--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Donald Trump could win the presidency…" description: "\"Donald Trump could win the presidency without a popular-vote majority only because both parties have been locked into base-turnout strategies that are ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/ross-douthat-2949_donald-trump_donald-trump-could-win-the-presidency-wi_909918.png" --- # Donald Trump could win the presidency without a… ![“Donald Trump could win the presidency without a popular-vote majority only because both parties have been locked into base-turnout strategies that are partially responsible for our government's ineffectiveness and gridlock.” quote by Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/ross-douthat-2949_donald-trump_donald-trump-could-win-the-presidency-wi_909918.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/ross-douthat-2949_donald-trump_donald-trump-could-win-the-presidency-wi_909918.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/ross-douthat-2949_donald-trump_donald-trump-could-win-the-presidency-wi_909918.png) > “Donald Trump could win the presidency without a popular-vote majority only because both parties have been locked into base-turnout strategies that are partially responsible for our government's ineffectiveness and gridlock.” [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Electoral outcomes can be decided by party strategies that prioritize base turnout over broad appeal, leading to gridlock. **In simple terms:** Party focus on core voters can hinder effective governance. Key Takeaway Consider broader coalition building. Themes politics electoral systems gridlock Mood analytical critical Type political commentary When to use this quote - campaign planning - legislative negotiations - policy making Key Concepts base turnout strategic voting Questions to Reflect On - How can parties balance base enthusiasm with wider appeal? - What reforms could reduce partisan deadlock? A Different Perspective Such strategies may marginalize moderate voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Popular vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popular-vote/) ## Related quotes > [A majority in all parties do, I think, want to see local government recover its old vigour and independence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/a-majority-in-all-parties-do-i-think-want-to-see-local-government/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Parties that are majority parties are incoherent parties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/parties-that-are-majority-parties-are-incoherent-parties/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Trump could also only win the presidency without a popular-vote majority because a large region of the country, the greater Rust Belt and Appalachia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/trump-could-also-only-win-the-presidency-without-a-popular-vote/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [ \[We are\] no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/we-are-no-longer-a-government-by-free-opinion-no-longer-a-government/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Don't make decisions by majority vote. The majority is almost always wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/don-t-make-decisions-by-majority-vote-the-majority-is-almost-always/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/individual-rights-are-not-subject-to-a-public-vote-a-majority-has-no-2/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“How many votes does it take to get the United States of America firmly into the legal nightmare described in Gabriel’s Stand? Sixty seven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-b-gaskill/how-many-votes-does-it-take-to-get-the-united-states-of-america/) Jay B. Gaskill > [We go by the major vote, and if the majority are insane, the sane must go to the hospital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/we-go-by-the-major-vote-and-if-the-majority-are-insane-the-sane-must/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Donald Trump will become president even after losing the popular vote in our November elections by a wide margin. To govern effectively, he must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raja-krishnamoorthi/donald-trump-will-become-president-even-after-losing-the-popular-vote/) [Raja Krishnamoorthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raja-krishnamoorthi/) > [ A \[Donald\] Trump win might be bad for stocks, but it would be very positive for the dollar and Treasurys. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shilling/a-donald-trump-win-might-be-bad-for-stocks-but-it-would-be-very/) [Gary Shilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shilling/) > [I mean, the criticism of Donald Trump is that he could win this race, and that he was doing well and he was rebounding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/i-mean-the-criticism-of-donald-trump-is-that-he-could-win-this-race/) [Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/) > [The Trump win is the biggest upset victory maybe ever, certainly in my lifetime, it's the biggest upset. So the emotion that's attached to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-trump-win-is-the-biggest-upset-victory-maybe-ever-certainly-in-my/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [ Remember, Bernie \[Sanders\] was the guy. He was the one guy that could win this, and head-to-head he could go against \[Donald\] Trump and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/remember-bernie-sanders-was-the-guy-he-was-the-one-guy-that-could-win/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [It would be devastating for America if Donald Trump won, and it would be devastating for the anti-gun-violence movement. But we would be on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-murphy/it-would-be-devastating-for-america-if-donald-trump-won-and-it-would/) [Chris Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-murphy/) > [The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/the-cia-has-concluded-in-a-secret-assessment-that-russia-intervened/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) ## More by Ross Douthat > [Human beings seek community, and permanent openness is hard to sustain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/human-beings-seek-community-and-permanent-openness-is-hard-to-sustain/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [The American intelligentsia has been pretty secular for a long time. There have always been figures like Oprah Winfrey, let's put it that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/the-american-intelligentsia-has-been-pretty-secular-for-a-long-time/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [On the evidence we have, the meritocratic ideal ends up being just as undemocratic as the old emphasis on inheritance and tradition, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/on-the-evidence-we-have-the-meritocratic-ideal-ends-up-being-just-as/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [“The physical vanity of the diet-and-exercise obsessive is recast as the pursuit of a kind of ritual purity, hedged about with taboos and guilt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/the-physical-vanity-of-the-diet-and-exercise-obsessive-is-recast-as/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [There were times at Harvard when I actually longed to hang out with a few more Trotskyists, rather than yet another set of future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/there-were-times-at-harvard-when-i-actually-longed-to-hang-out-with-a/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [Many things about American life, that even secular people consider good, have flowed from the presence of a robust, resilient institutional Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/many-things-about-american-life-that-even-secular-people-consider/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [“What he felt during his Spanish encounter with left-wing anti-Christianity was similar to his reactions to the anti-Christianity of the right. The "novelty