All the "big names" came out---Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Oprah Winfrey, Whoopie Goldberg and the rest of the "The View", George Clooney---and even Taylor Swift to name a few. I guess their opinions weren't as important as they thought they were.
Even the debates were a farce, at least as seen by the voters who bothered to turn in, further embarrassing the news media credibility and mocking its impartiality. Fact-checking one individual but not the other? Turning off the "mic" on just one in mid-sentence but not both? Giving extra camera to one candidate while the other is still speaking, plus the innuendos? Hardly "fair and balanced". I can see why some call it "soft propaganda".
Some blamed President Joe Biden for waiting too long before withdrawing and thus giving Harris too brief a time to mount a properly organized campaign. But if so, then the blame needs to be shared by the Democrat Party for allowing an obviously ill Biden to be nominate in the first place, and then for encouraging him to stay the course. Biden has been in mental decline for much of his four years, becoming a running joke among foreign leaders, the international media, and a headshaking embarrassment to Americans of all political stripe.
A few have said that President Biden should have stepped down and allowed Harris to assume the mantle of President. It would have given her a certain clout to be running as the incumbent. It would have given her an opportunity to flex her presidential muscle, perhaps even getting some of ideas passed into law.
At the very least, the Democrats could point to having America's first female president and Harris would have at least achieved something of note aside from having the worst consistent approval rating of any Vice President of either party in U.S. history.
Many voters found her shallow, pandering, and basically unqualified to be president. Some remarked that they didn't like the fact that they didn't have a say in who the Democratic nominee was after President Biden withdrew under extreme pressure because of the decline in his cognitive health.
Maybe rather than being nominated as a "buy one get one free" ticket or allowing the presidential nominee (in truth, the party powerbrokers) choose the Vice Presidential nominee, the slot should be voted on separated by the party membership. But protest votes and finger pointing by disgruntled insiders and a partisan media aside, who upside their apple cart? Who peed in the Left's Cheerios? Let's find out.
Early analysis of the race was a key factor in Trump's victory. Trump's advisors went back and reexamined who were their core supporters from his 2016 and 2020 races. The majority are primarily white male, mostly seniors, active duty military or retired veterans, law enforcement, business owners. Most are middle class with good representation among the working class and upper middle class.
They're strong advocates of the 2nd amendment. Dedicated nationalists ("America first"), and opposed to a open borders policy as well as to amnesty. They want a secure southern border, strict regulation on migration in general, and deportation of all illegal immigrants currently living in the United States (with some six to ten million embedded in the U.S., that would prove unlikely).
Many advocate for the reduction of government bureaucracy and eliminating "red tape" which hinders business (especially small businesses). Some want to do away with various government agencies like the Department of Education, the Department of Commerce, the IRS, Department of Energy, the EPA, and any other agency not specifically called for in the founding documents.
That's the core which has stayed loyal to Trump. That has been his base. But, would that hold true in 2024? The 2024 election was a near record in voter turnout, with voters reportedly standing in lines for hours in some cases. According to pre-election polling, taken in late October by Gallup, 70% of voters said they were looking forward to casting their vote (70% of Republicans and conservative leaning voters and 67% of Democrat and liberal leaning voters). An estimated 54% said they intended to vote early.
Voter outreach was far more extensive than in previous elections. 58% of Democrats said they were contacted by someone in Harris campaign and asked to support their candidate. That compares 40% of Trump supporters who were contacted by a representative of the Trump team. 25% of registered Republicans said they were contacted by the Harris camp while 31% of Democrats said they were contacted by Trump supporters (as an aside, the polls excluded Independent and third party voters).
The majority of Trump supporters over the age of 45, were 57% of men and 48% of women. Harris received 51% of the 45+ women's vote and 42% of the over 45 men's vote. The big surprise was the voters age 18 to 44, which includes the Millennials and GenZ. 53% of the males went for Trump compared to 45% for Harris. On the women's side, 44% voted for Trump while 55% backed Kamala.
In 2020, former Vice President Joe Biden received 60% of the vote from those 18 to 29 and 52% of voters between ages 30 and 44. When broken down by gender, Biden got 57% of the women's vote and 45% of the men's. Trump, by contrast, got just 39% of the vote from those in the 18 to 29 bracket and but 50% of those 30 to 44. Trump also received 51% of the vote from those 45+. When it came to gender, 42% of women voted for Trump in 2020 while he got 53% of the men's vote.
