The economy and the elderly helped Trump lose in 2020, and it would be a mistake for the GOP if he ran again

In the years since Donald Trump’s presidential election victory, much has been written about how populists gain power. But what can Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss tell us about how populists stay in or lose power? Using a survey of 1,200 Americans, Anja Neundorf and Sergi Pardos-Prado find that despite being a populist, Trump was assessed and held to account by voters like any other incumbent. They write that his handling of the economy hurt Trump’s electoral prospects across all groups, and of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among older Americans.