and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/what-he-felt-during-his-spanish-encounter-with-left-wing-anti/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [“In an age of stagnant or declining birthrates, too, these communities’ willingness to heed the admonition to be fruitful and multiply has led to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/in-an-age-of-stagnant-or-declining-birthrates-too-these-communities/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [America's problem isn't too much religion or too little of it. It's bad religion: the slow-motion collapse of traditional Christianity and the rise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/america-s-problem-isn-t-too-much-religion-or-too-little-of-it-it-s/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [I do think you can see, throughout American history, this temptation, and it's both a liberal and a conservative temptation, to take a healthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/i-do-think-you-can-see-throughout-american-history-this-temptation/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [Where conservative Catholics have the power to resist what seem like false ideas or disastrous innovations they must do so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/where-conservative-catholics-have-the-power-to-resist-what-seem-like/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [It is not white nationalism to believe that countries like the United States would be better off with more babies. That belief can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/it-is-not-white-nationalism-to-believe-that-countries-like-the-united/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [Most people want the convenience of the Internet far more than they want the private spaces that older forms of communication protected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/most-people-want-the-convenience-of-the-internet-far-more-than-they/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [If you live under a system that claims to have high ideals but seems ineradicably opposed to your own people's flourishing, the desire for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/if-you-live-under-a-system-that-claims-to-have-high-ideals-but-seems/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [Our crisis of the house divided was a Christian civil war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/our-crisis-of-the-house-divided-was-a-christian-civil-war/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) [Explore all 144 Ross Douthat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) ## More Donald trump quotes > [I'm not here trying to convince anybody to vote for Donald Trump. I think every Christian needs to make up his own mind about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jeffress/i-m-not-here-trying-to-convince-anybody-to-vote-for-donald-trump-i/) [Robert Jeffress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jeffress/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. This \[presidential\] election is about every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [We're going to create factory jobs for recent immigrants, and Donald Trump is going to take care of them. That's why his numbers, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sessions/we-re-going-to-create-factory-jobs-for-recent-immigrants-and-donald/) [Jeff Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sessions/) > [When it comes to bullying small businesses, Donald Trump is the poster boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/when-it-comes-to-bullying-small-businesses-donald-trump-is-the-poster/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Donald Trump has been rewriting the rules since he got into politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-michael-cillizza/donald-trump-has-been-rewriting-the-rules-since-he-got-into-politics/) [Christopher Michael Cillizza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-michael-cillizza/) > [Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/donald-trump-is-temperamentally-unfit/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [At minimum, we must recognize that there are legitimate, unanswered questions about whether the Obama Justice Department involved themselves in a political project targeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-meadows/at-minimum-we-must-recognize-that-there-are-legitimate-unanswered/) [Mark Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-meadows/) > [ Donald Trump has opened \[ politically correct enforcement\] up wide. He's made a very bold statement and he's backed it back just a little… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/donald-trump-has-opened-politically-correct-enforcement-up-wide-he-s/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [Donald Trump doesn't necessarily stay mad for very long. He's a transactional guy. If you can offer him something, he will take it. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-doesn-t-necessarily-stay-mad-for-very-long-he-s-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [Donald Trump so far is sending a signal that he's going to run the government like his business and maybe that's going to work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/donald-trump-so-far-is-sending-a-signal-that-he-s-going-to-run-the/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [ If \[Donald\] Trump throws 20 million off of health care, that's going to be - if he handles this badly - and it's very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/if-donald-trump-throws-20-million-off-of-health-care-that-s-going-to/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Donald Trump is not going to be the nominee, because we are not going to allow - people will wake up and we're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/donald-trump-is-not-going-to-be-the-nominee-because-we-are-not-going/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [If we turn our backs on the remaining industries and not reinvest in these places and just say 'You're on your own,' we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fetterman/if-we-turn-our-backs-on-the-remaining-industries-and-not-reinvest-in/) [John Fetterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fetterman/) > [ \[Donald Trump\] knows he's going to get hit, though. He's the president. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/donald-trump-knows-he-s-going-to-get-hit-though-he-s-the-president/) [Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/) Browse all 2,538 Donald trump quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Donald Trump could win the presidency without a popular-vote majority only because both parties have been locked into base-turnout strategies that are partially responsible for our government's ineffectiveness and gridlock.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ross Douthat" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/donald-trump-could-win-the-presidency-without-a-popular-vote-majority/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Donald trump" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/donald-trump-could-win-the-presidency-without-a-popular-vote-majority/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/ross-douthat-2949_donald-trump_donald-trump-could-win-the-presidency-wi_909918.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/ross-douthat-2949_donald-trump_donald-trump-could-win-the-presidency-wi_909918.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/ross-douthat-2949_donald-trump_donald-trump-could-win-the-presidency-wi_909918.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Donald Trump could win the presidency without a popular-vote majority only because both parties have been…” — Ross Douthat", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ross Douthat", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Donald Trump could win the presidency...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/donald-trump-could-win-the-presidency-without-a-popular-vote-majority/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/donald-trump-could-win-the-presidency-without-a-popular-vote-majority/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```