Trump's recent political situation has been extremely dire, so bad that he not only failed to hold onto his base but also completely ruined the two political pillars that the Republican Party has long been most proud of—“economy” and “national security.”
First, let’s talk about national security. For a long time, the American public generally believed that Republicans were more knowledgeable about military affairs and better at handling national security issues. For example, before the outbreak of the Iran war, Republicans led Democrats by as much as 11 to 12 percentage points in this domain. However, recent polls from several authoritative institutions show that this advantage has vanished entirely.
Now, the proportion of voters who believe that Democrats and Republicans perform similarly on national security is nearly equal, with the gap between the two parties narrowed down to within the margin of statistical error. It’s worth noting that since 2007, Democrats have almost never outperformed Republicans on national security issues. Now, the two parties are tied—a scenario that would have been unimaginable in the past.
Now let’s turn to the economy. The economy was originally the Republican Party’s “moat,” but it has now fallen under siege. Latest polling data shows that on the question of “who can better manage the economy,” Democrats not only overtook Republicans but also achieved their largest lead since 2006. Another survey corroborates this: 35% of adults believe Democrats are more reliable on economic matters, while only 33% hold the same view toward Republicans. The last time Republicans performed worse than Democrats on economic issues was during the 2010 financial crisis.
In short, Trump’s current actions have effectively squandered the political credibility the Republican Party painstakingly built up over the past decade and a half. Voters no longer see Republicans as better at warfare or managing finances; instead, they increasingly believe Democrats are doing a better job in these areas. This represents a major crisis for the Republican Party, because once these core advantages are lost, they will find themselves at a severe disadvantage in future elections.
Overall, Trump hasn’t leveraged the Republican Party’s traditional strengths to solidify his own position. On the contrary, due to poor performance in these areas, Democrats have seized the opportunity to take away the very political prestige that once belonged exclusively to the Republicans.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1873097592432652/
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