Michelle Obama has just compared Donald Trump to a "divorced father"

The Independent, who reported on Obama's comments, said she had offered this assessment jokingly. But joking or not, Obama's assessment of how we got here – and Trump – carries with it some truth.

* 38% had a favorable opinion of him (60% had an unfavorable opinion)

* 33% said Trump was "honest and trustworthy"

* 38% said Trump was qualified to be president (61% said he was not)

* 35% said that he had the temperament of being president

These are the numbers, almost every election, of a loser. But Trump won. Why? Because four out of ten voters said that the most important character trait in a candidate was someone who could make a real difference to Washington; Trump won these voters by 68 percentage points.

Which brings me back to Michelle Obama's metaphor. So, to reset: America is the child of divorced parents. He has been living with his mother for years. He is tired of his period and does not feel like he can enjoy himself. Enter the divorced father who seems amusing, a little reckless and, above all, different. So the kid is going to live with the father. And it's different – and maybe even good for the first few months. Dad lets you sleep late. He does not care how many "Fortnites" you play. Do not check that your homework is done at night. But over time, the differences start to be less attractive. And when he gets the flu, maybe Dad will watch him once or twice but eventually go out for dinner with some friends.

Find? There is no doubt that the average American voter had become completely sick of the politicians of the establishment. Political dynasties left them cold. ("Another Clinton as president ???") They wanted something very different. And if there was ever a presidential candidate who offered something very different, it was Trump. His background was different. His way of speaking was different. His, well, everything was different.

As the results of the exit polls clearly show, the public had no illusions about Trump's character. They knew that he was not a model – or even fit to be president. But they were so done with the "normal" types of people who ran and won the White House that they were willing to look beyond all Trump's character flaws to give him a chance. How much worse can it be than what we had? – the logic is gone. (One data point really drives this house: out of 64% who said that Trump was neither honest nor trustworthy, one in five still voted for him.)

Michelle Obama's starting point is that the United States has woken up. The fact of living a few years with the "divorced father" made them realize that it was not so fun to eat sweets every night. That the public has already begun to crave the normality against which they rubbed themselves in 2016 – and gave us Trump.

I am less convinced of that. Yes, Trump is deeply unpopular with Democrats. But he is far more popular among Republicans than he was when he won the White House. And while most polls suggest that independents are not Trump's hardcore fans, if the economy is going well, they might choose not to make waves. a good point on that, a good guy.

Regardless of what will happen in 2020, it is worth keeping in mind the image that Michelle Obama has of America as a "broken family" headed by a "divorced father" at the # Mind at the time of the campaign. It's an appropriate metaphor, even if depressingly, of the current situation.