Donald Trump won the US presidential election but did not receive more votes than he did in 2020. Harris and the Democrats attracted 10 million less votes and this decided the result. This fact is the crux of the matter and not some convoluted story of America turning red. Obviously, more people turned out in 2020 to get rid of Trump and did not bother to vote this time around for whatever reasons. These reasons could include disappointment in the Biden presidency, indifference, or something else again. The Republican party got their voters out and the Democrats failed to generate the necessary support.
Harris Got Ten Million Less Votes Than Biden Did Previously
52% of white female voters supported Donald Trump and this is a damning indictment on these women, in my view. Voting for a confirmed sexual predator, misogynist, racist, and supporter of the state removing the reproductive freedoms of women is appalling. It is pretty hard to fathom the thinking of these women in the choice between Harris and Trump and how they voted. America is a backward nation in never having elected a female president in its 250 year history as a democracy.
Trump Won With The Same Number Of Votes As 2020
If identity politics trumped most other concerns and a demagogue’s relentless championing of social grievances got him over the line it will be interesting to see how Trump governs. The economics of redressing those grievances will be much harder to manage than complaining about them at rallies. Rounding up and expelling illegal immigrants will be costly in all sorts of ways. Demonising sections of the population is one thing but delivering outcomes that actually work for the white working class whingers will be quite another.
Young White Men Feel Like They Are Missing Out
The fragile egos of white men, especially young men, have been hacked by the GOP and Trump demagoguery. Scott Galloway reckons that the Democrat party is so focused on minorities that it has neglected the 24% of the population that is young white men. This, according to Scott, has opened the way for the extreme white supremacist and misogynistic BS of Donald Trump to fill a gap and appear far more appealing. The two major political parties are coalitions representing a whole bunch of interests. 333 million Americans, of whom around half might bother voting on a good day. Lots of different demographics make up this enormous volume of people. Pleasing everyone is impossible but it is all about getting a winning majority. Most folk think in zero sum game terms – in that a big focus on black makes white feel left out and vice versa. Big focus on women and men feel like they are missing out. And so on.
The Last Hurrah Of Old White Men
Around the world liberal democrats are feeling despondent and dejected at the Harris defeat. Many of us were banking on a new chapter for the world’s greatest social democracy. The return of Trump is a step in the wrong direction for America and the world. However, victory is often followed by unexpected outcomes for those currently celebrating. The fall of the Berlin wall has not resulted in what most predicted. Liberal democracies have not blossomed everywhere. Power does not always equate with getting what you think you want and deserve. The last hurrah of old white men is hanging on longer than most imagined. LBJ once said, ‘if you let up someone you have had your heel on their throat for 300 years what do you think they are going to do? They’re going to knock your block off’ or words to that effect. This referred to the violence unleashed after Martin Luther King’s assassination during the Civil Rights period in the US during the late sixties. The demise of white power will not go gently into the night, especially in America. Get ready for an ugly and violent second Trump stint in the White House.
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.
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