If you live in New York City then yes, Trump has been a joke since the early 1980s at least.
I don’t know anything about Carter. As a former lead actor, Reagan oozed charisma. I think Bush I was about the same as Clinton II. Clinton I was much better, Bush II was a rather affable guy (it’s why he “beat” Gore), and Obama was at least as affable as Clinton I.
I’ve heard a lot that Carter was rather reserved and didn’t do well with public speaking. So I would guess he was less charismatic. But he seems more charismatic now.
Carter was actually pretty charismatic as a candidate, although not in the Obama/Reagan/Clinton class. But being President seemed to bring him down to Earth pretty quickly, to the point where speculation that maybe the Presidency had become too big for one man began to take hold in the popular imagination.
Maybe so, but what is the alternative. American politics have degenerated to the point that no really good candidate would go through the process (I except Bernie, who obviously has no real chance).
I also wanted to say something about Nixon. Long before he was elected, back in 1960 in fact, my mother said of him that he should be required, when out in public, to ring a bell constantly and say, “Unclean, unclean”.
I find that hard to believe. It doesn’t make sense to me that he stopped building several years ago and has made money in recent years just by adding his name to projects. I don’t see how the Trump name would have had any value if he was a hole to the extent that you say he is.
Among everyone I am currently acquainted with or know around here he is a compete joke. However, being from the Philadelphia area I knew lots of people who went to Penn. The Penn students would absolutely kiss his son’s ass unquestioningly. I personally thought it was a little strange, but I also was never a Penn calibre type of student.
What is “charisma”? Sounds like just another code for partisan preference. How soon we forget 2008, when McCain was often portrayed as a lovable maverick while Obama was a socialist robot with mysterious motives.
Or 1992, when there was lots of talk about Bush Sr. being a kindly old man with a twinkle in his eye while Clinton was basically portrayed as a slimy used car salesman.
None of those first impressions really had much of a shelf life.