what we can learn from nov. 5, 2024. and what to do next.
Before I start, here are some of my credentials in case you’re wondering why you should read such a long article written by a random 20-something:
I have been living in Wisconsin for almost my entire life and have been working in the politics and civic engagement space since I was 15 years old.
I led several civic engagement initiatives at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
I interned at the White House.
Also, I’m just really into this stuff and I cite all of my sources. I promise I’m not interested in being another voice sharing mis/disinformation on the internet.
There are some days in life that make your stomach and heart drop in such a way that it shakes you unforgettably. For me, and for many of you, yesterday was such a day.
Last night, after a day of working the polls, I checked the live AP updates every 30 seconds, eagerly awaiting results. At 11:30 pm, Trump was at 230 electoral votes, and Harris was at 210. With the states left and Nate Silver predicting a win for Donald Trump in six of the seven battleground states, I knew then and there that he won a second term of presidential office. When I woke up the next morning, it was confirmed.
In the last 24 hours, I have gone through every stage of grief and I’m desperately pulling myself into acceptance.
There are many reasons why millions around the country are currently in ache. Trump’s win is a signal of a continued politics of disunity, xenophobia, racism, and misogyny that many Americans are exasperated by. Some fear the actualization of a plan supported by many in his former administration and written by the Heritage Foundation that would irrevocably alter our federal government.
As I’ve been processing today, I’ve been paying attention to a lot of things. I hate social media, and generally avoid going on my phone. Today, I’ve been glued to it. Glued to Instagram and all that people are saying on it. I’ve been seeing the reactions online from many my age and many who considered themselves to be Democrats or “left-leaning,” and I am deeply concerned. There is understandable pain and fear.
Most notably, there is a sentiment that people “can’t understand why anyone would POSSIBLY vote for Trump” and accompanying rhetoric shaming such voters for being hateful, bigoted, ignorant, etc.
There are many observing the increasing body of nonwhite and marginalized voters who are voting Republican, and are responding with rage and shaming towards such communities. Third party voters are blaming Harris and her campaign for her loss and Harris supporters are blaming third party voters. Political polarization, like bacteria, has spread beyond creating division between red and blue, now dividing within parties themselves.
I understand the shock and rage, but this article is for anyone my age who is responding that way:
If you don’t understand why anyone would vote for Trump, then you need to. Because if you don’t, nothing will change.
The battleground states and more than half of the country had unignorable reasons to vote for Trump, and for those who want to see a change in the kind of leaders that run our American democracy, they need to understand what those reasons are.
Let’s start by talking about what pulled voters towards him, and the many reasons voters were pushed away from the Democratic Party.
Many Americans are disappointed in the Biden-Harris Administration. I truly wish that wasn’t the case, but once again I want to be honest about the circumstances that led us to the last 24 hours. Americans are disappointed. A majority of Americans believe the U.S. is in economic recession, even though it isn’t, signaling a general belief that our economy is in disarray. Voters connect the Biden-Harris administration with the rampant inflation seen between 2021 and 2023, even though it has been stabilizing over the last year. History tells us that voters are more likely to vote for right leaning candidates during unstable economic conditions, inherently giving Trump an advantage.
Why Americans believe that the U.S. is in a recession could be for a variety of reasons, but my guess is that it’s a mix of constantly rising housing prices and food prices combined with the fact that most Americans’ wages have not risen significantly in the last four years. It may not technically be a recession for the country, or a hard economic time for the wealthiest in this country, but for most Americans, achieving many of their dreams feels more and more impossible every year. That sense of defeat and hopelessness has a powerful crushing effect on the soul, and creates a desperation that results in support for a candidate who will build a “stronghold economy”.
Yes, Trump’s presidency was no haven for the economy. Yes, Trump increased the national debt significantly with his tax cuts and “fiscal responsibility” policies. But Trump was also President four years ago and has been largely out of the public eye since. It’s easy to forget these details, especially when everyday people have a million other things to be thinking about. And Trump’s heavy economic messaging is alluring to so many Americans, including key demographics that are desperate to return to the booming economy of 2019.
