You won’t hear it a lot on establishment cable channels and publications involved with providing news coverage of the not-yet-fully-engaged 2024 presidential campaign, but you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
There are disturbing signs that the American public is already tiring of the horserace before the nominee steeds – in this case, former president Donald Trump and incumbent president senile Joe Biden – have even left the paddock area, their campaigns adorned in colorful political attire befitting of the best dressed ladies and gents on Kentucky Derby day. But it’s true, people in respectable numbers are declaring to pollsters that they don’t want to see anymore – at least for now. And we just entered June less than a week ago.
How bad is it? In an article titled “62% of Americans already worn out by presidential campaign coverage, survey finds”, the Staff at the Washington Times reported last week:
“In the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, a significant portion of Americans are keeping a close eye on the developments — but a lot are already worn out. According to a new poll by Pew Research, 58% of Americans are either very closely or fairly closely following news about the candidates. Meanwhile, 28% admit to not following the news too closely, and 13% are not paying attention at all.
“Despite the high level of engagement, many Americans are feeling fatigued by the constant stream of election coverage. About 62% report feeling worn out by the saturation of campaign and candidate news, a sentiment echoed in past election years. In June and July 2016, 59% felt this way, and by October 2020, the number had risen to 61%.
“Interestingly, those who follow election news very closely are less likely to feel worn out. Only 40% of these individuals report experiencing fatigue, compared to 77% of those who don’t follow closely at all.”
This survey isn’t all that shocking, especially this year. Interest in any political race ebbs and flows along with events, revelations/scandals, the health of the economy, the state of culture in the nation and world and a multitude of other factors that one can’t put a value on. An American presidential race is a type of beauty contest where the contestants must carry on for weeks at a time and can’t be caught dead not looking their best.
The establishment media members do their part to sustain curiosity by playing up the shiniest objects to draw attention – the candidates’ ages, assorted criminal charges and convictions, the fact that they don’t like each other, the virtual partisan stalemate in Congress, how each side harbors worries about their respective candidate, etc. Negativity sells and 2024 has been about as negative as they come, with little hope of turning the narrative into a discussion of Republicans’ vs. Democrats’ policies.
It's no wonder Americans are tired of it. This is particularly true of the segment of the population that’s not deeply grounded in the importance of the outcome. Apparently, some people aren’t even seeking out information about the presidential race (the article indicated 13%). Go figure.
The Washington Times staff additionally reported, “Moreover, individuals who closely follow the 2024 presidential election are much more likely to actively seek out political news. About 58% of these engaged followers report looking for news, compared to just 18% of those who are not closely following the election.”
Not closely following the election? What else are these dullards doing, spending all day on Facebook or monitoring their phones for the latest family gossip? I can understand people feeling worn out, yet don’t get how anyone can avoid it entirely. Competitive people naturally want to excel and succeed, so that’s where their continued energy stems from. The rest probably don’t even care if their kid’s little league baseball team wins or loses as long as the tykes “have fun”.
Granted this survey is a few weeks old and the guilty verdict in the Trump “hush money” trial had not yet hit airwaves when the polling was being conducted, but I highly doubt there’s been a rise in interest in presidential politics in the interim despite the Democrats’ apparent public relations “win”. Trump’s various lawfare troubles have been top-of-the-hour and frontpage news for, what, more than a year, and the sensationalistic establishment media has been nipping at the heels of the former real estate developer/tabloid celebrity/reality TV star/first-time-politician-turned president of the United States for years if not decades.
Trump the brand is as old as, well, Trump the brand, and he’s not just known for big skyscraper office buildings or golf clubs or hotels any longer. The name “Trump” is now synonymous with conservative/populist politics. No wonder more Democrats are feeling worn out already.
In any case, why would Americans be drained in early June? We’re a little less than three weeks away from the first presidential debate and well over a month away from the Republican national convention. And still over two months from the Democrats’ sure-to-be-dramatic gathering in Chicago, of all places. Senile Joe Biden will have to stare down the Obamas (both of them) in their home domain.
