WASHINGTON — On the night he won a second term, President-elect Donald Trump rejoiced in the moment. "America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate," he boasted. In the two weeks since, his campaign has repeatedly heralded his "landslide," even to market Trump merchandise like the "Official Trump Victory Glass.
" But by traditional numeric measures, Trump's victory was neither unprecedented nor a landslide. In fact, he prevailed with one of the smallest margins of victory in the popular vote since the 19th century and generated little of the coattails of a true landslide. The disconnect goes beyond predictable Trumpian braggadocio.
The incoming president and his team are trying to cement the impression of a "resounding margin," as one aide called it, to make Trump seem more popular than he is and strengthen his hand in forcing through his agenda in the months to come. The collapse of Matt Gaetz's prospective nomination for attorney general Thursday demonstrated the challenges for Trump in forcing a Republican Congress to defer to his more provocative ideas. While Gaetz, a former Republican member of Congress from Florida, denied allegations of attending sex and drug parties and having sex with an underage girl, they proved too much even for Republicans eager to stay in Trump's good graces.
With some votes still being counted, the tally used by the New York Times showed Trump winning the popular vote with 49.997% as of Thursday night, and he appears likely to fal.
