WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 20: U.S. President Joe Biden waves after delivering his inaugural address during the inauguration ceremony on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. During today’s inauguration ceremony Joe Biden becomes the 46th president of the United States. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)

By Glynn Wilson –

Can we please just not sugar coat it?

Donald Trump was the worst, most corrupt president ever, and this will hold true in the history books. No doubt about it.

New public opinion polls just out show that a significant percentage of Americans know that already, if some are still living in LaLaLand called the Alternative Reality.

A new Morning Consult Poll finds that nearly half the voters in 2020, 46 percent, agree that the 45th president was “one of the worst presidents” ever to lead the United States.

Seventy-five percent of Democrats agree with this, along with nearly half of independent voters. Another 9 percent at least admit that Trump was, well, “below average.”

According to the in house analysis, 45 leaves the White House as “a disappointment to a majority of voters, who say he failed to fulfill the 2016 campaign promise that resonated so deeply with his supporters: to ‘make America great again.'”

Excuse me if I laugh out loud at that question, considering that it’s just a stupid campaign slogan totally stolen from Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign. MC says of this bad survey research that “critics have accused Trump of wielding it to tap into nostalgia among white Americans for a period of time that was decidedly worse for people of color.”

Duh.

That was only part of 45’s plan, along with the Devil’s spawn himself, Steve Bannon. The propaganda calculus was way more complicated than that.

But yes, those differences in opinion show up in the survey findings, which unearthed the view that 44 percent of white voters are still willing to say Trump achieved his campaign promise, while less than 30 percent of nonwhite voters agreed with it.

One has to wonder what channel the rest were watching, or if they were paying attention much at all?

But for the sake of nailing home the point, more than 57 percent of American voters now say the 45th president did not restore America’s greatness during his four-year tenure. That’s nearly a two-thirds majority.

Of course 85 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of independents know that. Somehow 20 percent don’t agree, including 80 percent of Republicans.

Among voters who prioritize the economy in their voting decisions — the largest voting bloc by issue — 45 percent are still willing to say they think the 45th president made America great again. Even in this category, a majority of just over 50 percent said he did not.

“In a sharp break from historical norms, Trump used the lame-duck period to try to convince Americans that he didn’t actually lose the election, rather than taking the time to make a positive case for any triumphs of his presidency,” MC says in its analysis. “That decision helped create the climate for the fatal Jan. 6 insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol — for which nearly two-thirds of voters hold Trump responsible — and as he leaves office, most voters believe he was, at best, a subpar president.”

Even among Republican voters, 15 percent describe Trump as either below average or “one of the worst presidents to lead the United States.” The sentiment aligns closely with Republican voters’ views of Trump’s job performance. Half of them say they believe he was “one of America’s greatest leaders,” close to the share who hold “strongly” positive views of the 45th president.

Must they be talking about how he was able to commandeer everyone’s attention for nearly every second of his four years in office?

Because if they were talking about how many Americans died under his lack of a watch, or how screwed up the economy is after his attempt to big business-a-size it, or how divided the country still is after his run in the White House, I don’t think they would have said that. Tell you what. Next time put that context into the setup for the question.

This poll, conducted Jan. 15-17, surveyed 1,993 registered voters, and has a margin of error of 2 percentage points. I just needed a more nuanced question.

Meanwhile, and in stark contrast…

Biden’s Call for ‘Unity’ Receives Warm Reception From Voters

At the dawn of Biden’s presidency, his message focusing on offering Americans a prescription for an end to the kind of divisive politics that led to an insurrection, found a receptive audience, according to MC

“We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal,” Biden said in his inaugural address. “We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts – if we show a little tolerance and humility.”

Among the voters who watched, 84 percent said the speech was “excellent” or “good,” including nearly all of the Democrats surveyed and 57 percent of Republicans. The poll found most voters receptive to the message, even a number of Republicans.

Of those who watched, most characterized the speech as presidential (84 percent), hopeful (83 percent) and optimistic (81 percent), each of which were among the top descriptors used by both Republicans and Democrats. Another 71 percent of voters who tuned in — including 80 percent of Democrats and 49 percent of Republicans — said the speech was “unifying,” says MC.

The survey has an overall margin of error of 2 percentage points, while margins of error for responses from voters who watched the speech range from 3 points to 6 points.

Historic Firsts

Along with Biden’s ascension at a pivotal moment for the country, Inauguration Day also featured several historic firsts.

The bulk of voters said positive terms like “hopeful,” “inspired” and “proud” described how they felt about the inauguration of Vice President Kamala Harris — who along with being the first female vice president is also the first Black and South Asian American to reach such high office.

The question yielded significant breaks when accounting for race, however, showing the remaining racial divide among the electorate.

“According to the survey, Black voters were more than 20 points more likely than white voters to use positive descriptors to describe their feelings about Harris’ elevation — including a 29-point gap on expressing excitement. By double digits, white voters were more likely than Black voters to say they were angry, frustrated or worried about Harris’ new position.”

Overall, a majority of voters (55 percent) said Harris should play “a major role” in Biden’s new administration, including 85 percent of Democrats and a similar share of Biden voters and liberals.

For comparison, a third of voters — and 51 percent of Democrats — said President Biden’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden, should play a major role in his presidency.

Comments welcome…