Biden trailing Trump in battleground states

"President Biden is trailing Donald Trump in five of the six most important battleground states one year before the 2024 election"

I don't know why this is even taken seriously a year away. That's a lifetime in politics. A year from now Trump could be in prison for violating a gag order. Or numerous felonies.

Edit: The quote above came from an NYT email blast, I assume this is the full article

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/us/politics/biden-trump-2024-poll.html

 

It is true that a year is a super long time in politics. On the other hand, this is Trump the insurrectionist that we're talking about. He has promised to ignore the constitution and weaponize the whole government to bring chaos and destruction down on his enemies should he win. So it is scary in any case.

 

The polls are meaningless at this point. This isn't a horse race. What matters is what happens during the election.

 

Meaningless as predictions. Useful to sell papers and motivate the Democrats!

 

Yes and to cause ulcers in those of us that suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome.

 

It is baffling to me that he still has so many people who buy his lies.

 

The problem is that Fox, Newmax, and OANN don't report that his statements are lies. Instead they are reported as truth. On top of that there's a percentage of folks that get their news off of social media.

 

Human perception is far more colored by what we expect or desire than by objective reality. If you are predisposed to like the nonsense that Trump spews, you will credit it even if you must twist the facts like pretzels to protect that view.

People tend to look for confirmation that an earlier choice was correct. If you bought a new Ford Pinto you will likely read a glowing review of that car even if you've already made your decision to buy it.

Humans generally make decisions based on attitudes then justify those decisions with evidence and reasoning. Not the reverse. So if you're a long time MAGA type you will probably continue to support Trump regardless of anything that you learn to the contrary.

 

The bad news for the former President is that the reverse is also true. Hate and loathing, whether justified or not by actual evidence, will endure. A rematch between Biden and Trump is more likely than not to turn out the same way the first contest turned out.

 

I'm not so sure they "buy" them. I think they know he's a liar. They want to hear it anyway, and they want him anyway.

But why? Because he delivers three things they really want:

• White supremacy. Because uneducated and unskilled White people don't have automatic access to success anymore.
• Destroy the system. Because it doesn't work for them anyway, especially democracy.
• Own the libs. Because hating others is almost as good as enjoying your own life--which they don't.

 

I think there might be a few other reasons but those are important ones, probably the most important. Like any good cult leader some are attracted to his "strong" personality. He "knows" everything. He talks big. Sure he may lie every once in a while but all politicians lie is the excuse. MAGA fans really believe his lies to be true when he's bragging about his accomplishments and wins. They believe he was a successful President.

 

Once in a while...? Oh yeah, I guess so. Only when his lips move.

 

Yes, I agree. The intent of that paragraph was to try to describe the thought patterns of the MAGA Republican crowd.

 

"Thought" patterns?

 

You got me there! How about "thoughts justifying emotional patterns"?

 

Meanwhile the Dems continue to over achieve in special and off year elections.

 

The MAGA Party is closely tied to the Religious Right including the White Christian Nationalists. The latter will not cease their efforts to end abortion nationwide and since ideology trumps electability in today's GOP the Democrats will continue to over perform.

 

The embodiment of this GOP dysfunction is Speaker Johnson.