# Coronavirus will finish Trump's presidency **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 16, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597 "2020-03-16T17:46:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/229 "2020-03-25T14:46:52Z")
I don’t see a square. I don’t see a circle. I see a cylinder. That’s why I am also capable of seeing that Trump is a bullshit-spewing jackass. It’s not that complicated. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/230 "2020-03-25T14:53:58Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I don’t see a square. I don’t see a circle. > > I see a cylinder. That’s why I am also capable of seeing that Trump is a bullshit-spewing jackass. > > It’s not that complicated. You can’t assume \*other \*people see Trump as a cylinder. That’s why Trump won the election. That’s why his approval rating is 49%. A sizable chunk of America sees him as something other than a cylinder. The notion that “I see Trump as a bullshit-spewing jackass, therefore everyone else must too, or ought to,” is what leads to bewildered Democrats like Hillary asking why she wasn’t leading Trump by 50 percentage points. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/231 "2020-03-25T14:54:15Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Well the democrats picked a 77 year old white guy to beat a 73 year old white guy. > > I wonder when the young people are going to become aware of this? > > Democrats are imposing martial law, all for a disease that mostly effects the elderly. In Italy for example 6,800 have died but NONE of them under age 29. Only 14 age 30-39, 46 age 40-49. Its really only after age 60 does it really get serious. [LINK](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1105061/coronavirus-deaths-by-region-in-italy/) > > Hopefully people and especially young democratic voters will wake up and see how the MSM (and their democratic establishment masters) are cooking the statistics and creating a mess thats hurting them WAY more than its hurting the elderly many of whom are already on pensions and social security. > > Too bad the youth of today have no voices. They did have that Cortez woman but they kicked her to the curb quick when she dared challenge Biden. In addition to what Monocracy just wrote, you, like many, are focusing only on the mortality rate and not on the many many that require hospitalization and the many of those that require days or weeks on a ventilator. Part of the high mortality rate in Italy, and part of its lean towards the elderly, is due to prioritizing the use of those ventilators for younger patients. Without flattening the curve there simply wouldn’t be those ventilators and _more_ young patients would die. You’re also ignoring the fact that as much as this is hurting the economy, having that many people sick would also hurt the economy or that the market crashing hurts the people on a private pension more than young people. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/232 "2020-03-25T14:56:12Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > You can’t assume \*other \*people see Trump as a cylinder. That’s why Trump won the election. That’s why his approval rating is 49%. A sizable chunk of America sees him as something other than a cylinder. > > The notion that “I see Trump as a bullshit-spewing jackass, therefore everyone else must too, or ought to,” is what leads to bewildered Democrats like Hillary asking why she wasn’t leading Trump by 50 percentage points. What do _you_ think we should do after we come to grips with the insane perspective of Trumpists? Or are you suggesting it’s time we just embrace a new normal of “lies are good!”? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/233 "2020-03-25T15:15:44Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Right - Trump may be having it tough right now, but many Democrats think Trump ought to be at Nixon-during-Watergate levels of approval/disapproval rather than being in the 40s. This is nothing new; even four years ago, [Hillary asked during the election, “Why aren’t I fifty percentage points ahead?”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/clinton-why-arent-i-50-points-ahead-of-trump/2016/09/21/d9142b3e-8072-11e6-9578-558cc125c7ba_video.html) > > Democrats have been staring at Trump, bewildered, for years, “Why hasn’t this guy burned in a smoking political crater by now?” Nixon didn’t have a state propaganda network on his side. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/234 "2020-03-25T15:24:36Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > You can’t assume \*other \*people see Trump as a cylinder. That’s why Trump won the election. That’s why his approval rating is 49%. A sizable chunk of America sees him as something other than a cylinder. > > The notion that “I see Trump as a bullshit-spewing jackass, therefore everyone else must too, or ought to,” is what leads to bewildered Democrats like Hillary asking why she wasn’t leading Trump by 50 percentage points. I don’t at all expect them to see the cylinder, and I realized they wouldn’t see it long before Trump was even elected. And, yeah, it was clear that the people who thought they could change minds just by explaining how “mean” Trump is weren’t helping. Or if they just explained things logically enough people would change their minds.No, they’re not going to change their minds; that’s become clear. They are motivated by only the reptilian center of their brain. The rest withered away from too much reality TV watching. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/235 "2020-03-25T15:26:16Z")
\ Facts matter, reality matters, and I can think of at least half a dozen things that Trump has done that are much worse than watergate, and dozens more that are borderline. And when I’m met loyal Trump supporters, they will often cite one of a number of easily-debunked CTs (recall that it was a CT that made Trump into a political figure in the first place) as some reason for why Trump’s great. So no, I’m not looking at a cylinder as if it’s a square. I’m looking at spongebob squarepants sitting on a companion cube, and trumpists are insisting it’s a Klein bottle. Not everything is “both sides” and not every position deserves respect. OTOH, if we’re saying don’t underestimate the _support_ for Trump, I certainly don’t. I would consider him favorite for the election at this point. Picking Biden on the basis of electability, and little else, was a major own goal IMO. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/236 "2020-03-25T15:37:39Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Well here in Kansas City it was the democrat mayor and the democrat governor of Kansas that declared martial law. No it wasn’t. Martial law hasn’t been declared anywhere. This is nothing to do with circles and squares and cylinders. Some people are striving as hard as they can to be disinformed (see above post). The rest of us, myself included, struggle to accept that people remain so gullible and ignorant when they have a choice of simply asking Google if Kansas is under martial law. For Christ’s sake, consume news in an adult fashion. Question what you’re hearing. Stop believing rumors. Disregard the chain email blasts that are coming from your racist uncle or whoever. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/237 "2020-03-25T15:51:57Z")
