There are members of both parties who believe the president has the ability to defy the normal rules of politics. That view ignores electoral trends of recent years.
By JONATHAN MARTIN
WASHINGTON — At first glance, there seems little in common between red-hat-wearing admirers of President Trump and Democratic activists still nursing PTSD from Hillary Clinton’s loss. Yet these political opposites share an overriding conviction, one they are apt to invoke any time the president’s re-election prospects are questioned:
But 2016!
Mr. Trump’s surprise win in the Electoral College is their Exhibit A, cited repeatedly online or in real life, to counter any polls or election results or momentary events that cast doubt on the president’s electability in 2020.