
<p>Trump has never been popular with a majority of Americans – or more specifically, voters. ; To understand that – in view of his rise to the presidency – you need to understand how he got to where he is.</p>



<p>Prior to the 2016 presidential election, Republicans were on a roll. ; They controlled two-thirds of the governorships and two-thirds of the state legislatures. ; They controlled both the House and the Senate. ; Early polling suggested a wave election for the GOP in 2016 – a virtual certainty to win the White House.</p>



<p>At the time, political pundits were questioning the very future of the Democratic Party. ; With no power in Washington, they would become a bi-coastal regional party. ; Yes … things were that bad for Democrats.</p>



<p>Trump entered the presidential race as the least liked of the 16 other GOP contenders. ; He was presumed to have no chance for the Republican nomination – and certainly no chance to become President.</p>



<p>But he did win the nomination – but only because all those other Republican candidates divided up the anti-Trump vote. ; Even though he won the nomination on a number of plurality victories, most of those voting in the GOP primaries preferred someone else.</p>



<p>Trump benefited from Democrats selection of former First Lady, former senator, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – also one of the more unpopular figures in the political firmament. ; Trump won the election in the Electoral College but fell short in the popular vote. ; His unpopularity had tamped down the red wave that was predicted.</p>



<p>In the interest of fairness, it should be noted that upon his election, Trump was subjected to an unprecedented resistance movement. ; Democrats were working feverishly to undo the election – first by trying to influence Trump’s Electoral College electors to switch their votes and then to launch a pre-inauguration impeachment movement. ; They even attempt to have Congress block the inauguration. ; They tried to force Trump out of office with a bogus Russian meddling investigation – launched with false documents prepared by the Clinton Campaign. ; (Golly gee … and no one was screaming insurrection. ; Go Figure.)</p>



<p>At the same time, Trump did nothing to enhance his image or build his political base. He continued with his pugnacious streetfighter style. ; He became the only President in American history who never … never once … won a favorability rating above 50 percent.</p>



<p>In the 2018 midterm elections, a main issue was Trump. ; Democrats were fine tuning their strategy of keeping Trump unpopular – and spreading that across the entire Republican Party. ; As a result, Republicans lost the House. ; In 2019, Republicans lost the Senate by losing both Georgia Senate seats in a December Special Election.</p>



<p>The controversy over the 2020 election continues. ; Folks on both sides have differing opinions as to the level and impact of voter fraud. ; But for all practicality, it is over – and Trump is not sitting in the White House. ; Apart from the raging debate among loyalists on both sides, the election was officially and constitutionally settled by the Electoral College – the same institution that gave Trump his victory in 2016.</p>



<p>Even though Democrats constantly demonize Trump – and spread that political perception across all Republican candidates – Trump’s unpopularity is unique to him. ; When he was on the ballot in 2016 and 2020, GOP candidates further down the ballot generally did better than Trump in garnering votes. ; Glenn Youngkin won the governor&#8217;s seat in Virginia by NOT playing up to Trump.</p>



<p>As a President and former President, Trump naturally becomes titular head of the Republican Party. ; He remains influential WITHIN the GOP – and has played a role in selecting candidates for the 2022 midterm elections. ; Unfortunately, they are all currently struggling – despite the fact that Biden has had the lowest favorability rating of any President in the history of polling.</p>



<p>Given Biden’s rating, the chaos at the border, crime taking over America’s cities, high inflation, a disastrous and tragic withdrawal from Afghanistan, food and baby formula shortages, a failed effort to stop Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the public’s opinion that things are going the wrong way in America, one might expect the Republicans to be re-mounting that grassroots wave ; &#8212; picking up 30 to 50 seats in the House and a couple in the Senate – enough to gain control. ; ; ; ;</p>



<p>There should be notable gains for the GOP at all levels of government – from statewide offices to school boards. ; But will that happen? ; And if not, why not?</p>



<p>At this juncture, it is hard to imagine the GOP winning in the Senate. ; If the current 50/50 tie in the Senate is to be changed, it is more likely that Democrats will gain. ; The House may fall to the Republicans – and that is now a possibility rather than a probability – but by a much closer margin.</p>



<p>Once again, the Trump-thing has tamped down voter enthusiasm for the GOP. ; The Party would be better off if Trump were to keep a low profile in the coming months. ; But he and the Democrats prefer that Trump remain center stage as much as possible.</p>



<p>As President, Trump has done a lot of good things for America – at least from a conservative perspective. ; He is not the fascist ogre that he is made out to be by Democrats and their agents in the news media. ; But Trump is not the type of guy I would like to see my kids become. ; He has not recognized or addressed his personality deficiencies and his divisiveness.</p>



<p>Going into 2024, Trump will not have the power of incumbency. ; He has a small base of very impassioned loyalists, but not even a majority of Republican votes want him to be the candidate in 2024 – and they have the voting power to decide. ; ;</p>



<p>I have opined in the past that I do not believe Trump can get the GOP nomination for 2024 unless there is again a huge field of opponents – or he has scared out all competition. ; And I feel quite confident that if he did secure the nomination, he would lose the General Election. ; He simply lacks sufficient popularity among the people to win a presidential election in 2024.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Trump has never been popular
