Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

Trump’s America keeps getting worse

suntimes.com · 3h · first reportShare

In October 1980, then-candidate Ronald Reagan asked voters a very important question: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” It was during the only televised debate he had against incumbent President Jimmy Carter, whose presidency had been marred by one crisis after another, from record-high inflation and rising unemployment, to soaring gas prices and the Iran hostage crisis. Reagan knew the answer to his question was a resounding “no,” and asking it helped propel him to a landslide victory. It also became a regularly invoked rhetorical feature of presidential campaigns going forward. Columnists bug Columnists In-depth political coverage, sports analysis, entertainment reviews and cultural commentary. No one knows the cautionary tale of Carter’s presidency more than our current president, who has repeatedly used it as a stand-in for presidential failure and American weakness. Although Carter’s legacy greatly improved in the years since leaving office, he ended his only term