To me, lack of enthusiasm for presidential election coverage at this stage has several potential explanations. In no particular order:
First, both parties’ primary campaigns were of little/no consequence this season, so we’ve basically had the Biden vs. Trump matchup for a couple years (minimum) already. Individuals in both major factions made some noise about challenging the respective favorite/incumbent, but no one was even close to breaking through against the frontrunners.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. generated headlines with his anti-government COVID policy crusade but didn’t get far. The Democrat establishment wasn’t about to pit Biden against anyone serious, and the few remaining challengers were lightweights to say the least. Meanwhile, there were several substantial names going up against Trump, but the MAGA base wasn’t about to break from their man. The races were over before they even began. Republicans had name-calling and hurt feelings – mostly Nikki Haley – but there still was a “nothing to see here” quality about the whole thing.
Second, Americans are weary of the presidential race because senile Joe is flat out boring. Period. In addition to his wretchedly ineffective policies, watching a Biden rally is awfully hard to sit through. His planned events are mostly featuring the old goat shouting about racism and blaming Trump for everything from inflation to poverty – all the while maintaining that Trump was – and is – a dictator.
An ancient lunatic yelling and gritting one’s teeth doesn’t exactly stir any sane person to want to watch Biden. Boring.
Third, kind of like when the extended family visits, people love a presidential race when it’s with them, but most hosts relish the opportunity to return to “normalcy” when the folks head out of town. There’s nothing “normal” about a presidential race – it’s stressful, confusing at times, infuriating and the ups and downs drive everyone crazy.
Since the race has been going on so long already, people are feeling spent. When are the out-of-town guests heading home again?
Fourth, Trump is benefiting, somewhat, from an “absence makes the heart grow fonder” phenomenon that follows most ex-presidents when they’re no longer in office. The only distinction from the past chiefs is Trump never really left in terms of news coverage.
People also appreciate harkening back to good times when things aren’t going so great. For Trump vs. Biden, Americans remember not too long ago when prices at the gas pump and super market checkout line were semi-affordable and it didn’t cost them a twenty-spot to buy a meal at McDonald’s or they wouldn’t have to choose between putting gas in their car and an evening out.
Democrats lie through their teeth about the true causes of inflation, and, at the same time, citizens remember Trump was a pretty good president when he was in charge. The media-spurred turmoil of the Trump term seems like a hundred years ago now. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all, right? Wasn’t that stupid impeachment farce all about Nancy Pelosi taking revenge for Trump’s treatment of the first female president-to-be (Hillary Clinton) who never quite got there?
Fifth, Biden is burdened by his record – and the reminders are fresh and present everywhere. Plus, senile Joe’s face has been around for more than fifty years. Even when he wasn’t running for president, his name was frequently in the news. And then he was vice president.
Senile Joe is about as fresh as a week-old crust of bread from a “Going out of business sale” bakery. Does anyone really want to watch him for another five months much less four more years after the election?
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, citizens don’t trust the establishment news media to report on the horserace fairly. Trump, as usual, receives the most coverage – because he draws the most readers and viewers – but the preponderance of his exposure is due to the Biden Justice Department’s lawfare and the possibility that the former president might actually serve jail time.
If this season’s campaign were a straight breakdown of issues, including authentic coverage of the damage that illegal aliens are doing to this country – again, due to Biden’s policies – the race wouldn’t be close. Senile Joe has been going around the country lately speaking to African-American audiences about racism and how evil the Republicans are. Or how Trump and the Republicans are bent on taking away women’s abortion privileges.
It's a tired message from a corrupted, compromised, sick man. Again, no wonder people are worn out by it.
By the same token, elements of this year’s race are bound to heat up, so we haven’t really seen anything yet. Beyond the New York “hush money” trial, the other Democrat lawfare witch hunts aren’t going anywhere – at least before the election. Sooner or later the establishment news media will be forced to talk about what’s really going on among the voters. And the polls could tell a different story as well.
Americans’ attention span for political news always improves as the election nears. Here’s thinking that the traditional post-Labor Day election season will find people heavily engaged – at least more so than in 2020 when everyone was locked down and ticked off at Trump that their rights were being violated. This year, senile Joe Biden is on the defensive. We ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Joe Biden economy
inflation
Biden cognitive decline
gas prices,
Nancy Pelosi
Biden senile
January 6 Committee
Liz Cheney
Build Back Better
Joe Manchin
RINOs
Marjorie Taylor Green
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Mitch McConnell
2022 elections
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2024 presidential election
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