In the weeks before the 2016 Trump Electoral College victory, Trump was polling between 35 and 40 percent.
He would average only about 41 percent approval over his tumultuous four-year tenure.
No one knows what lies ahead over the next four years. But for now, Trump already polls at well over 50 percent approval.
Trump’s inauguration in a few weeks likely will not resemble his 2016 ceremony.
In the 2016-7 transition, Democratic-affiliated interests ran commercials urging electors to become “faithless” and thus illegally reject their states’ popular votes and instead elect the loser, Hillary Clinton.
Massive demonstrations met Trump on Inauguration Day.
In less than four months after assuming the presidency, Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to investigate the hoax of Russian collusion.
That wasted 22-month, $40 million investigation found no collusion but did derail the first two Trump years.
What followed the collusion ruse was a consistent effort to undermine the Trump presidency—two subsequent impeachments, the laptop “disinformation” hoax, the COVID-19 nationwide lockdown, and news suppression of any mention of the Chinese lab origin of the virus or questioning the closing of schools.
In the Trump administration’s last summer of 2020, 120 days of riot, arson, looting, assault, and murder followed, with the denouement of the January 6 turmoil.
In contrast, during the 2024-2025 transition, Trump has all but assumed the presidency. Over 100 foreign leaders have elbowed each other to be invited to Mar-a-Lago or to phone in their congratulations to the newly elected Trump.
Remember that in 2016 the left screamed “Logan Act” if a Trump transition appointee even talked with foreign officials.
So why is newly elected Trump a veritable cultural hero in 2024 in a fashion unimaginable eight years ago when the media had rendered him a near demon?
One, Trump is now seen as a welcome relief.
A departing and unpopular Joe Biden will leave with about a 36 percent approval rating.
The prior Biden years are now seen as abnormal, if not disastrous.
The left’s cultural revolution championed fringe policies never quite seen before: destroying the border, welcoming in 12 million illegal aliens, nihilist critical race and legal theories, institutionalizing a third sex, and mandating woke/DEI quotas and indoctrination sessions.
Yet Biden had inherited from Trump a secure border, an economy rebounding after the COVID quarantines, 1.23 percent inflation, no wars abroad, and cheap energy.
Four years later, the outgoing Biden administration is widely unpopular. Almost every one of its policies polls below 50 percent.
In response, Trump promises not just to restore his first-term success but to expand it.
Two, Trump personally remains transparent, upbeat, and energetic—eager to meet with anyone, anytime, anywhere, to talk about anything.
His energy offers a sharp contrast with the era of the non-compos-mentis Biden. The change is welcomed by an electorate exhausted by past presidential stumbling, wandering, incoherence, mind freezes, and angry, “get-off-my-grass” aged fragility.
Three, Trump is grudgingly admired, now even by some of his enemies who once sought but failed to destroy him.
He endured two impeachments, five civil and criminal court indictments, incessant lawfare, a 95% negative media, attempts to remove him from states’ ballots, and two assassination attempts.
Yet all these unprecedented hostile efforts to end Trump may only have made him stronger—and more empathetic when seen as a target of increasingly fanatical enemies.
Four, Trump has expanded his MAGA base and permanently branded it as an ecumenical movement that welcomes shared class interests rather than fixates on the tired old tribal racial and ethnic chauvinism.
Trump also brought in disaffected Democrats, independents, and minorities in a way the Democrats could not with the evaporating and bitter Never Trump dead-enders.
Trump’s veritable campaign menagerie of RFK, Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, Dana White, and Kid Rock made it impossible for the left to demonize MAGA Republicans as right-wing aristocrats, warmongers, or laissez-faire capitalists.
Fifth, the endorsements of the Biden-Harris legacy media, calcified Hollywood endorsers, blowhard university faculties, and tech barons proved overrated.
It was trumped by more popular and dynamic internet influencers, podcasters, bloggers, and maverick entrepreneurs.
Sixth and finally, Trump himself proved more experienced and reflective than in 2016. His team too was more disciplined and street smart, led by savvy chief of staff Susan Wiles.
2024 saw truly pivotal moments of Trump as everyman—posing for a mug shot after being railroaded by a weaponized lawfare indictment, serving McDonald’s drive-through customers, riding in a garbage truck cab, and raising his fist and yelling “fight, fight, fight”—after having his head near blown off by a would-be assassin.
Add all of these once unimaginables up, and the people trusted more—and liked better—the Trump reboot than grouchy Joe Biden or inane, inauthentic Kamala Harris and their shared extremist agendas.
Consider what has been said about Democrats and the Administration, by the media, the educational institutions, and by Hollywood, and it makes what is now being said about Trump pale by comparison.
Everyone of the aforementioned feels no pain nor do the bottom feeders on the dole feel pain; this later group are dependent on government and to survive must vote the way they do. So, yes, I do agree with you, because the numbers do not exactly lie. To be candid they reflect a truth. The citizenry voting for dystopia and the non-citizenry also voting for dystopia were created, deliberately and incrementally, to eventually overwhelm the Constitution and original intentions. In other words the object was always to get the voting numbers up, even by importation of the most poor and dependent, and even if they include hardened criminals among them, so as to win elections that put into place a Cloward-Piven strategy.
It was always about the numbers and although much of the left leaning numbers are artificial and fraudulent they, nevertheless, reflect a trend and support your point of view.
Americans have to argue, fight and defend every bit of individual freedom they have. What made the last election go the way it went is because many felt the consequences, of apathy and disinterest, and realized that they needed to do what should have been done decades ago. They voted. The majority now understand they are losing their way of life. Those are the people who work to live. The minority, right on their heels, vote to live. That is the way, the left, when in power, planned it. And they have no intention of changing their agenda.
If I were King and Lord of all as far as the eye can see and even infinitely almost beyond?
My goal, in the next four years would be to approach with unbridled determination the decimation and destruction of the Democrat party - which is nothing but a treasonous, Marxist cancer now - devoid of sanity and caring - simply, totally, completely devoted to the acquisition of and holding of totalitarian power over all
There is as little choice different from that one towards the enemy within - as there was towards the enemy without during WWII.
If Trump and his people are smart - and they are - thank God this time - they have to have in the backs of their minds this goal and realize that the other side respects only one thing - political force wielded deftly, deliberately and with Draconian finality.
That is the only course of action that will resolve this issue and before anyone says, “Oh it can’t be done.”
That’s what was said of Trump winning. Failure is not an option; we dodged what would have been a coup de grâce bullet from the LEFT. It’s now or never.
So, yes, it can be; the effect of destroying them can be affected. All we need is someone (or a collection of someones) who understand how to discern the weak link in a mortal enemy’s positions and strategies who knows how to rend them asunder and leave no lies standing - and bring an end to this evil most foul travesty.
No more time for “Mr. Nice Guy”; time to get serious, I’m thinkin’.
So many points here…
1 - Nobody (but you) is saying that looking up to Trump takes anything away from/replaces worshiping God. I do so wish people would leave God out of all this. This is politics. And as humans we are genetically programmed to align ourselves tribally behind someone we consider a good leader. Nothing to do with God–a false dichotomy.
2 - Trump’s win was historic in its magnitude, no matter how we parse it. Think of all that has been arrayed against him, culturally, institutionally and legally.
3 - Lastly, there doesn’t need to be a conspiracy or a shot fired for an assassination attempt to be dubbed as such. If we want to bring God into this at all, let’s just thank Him that neither one of these losers was able to take out our president.