Steerpike

Sadly, I think you are hitting the nail on the head. In AZ, which is now optimistically considered a 'swing state', I see support for Trump is alive and well.

johnwoo

Growing up in Britain during the '40s ans 50'. No one hugged and kissed on the cheek, or often shaked hands. Too French and Continental?

kimilseung

Absolutely this in later decades for me...but a lot of class culture involved. I had no idea what to do with cheek kissing when I moved in to those circles, no one taught or told me, and I was too embarrassed in my early twenties to ask.

Steerpike

I have yet to ever encounter a single incident of such ... not even close! Not at all common in UK or US, as far as I can tell.

Jerseygirl

A lot can happen in the next few months to influence the election. If COVID19 hadn’t happened, IMO Biden would stand no chance against Trump. In a debate Trump would chew him up and spit him out. Shame of the Dems for not coming up with anyone better than Biden.

I said this 4 years ago and will say it again...shame on America. A country of over 360,000,000 people and these two are the best we can come up with.

HDWill

But American elections are won and lost on the margins, right? It generally comes down to that middle 5% of people who don't even watch cable news, and make up their minds in the last month before the election based on a general 'gut' response.

scrubbedexpat099

Agree

Mind you who would want to put them through the US process. Masochists only need apply.

Lion in Winter

Cheek kissing has absolutely started in the UK. Well and truly entrenched I think although someone dependent on the culture, as you say. It took me by surprise at first, but hey, I've kissed lots of French people so it isn't that bad to extend it to the UK.

Jerseygirl

unless it is a close friend or relative I do not do kissing or hugging. *shudder*

Lion in Winter

I would rather do the air kiss than a hug, because a hug involves way too much bodily contact

Jerseygirl

no air kissing either. I do not want to get that close.

Giantaxe

My Italian friends here in SF always do the cheek kissing thing. But I don't have any other friends or family that do,

zzrmark

Is it only 5% that don't watch cable news? As fifty-somethings my wife and I are probably in the minority of our age group that don't have cable but twenty-something kids (certainly the ones round here), who make up a significant voting block, tend to limit their viewing to devices that stream, neither of my stepkids seem particularly keen on sitting through news programs, either cable or terrestrial.

Does your above statement not contradict your earlier ascertainment that Trump and GOP would be paying dearly at the next election? I should imagine that if it were as clear cut as 'Trump's out' then this thread would not have made it much past it's first page and I, for one, could let my hair down and spend the next six months in a drunken stupor ignoring the current administration's ****wittery.

HDWill

That was another poster. Anyway, it does seem to me that Trump's 'floor' of support is higher than many past candidates, as many people have developed a personal loyalty to him, and it doesn't matter what he says or does at this point. A loyalty that they didn't feel for George W Bush, John McCain, John Kerry etc. But there's still that nebulous 5% who are 'low information voters' and wait until near the end to decide. Of course the pandemic throws a fascinating spanner in the works... elderly voters skewed towards Trump in 2016, but maybe a significant number are particularly sensitive to his failures combating the virus?

scrubbedexpat099

Look at CNN viewership, tiny.