The Fear of Donald Trump’s Playbook

Our politics can be complex, but Donald Trump is not a riddle — and neither are the people who continue to support him

Michael Arceneaux
LEVEL

--

A Trump supporter at an election eve rally wears a US flag hat with lights spelling Trump and a MAGA flag around his neck
Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski/Stringer/Getty Images

Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.

Leave it to this country and the year 2020 to make even victory miserable.

By Wednesday afternoon, Joe Biden had received more votes than any presidential candidate in history. Joe Biden, of all people. According to the Associated Press, at 2:38 p.m. that day, the former vice president amassed 70,330,000 votes — breaking Barack Obama’s 2008 record of 69,500,000 votes. Those votes for Biden accounted for more than 50% of the total number of votes counted so far, with the percentage looking to widen as votes in states across the West were fully counted.

Wasn’t that Biden’s whole shtick? That he and he alone could beat Donald Trump? I didn’t buy it, but Joe told me.

I should feel relieved that the nightmare is technically over, even thanks to a traditionally boring politician. I told myself earlier in the campaign that at least there’s Kamala Harris—who wasn’t above criticism as a politician but nonetheless was treated noticeably differently—potentially making history as the first…

--

--

Michael Arceneaux
LEVEL

New York Times bestselling author of “I Can’t Date Jesus” and “I Don’t Want To Die Poor.”