Contrasting Obama and Trump

Today, Barack Obama gave an impassioned speech focussed on the commonalities shared by Americans and need for us to move forward together.

Today, Donald Trump was talking about an Op-Ed written by a member of his administration accusing him of incompetence.

Given my own general lack of popularity, I’m certainly not one to be criticizing Trump’s lack of appeal. I also think popularity is often overblown. Maybe that’s why I’m not so popular. But in some contexts a degree of popularity matters. One of those contexts is the presidency of the United States.

  • Barack Obama won both of his elections by millions of votes.
  • Donald Trump lost the popular vote by roughly three million.
  • Barack Obama’s highest approval rating was 70 percent.
  • Donald Trump’s approval rating has never come close to 50 percent.
  • Barack Obama’s lowest approval rating was around 40 percent.
  • Donald Trump’s approval rating has been around 40 percent for his entire presidency.
  • Millions of Americans attended Barack Obama’s first inauguration.
  • An administration photographer has acknowledged editing photos of Trump’s inauguration to make the crowd seem larger.

While popularity is overrated, a lack of popularity is extremely telling.

Today, Barack Obama reminded us of the politics of hope, the benefits of working together, and the value of caring about each other.

Today, Donald Trump reminded us of the politics of fear, the power of hatred, and the negativity caused by division.

Barack Obama wasn’t as progressive as I would have hoped. Barack Obama is a decent man who believes in lifting people up and sharing encouragement.

Donald Trump is even more incompetent and corrupt than I feared. Donald Trump is a small, nasty, hateful man who will destroy anything and anyone to sell his lies.

I have no idea how anyone can honestly prefer Trump to Obama. Even if you like tax cuts and deregulation, you should care more about honesty and integrity.

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