Are Americans Stupid?

 

It's 2024 and it seems like we're right back in 2020, only this time, Donald Trump is leading Joe Biden in the polls, despite having been indicted for stealing classified documents, falsifying business records, attempting to overturn the Presidential election, and for attempting to overturn the Presidential election in George. Polls seem to indicate that Biden has lost ground with minorities and young people. Really, it doesn't matter how you interpret the polls, because they all indicate the same thing--Americans are really stupid.

Listen, I understand why everyone isn't thrilled with Joe Biden. He's 82 years old! That's too fucking old to be running for President. The housing market is insane, with many people unable to afford anything, while prices for essentials like groceries and gasoline remain high. It doesn't matter how well the economy is doing if you can't afford a house or your grocery bill has doubled. Here's the thing about ol' Sleepy Joe--he's getting the job done. With a closely divided Congress in these partisan times, he signed into law major pieces of legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, America's first major climate change bill, the Infrastructure Act to rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges, and the CHIPS Act to boost our domestic microchip production. He's cut billions in student loans, loosened federal penalties for marijuana possession, and helped steer the rebuilding of the post-covid economy while not getting in trouble for trying to overthrow the government or raw-dogging a porn star. He's been a really good President, easily one of the most accomplished in the past thirty years, which may come as a surprise if you don't follow politics. Meanwhile, Trump's openly contemplating running for a third term and getting rid of contraceptives while spending his days in the courtroom, falling asleep. Yet the two old geezers are more or less tied in the polls, with Trump maintaining a small lead. A recent poll says that 46 percent of Americans trust Trump more than Biden when it comes to the economy, where only 32 percent trust Biden over Trump. Let me tell you why that's fucking stupid.

It's almost like Americans have collective amnesia about 2020. Sure, gas prices were under 2 dollars a gallon, but that's because the global pandemic decimated oil production and people stopped traveling. Joe Biden doesn't have a magic lever in the White House that he can push to lower the price of gas, and neither did Donald Trump. Actually, Joe Biden is producing more oil than Donald Trump, unbelievably. Remember the covid pandemic that Trump mishandled, resulting in the deaths of over a million people? Interest rates were rock bottom, weren't they? They had been low since the 2008 financial crisis, but during the pandemic, the Fed slashed rates further to keep the economy going during lockdown. After the pandemic ceased, demand surged and production struggled to keep up, resulting in inflation. Everybody experienced inflation, not just Americans. Oh by the way, did you know that the inflation rate is currently 3.4 percent, far below the highs of the past couple years? As far as adding jobs to the economy, Trump added 6.7 million, excluding the pandemic months. Biden's administration has added over 15.4 millions jobs, far more than the CBO forecasted, showing how much he's improved the pandemic-ravaged job market. He's also got Trump beat in adding manufacturing jobs, 773,000 to 461,000. So what the hell are people remembering?

Did they forget that Trump's companies have declared bankruptcy six times? Did they simply not recall that Trump has been fined over 354 million dollars plus 100 million in interest because of his fraudulent business practices in New York? The guy is a fucking crook and a terrible businessman. Is it because of the Apprentice? Are they aware that the producers renovated Trump Tower because it was such a shithole?

So are Americans going to elect a criminal failure of a businessman because the post-covid economic recovery hasn't been perfect, despite Biden's better management of a poor situation? Donald Trump, who says he's going to be a dictator only on day one? The institutions that kept Trump in check during his first term have weakened since. My fear is that many Americans, exhausted from the turmoil of the Trump years, have tuned out politics and news and retreated to the mindless comforts of 45 second influencer videos. Why should I give a fuck if Biden or Trump is President? asks Joe Blow. Rogan has an episode on mushroom nootropics that I gotta hear. Similarly, people on the left are pissed about Gaza and Biden's continuing support of Israel's devastating war. Let me tell you something, lefties: Trump will be worse for Gaza. Republicans want to turn "Gaza into a parking lot."

I still maintain hope that as the election draws nearer, a decisive majority of people will realize that there really is no choice between an old, if effective, President and a convicted sex offender who's been federally indicted four times. Hey ladies, remember when the Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade, resulting in the loss of abortion rights for millions of Americans? What's next? What else will they take way?

Find your brain, America.