2020 Loss: Long-Term Republican Benefit?

For once, it seems that the Republican Party may have picked a good time to lose a presidential election.

Historically, the GOP has chosen its victory years badly. Through no fault of their own, Republican presidents have happened to be in office during the 1990–1991 recession, the 2001 “dot com” crash, the 2007 financial crash, and the Covid-19 pandemic. President Trump was routinely his own worst enemy, and yet his defeat in 2020 was at least in part the product of the personal and economic chaos that was caused by a virus over which he had precisely no control. If Trump had won reelection last year — as he nearly did — it is fair to assume that the same headwinds that dragged him down at the voting booths would have continued dragging him down well into his second term.

About the Author

Charles C. W. Cooke

Charles C. W. Cooke is a senior editor at National Review and the host of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast.

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For once, it seems that the Republican Party may have picked a good time to lose a presidential election.

Historically, the GOP has chosen its victory years badly. Through no fault of their own, Republican presidents have happened to be in office during the 1990–1991 recession, the 2001 “dot com” crash, the 2007 financial crash, and the Covid-19 pandemic. President Trump was routinely his own worst enemy, and yet his defeat in 2020 was at least in part the product of the personal and economic chaos that was caused by a virus over which he had precisely no control. If Trump had won reelection last year — as he nearly did — it is fair to assume that the same headwinds that dragged him down at the voting booths would have continued dragging him down well into his second term.