Trump opens his 2020 campaign: Keep America Great!
Donald Trump demonstrated his ability to hold a crowd for about one hour and twenty minutes. His skill at branding gave him ample opportunity to involve the audience, which approved of his new theme, "Keep America Great." Trump listed some of the many accomplishments during his first two and a half years in office. He spent significant time discussing the fraudulent collusion investigation and how it has divided the country. Despite this effort and the continued attacks in the Democratic House, he has managed to execute his office when others would have been stymied.
About one hundred twenty thousand people applied for tickets to the Trump rally in Orlando, Fla. On Monday, by contrast, only 18 people showed up to see Congressman Eric Swalwell of California. Former vice president Joe Biden cannot fill a small room for his talks. Biden has raised $20 million, which leads all Democrats in the presidential primary, but is far behind Trump's bounty of over $40 million. The Amway Arena holds 20,000, so many were forced to watch outside on large screens. Some of the people waited 40 hours in the rain to secure tickets.
Polls being released consistently show Trump trailing several of the leading Democrat candidates. This can be viewed only as an attempt to depress Trump's support, orchestrated by news agencies hoping to fabricate news rather than report it. At this time in their presidencies, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush trailed in similar polls, yet both had significant victories. Further, Trump's approval rating is similar to Obama's at this time in the former president's first term.
As an observer of many rallies, I noted in this one a larger percentage of women and minorities in cutaway video shots. If this is real, then a small increase in support among these populations indicates that the polling data may be skewed by sampling errors. Polling requires an estimation of the turnout by different groups of citizens. Additionally, national polling gives no detail regarding state support differences. Since the election depends upon the Electoral College vote, failure to gauge this detail makes for misleading data.
President Trump has indicated his desire to work toward replacement of Obamacare and repair our broken immigration system. These are two items that the Washington swamp has prevented Trump from delivering so far. When one examines any potential opponent from the Democratic Party, all potential nominees are dedicated to delivering a government-controlled medical payment system. This is not likely to appeal to most moderates and independents, who would lose their private business–sponsored health insurance. (One hundred eighty million Americans have this option.) Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of N.Y.'s accusation that we are running concentration camps for illegals is likely to be empowering for Trump-supporters.
Another significant issue concerns taxes. Most Democrats want to rescind the tax cuts passed at the end of 2017. As Trump points out the benefits to about 90% of the public, this will be less palatable to voters. Elimination of the Obamacare individual mandate is generally well received by moderates and Trump-supporters.
Trump set up his campaign to posit Biden as the failed past (along with Obama). He has also positioned himself in the center when compared to the radical proposals of most Democrat candidates.
Most pundits underestimated Donald Trump in the past. He has a tough job winning the center, since he has to work against the concerted effort of the media, celebrities, and the establishment. His greatest argument for re-election is the time needed to complete his promises. He can succeed only by bringing along a Republican House and gaining seats in the Senate. His campaign is for the soul of America.
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