WASHINGTON — Early on in Donald Trump’s first term, a favorite riposte from right-wing accounts on social media to real and perceived cultural excesses from “The Left” was simply: “This is how we got Trump.”
Eight years later, we’re getting another round of this same clever retort, only this time the culprits are not progressive activists, but reporters who covered the Joe Biden White House. Apparently, we collectively conspired with Biden family members and aides to hide his worsening physical and mental condition from America.
It’s an amazing assertion, given that polls in early 2024 found that some 80% of Americans thought that Biden was too old to be president. Focus group participants said they were shocked he was even running again. It turns out that people drew their own conclusions from watching his halting public speeches and videos of his increasingly noticeable old-man’s shuffle.
This conspiracy, clearly, failed miserably pretty much from the get-go.
People who are surprised that the Democratic establishment stuck with Biden as long as it did do not understand presidential campaigns. The single biggest factor that determines an election is whether the candidate is already the sitting president. Incumbency offers tremendous advantages, from fundraising to the imagery of that big, blue-and-white 747 swooping in.
