Culture Wars/Current Controversies

A Trump Slump?

JUNE 21, 2024
A Trump Slump?
Trump’s Conviction Was Supposed to Boost His Popularity. It Hasn’t. →
President Joe Biden and Donald Trump are essentially tied in the national polls. Almost anything could tip the election. And, as Chris Lehmann reported this week, there is some good news on this front. The Beltway pundits were wrong; Trump’s conviction did not give the former president a boost. In a new poll from Politico, 21 percent of independent voters say it makes them less likely to vote for him, and only 5 percent describe themselves as more likely to support him on the basis of his felon status.

 

And it’s not just his criminal conviction that’s harming his presidential chances. As Joan Walsh explained on Tuesday, Democrats are finally taking advantage of a Trump gaffe. The party and its backers are paying for 10 billboards in Milwaukee to highlight the fact that Trump has called it a “horrible city.” This is not the first time, by the way, that Trump has insulted a majority-Black city. Historically, as John Nichols details, Trump has fared poorly in Milwaukee, a city whose residents feel abandoned by the GOP. Four years after losing Wisconsin, Trump still hasn’t gotten the message that criticizing a city whose votes could decide the election isn’t going to do him any favors.

Let’s hope the far-right lag spreads across the globe. French President Emmanuel Macron has called for snap legislative elections, which will determine if the specter of an upset win by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally materializes. Complicating matters further, Dave Zirin and Jules Boykoff note, are this summer’s Olympic Games, which begin in Paris on July 26. If the elections go badly, Zirin and Boykoff warn, France could see a 28-year-old far-right TikTok star become prime minister. If that isn’t enough to scare voters, I’m not sure what is.

 

—Alana Pockros

Engagement Editor, The Nation

ADVERTISEMENT
FEATURED
Trump’s Conviction Was Supposed to Boost His Popularity. It Hasn’t.
Contrary to Republican claims that the public would see their presumptive nominee
CHRIS LEHMANN
 
Trump Has Slurred Black-Led Cities Before. In Milwaukee, He’s Paying For It
Trump frequently uses majority-Black cities as synecdoches for urban doom, political corruption and American decline.
JOAN WALSH
 
Trump’s Going to Hate Milwaukee Even More After Its Voters Crush Him in November
The Republican nominee called the city hosting his party’s convention “horrible.” Just wait until Milwaukeeans get to show him how they feel about that.
JOHN NICHOLS
 
ADVERTISEMENT
 
What Happens to the Paris Olympics if National Rally Wins?
If Macron’s snap-election gambit fails, the far right could be in power and use the Games to legitimize its politics.
DAVE ZIRIN, JULES BOYKOFF
 
Christopher Bollen’s Cairo Thriller
The Lost Americans captures the atmosphere of paranoia and surveillance in the years since 2013.
HUSSEIN OMAR
 
MORE FROM THE NATION
Is an Iran Upset in the Making?
A reformist challenges five conservatives in the June 28 presidential vote.
BOB DREYFUSS
Who Really Suffers When the Supply Chain Is in Crisis?
Peter S. Goodman’s recent book on the pandemic’s effect on global rhythms of supply and demand tries to answer why “the world ran out of everything.”
BRETT CHRISTOPHERS
Willie Mays Was Baseball’s Last Mythic Hero
The center fielder, who died at 93, was the last surviving star who began his career in Black baseball.
BIJAN C. BAYNE
Claudia Sheinbaum’s Election in Mexico Shows How the Left Can Win
Sheinbaum’s landslide victory is thanks to her commitment to continue policies that put the interests of the working class first.
JOSÉ LUIS GRANADOS CEJA
Our June 2024 Issue: The Plot Against America is out now!

 

Not yet a subscriber of The Nation? Get one year of unlimited digital access for just $14.95.

Subscribe
ShopTravelsDonate
You are subscribed to The Nation Weekly. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe.
Privacy PolicyAdvertiseContact Us

Leave a Reply