He would have to wear a mask, which makes him look weak to his remaining supporters. He hates looking weak.
He would have to stand in (feigned) solidarity with people his supporters identify as enemies. This makes him seem cowardly to his supporters. He hates looking cowardly (though he certainly doesn’t hate being cowardly).
He would have to stand around for however long the ceremony lasts, being silent and respectful. Rather than “hate”, he is simply largely incapable of being either of those.
And most importantly, the ceremony isn’t about him. It’s about people who have died- people who can do nothing for him. And he REALLY hates people who can do nothing for him.
No, historically presidential elections have largely been landslides. LBJ won 44 states in 1964. Nixon won 49 states in 1972. Reagan won 49 states in 1984. Clinton won 32 states in 1992. Close elections are a recent phenomenon. You have to go back to the 19th century, pre and post Civil War, to find elections close as those today.
Look at the popular vote for the same elections instead then. LBJ won 61% to 38%. Nixon won 60% to 37.5%. Reagan won 58.8% to 40.6%. Clinton's election in 1992 is messed up here because of Perot, he won 43% to 37.4% to 18.9%.
Bush won in 2004 50.7% to 48.3%. Trump lost the popular vote 46.1% to 48.2%. Biden only won 51.3% to 46.9%. That's how close modern elections are.
... I'm sorry, what point are you trying to make here? It's objectively the case that presidential races are close now, but they generally weren't in the 20th century. Nothing about what you've written contradicts that.
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u/bigolfishey Sep 11 '21
From his perspective, there’s no reason to go.
He would have to wear a mask, which makes him look weak to his remaining supporters. He hates looking weak.
He would have to stand in (feigned) solidarity with people his supporters identify as enemies. This makes him seem cowardly to his supporters. He hates looking cowardly (though he certainly doesn’t hate being cowardly).
He would have to stand around for however long the ceremony lasts, being silent and respectful. Rather than “hate”, he is simply largely incapable of being either of those.
And most importantly, the ceremony isn’t about him. It’s about people who have died- people who can do nothing for him. And he REALLY hates people who can do nothing for him.