Paul Krugman: Digging into the persistence of Trump-stalgia

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

By Paul Krugman. / The New York Times

“Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Lately, I’ve been seeing people repeat Ronald Reagan’s famous question, many of them apparently believing that they’re making a slam-dunk case for returning Donald Trump to power.

Yet if you take the question literally, the answer is almost ludicrously favorable to President Joe Biden. After all, four years ago, thousands of Americans were dying each day of covid-19.

Soaring deaths aside, four years ago more than 20 million Americans were unemployed; Trump left office with the worst job record of any president since Herbert Hoover. Also, the country was in the grip of a violent crime wave, with murders soaring.

Today, by contrast, we’ve just experienced the longest stretch of unemployment below 4 percent since the 1960s, and the violent crime wave — Trump didn’t cause it, but it did happen on his watch — has been rapidly receding.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/paul-krugman-digging-into-the-persistence-of-trump-stalgia/

[Aussie105]

1. Yep. People hang onto outdated ideas stubbornly. Emotional vs rational thinking.

A lot decided that Trump would somehow make their lives more relevant, important and worth living.
Pave the streets with gold, make their paycheck bigger, find them a more appealing partner, etc.

He didn't, but the excuses flow - he needs to have another 4 years to put all of his plans into action.

It's a purely emotional thing, the 'parent' (Trump) will make all of the 'child's' (MAGAts) problems and concerns disappear.

Logic and evidence indicate another 4 years of Trump would be worse than the first 4.
But some people are emotional, not rational creatures.
This is what cults are based on.

And Biden does NOT appeal to those emotional creatures. Rational thinking and decision making scares them.
Or at least leaves them cold, no room for (unrealistic) hope.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. Trump hates the same people they do

He validates it so they support him. As Lyndon Johnson said:

I'll tell you what's at the bottom of it. If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.

[shrike3]

4. "He needs more time to take care of us."

What one supporter said. Like he's their daddy.

[Aristus]

3. "But I want to return to the time when the President of the United States gave me permission to be the horrible

worthless, insufferable human being I really am, but in public, and all the time!"

Every Trump supporter in existence. (Probably).