In 2016, when most liberals were buying into the polls and writing off Donald Trump’s chances of winning the election as somewhere between the realms of unthinkable and impossible, documentary filmmaker Michael Moore – his ties to Michigan still strong – was one of the few on the left warning that the country could be in for the shock result of a lifetime. As it turned out, of course, he was right on the money. Hillary Clinton’s Blue Wall crumbled, Trump pulled off the greatest upset in presidential history, and the rest was history.
Now, Moore is back and he’s warning his fans to pay attention once again.
“Sorry to have to provide the reality check again, but when CNN polled registered voters in August in just the swing states, Biden and Trump were in a virtual tie,” Moore wrote on Facebook. “In Minnesota, it’s 47-47. In Michigan, where Biden had a big lead, Trump has closed the gap to 4 points. Are you ready for a Trump victory? Are you mentally prepared to be outsmarted by Trump again? Do you find comfort in your certainty that there is no way Trump can win? Are you content with the trust you’ve placed in the DNC to pull this off?
“The Biden campaign just announced he’ll be visiting a number of states— but not Michigan,” Moore continued. “Sound familiar? I’m warning you almost 10 weeks in advance. The enthusiasm level for the 60 million in Trump’s base is OFF THE CHARTS! For Joe, not so much. Don’t leave it to the Democrats to get rid of Trump. YOU have to get rid of Trump. WE have to wake up every day for the next 67 days and make sure each of us are going to get a hundred people out to vote. ACT NOW!”
While we (of course) are about as far away from Moore’s politics as we can be and still exist in the same democratic system, he’s not wrong when it comes to the enthusiasm gap. This election – not unlike 2016 – is basically being framed as “For Trump” and “Against Trump.” There is no substantial “For Biden” movement. It just doesn’t exist. He’s the other guy in the race, and that’s about all you can say about him.
Are Democratic voters and swing voters so fed up with Trump that they’ll come out in force to vote for a guy they’re simply “meh” about? We just don’t believe it. Yes, the election will be close – that’s a given. But when you take Biden’s lack of significant support and add it to the growing chaos in many American cities? It’s really tough to see how the Democrats take this thing home.
Guess we’ll see.
