Bill Kristol lays out how he thinks Trump could reverse the presidential polling tide
It's no secret the polls have not been kind to President Trump lately. If the majority of them hold true, former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, stands a strong chance of defeating Trump in November's general elections. But experts and Democtats are continually warning that polls, especially at this early stage, don't tell the story.
Bill Kristol, a neoconservative and Trump critic who served in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, told The Guardian in an interview that "it's conceivable that the reluctant Trump voter from 2016 who's become a reluctant Biden voter in 2020 goes back to being a reluctant Trump voter" by the time the election rolls around. He thinks that could happen if Trump and his campaign implement tactics like suppressing minority voting, "colluding" with foreign governments, or spreading allegations of corruption against Biden and his son Hunter. "The special circumstances with Trump are his total abandonment of any constraints and even more important, perhaps, his having people around him who've abandoned any constraints on the way in which they'll use the federal government, the executive branch, to say things, do things, pretend to do things," he said.
Lawrence Tribe, a constitutional law professor at Harvard University, added that he could also envision Trump bringing a surge of voters back around by announcing "without any basis at all" that a coronavirus vaccine has been found shortly before the election and then "pressure" the Food and Drug Administration "to approve it." Read more about how Kristol, Tribe, and other experts think Trump could reverse the polling tide at The Guardian.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Biden allows Ukraine to hit deep in Russia
Speed Read The U.S. gave Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS missiles supplied by Washington, a decision influenced by Russia's escalation of the war with North Korean troops
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sri Lanka's new Marxist leader wins huge majority
Speed Read The left-leaning coalition of newly elected Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won 159 of the legislature's 225 seats
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden arrives in Peru for final summits
Speed Read President Joe Biden will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, visit the Amazon rainforest and attend two major international summits
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Senate GOP selects Thune, House GOP keeps Johnson
Speed Read John Thune will replace Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader, and Mike Johnson will remain House speaker in Congress
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump tests GOP loyalty with Gaetz, Gabbard picks
Speed Read He named Matt Gaetz as his pick for attorney general and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. Both have little experience in their proposed jurisdictions.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Pentagon Discord leaker gets 15 years in prison
Speed Read Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guard member, leaked classified military documents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Saudi crown prince slams Israeli 'genocide' in Gaza
Speed Read Mohammed bin Salman has condemned Israel’s actions
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump fills key slots, tapping Congress, MAGA loyalists
Speed Read The president-elect continues to fill his administration with new foreign policy, environment and immigration roles assigned
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published