Summary
Donald Trump and Republicans are falsely framing his 2024 election win as a historic “landslide” and sweeping mandate, despite the data showing otherwise.
Trump won the popular vote by just 1.6%, the smallest margin for a winning president since 1968, and his 307 electoral votes rank low in U.S. history.
Crucial Senate and House gains were limited, with Republicans relying on gerrymandering for their narrow House majority.
This exaggeration of victory serves to justify potential power expansions, but the facts debunk claims of an unprecedented or overwhelming mandate.
This is one defeat that I think we can no longer blame on Russian interference.
Kamala Harris was such a disliked candidate that she lost the popular vote to a convicted felon that previously tried to spark a right wing insurrection against Congress. A convicted felon whose previous tenure led to the Supreme Court bringing back state level abortion bans, and who was running on the manifesto of turning America into a right wing Christian theocracy staffed by Trump loyalists. Not even Hillary Clinton did this terribly.
Biden should never have ran for a second term, given that he was already showing signs of forgetfulness four years ago, and when he was eventually pushed to resign, the Democrats should have held a snap primary instead of immediately backing Harris.