How did Donald Trump worm his way back into the White House? Why did Harris lose the race? Did the Swifties not have enough power? How are the Republicans running the House, the Senate and the Presidency? The concerns that the American people had going into this election were vast and wide, from abortion rights to the economy to the people of Palestine. So, how did Trump win? To determine that, we must examine the following: the role of the media, the issue vs the spectacle, the facts, who Kamala is, and who the voters are.
The Role of Media: Did Tik-Tok and Twitter Decide the Election?
Similar to the 2016 and 2020 elections, the media played a pivotal role in determining the election. Many would argue that Twitter (or X, as it is so unfavourably known) and TikTok were the deciding factors in this election, with Trump dominating Twitter and Harris creating an enormous number of TikToks featuring an exorbitant amount of Gracie Abrams songs or other — what people have deemed — emotional and inspirational music, like the Cornfield Chase or Freedom by Beyoncé. Harris also took CharlieXCX’s declaration of “ Kamala is Brat” to a whole other level by decking out her HQ Twitter banner, the iconic green, during her election campaign.
The Issue vs The Spectacle: A Focus on Celebrity Endorsements
While both Trump and Harris took their celebrity endorsements to a whole other level, with Trump having the likes of Elon Musk talking at his rallies and Harris having Beyoncé, the true deciding factor for this election is arguably podcast appearances and the traditional media spending too much of their time on click bait articles and not writing up what the candidates were actually promising the people to accomplish during their tenure as future president.
The Pitfalls of Twitter Wars: Did Harris Repeat Clinton’s Mistakes?
Additionally, many commentators have said that Kamala Harris fell into the same trap Hillary Clinton did back in 2016 when it came to Twitter wars. Harris – like Clinton – spent her time refuting Trump’s tweets, failing to create an ounce of individual thought from constantly having to stave off Trump’s flamboyant remarks. As a result, Trump set the agenda for both elections, ultimately leading to his victory.
A Focus on the Spectacle over Policy: How Media and Public Perception Misled Voters
Throughout this election, both the media and the American people focused too much on the spectacle that the candidates put on and not enough time on the policies that the respective candidates were arguing to put into place for their bid for president. Rather than actually taking the time to write up and read the policies that both Trump and Harris were making promises of, the media and the people thought instead to treat it as a reality TV show on which presidential candidate could put on the bigger show – and consequently misread the public sentiment.
The Facts of Trump’s Victory and Harris’s Challenges
So, what are the facts? Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th President of the US, only the second to be re-elected for non-consecutive terms. The majority of people claimed that they elected Trump for his “economic policies.” However, when asked, they were unsure what Trump’s and Harris’s policies were. Kamala Harris made history in 2020 when she became the first woman elected Vice President of the US. However, during her bid for the presidency, she failed to speak to the people to garner enough support to win – with many asking the question, who actually is Kamala? And what does she want to accomplish here? Harris made the big mistake when asked in an interview if there was anything she would have changed about Biden’s administration, to which her answer was no. That was a deciding factor for many Americans on why they would not support her bid.
Who Is Kamala Harris? The Challenge of Connecting with Voters
Who are the voters in the Swing States? While going into this election, many people did not consider religion to be a factor in voter behaviour, especially in the swing states. Southern states have been notoriously known as the Bible Belt, where Southern Baptist, Methodist, and Evangelical are the predominant religious affiliations. With the topic of Abortion and Women’s Rights being the primary topics of both parties, the states in the Bible Belt were less than happy with Harris’s bid to reinstate Roe vs Wade as, per their religious ideals, they are pro-life and anti-abortion. Hence, while some of them were women, these voters had voted for Trump as he suited their religious ideals better than Harris. Therefore, religion can be seen as the reason as to why Trump was elected over Harris in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.
The Economy as a Deciding Factor for Working-Class Voters
The economy was the other big topic throughout the election. Many working-class people and families were, and still are, worried over the ever-increasing cost of fuel and food, given that the economy kept rising under Biden’s administration, and the efforts that he put in to lower the ever-rocketing costs will not be seen until well into Trumps’ tenure as President. Voters decided that Trumps’ policies – as Harris’s were never fully publicised by the media – were the surefire way to reduce costs so they don’t have to worry over having to choose to fuel the car or buy groceries that week.
The Blue Wall Turns Red: Why Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin Flipped
While Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are known as the Blue Wall, this election, they failed to turn blue, instead opting to turn red, as Trump secured his victory over these states. This victory can be primarily seen due to the large population of working-class people in these states. Additionally, as Harris never spoke out in solidarity with Palestine, it greatly affected the number of voters for her in Michigan, as the large population of Palestinians there did not turn out for her in this election.
The “Lesser of Two Evils” Narrative: A Critical Error for the Democrats
Finally, the most critical issue throughout this whole election was that Harris and the Democratic party never individualised themselves or gave reasons why they were a solid party to vote for. Instead, they spent the whole campaign advertising how they were the “better option.” This created a worldwide narrative that Harris was the “lesser of two evils” over anything else, which significantly weakened her whole bid for President.
Hannah Costello – Co-Editor