Speaking of demographics, Trump was incredibly popular with newly influential voting populations, especially with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters. South and East Asians heavily turned out for Trump, most likely as a result of his economic policy platform, which is incredibly attractive for small business owners, recent immigrants, and older, higher-income AAPI voters.
Initial demographic reporting is indicating that the lack of Asian American and Latino/a voters for Harris were some of the greatest hindrances to the success of the campaign. Harris’s campaign was unfortunately weak in its outreach to the AAPI community. As a South Asian woman myself, I am at times disheartened by how little Harris publicly highlights and appreciates this aspect of her identity. I can anecdotally say that the lack of outreach to South Asians and Asian Americans in general has made her somewhat irrelevant and unpopular with many of the older South Asian Americans I know.
Historically, AAPI voters have been a low voter turnout community for a variety of reasons, but recent years have resulted in an increase of Asian Americans in politics, both in political representation and voter turnout. AAPIs are a key community that Trump’s campaign spoke to in this election, and was able to win a large portion of the votes of.
People are desperate. Desperate to become homeowners, to be able to stop living paycheck to paycheck (which 78% of Americans do, by the way). And that desperation overrides any concerns about morally bankrupt rhetoric or social policy.
Let’s also be honest about the national debt, which has risen to such gargantuan amounts that it is undeniably a crisis - one that Democrats hardly mention, have no explicit plan for, and do not frame any of their rhetoric around. The truth is, “fiscal responsibility” rhetoric is incredibly attractive and candidates pushing for progressive social and economic policies need to hop on the bandwagon.
Reallocation of our federal budget away from needlessly massive defense spending and subsidies to food corporations producing products damaging Americans’ health and towards federal investments in free higher education, expansion of healthcare access, and progressive taxation of the wealthy are all fantastic “fiscal responsibility” policies but are never framed or articulated as such. And too often, candidates pick and choose some of this economic agenda to run with and ignore other aspects, resulting in the constant “How are you going to pay for it?” questions from the media and the American public.
The failure to create attractive, progressive economic policy was the primary factor that created the downfall of the Democratic Party last night.
I’m not going to say that all the folks arguing that Trump won more easily because many voters refused to vote for a Black and South Asian woman of color are wrong. They’re not. Absolutely, sexism and racism were factors in this race, but it is essential to get the full picture and understand what happened.
So what can we, as individuals, do next?
I don’t have instructions for any political party. I have some suggestions for my fellow human beings.
Take the time you need to grieve. Remember, regardless of how you feel about last night, you will be okay. We will be okay.
I read a quote this morning, a gem found amongst the many disheartening posts I saw today. The quote was from Eckhart Tolle, one of my favorite spiritual writers:
“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness.”
This definitely spoke to me, given that admittedly this election has left me wondering where to go next in life and how to keep advocating for change. I’m not sure what I’m going to do after undergraduate now that I know what kinds of policy will be rolling out from Washington, D.C. over the next four years. And these policies, of course, will directly affect those I love and myself. The loss of autonomy over my body and the bodies of many of my loved ones, the continuation of hate that has resulted in discrimination and violence towards my community and many marginalized communities are some of the many challenging experiences up ahead.
But I think this quote speaks to all of us, as a nation and as a world. This is going to be a challenging four years, but this experience will hopefully awaken and evolve the consciousness of this country. To paraphrase our current president, we are in a fight for the soul of the nation. Even greater than that, we are in a fight for the soul of humanity. There is a lot of work that still needs to be done, and more than enough for us to do.
I think the next step is to shift our nation’s consciousness. Alongside conversations about how to get better candidates in office, improve the electoral process, protect key rights, and more, we also need to engage in dialogue and conversation with each other. We need to talk to the people in our direct vicinity, in our smallest clusters of communities, about what it means to change the soul of a nation.
If we believe the root of this result is selfishness, we need to talk about how to build altruism and selflessness amongst the people. If we believe the root of this result is ignorance and prejudice, we need to talk about how to build understanding, respect for difference, and amity amongst the people. If we believe the root of this result is polarization and disunity, we need to talk about how to build unity and have real, effective consultation between different groups.
The people voted and this is the result.
