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Brad Warren's avatar

With the benefit of hindsight, I really don't think that 2024 was winnable against Trump. America wanted a return to 2019 and got the opportunity to return 2019's president to power.

Harris excited the base enough to fight the House to a draw and keep at least four Senate seats in the blue column (MI, WI, NV, and AZ). I shudder to think of what might have happened if Biden had stayed in to the end (and I like Biden!).

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Zero Cool's avatar

I think it’s psychologically driven more than it is simply about the economy. Pre-pandemic, it was just a much better and less chaotic economy. You didn’t hear many people dread inflation and talk about it a lot.

Of course, this came before the infrastructure bills President Biden signed into law.

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Brad Warren's avatar

It certainly didn't help that certain moneyed interests spent the entire Biden presidency trying to talk a recession into existence. (Never underestimate the number of people who were BIG MAD that labor made some incremental gains in the aftermath of the pandemic.)

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Zero Cool's avatar

The endless chatter about a recession being on the horizons. Every damn quarter of Biden’s presidency during when the economy was growing. Predictions that never materialized as true.

As far as I’m concerned, I listen to economists like Joseph Stiglitz, Robert Shiller and others who know a lot about severe downturns, depressions and the real nuts and bolts of the economy. Hard facts please!

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Henrik's avatar

And Trump’s rapidly deteriorating approvals are a function of the realization that he’s not actually bringing 2019 back and never will

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michaelflutist's avatar

To which I say "Duh!"

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Brad Warren's avatar

Sadly, it appears that America had to FA&FO.

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michaelflutist's avatar

Like Germany in 1933, but only -32% of their electorate.

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sacman701's avatar

I don't think it was ever winnable for Biden, even against Trump who was probably the weakest of the plausible GOP candidates. I think Trump would have been beatable if Biden had announced after the midterm that he wouldn't seek a second term, but even the strongest possible Dem probably would have been about 50-50.

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