April 17, 2019
President Donald Trump has served in the Oval Office for two years, and in less than that amount of time the American public will know who its future president is. With an approval rating of 42 percent (according to a FiveThirtyEight weekly poll) and a campaign trail filling with opposition candidates, things aren’t looking great for Donald Trump. But that didn’t stop him last election cycle.
Since first stepping into office, Trump has made it clear that he intends to serve a second term. One month after his inauguration, Trump began hosting his post-2016 rallies that have continued to this day. And in terms of his campaign finances, NBC reported that Trump so far had raised more than $100 million for his 2020 campaign by October, in comparison to President Obama who midway through his first term hadn’t even started fundraising yet.
The Trump campaign’s presence has become undeniable in everyday life. If I open an article on The Examiner’s news website or watch a video on YouTube, I’ll likely be greeted by not one, not two, but three Trump “surveys” asking me to pledge my support. I could repeat from memory the video of Trump asking me to add my name to the growing list of his contributors. It feels as if Trump has turned his electoral intensity from a 10 (as it was in 2016) to an 11.
No major Republican candidates have yet come forward to challenge the president in the 2020 primaries; however, prominent Republicans such as previous Governor of Ohio John Kasich have expressed interest.
Speculation exists that even more dissidents of the Republican Party are waiting for the findings of the Mueller-Russia probe to be published in June and to damage Trump’s prospects before these politicians announce their candidacies.
Considering all of Trump’s efforts to secure a second term, do I believe we’ll see an eight-year presidency? No.
According to a Gallup poll, after the 2016 election 75 percent of Americans claimed to be heavily surprised by the Trump victory, and 42 percent of Americans said they are frightened by the news. Throughout his presidency, approval ratings have shown that the majority of Americans have never supported him, and it’s questionable if he’ll be as lucky in the Electoral College as he once was.
In the 2018 midterms, it was evident that once key Republican strongholds like Texas or Florida are now within a shout of turning Democratic. Beto O’Rourke came within 1.5 points of defeating Ted Cruz in their electoral heavyweight state.
Despite the Trump’s ability to spin the facts and say his accomplishments have surpassed even the best U.S. presidents, what he’s actually done remains more questionable. A Politifact report from last month claimed that Trump has broken 18 percent of his campaign promises – 11 percent more than President Obama.
Why are we still in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)? Why haven’t we repealed and replaced Obamacare? Why does the federal government still give funding to sanctuary cities? Why won’t Mexican taxpayers be the ones paying for the wall like Trump promised? These will be the questions Trump supporters will ask at the poll booth in 2020, and without an answer they might just reply “You’re fired.”
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