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Does Trump Really Have a Mandate?

Trump's win was narrow, but Democrats can't use that as an excuse to avoid the hard questions.

Dan Pfeiffer

Nov 26

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The media narrative is that Trump’s victory was historic and sweeping. They claim that Democrats have been exiled to the wilderness for the foreseeable future. That assessment has taken hold.

Donald Trump is governing like someone who won a massive Reagan 1984-style landslide. He made no concessions to the people who voted against him or the members of his party who remain skeptical of him. He has not tried to unite the country or heal the divisions after a long, ugly campaign. Trump expects the Republican Senate to simply rubberstamp his absurdly unfit and unqualified cabinet appointments. Republican Senators are so enthralled with Trump that they seem willing to confirm as Attorney General someone credibly accused of paying minors for sex.

CEOs — many of whom donated to Democrats — congratulated Trump on his victory. Media personalities like Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski made a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to mend fences with Trump.

Of course, there has been some pushback on the “sweeping victory” narrative from folks on the Left. For several reasons, they argue that Trump’s victory is smaller than he or the media would have you believe. First, it’s true (more on that later). Second, Trump did not win some big mandate that justifies his MAGA agenda and unfit loyalist appointments. Finally, and unfortunately, some are arguing that Trump’s victory was narrow; and therefore, Democrats don’t need to make major strategic adjustments.

Ken Martin, the Minnesota Democratic Party Chair running to head the Democratic National Committee, told the Huffington Post, “I reject the idea that we need a wholesale change in our policies or our message.”

I don’t know Martin. He has an excellent reputation and could be a very good DNC chair. I don’t mean to pick on him, but I do disagree with the sentiment. Democrats need to make major adjustments.

This is the unsatisfying reality: two separate ideas are both true. Yes, Trump’s victory was fairly narrow and yes, Democrats have a lot of work to do if we are going to regain power in America.

Let me explain:

Trump’s Win was Not a Landslide

How Trump won makes his victory seem bigger than it was. Everyone expected the election to be so close that it could take days, if not weeks, for the race to be called. Yet the outcome was clear around midnight Election Night. Trump swept all seven of the battleground states, even taking states like Michigan and Wisconsin, where many political observers had Harris as a slight favorite.

Most notably, Trump became only the second Republican this century to win the popular vote — something few thought possible before the election.

The truth is that Trump’s win is historically small...