Because of 1/6/ the Big Lie and the rest, we have never done a proper post-mortem on why Trump legitimately lost the 2020 election (and by a lot). To me, it was pretty simple:
1) He handled the one crisis of his admin poorly. He didn't know which side to take most of the time, and sowed confusion - he tried to encourage some measures, but couldn't resist ridiculing things like masks and distancing w/ "his" people. He even ridiculed the vaccine at times, and then realized it was the one thing he could get credit for, so tried to promote it (but too late).
2) He ran a base election, entirely. He did not play to independents, or try to win any Democrats. He liked to hype up his most ardent supporters, whose vote he already had. It was poor strategy.
3) He was too polarizing and divisive. He tried to take his "offend everyone" message - which appealed to some in the PC era - and carry it all the way through the election day. He didn't play politics - one of the things his supporters love, but it doesn't win elections, which are inherently political.
Beyond all of that, he just wasn't likable. In past elections, this was called the "who would you rather have a beer with" test.
Thoughts? Could Trump have won w/ a different, more centrist campaign?
