as Everyman
In Real Clear, Victor Davis Hanson explains Donald Trump is the winner.
After Donald Trump visited California to talk with a bunch of farmers, Hanson wondered if Donald came chewing on straw in a Caterpillar cap.
Trump “Had a Very Good Chance”
No, sir, came the perplexed response. “it was 105 degrees, he had a Queens accent.”
Then, Hanson notes:
“In other words, he wasn’t Hillary or Biden., ‘put you all in chains.’” Trump didn’t change his act. He wasn’t trying to be Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden. He was authentic and represented the middle class.
That’s why VDH thought Trump “had a very good chance.”
Whether posing for a mugshot after being railroaded by a weaponized lawfare indictment, serving MacDonald’s drive-up customers, riding in a garbage truck cab, raising his fist and yelling “fight, fight, fight” — and after nearly having his head blown off by a would-be assassin, Donald Trump came across the reboot rather than grouchy Biden or inauthentic VP Harris, pushing their shared extremist agendas. It has left the Left scratching its collective head.
In American Greatness, Victor Davis Hanson numerates why, after four years of President Joe Biden and what looked like irreparable damage to 2016 Trump, Donald Trump is a welcome relief.
Trump Now Seen as Normal
In a reversal of fate, President Joe Biden now seems abnormal. Donald Trump comes across as a winner who promises not only to restore his first-term success but also to expand it.
The Left’s cultural revolution championed fringe policies never quite seen before. It destroyed the border, welcomed 12 million illegal aliens, nihilist critical race and legal theories, institutionalized a third sex, and mandated woke/DEI quotas and indoctrination sessions.
Biden inherited from Trump a secure border, an economy rebounding after the COVID quarantines, 1.23% inflation, no wars abroad, and cheap energy. Now what?
Four years later, the outgoing Biden administration is widely unpopular. Almost every one of its policies polls before 50%.
A Transparent and Energetic Trump
Trump personally remains transparent and energetic — eager to talk and meet anyone, anytime, and just about anywhere.
(Trump’s) energy offers a sharp contrast with the non-compos-mentis Biden. The change is welcomed by an electorate exhausted by the past four years of presidential stumbling, wandering, incoherence, mind-freezes, and angry, “get-off-my-grass” aged fragility.
Trump’s Veritable Campaign Menagerie
RFK, Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, Dana White, and Kid Rock are quite the lineup. They make it nearly impossible for the Left to demonize MAGA Republicans as right-wing aristocrats or laissez-faire capitalists.
Unprecedented Hostile Attacks Strengthened Trump
Donald Trump is grudgingly admired, even by some of his enemies who once sought but failed to destroy him.
He endured two impeachments, five civil and criminal court indictments, incessant lawfare, a 95% negative media coverage, attempts to remove him from states’ ballots, and two assassination attempts.
Trump Expanded His MEGA Base
Trump’s expanded MAGA base permanently branded it as an ecumenical movement that welcomes shared class interests rather than the tired old tribal racial and ethnic chauvinism.
Trump also brought in disaffected Democrats, independents, and minorities in a way the Democrats could not with the evaporating “Never Trump” dead enders.
Overrated Harris Endorsements
The endorsements of the Biden-Harris legacy media, calcified Hollywood endorsers, blowhard university faculties, and tech barons proved vastly overrated. It was trumped by more popular and dynamic Internet influencers, podcasters, bloggers, and maverick entrepreneurs.
Fighting Against a Stacked Deck
Trump himself proved more experienced, and more measured and reflective than in 2016. His team too was more disciplined and street smart, led by savvy chief of staff Susan Wiles.
Didn’t Pass the Smell Test
It just didn’t sell, VDH notes.
Americans didn’t buy into grouchy Biden and inane, inauthentic Vice President Kamala Harris, along with their shared extremist agendas.
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