It’s beginning to look a lot like 2016

In politics, anything can happen. But at the rate things are going, Donald Trump seems increasingly likely to return to the Oval Office. 

Last week, two-time presidential loser Hillary Clinton appeared on the “Tonight Show” to promote a Broadway show. Pressed to address the uncomfortable fact that President Biden is unpopular with even Democratic voters, Clinton’s response was positively…”deplorable.”

“What do you say to voters who are upset that those are the two choices?” asked “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon.

“Get over yourself,” Clinton grumbled. “Those are the two choices.”

She added, “It’s kind of like one is old and effective and compassionate, has a heart, and really cares about people, and one is old and has been charged with 91 felonies.…I don’t understand why this is even a hard choice. But we have to go through the election and hopefully people will realize what’s at stake…[I]t’s not like Trump — his enablers, his empowers, his allies — are not telling us what they want to do.” 

“I mean, they’re pretty clear about what kind of country they want,” Clinton concluded.

There’s a reason why she goes by “Madame Secretary” and not “Madame President.”

More seriously, it’s astonishing that Democrats keep committing these exact types of election-year gaffes. It’s astonishing that popular media keep elevating these unlikeable political celebrities during election years, apparently unaware that these “stars” have little to no purchase outside of faculty lounges and television studios. (See, for example, Beto O’Rourke, Wendy Davis and Stacey Abrams.) 

What do you mean Hillary Clinton is unpopular? All the late-night hosts love her! 

Ah, yes, but voters don’t. She’s unlikeable, and she has terrible political instincts.

The disconnect between what’s popular with the entertainment media and the Democratic Party and what’s popular with voters played a significant role in the 2016 election. Democratic Party officials trapped themselves in an echo chamber, trusting the advice and assurances of people all in the same socioeconomic rung.

They actually believed their own press and lost sight of voters’ concerns. In fact, they disregarded voters’ concerns outright, even after it became apparent Clinton was failing to connect with traditionally pro-Democratic voting blocs. They didn’t campaign as if there was any question of who would win the election. Clinton didn’t even visit Wisconsin — not even once.

Consequently, Trump’s victory caught basically everyone in the Democratic Party and media by surprise. 

Now, in 2024, Trump has a long road ahead of him, especially considering that he, like Biden, polls terribly. Trump’s campaign inspires little confidence. The former president is out there hawking sneakers, bibles and perfume, all while his surrogates panhandle online for donations to pay off his legal bills.

But do you know what else Trump did recently? On March 28, he flew up from Florida to attend the wake of slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, who had been shot and killed during a traffic stop. Diller is survived by his wife and their one-year-old son.

During Diller’s wake, across town, Biden and his campaign were putting the finishing touches on a glitzy, star-studded campaign fundraiser, where they yukked it up later that evening with Stephen Colbert and Lizzo. For a mere $100,000, attendees could have their pictures taken with Biden and former Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. 

After paying his respects to the Diller family, Trump told reporters outside the funeral home, “The police are the greatest people we have. There’s nothing and there’s nobody like them. And this should never happen.”

He added, “We have to get back to law and order. We have to do a lot of things differently. This is not working. This is happening too often.”

Later that evening, Biden, who declined to attend Diller’s wake even though he was in New York, made a “Dark Brandon” joke at his fundraiser. Everyone clapped. (How many people even know what that is?)

With only a few months until Election Day, Trump has a slight edge on Biden, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average. 

Anything can happen. But with these recent unforced errors by the Democratic Party, whose current campaign message amounts to “Shut up and eat your gruel,” it’s starting to look a little like 2016 all over again. And we all know how that played out. 

Becket Adams is a writer in Washington and program director for the National Journalism Center.