Why does the 2016 election feel so depressing to some people?
Why does the 2016 election feel so demoralizing to some people? One possible explanation: each candidate’s supporters are more motivated by fear of the other candidate than actual excitement about the person they’re supporting, according to a new USA Today/Suffolk poll.
Eighty percent of the people backing Republican nominee Donald Trump in the poll say they’re scared of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Sixty-two percent of Clinton’s supporters say they’re scared of Trump. (Clinton is ahead of Trump, 48 to 41 percent, in the poll’s head-to-head matchup.)
“That’s why this election feels so depressing to people, because it’s a referendum on the other person – how bad they are,” “Face the Nation” Moderator and CBS News Political Director John Dickerson said Friday on “CBS This Morning.” “This isn’t an election which people are being motivated by…the uplift of a candidate’s message. They’re being motivated by fear of the alternative.”
The eventual problem with that kind of campaign?
“How do you build a mandate for governing?” Dickerson asked. “Whoever wins, there will be a sourness to the victory, and that’s a problem if you want to actually do something when you get in office.”
Dickerson also discussed Trump’s recent back-and-forth onimmigration policy, his trip to Mexico, and his upcoming visit to a black church in Detroit. Watch the above video for more analysis, and tune into “Face the Nation” Sunday for the latest on the 2016 election, including interviews with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake.