the reaction from Democrats to Donald Trump’s 2024 victory is, to put it mildly, very much unlike their reaction to his 2016 win. Instead of mass protests in the streets, Democrats have been, for the most part, quiet.
Indeed, the aftermath of the 2024 election almost looks like it is from a bygone era. This is the first presidential election in at least a decade when pretty much everyone on the losing side has reached the fifth stage of grief: acceptance.
Take a look at recent polling from Reuters/Ipsos. When asked whether Trump’s win was legitimate, about 94% of voters said it was. This includes 64% who agreed that Trump’s win was legitimate and supported his presidency and another 30% who accepted Trump’s victory but indicated that they would oppose his presidency.
Only about 6% of registered voters said they did not accept the results as legitimate.
Democrats feel basically the same way. About 90% said the results were legitimate, while very few (about 10%) said they were not.
Compare that to where we were four years ago in the aftermath of the 2020 campaign. A Quinnipiac University poll found that 60% of voters said Biden’s win was legitimate while 34% said it wasn’t. Among Republicans, over two-thirds (70%) argued Biden’s victory was illegitimate.
That high percentage of Republicans who thought Biden’s win was illegitimate has pretty much held firm since. Trump, of course, flamed those beliefs by never conceding to Biden and consistently arguing the election was rigged. Trump’s claims were, of course, unfounded….