139
votes
Why aren't Republicans more focused on mobilizing a movement towards 'dethroning' Trump?
Because polling data and Trump's approval rating do not tell the whole story.
As right-wing political commentator Ben Shapiro is fond of saying, two things can be true at once: It's entirely ...
- 12.1k
135
votes
Why did postal voting favour Joe Biden so much?
The Democrats strongly supported voting by mail due to Covid-19, to avoid risk of infection, while Trump downplayed the pandemic.
ScienceDaily: COVID-19 opens a partisan gap on voting by mail
This is ...
- 1,507
127
votes
Why did postal voting favour Joe Biden so much?
Donald Trump spent months making statements, to the media and on Twitter, along the lines of:
Mail-in ballots are very dangerous. There’s tremendous fraud involved and tremendous illegality. (source)
...
- 2,601
127
votes
How did Trump's January 6 speech call for insurrection and violence?
The article of impeachment introduced by Democrats in the House on January 11th specifically mentions parts of President Trump's January 6th speech (emphasis mine):
Shortly before the Joint Session ...
CDJB♦
- 108k
116
votes
Accepted
What could Trump hope to gain from a *second* Georgia "recount"?
It is highly unlikely that a recount will give Trump a chance to win the election. Recounts just don't move number of votes enough to change an election where Biden had such a raw lead over Trump.
It'...
- 9,583
110
votes
Accepted
If Russia hacked the 2016 election, how or why can we proceed with inaugurating Trump?
Russian Hacks
Technically, the US intelligence didn't claim that the Russians hacked the election itself. What they claimed was that the Russians ran a campaign to "undermine public faith in the ...
- 46.7k
110
votes
Accepted
Why are U.S. territories not allowed to vote in U.S. presidential elections?
Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution begins:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors...
Until this section of the constitution is ...
- 1,261
109
votes
Why don't Presidential debates disable the candidates' microphones while it's not their turn to speak?
Just a theory: previous Presidential debates were conducted with greater civility, and that civility functioned as a sort of automatic inner software mute switch that was already installed (via ...
- 13k
107
votes
How did Trump's January 6 speech call for insurrection and violence?
"Incitement" is not the same as "openly calling for". Impeachment uses the dictionary definition of Incitement, not the legal definition (which is a very high bar to meet - video). ...
- 13.5k
104
votes
Accepted
Why are American elections and politics receiving so much coverage in Canadian and European media?
From a European perspective:
The U.S. has a great deal of influence in the world, so the presidency of the U.S. is quite likely to affect your own country in some way.
For example: In the last 20 ...
- 6,069
104
votes
How do Republicans explain consistently losing the popular vote in presidential elections since 1992?
The predominant explanation, especially since President Trump's victory in 2016, has been that the recent Republican presidential campaign efforts aren't even attempting to win the popular vote, and ...
CDJB♦
- 108k
103
votes
Is there a way to block an elected President from entering office?
As of today (November 9th), the United States have not yet elected a president. They have elected an electoral college, which will elect a president on December 19th.
Theoretically the electors could ...
- 78.2k
95
votes
Accepted
Why is it that an American in Timbuktu can vote for president but an American in San Juan cannot?
This is a peculiarity as a result of the federal nature of the USA and the exceptional position of Puerto Rico as a territory but not a state. Within the States and Territories of the USA, your ...
- 124k
95
votes
Accepted
Why do attack ads focus so much on Joe Biden's mental state but not Donald Trump's?
Because the Trump campaign crossed a line in 2016.
Before this point it was generally accepted, in American politics, that politicians and candidates did not use words such as "stupid" or &...
- 9,443
95
votes
Accepted
In what way would invoking martial law have helped Trump overturn the 2020 election?
Mobilizing the army to change the outcome of an election is an established practice that has a long history across the world. It is called a coup.
During a coup it is common practice to "modify&...
- 13.5k
93
votes
What is the most someone can lose the popular vote by but still win the electoral college?
I don't know the exact number but, as a proportion of the votes cast, it's essentially 100%.
Here's how to calculate it. Find the set of states with the largest population of possible voters but no ...
- 2,603
92
votes
Why do candidates not quit if they no longer have a realistic chance to win in the 2020 US presidents election
Most of them are just trying to gain national exposure and recognition. A highly-charged primary cycle is a perfect way to do it.
Probably, one of the losing candidates will be offered the Vice-...
- 1,860
92
votes
Accepted
Is there objective proof that recent bills (1st half of 2021) that restrict voting are targeting Democratic voters specifically?
The whole foundation of the strategy that gives rise to these voter suppression laws is to avoid exactly that direct, causal link. The recent Supreme Court case Chamber of Commerce v. New York ...
- 19.2k
88
votes
Is there objective proof that Jo Jorgensen stopped Trump winning, like a right-wing Ralph Nader?
TL;DR: It's a virtual impossibility, but mathematically possible. If Trump won a large majority of Libertarian votes, he could have won key states. Four states are in play. One combination gives him a ...
- 7,150
88
votes
Who must be present at the Presidential Inauguration?
Only two people are legally required to be present when a President is sworn in:
The person being sworn in as President
The person administering the Oath (be it the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court ...
- 27.9k
87
votes
What is the most someone can lose the popular vote by but still win the electoral college?
CGP Grey has done the math in November 2011.
In the extreme case, assuming a constant turnout across all 50 states (and with the electoral votes distributed as in 2011)*, it could take only 22% of ...
- 6,745
87
votes
How did Trump's January 6 speech call for insurrection and violence?
The Way a Mob Boss Orders a Hit
A mob boss doesn't need to say: "Tony, go murder that meddlesome shop owner Johnson. He never paid his protection money." Instead, he can make his desires ...
- 4,149
85
votes
Accepted
Why were pre-election polls and forecast models inconsistent with the election of Donald Trump?
Reasonable theories I have heard have included:
A change in polling foundations (home phones become cell phones = limitations on traditional cold calling... and also the shift into online polls). ...
- 1,096
85
votes
Accepted
Why is the minimum age to be U.S. president still fairly high at 35?
The reason for the founding fathers to do this was in part because they viewed the President as supposed to be an elder statesman who had shown through his career to be reliable in his values and not ...
- 16.1k
85
votes
Accepted
Has Biden's campaign, or the Democratic Party, publicly voiced their opinion on granting some sort of immunity to Trump?
In May of 2020, Biden committed not to pardon Trump or otherwise interfere with any investigations that the Justice Department may or may not carry out:
Democratic candidate Joe Biden said that if he ...
- 26k
80
votes
Accepted
Is it unusual for foreign leaders to congratulate US presidential candidates before their opponents have conceded?
It is conventional for foreign leaders to congratulate a newly elected leader soon after victory becomes obvious. Like most diplomacy, this is a somewhat fussy matter of form. Congratulate too early, ...
- 73.6k
77
votes
Accepted
What significance could the information in Donald Trump's tax return have to his campaign?
Answers to clarification questions
There are no "rich people" forms. However, there are forms that are far more likely to be interesting when a rich person files them. For example, when someone ...
- 90.1k
76
votes
Why did people still chant "Lock her up" at Trump rallies in 2019?
Two Minutes Hate
People loved chanting "lock her up". So why should they stop? In some sense, that's why no effort has been made - actually locking up Clinton, or trying to, would detract ...
- 22.2k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible