Donald Trump was never smart, politically talented, or good at most of the things a successful politician is expected to excel in.
What Donald J. Trump always had in his favor was that he showed a level of commitment to this issue that no other candidate or president has shown.
Trump’s entire adult life has been built on self-deception, but what made Trump successful in American politics was his ability to make America believe his delusions are facts.
The president has never had an approval rating above 50% with a nonpartisan pollster, so it’s not like his gaslighting has worked with everyone, but it has worked with enough people in a deeply divided country to get him into the White House twice.
One of the main reasons Trump won in 2024 was that, through relentless repetition, he was able to convince people that he was a good steward of the American economy. The truth has always been that Trump was riding on the fumes of the Obama economy, and that he had already sent the country into recession before COVID arrived.
Trump and his reputation for economic competence were saved by COVID. Without the pandemic, America would have entered a recession. Trump would have had no excuse and his career could have ended in 2020.
When Trump returned to office, he faced an angry American public angry about costs and inflation. Trump’s every move has worsened the crisis, so the president has continued to try to spotlight America, but this time it hasn’t worked.
