A recent CBS News poll\u00a0 finds<\/a>\u00a0that 65 percent of Americans remember the economy under Donald Trump foundly. Only 38 say the same about the Joe Biden years.<\/p>\n

The media, naturally, has begun\u00a0 reminding<\/a>\u00a0Americans that the Trump years were actually terrible. The New York Times contends that a \u2018collective amnesia\u2019 has\u00a0 gripped<\/a>\u00a0forgetful voters. And Joe Biden will reportedly\u00a0 draw<\/a> a\u00a0\u201csharp contrast\u201d between his term and Trump\u2019s during the State of the Union.<\/p>\n

Now, without diminishing the weirdness and political chaos that marked the Trump years, I strongly suspect that most voters don\u2019t share this emotional and psychological trauma with the political class.<\/p>\n

All of this will seem counterintuitive to experts in Washington, D.C., considering their hysteria over \u201cMAGA extremism\u201d\u2014 not to mention Trump\u2019s often hyperbolic, conspiratorial, and severe rhetoric. But in almost every way that matters to the average voter, Trump is more moderate. And maybe that\u2019s an underappreciated reality of the 2024 presidential race.<\/p>\n

Yes, the Trump era was filled with crazy pressers and constant upheaval in D.C. Most of the daily media hyperventilation was centered around the ginned-up Russian interference conspiracy theory invented by Democrats. At this point, only a deeply cynical or credulous partisan will contend that Trump is a Russian asset.<\/p>\n

And sure, Democrats also had meltdowns over entirely mainline conservative issues: across-the-board tax cuts, tepid deregulation, the exit from an unconstitutional climate treaty, a less active foreign policy, the nomination of justices who take the Constitution seriously, and enhancement of border security. You can disagree with policies, but they aren\u2019t especially peculiar or unpopular.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Even MAGA\u2019s trade protectionism, which is hardly alien to Democrats, is pretty popular (unfortunately).<\/p>\n

Stripped of all the bluster, Trump\u2019s policy agenda is largely a hodgepodge of traditional populist center-right items. This is true on economic and social issues. Even Trump\u2019s\u00a0 position<\/a>\u00a0on abortion (restricted after 16 weeks) is more\u00a0 in line<\/a>\u00a0with the public than Biden\u2019s\u00a0 position<\/a>\u00a0(legal from conception to delivery). The media does everything it can to hide this truth from voters.<\/p>\n

A person could argue, as I do, that Trump\u2019s lack of ideology, especially his openness to big government, makes him less conservative than the traditional candidate. And even if you believe, like I do, that \u201cnational conservatism\u201d\u00a0 is a dead end<\/a>\u00a0for the GOP, Trump\u2019s problems have largely stemmed from his personality and nature, not his policies.<\/p>\n

While the pre-Covid years of the Trump administration featured a relatively hands-off approach, the Biden era has been marred by technocratic and cultural intrusions that have made American life more tumultuous.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Biden has benefited greatly from false perceptions about his outlook. He doesn\u2019t have any. The president has always been a craven opportunist. At this point, the differences between Biden and Bernie Sanders are philosophical rounding errors. Biden likes to spin homespun patriotic tropes and conflate his evolving positions with decency. But draping the White House\u00a0 with rainbow flags<\/a>\u00a0while\u00a0 defending<\/a>\u00a0child mutilation and porn in school libraries is hardly normal.<\/p>\n

Nor is printing trillions to fund a slew of progressive pet issues, even as economists\u00a0 are warning you<\/a>\u00a0that it would plunge the nation into an inflationary spiral. Signing a slew of executive orders that limit fossil fuel exploration to placate the fantastical \u201czero emission\u201d goals of the progressive left is not the action of a judicious leader.<\/p>\n

Dismissing border security during a crisis (according<\/a>\u00a0to Pew, 78 percent of Americans refer to it as a crisis or major problem) to\u00a0 prioritize<\/a>\u00a0funding the Ukraine war (an issue that barely shows up in a list of voter concerns), telegraphs not only a warped understanding of your responsibilities but also political incompetence.<\/p>\n

Biden seems obsessed with placating leftists. Take his newest efforts to appease<\/a> the hard-left\/pro-Palestinian faction of his party. A number of \u201cuncommitted\u201d voters in Democratic primaries have expressed anger over Biden\u2019s alleged position on Gaza. This has become a major<\/em> topic with the media, which sees everything through a left-wing prism.<\/p>\n

But what about the millions of normie independents who are more worried about the United States than Hamas? Only 36 percent approve<\/a> of Biden\u2019s handling of the economy. Only 28 percent approve of his handling of immigration. Only 33 percent approve of the president\u2019s handling of foreign policy. And 30 percent of voters \u2014 most still pro-Israel \u2014 approve of his handling of the Middle East.<\/p>\n

And what of normalcy? There is little of it. Biden is perhaps the first president to regularly and openly vilify opposition voters as Fifth Columnists. Trump says a lot of crazy things, sure, but he never put on a crimson-drenched prime-time speech<\/a> to accuse the opposition of being \u201csemi-fascists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Surely, many fair-minded voters have noticed that the democracy-saving Democrats have a habit of abusing the power they warn us Trump is primed to snatch should he ever return to the White House. The lawfare. The attempted<\/a> disenfranchisement of voters. The federal mobilization against<\/a> political opponents. The censorship<\/a>. None of that is normal. Sometimes, the only thing standing in the way of these unprecedented abuses is the Supreme Court that Trump helped build.<\/p>\n

The Trump post-election hissy fit should not be forgotten. But then, the four-year election-denying hissy fit of Democrats should not be forgotten either. The left has staked their entire political case on the contention that a few hundred political rioters threatened the future of \u201cdemocracy\u201d and that every Republican is now accountable. I\u2019m skeptical that most voters believe this, either.<\/p>\n

Biden vs. Trump is perhaps the worst rerun in American political history. There is nothing \u201cnormal\u201d about our political situation. But elections are a choice. And, in most ways, the moderating choice is Trump, which is something I never thought I\u2019d write.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
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