Was Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory a landslide?
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:
A president's popular mandate, as measured by the size of his margins of victory in the popular and electoral vote, predicts the likelihood of him launching enduring changes in policy and politics. The popular and electoral vote shares are represented graphically above. "Landslide" elections are typically marked by very large popular vote majorities as well as complete, or near-complete, victory in all states. According to the graph above Lyndon Johnson in 1964 had the biggest landslide or electoral popular mandate ever, winning 61.1 percent of the popular vote and 90% of the electoral vote. WOW, LBJ. What president had the second biggest mandate ever?
According to the visual above, what winning president had the smallest popular mandate?
Explain which president’s electoral victory size was the most surprising?
Besides the size of the president’s electoral victory, the relative size of the President's party in the House and Senate and the level of their party unity has a huge impact on how much meaningful legislation and policy the president can get passed. In a single term President Lyndon Johnson was able to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the creation of Medicare and Medicaid, and the Great Society program. Based on the visual above, why do you think Johnson was able to get so much done?
Based on your knowledge of the electoral college, explain how any president can win election with less than half the popular vote.
What portion of the popular vote, and approximately what portion of the electoral college vote did Donald Trump win in 2024?
How would you characterize a landslide victory, and of all the presidential elections shown in the graph above, where would you draw the line between landslide victory and just regular old victory.?
President Trump and his supporters have characterized his 2024 election victory as an "unprecedented mandate." With President Trump saying, "The American people gave us a clear mandate to save our country. Very importantly, we won the popular vote by millions and millions of votes." In reality, a shift of only 230,000 total votes in three states (Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) would have given Kamala Harris a victory over Trump in the electoral college. In percentage terms, that is a shift of 0.7% of the total swing state vote. Explain whether Donald Trump’s 2024 victory qualifies as an “unprecedented mandate” or landslide victory?
Why do you think Donald Trump refers to his victory - with less than half of the popular vote - as a landslide?
Trump currently has a rapidly falling 43% approval rating, the lowest of his second term. Explain how President Trump’s dismal approval rating will impact his ability to get Congress to pass legislation he favors and explain why he has, so far, mostly used executive orders to influence policy.
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
Share with your classmates your claim about whether the 2024 presidential election was a “landslide victory.”
Get Creative
If Trump’s 2025 victory wasn’t a landslide, what adjective would better describe it?
