(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Trump 'snapped' after his 2020 loss. Biden wants GOP voters to know it [1] ['Daily Kos Staff'] Date: 2024-06-05 When President Joe Biden spoke at a campaign event in Greenwich, CT, Monday evening, he argued that his rival Donald Trump would pose an even greater threat in a second term. "This isn’t the same Trump that got elected in 2016," Biden said. "Something snapped in this guy, for real, when he lost in 2020. He can’t accept loss. He can’t accept the fact that he lost." Biden went on to say that Trump has become "unhinged" since his defeat. "It's literally driving him crazy," Biden added, connecting Trump's loss directly to the violent Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. To Democratic voters, Biden's formulation all sounds par for the course. But to conflicted Trump voters who aren't enthused about voting for Biden it provides a rationale for why they may have supported Trump in the past but cannot do so going forward. It's a narrative framework that helps erstwhile Trump supporters justify casting a ballot for him in 2016 or 2020 but reaching a different conclusion this cycle. The main audience for this message is the roughly 15% to 20% of Republican voters who have registered their discontent with Trump by casting a ballot for his primary rival Nikki Haley—in many cases even after she bowed out of the election. What has become more clear over the course of the GOP contest is that Haley voters weren't really Haley voters, they were primarily anti-Trump voters using Haley to send to a message. Biden now hopes to cleave a small-but-meaningful slice of them away from Trump even if they have never cast a ballot for a Democrat in their lifetimes. It's fertile ground. Below are the numbers Haley posted in several of the most critical and hotly contested swing states: Pennsylvania is the only state among the four where Trump broke 80%, with 83.4% of Republican voters casting a ballot for him. The Keystone State was also the only one of the bunch that holds an entirely closed primary. The Biden campaign first introduced the "snapped" narrative a couple weeks ago when they released a new ad narrated by actor Robert De Niro alongside a debate strategy memo: x YouTube Video But the president has now incorporated the line that "something snapped" in Trump when he lost reelection in 2020 into his regular stump speech. "Biden’s framing of this is politically savvy," remarked The Bulwark writers in their "Morning Shots" newsletter. "Biden provides a kind of permission structure for voters who might have supported Trump in 2016 or 2020 to leave him now." Trump being driven to madness by being "a loser"—a status he notoriously can't stand—is entirely believable given what voters already know about his biography. Going forward, the snapped framework gives the Biden campaign an entry into discussing the Jan. 6 insurrection, Trump's felony conviction, and his routine attacks on everything from his political opponents to the justice system to U.S. elections—nothing will be spared the wrath of loser Trump. RELATED STORY: ‘Reckless and dangerous’: Biden warns of the threat of a second Trump term No criminals in the White House! Never again! Every day brings a new prognostication that is making President Joe Biden's campaign operatives worry or freak out. Is Donald Trump running away with the election? No. Not even close. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/5/2244793/-Trump-snapped-after-his-2020-loss-Biden-wants-GOP-voters-to-know-it?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_10&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/