In the summer of 1988, Democrat presidential candidate Michael Dukakis held a 17-point lead over Republican George H.W. Bush, according to a Gallup poll. By the November election, however, it was a different story. Vice President Bush had erased Dukakis’ double-digit advantage, winning by 8 percentage points nationally and capturing 41 states.
Renowned historian Victor Davis Hanson believes there’s an important lesson for former President Donald Trump from the 1988 campaign—one that will make the difference between winning a second term or losing to Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Like Harris today, Dukakis was undefined in the minds of many Americans. Bush’s campaign manager, Lee Atwater, systematically set out to change how voters viewed the liberal Massachusetts governor.
Through a series of famous political ads and negative…
