Donald Trump and His Big Mouth: Why He Will Lose in 2024? – According to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll, President Joe Biden’s approval rating has dipped to 36 percent, down from February and below even his previous low last year.
A significantly higher percentage of Americans – 56 percent of poll respondents – said they disapproved of the job the president has done so far. Even a majority of Democrats surveyed, 58 percent, said they would rather see the Democrats pick another candidate to be the presidential nominee.
More importantly, the survey found that 54 percent of American adults said they believe former President Donald Trump did a “better job” handling the economy during his administration, compared to 36 percent who said Biden is handling the economy better.
That news should be putting a huge smile on Trump’s face, as well as those of his strongest supporters.
Yet, it is a long time until Election Day 2024, and a whole lot can happen. Moreover, an NBCNews Poll from last month also found that the majority of Americans don’t want either man to run again.
Donald Trump Unfiltered – He is His Own Worst Enemy
Though many Americans may have felt Trump handled the economy better than Biden, it may not be enough to see Trump win back the White House. At issue is that Donald Trump continues to have no filter – he says, or just as often posts on social media, his every feeling without considering the consequences. Even some of his most ardent supporters have grown weary of it.
Back in 2017, two-thirds of Americans disapproved of Trump’s Twitter habit. The issue was so great that the Comedy Central animated series South Park even poked fun at the issue.
Trump’s “tell-it-like-it-is” approach may still be enough to win him support from his “base,” but the base can’t win general elections, as was seen in 2020. This is even truer today when younger Americans are increasingly turning out to vote. Generation Z (those aged 18 to 29) turned out in large numbers in the midterms and spoiled the Republican’s chances to take back the Senate. To win future elections, the GOP will need to determine how to court Gen-Z and millennials.
Trump’s style remains a problem.
The days of saying, “younger people don’t vote” is over. More importantly, they’re over loud mouth politicians. They may not like what Biden has to say, but they hate what comes out of Trump’s mouth!
Picking Unnecessary Fights
Another problem with Trump’s style is that he picks fights when it isn’t necessary. Politicians often must accept that some people won’t like them. For Trump, he doesn’t turn the other cheek, he goes on the offensive. At times it makes no sense, as he has nothing to gain from it.
A case in point occurred just days before the Super Bowl. Trump took to his Truth Social platform to criticize singer/actress Rihanna, writing, “Without her ‘Stylist’ she’d be NOTHING. Bad everything, and NO TALENT!”
Trump clearly isn’t a fan of the singer, but millions around the world are; and Rihanna, who is already the second-best-selling female artist of all time, went on to reach a record-breaking audience for a Super Bowl halftime show. It is impossible to believe that even the majority of Trump’s base agrees with the sentiment that she has no talent. Yet, even if that is the case, it certainly doesn’t endear him to her fans who might be undecided voters.
There was no reason to pick a fight with Rihanna. A wiser politician might have suggested, “I don’t like her politics, but she is very talented.” But we know that’s just not his style.
Moreover, Trump’s big mouth will only continue to cause problems.
A recent op-ed noted that Trump’s off-the-cuffs remakes make him a terrible legal client. “His attorneys must get migraines representing him.” Trump recently labeled Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg as a “criminal” and “degenerate psychopath,” but even worse, he described the judge as “a Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family.” That is hardly going to sway a jury, and it is never a good idea to alienate the judge even further.
Yet, it doesn’t end there.
Trump actually urged his MAGA supporters to “protest” in New York City, and warned of “potential death & destruction” were he to be indicted. Such words will only turn off moderate voters.
The Divide and Conquer Strategy
Is there a method to this madness? Trump thought it worked in 2016, but it could be argued he won with such a strategy despite his mouth, not because of it.
Donald Trump famously won the Republican nomination by playing a divide-and-conquer strategy that included bullying and name-calling of his political opponents. Trump went on to win the Republican nomination, and he used a similar strategy to defeat Hillary Clinton in the general election.
Yet, we should remember that he also ran against arguably one of the country’s worst campaigns in modern history. Clinton failed to visit battleground states as she had believed she was destined to win. The loss hit her hard, but it hit America harder.
It energized those who didn’t like Trump – and yes, for four years he faced calls that he was an illegitimate president and that he didn’t represent all Americans.
That point was reinforced time and time again by his opponents.
Of course, Trump never really attempted to be a unifier. Even as it could be argued that many never gave Trump a chance, he poisoned the well with his social media attacks. By the time of the 2020 election, Trump faced a number of challenges, notably the Covid-19 pandemic, but it was his mouth that cost him the race.
His attempted bullying of Biden during their first presidential debate in 2020 was infamous and almost scandalous.
On Election Day, Trump managed to get out the base, but the anti-Trump crowd came out in larger numbers for Biden.
The same could very well happen again.
Americans may approve more of Trump’s handling of the economy, but again that’s unlikely to be enough for him to win in 2024. Too many people just don’t like Trump – largely because of what constantly comes out of his big mouth. If Trump could stay off social media, and not always feel that he needs to say-it-like-is, he could actually be a good leader.
But we all know that’s unlikely to happen. His mouth will be his downfall.
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Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