And GET THE FUCK OFF FACEBOOK. (The above was meant for everyone. FB is such a mentally toxic pool of lies and disinformation your screen should require sanitizing.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/238 "2020-03-25T15:57:23Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Not everything is “both sides” and not every position deserves respect. 'There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’ - Isaac Asimov ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/239 "2020-03-25T18:04:45Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > And GET THE FUCK OFF FACEBOOK. > > (The above was meant for everyone. FB is such a mentally toxic pool of lies and disinformation your screen should require sanitizing.) I find it useful to check FB just to see what the right wing cretins are thinking. If you want to see humanity at its lowest check the group Vietnam Veterans for Trump- nothing but pro-right wing talking points, bigotry, racism, lies, misinformation, Islamaphobia, etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/240 "2020-03-25T18:24:12Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > And GET THE FUCK OFF FACEBOOK. > > (The above was meant for everyone. FB is such a mentally toxic pool of lies and disinformation your screen should require sanitizing.) I liken it to bathing in a sewer. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/241 "2020-03-25T18:30:34Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > And GET THE FUCK OFF FACEBOOK. Nothing wrong with Facebook, as long as one stays the hell away from pro-Trump crap and “advice”. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/242 "2020-03-25T19:23:47Z")
Anyone who thought a national disaster would weaken Trump hasn’t paid attention to history. Americans almost always rally behind the president during crises, irrespective of how partisans view the President’s behaviour or skills. George HW Bush’s popularity skyrocketed during Gulf War I. George W. Bush’s popularity skyrocketed after 9/11. Barack Obama’s popularity remained pretty high through the worst of the financial crisis. Trump would have had to massively fail for this to really hurt him. And he hasn’t massively failed. He’s made good calls and bad calls. He’s said the right thing, and incredibly stupid things. But by and large, he’s done what other world leaders have been doing - some things better than most, some things not. The real risk to Democrats is simply that Trump may become normalized after this. He’ll look more presidential, and gain some gravitas that makes it harder to caricature him as a stupid media personality with poor governing skills, no matter how true that may actually be. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/243 "2020-03-25T19:39:22Z")
[So far Trump’s highest approval has been 45.5% and that was right after taking office.](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/) Those other guys? Other than Obama, their disapproval rating hardly ever dropped below 50%. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/244 "2020-03-25T19:42:33Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Anyone who thought a national disaster would weaken Trump hasn’t paid attention to history. Americans almost always rally behind the president during crises, irrespective of how partisans view the President’s behaviour or skills. George HW Bush’s popularity skyrocketed during Gulf War I. George W. Bush’s popularity skyrocketed after 9/11. Barack Obama’s popularity remained pretty high through the worst of the financial crisis. > > Trump would have had to massively fail for this to really hurt him. And he hasn’t massively failed. He’s made good calls and bad calls. He’s said the right thing, and incredibly stupid things. But by and large, he’s done what other world leaders have been doing - some things better than most, some things not. > > The real risk to Democrats is simply that Trump may become normalized after this. He’ll look more presidential, and gain some gravitas that makes it harder to caricature him as a stupid media personality with poor governing skills, no matter how true that may actually be. … and Trump has still yet to get to 50%. Seriously, Sam, just look at the numbers before you compare him to either Bush. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/245 "2020-03-25T20:08:34Z")
I’m not saying he’ll get anywhere near the popularity that they enjoyed. He is way too partisan and polarizing for that to happen. I would guess that a hard ceiling on his popularity is somewhere under 60% if everything went exactly right for him, whereas Bush I hit 91%, and Bush II was over 70%. Unfortunately, though, a 55% approval rating would almost guarantee his re-election. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/246 "2020-03-25T20:36:09Z")
One of the top stories on CNN today: > [@](#): > > “Here’s an indisputable fact: President Donald Trump is as popular today as he has been since his first day in office. In a new Gallup poll, 49% approve of the job Trump is doing as president while 45% disapprove, matching the highest his approval rating has ever been in Gallup surveys. A Monmouth University poll released on Monday showed Trump at 46% approval, again the best he has done in that poll in more than three years.” > > “What accounts for Trump’s rise? Simple: His response to the coronavirus crisis. > In the Gallup poll, 60% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing in handling the crisis while 38% disapprove of how he has done. Six in 10 independents approve of how Trump has done on the coronavirus as do more than 1 in 4 (27%) of Democrats.” I do believe that this pathetic sack of shit has a very good chance of being re-elected and that “my” own pathetic sack of shit, Joe Biden, is not stepping up sufficiently to represent a strong front for the Democratic party and fill the void of Trump and Pence’s worthless deer-in-the-headlights “leadership” at these pathetic press conferences. I’ve always doubted Biden’s ability as a candidate, but now I have a truly sickening feeling. He’s been leaning hard into gun control, also, which scares the hell out of me. Obama caught a lot of heat for claiming that people “cling to guns”, but he was dead right - people do cling to anything that gives them a sense of security, and when this pandemic is finally over I think a lot of people are going to be thinking, “by God, at least I had my guns in case society did fall apart.” Yet another thing that is going to weaken Biden’s electoral chances. God fucking dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/247 "2020-03-25T20:45:44Z")
I wonder how many sociopaths who’d approve solely to fuck with the poll results were in that sample. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/248 "2020-03-25T21:46:11Z")
He always had/has a good chance of being reelected. We have to stop waiting for that one crisis/revelation to come along that finally pulls the scales from people’s eyes about Trump. It’s never going to happen. Trump’s overall popularity is [still negative](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/?cid=rrpromo). Trump absolutely can be beaten, and if he doesn’t realize that, he’s even dumber than he acts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597.md?page=13)