Obama would have defeated Trump
President Obama recently offered the view that had he been on the ballot against Donald Trump in this year’s presidential election, he would have secured a third term. This is not mere puffery. He is absolutely right.
The two major party candidates this year were enormously unpopular and widely and virulently disliked. This was a watershed year in that voters cast ballots against an opponent rather than for the individual they supported.
Virtually any other Democrat could have beaten Donald Trump and had a respectable, dignified, knowledgeable, civilized human being been the Republican nominee, he or she would surely have trounced Hillary Clinton in both the popular vote and the Electoral College.
President Obama has recently enjoyed and continues to bask in significant favorable ratings as the economy comes back, albeit too slowly, and as millions have benefitted from the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, a health care plan which certainly can be made much better.
Naturally, Mr. Trump felt the need to weigh in to contradict President Obama, never allowing any perceived slight to pass without a strong response. Informed citizens know that President Obama is telling the truth.
Oren M. Spiegler
Upper Saint Clair