When it came to race, Harris picked up 83% of the Black vote which tends to vote lockstep Democrat. Trump earned 16% of the Black vote. In 2020, 87% of the Black vote went to Biden while 12% voted for "The Donald". 55% of the Latino vote also went to Kamala along with 55% of mixed or other race. 43% of Latinos vote in favor of Trump along with 41% of mixed or other race. When it came to white voters, Harris garnered 43% of their vote while 56% went for Trump.
In looking at the 2020 race, 58% voted for Trump compared to 41% for Biden. For Latinos, it was 65% for Biden and just 32% for Trump. Among Black voters in 2020, 12% voted for Trump with Biden getting 87%. Asians, who tend to be traditional, gave Biden the thumbs up with 61% of their vote. 34% said "yes" to Trump. Lastly, among mixed race results, only 41% sided with "The Donald" and 55% went with Biden.
The next category we want to examine is education. Among those who graduated from college gave Kamala Harris 56% of their vote and Trump just 43%. Voters without a college degree (as well as those who didn't graduate from high school or may have a technical/trade education) voted for Trump 56% to 43%. This group tends to be blue collar or middle class, as well as some small business owners. In 2020 Trump won the same bracket.
When it came to gender out in the suburbs (irrespective of race), we find that 57% went for Kamala Harris. Trump got only 42%. Among guys, the story was reversed. 46% supported Harris while 52% backed Trump. The results here shouldn't come as a big surprise. Most of us know that the majority of liberals and those registered Democrat tend to live in cities while many conservatives and Republicans often live in the rural farmlands of America.
The tossup was in suburbia. This is Middle America. It's where the "America Dream" lives, tucked away in working class and middle income neighborhoods while the well-to-do are secluded in their gated communities. By and large, Middle America is traditionalist and typically leans conservative, though it's not rock solid conservative. It has some liberal tendencies too. It's not particularly fond of extremes from either side.
Most of the kids attend public schools while both parents work full time (some have to hold down multiple jobs just to make ends meet). In the 1980's we'd call them "latch key kids". Much our country's veterans live in Middle America too. This is where you'll tend to find small business owners and factory workers. Many of whom are either members of unions or come from historically union families, which begs the question---who did best among union households?
According to a 2023 survey, 59% of union members were registered Democrat, and yet 39% intended to vote Republican. A October 14, 2024 poll by Pew revealed that 50% of union households surveyed said they would vote for Kamala Harris. 43% intended to vote for Trump while 6% planned to vote for a third party candidate. These are numbers which would have been unheard of just a few years ago.
Harris was seen as a stop gap because President Joe Biden was falling apart and everyone on the Left failed to act in time. She offered platitudes instead of realistic goals that differed from Biden's failed policies. She appeared at times confused as she tried to appease everyone, and was often caught talking out both sides of her mouth. Her campaign was unorganized and unsure of its candidate or direction.
Another factor, which will undoubtedly be ignored is the news media. The news media's role is provide unbiased and objective news. Over the past decade (or longer), the news media has devolved into a partisan propaganda machine devoid of credibility. They've spent years doing everything possible to discredit Trump and aiding the Status Quo in its quest of character assassination (which likely contributed to the two attempts at the real thing). Their partisan bias was all too obvious. Too bad for them that the American Public isn't as ignorant or naive as they think we are.
Lastly, American voters are tired of the same old bait and switch political game that's played every election cycle. They are tired of broken promises, condescending platitudes, and seeing the can kicked down the road and into their children's and grandchildren's laps rather solving the problem now. We've had enough of their bipartisan lies.
We want our country back from the neo-fascist corporate elite who've hijacked our Republic. Trump, like him or despised him, represents the "outsider"; someone willing and able to challenge the corrupt Status quo for the soul of America, and it seems that most Americans are with him.
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How 5 key demographic groups voted in 2024: AP VoteCast
Gallup: More Than Half of U.S. Votes Likely Cast BeforeElection Day
Roper/Cornell: How Groups Voted in 2020
Key facts about union members and the 2024 election
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