So far, still so good.

The secret of public opinion is that it doesn’t change. We’re locked into our beliefs, and especially so when it comes to the presidency and Donald Trump. No better example of that than the pandemic: 200,000 people are dead, and it cost Trump a measly net three points in his approval ratings.

It is frustrating to see Trump avoid greater consequences for his rank incompetence, but on the other hand, it makes coming back from his deep electoral deficits incredibly difficult, and this week, just like every other week since this summer, Trump is lagging far behind Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the race for the White House.

Before we take a look at the latest polling composites, it’s important to understand that Trump is no longer trying to win this election. He’s not trying to appeal to the disaffected college-educated suburban white women who voted for him in 2016, but migrated en masse to the Democrats in 2018 (when Democrats won 38 suburban House seats, out of their total 41-seat pickup).

No, he’s not trying to win the election, he’s trying to stay in power. He’s not even hiding his goal anymore. So keep that in mind every time he opens his mouth. Nothing he does is geared toward winning a majority of the vote. Rather, it’s all geared toward sowing doubt, division, inviting foreign meddling, and installing a friendly judiciary that will allow him to steal the election. The quicker everyone understands this, including the media, the better we’ll be able to handle this serious threat to our democracy—a democracy that is far more fragile than we could’ve ever believed.