There is an assumption, probably particularly among those who cover the news and those who read it, that Donald Trump’s legal travails are common knowledge. We talk about things like the potential effects of a Trump conviction on the 2024 presidential election with the assumption that this would be an event that rose to the nation’s consciousness, triggering a response from both his supporters and detractors.
But this is a sort of vanity: Just because it is interesting to us certainly doesn’t mean it is interesting to others. Polling released by CNN on Thursday shows that only a quarter of voters seek out news about the campaign; a third pay little to no attention at all.
As it turns out, even major developments often fly under the average American’s radar. New polling conducted by YouGov shows that only a bit over half of the country on average is aware of the various legal challenges Trump faces. And among those Republicans on whose political support he depends? Consistently, only a minority say they are aware of his lawsuits and charges.
I was at the gym the other day talking with a friend I see regularly. She says “I might not vote, I don’t like either of them”, I kept my mouth shut but I couldn’t stop thinking like holy shit lady one is wayyy worse than the other. I’ve seen it before where people aren’t aware the depth of Trump legal issues and general personality problems however i assumed it was because they only watched fox or something, but hearing it from her really threw me in for a loop. I cant believe I’m living in this reality
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Trump may be way worse, but not liking either of them can be a perfectly rational, informed opinion.
Sure I get it, but by not voting still benefits Trump.
Or does it send a message to the DNC to propose better candidates.
You can say the same about the RNC especially since they are not the ones with an incumbent and are voting for someone that already lost and has a really bad history. But that’s all beside the point, the US democratic system is broken and that’s an entirely different discussion
Yes. Any Republicans who don’t like Trump as a candidate should also abstain from voting.
Would they? My gut says no.
And now we are back at the start. Voting Trump vs Biden, Trump is worse. At this point we are going in circles.
My point is that not voting Biden is not necessarily equal to voting for Trump.
That is a lazy, bullying argument.
It helps Trump.
Maybe sending the DNC a message is more important, particularly in non swing states.
It really isn’t. We’re on a sinking ship. We need to fix the ship or sink. You’re talking about solving a murder mystery that happened onboard. It’s not that murder shouldn’t be investigated, it’s that the if we don’t stop the ship from sinking rifht this instant, we’ll be eaten by sharks.
Isn’t the sinking ship US democracy and Trump the murderer?
Trump is not a good candidate, but he is too stupid to be really dangerous (i submit his previous term as evidence).
The fact that no other option apart from Trump (or Biden) is feasible is the real problem.
Definitely too stupid to not be manipulated. Rest assured, his power will be exploited and true tyranny will reign if he is reelected. From a stability standpoint Biden is the superior geezer. A Biden victory needs to be resounding and irrefutable. Trump and those using him to perpetuate fascism will leverage any ambiguity into prolonging their campaign and the snake will tighten just a little bit more. Beyond that what’s most important is acting locally and driving the culture which politics follows.
True, but it still amounts to a vote for Trump, due to the electoral college.
No. A vote for Trump is a voting for Trump.
Abstaining or ballot spoiling in blue states is a perfectly viable way to say you dislike both candidates.