Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Tampa, Florida. Although he lost, Trump’s divisive approach to governing has changed U.S. politics in ways that will be felt far into the future.
Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
How Donald Trump Lost America
Voters fired a president who showed no interest in trying to contain the coronavirus—but they kept his party on the job.
In the end, Donald Trump got what he wanted most: An election that was all about him. Despite warning signs that voters in states across the country had grown weary of him, the president deployed his showman’s instincts to try to persuade just enough of them that his vision of America was the real one.
The nation Trump conjured up in rallies and speeches, campaign ads and tweets, was one in which the coronavirus was disappearing; the economy was roaring back; Black and Hispanic Americans had never had it so good; suburban women cherished his protection; his enemies feared him; and Americans were clamoring for four more years.