My Money Is on the President

You will remember the election of 2016 as you think about the election of 2020. Twenty sixteen was the election in which The American Spectator led all publications in predicting the outcome. We predicted a victory by Donald J. Trump. That was astounding to other members of the commentariat, so astounding that only two members of that august body were moved to mention it: Seth Lipsky of the New York Sun and Ben Smith of Buzzfeed. Well, that is not completely accurate. The estimable Grover Norquist noted our prediction too, and he added that “If it had not been for Bob Tyrrell and The American Spectator, Hillary Clinton would have been president of the United States.” A chilling thought, but it is probably true.

We started making our singular predictions early. Jeff Lord offered his in 2013. I offered mine about the time Donald came down the escalator in June 2015. Both of us continued reiterating our predictions right up to election night. So, you might forgive me for expressing amazement over the commentariat’s amazement at Hillary’s loss. Hillary was bound to lose. She is no Bill. Yes, she had the upper echelons of the FBI willing to break the law for her. She also had the upper echelons of the CIA and the DNI himself on her side. Then too it is now apparent that Antifa was with her, at least the intellectual wing of Antifa.

But the geniuses of the commentariat forget a few revelations that repose in Hillary’s biography. She was hated in Arkansas, and she got Bill bounced from office when he sought his first reelection. In her White House years, she was the least popular first lady since the statisticians began keeping such records. She was unpopular as a senator from New York. She even had trouble winning the Democratic nomination from crazy Bernie. Moreover, she ran the most inept campaign since Harold Stassen. I would not be surprised if Bill voted against her. Show me the proof that he cast his vote for the woman who bashed more lamps and books on his head than were bashed one the heads of any other prior president. I am told by my spies that the Secret Service did not dare interrupt her assaults.

What is our prediction this time around? The last time I based my prediction only on two variables, the conservative vote and the independent vote. Frankly, I did not take the polls, most of which were predicting Hillary, very seriously. It was apparent to me early on that they could not be accurate.

Late last year, the Democrats gave us the Russian collusion farce and soon after that the impeachment farce. I thought both were gifts to the president. The Democrats handled both so badly Donald could only benefit from them, especially impeachment.

After all, the economy was doing great things. As 2020 began, inflation was low. The economy was expanding. Employment was so healthy that Latino and Black unemployment were at record lows. In fact, we were claiming that President Trump had introduced a new model for welfare. It was Trumpian workfare. Give a poor person a job, with its attendant security, dignity, and upward mobility, and welfare would be a thing of the past. Up against the gaffable Joe Biden or Crazy Bernie, the president was unbeatable.