[Karah]
THE SIZE OF TRUMP’S ELECTION VICTORY.
WAS IT A LANDSLIDE? OR A “MANDATE”?
THE ANSWER – DIFFERS DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU GET YOUR NEWS.
NEWS OUTLETS WITH A LEFT-LEANING BIAS –
LIKE THE NEW YORK TIMES – “THE ‘LANDSLIDE’ THAT WASN’T.”
AND MSNBC – “TRUMP WON EVERY BATTLEGROUND STATE AND POPULAR VOTE – BUT **NOT BY A LANDSLIDE.
RIGHT-LEANING OUTLETS – LIKE THE NATIONAL REVIEW – “LANDSLIDE OR NOT, TRUMP WON A MANDATE”
AND BREITBART “TRUMP’S LANDSLIDE VICTORY MOVED 48 STATES TO THE RIGHT.”
IT’S BEEN OVER TWO WEEKS SINCE ELECTION NIGHT –
BUT THE SIZE OF TRUMP’S VICTORY – IS MAKING HEADLINES –
AS DOZENS OF COUNTIES – MANY FROM CALIFORNIA – HAVE BEEN SLUGGISH TO REPORT RESULTS.
THE UPDATED VOTE TALLY OVER THE PAST TWO WEEKS –
HAS SHRUNK TRUMP’S EDGE OVER HARRIS –
BUT HE REMAINS THE WINNER OF THE POPULAR VOTE – THE FIRST REPUBLICAN TO DO SO IN 20 YEARS.
HERE’S HOW NEWS OUTLETS ARE REPORTING ON THE UPDATED NUMBERS THAT HAVE TRICKLED IN IN THE TWO WEEKS SINCE THE ELECTION.
THE NEW YORK TIMES WROTE – “by traditional numeric measures, Mr. Trump’s victory was neither unprecedented nor a landslide. In fact, he prevailed with one of the smallest margins of victory in the popular vote since the 19th century and generated little of the coattails of a true landslide.
IN THE TIMES PIECE – THEY HONE IN ON TRUMP HOVERING AROUND THE 50% MARK – OR THE MAJORITY OF VOTES CAST.
WHILE 99 PERCENT OF VOTES ARE IN – SOME COUNTIES ARE STILL COUNTING.
AS OF FRIDAY AFTERNOON – TRUMP RECEIVED 50% OF THE VOTE COMPARED TO HARRIS’ 48.3 PERCENT OF THE VOTE ACCORDING TO THE NEW YORK TIMES TALLY.
THAT’S A 1.7 PERCENT MARGIN OF VICTORY.
THE TIMES WROTE –
Real landslides have been unmistakable, including Lyndon B. Johnson’s in 1964 by 22.6 points, Richard M. Nixon’s in 1972 by 23.2 points and Ronald Reagan’s in 1984 by 18.2 points. In the 40 years since that Reagan victory, no president has won the popular vote by double digits.
THE TIMES ALSO OFFERED THIS EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THE 2024 ELECTION IS BEING CLASSIFIED AS A LANDSLIDE BY THE RIGHT.
SAYING “The incoming president and his team are trying to cement the impression of a “resounding margin,” as one aide called it, to make Mr. Trump seem more popular than he is and strengthen his hand in forcing through his agenda in the months to come.”
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MEDIA POLITICAL AISLE –
RIGHT-LEANING NEWS OUTLET “THE NATIONAL REVIEW” –
HAS A DIFFERENT TAKE –
CITING OTHER ELECTION NIGHT STATS –
IN RESPONSE TO THE NEW YORK TIMES PIECE.
THEY WRITE “The New York Times is concerned that Donald Trump and certain Republicans are boasting that the 2024 election was a landslide.
At 76.7 million votes and counting, Trump has now won the second most votes of any presidential candidate in history.
What makes this election feel like a landslide is the fact that Trump won all seven key swing states and won six states that he lost four years ago. If a state was considered in play, Trump won it. If you want to dispute that Trump won a mandate on Election Day, you have to accept that Democrats earned an anti-mandate, a rebuke.
IN SOME CATEGORIES –
2024 WAS AN UNPRECEDENTED ELECTION.
SUCH AS TRUMP GARNERING MORE SUPPORT FROM HISPANIC VOTERS THAN ANY OTHER REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE IN HISTORY ACCORDING TO AN AXIOS EXIT POLL.
AND TRUMP HIMSELF –
BEING THE FIRST PRESIDENT TO BE TWICE-IMPEACHED AND CONVICTED OF A FELONY TO WIN AGAIN – SET TO TAKE THE WHITE HOUSE COME JANUARY.
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FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS – I’M KARAH RUCKER.
