At least if you’re not an American. Look at this Gallup poll:
(The Clinton column refers to Bill, not Hillary.) It’s not completely unexpected, of course, for a President who lost the popular vote by nearly 3%, to inspire a lack of confidence. But I think of particular interest is the question concerning working with Congress. Does this extraordinarily low expectation for a GOP President working with a GOP Congress reflect the average American’s recognition that Trump is hard to predict? Does it indicate that voters expect Trump to defend Medicare and possibly even the ACA against a determined assault by Speaker of the House Ryan and Senate Majority Leader McConnell?
Collectively, these numbers amount to a measure of buyer’s remorse. If they go up, then there’s very little; if they go down, then even those who voted for Trump are regretting it. While it’s not clear if Trump is cannily playing his cards close to his vest, or if he’s dropped them on the floor and is too embarrassed to admit it, this is the sort of comparative poll results which should be a caution to Trump supporters: he may have been convincing to you, but to most Americans he’s not. And unlike most elections, where Americans evaluated positions and strategies advanced by the candidates, the latest was about a whole lot of voters buying into promises. No strategies, no positions, just promises. That’s a sea-change in how we elect Presidents. I don’t expect it to turn out well, but we shall see.
