*rump received about the same number of votes as he did in 2020, [View all]
he still won because too many people sat out this election causing Vice-President Harris to lose.
I believe it was bad timing and mixed messaging that disillusioned the electorate and cost the top of the Democratic ticket this election.
1. On the mixed messaging part.
President Biden ran as a bridge to the future and he looked strong on a multitude of domestic and foreign policy actions, but when he decided to seek a second term (perhaps at the behest of his advisors), this politically weakened him to *rump's domestic and foreign manipulations.
While Biden looked wise, vibrant and resolute in his righteous defense of Ukraine against Russia's invasion, his defense of labor and students overwhelmed with crushing college debt, those dynamics changed when political calculations came into play for winning a second term.
By then shadow diplomat Kushner's Abraham Accords making peace between already established friends Israel and Saudi Arabia, etc. (journalist hating MBS had become alarmed by the Arab spring) but excluding the Palestinian people had created a pressure cooker that exploded on October 7th of last year.
President Biden is known for his empathy and he was righteously upset by that massacre against the Israeli people but his first reactions to the devastation of Gaza didn't even mention the plight of the Palestinians under a catastrophic assault. As time progressed and the political pressure grew, he tried influencing Netanyahu's brutal tendencies to ease up, but the weapons still flowed, (except for 2000 bombs) and Bibi showed him no respect. This undercut Biden's empathetic image and made him look weak. Netanyahu never had any interest in Biden or Harris winning, Jared Kushner is a long time family friend, he even slept in a young Kushner's bed when visiting.
Prior to this *rump was best known for January 6th, having no respect for democracy and the rule of law, that's still the case but when Netanyahu attacked the United Nations and overwhelming majority of the world for its' condemnations of his brutal actions, the Biden administration supported him without equivocation. We even allowed for the violation of U.S. law by our unconditional support for Netanyahu and the continuous shipment of weapons despite overwhelming evidence of war crimes.
To compound that damage college students, progressives of all stripes, and of every religion righteously upset protested against the atrocities being committed against the Palestinian people in Gaza and they were largely labeled as "disruptive or anti-Semitic." Their 1st Amendment (the literal bedrock of our democracy) rights of protest and free speech were ridiculed by the corporate media.
2. On the bad timing part.
Had President Biden decided to only serve for one term reelection pressures to him would've been greatly reduced if not eliminated ie; Jewish voters in Pennsylvania or Muslims in Michigan would never have come into play in his or his advisors decisions. Had he dropped out much sooner allowing for an open primary, he still could've supported Vice-President Harris as his candidate of preference, and then 14+ million primary voters choice for President wouldn't have been thrown by the wayside under perceived pressure from the Democratic Party for him to drop out. *rump attacked the Democratic Party on both charges of being against democracy and weak on foreign policy.
President Biden has been the strongest President for labor, probably since FDR but when it was perceived that the Democratic Party pressured for him to drop out of the race after receiving 14 million votes those actions didn't help Vice-President Harris in the heavy labor states, because she was the beneficiary. I believe the hugging too close of disaffected Republicans didn't help in that regard either, they have rarely if ever been pro-labor.
Peace to you.