Donald Trump has reached his highest favorability rating in seven years. His approval now sits at 50%, the highest since March 2017. This marks a significant rebound from earlier points in his political career when his numbers hovered in the low 40s.
Republican commentators have celebrated these numbers as a major comeback, but I’m not as impressed as others may be. Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama both entered and left office with far higher approval ratings. Comparing Trump’s numbers to Joe Biden’s offers little insight. Biden, who often appears inept and disengaged, maintains approval ratings in the low 40s. What’s surprising is not that Biden’s numbers are bad but that they’re not far worse.
With Republicans frequently retreating on social issues, Democrats largely benefit from catering to their substantial woke constituency.
The broader point is one I’ve made before: Democrats don’t seem to be hurting themselves with their divisive focus on intersectional politics. While this despicable strategy sows hate between races and genders, it successfully appeals to a base of angry, culturally radicalized voters.
Democrats have easily retained control of blue states. Even in the last presidential election, when they were supposedly blown out of the water, Kamala Harris lost to Trump by only two percentage points. This suggests that Democrats don’t need to abandon their current approach to remain competitive in future elections.
The Democrats achieved their results despite running a verbally challenged, tactically inept candidate who had to defend Joe Biden’s largely indefensible record. Harris, the giggling wonder who never won a single primary vote, was pushed onto voters once party leaders abandoned their hopelessly senile incumbent.
This isn’t even to mention her opponent: a vigorous populist candidate who campaigned tirelessly, holding multiple rallies each day with roaring energy. What stood out about the election is how well the Democrats performed despite holding what seemed like a disastrous hand — a failed presidency, a weak candidate, and a driven, dynamic opponent. Still, they managed to win close Senate races in Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin.
To their credit, the Democrats held certain advantages that should not be underestimated. They had the backing of corporate and Hollywood money, the unwavering support of the servile legacy media, and a partisan educational establishment and government employees. Meanwhile, Republicans, led by Trump, had to work tirelessly with fewer funds against these forces. Yet they still emerged with hard-won victories in the presidential and congressional races.
On social issues, the Democrats hold a significant advantage, as shown by their success on abortion despite taking the most extreme stance possible. Kamala Harris advocated unrestricted abortion rights nationwide for all nine months of pregnancy. She also supported punishing physicians who refused to perform abortions for moral reasons. Remarkably, Kamala led Trump by double digits on the abortion question even though Trump took the weakest stance on abortion of any Republican presidential candidate since the 1970s.
Clearly, a woke, feminist vote exists, and the Democrats control it entirely. They can escalate social issues and often expect Republicans to anxiously follow suit. Since the 1990s, over 60% of American women have identified as Democratic, and these voters, often defined by grievance politics, align with the left on most social issues.
Occasionally, the Democrats overreach, such as they did in allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports or access women’s locker rooms and showers. However, this rarely costs them elections, particularly in blue states, where being “too progressive” is rarely a political liability. Instead, with Republicans frequently retreating on social issues, Democrats largely benefit from catering to their substantial woke constituency.
The more culturally left-leaning of America’s two major political parties may be exactly where it needs to be for electoral success. While Democrats have abandoned their roots as a working-class party, that shift no longer seems to matter. They have consolidated support among key voter blocs, including government workers, most black adults, teachers’ unions, and a majority of women voters.
The right can counter this advantage and strike back. The new administration should abolish the Department of Education, disperse federal swamp creatures, and eliminate subsidies to educational institutions, except for scientifically beneficial programs. This strategy would weaken the Democrats’ reliance on a bloated public sector.
Defunding and depopulating the deep state would further erode the left’s influence. For decades, the Democrats have acted as the “state party,” with much of their power tied to a growing public sector. Reducing that advantage would critically weaken their financial resources and disrupt their infrastructure.
Above all, the new administration must ignore the inevitable media outrage and accusations of “fascism” while pursuing this necessary counteroffensive. Let the left fund its own operations and personnel without the support of taxpayer dollars.
Democratic party, Woke agenda, Money, Campaign finance, Kamala harris, Abortion, Republican party, Donald trump, Leftism, Culture war, Opinion & analysis
