Re: Donald Trump - POTUS
Agree but not Trump’s fault either. If people do not go out and vote then they lose the right to complain about the election result. It is probably a bad reflection on Hillary as well that some of the traditional democratic voters just could not be bothered to get out and vote. She is not as charismatic as Obama or her husband Bill. Certainly her public-speaking skills are not as good. I won’t be surprised if some of the people who voted for Obama in the last election actually voted for Trump or even the 3rd or 4th candidate.
And although Hillary was winning in the media and in almost every national poll (although %age votes in swing states is a more relevant stat. than just overall %ages), Trump was leading Clinton on social media (facebook, twitter) even if the allegations levelled against Hillary by his supporters were outright lies or fabricated news… a point also noted by IK (one of the few times I have agreed with him recently). So this shows the power of the social media in today’s age. Social media has considerably less influence in Pakistan since only 11% of the population (2013 data) has access to the internet.
I also think the Obamas overdid their support of Hillary so much so that voters started seeing her as just an extension of his rule. Americans generally don’t like legacy or Royalty. They rarely vote for the same party thrice in succession, so it counted against Hillary. The only time it has happened in recent history is when Reagan’s two terms were followed by George HW Bush’s single term. The incumbent should stay neutral imo as he’s supposed to be representing all Americans and not just his own party.
And if you look at the most recent US Election maps it is mostly red or republican in the centre (even when democrats have won). Democrats certainly need to reach out to these areas (Middle & Working Class White Voters) and not solely rely on the smaller but more populous Eastern states for success in a general election.
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Trump 2016**
Obama 2012
Obama 2008
Bill Clinton 1996
And if Trump does not rate infrastructure in parts of America, then I shudder to think what he thinks of places like ours..