this article seems to discount the insane amount of popular votes that Trump actually received, and the impact of COVID. He got 73M votes, compared to 78 for Biden. That's way more than Obama's 69M, the previous record.<p>I loathe the big orange baby, but would he have lost if the pandemic had not hit? It seems a perfect storm just as much as his election four years ago.<p>Like many people, the author looks at some things Trump didn't do or fucked up and says "look, he's just really bad at governmrnt" and assumes that would translate into people not voting for him.<p>But that's not how it works, it takes many, many years of that to convince people that someone is not worth governing after they vote for her/him: people identify with their vote, and it takes a lot to get you to say "well, I suck".
Nixon, Reagan, W. Bush, Trump is not a curve towards competence. Nixon got stuff done. Reagan started a movement but bumbled around until Nancy took charge and hired professional help. W started and lost two wars. Populists never know how to govern, so the next tiktok, parlor, youtube star isn’t going to know how to move the levers any better and their entourage is going to be a clown show.<p>They can win because the American populace is shallow and irrational, but running off the rails is not a competence badge.