Donald Trump’s populist appeals failed to win over an electorate which wanted and needed a competent covid-19 response.

Since the reality of the threat of COVID-19 became apparent, President Trump has taken little meaningful action to protect Americans from the pandemic. Analysing the now lame-duck president’s tweets, Corina Lacatus and Gustav Meibauer argue that Trump’s decision to make populist appeals over the course of the election did not have the intended effect of increasing support from his base. Instead, Trump’s obvious lack of a competent COVID-19 management strategy may well have doomed him electorally.