One month ago, it was Election Day in America.
One month ago, the American people spoke.
One month ago, America changed for the worse.
But did America change for the worse on that night?
Or did the bandage merely get ripped off the scab?
It was a showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, in his third bid for the White House, after a 1-1 split (well, for most of us). Many people, including myself, were calling it "the prosecutor vs. the felon". Many people, including myself were saying the decision would be an easy one; it wasn't. Many people were saying it would be a close election; it was. Harris ended up about 1.5% behind Trump. Many people were saying, well, the American electorate knew even better what he was all about, so that would make a huge difference; it didn't.
So, what the hell happened? The Cliff's Notes version, incomplete as it is, is this: Harris received roughly 6.5 million less votes that Biden did in 2020. It is reasonable to say that a huge chunk of the Democratic base said, "Thanks, but no thanks." There were other reasons I'll be getting into shortly, but whether that was because they weren't all that thrilled with Harris or they wanted Biden to stay in, who knows? Whether Biden should have stayed in will be debated for decades to come. I, for one, thought Biden handed the election to Trump after their only debate back in June. Would he have won if he stayed in the race? I honestly have no clue. Part of me says no.
As a side note, maybe the usefulness of debates needs to be looked at hard. After all three debates, none of the candidates got the "post-debate bump" for their side. None of them. Admittedly, though, that may speak equally to either the usefulness of debates or the die already being cast in voters' minds.
Let's look at some already-stated reasons for why what happened happened:
- While it can be argued that Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris may or may not necessarily have been the best candidates, too many Americans still won't vote for a woman for the top office. Lousy reason.
- Too many Americans would never vote for a Black woman (who's also Asian) for the top office. Another lousy reason.
- Many Americans felt Harris did not separate herself enough from Biden, especially regarding Israel and the Israel/Gaza war. Very understandable. Harris' echoing the "Israel's right to defend itself" message, even though also saying Palestinians have "their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination", was a deal breaker for many.
- In what I call "panic politicking", moving a younger Harris into the top slot after forcing out the elder Biden may have been a deal breaker for many Democratic voters. I, too, was immensely disheartened and utterly confused after Biden's performance in the June debate. If you're not feeling well, Mr. President, reschedule the damn debate! After the debate, I said Joe Biden just handed the election to Donald Trump. If that was one of the reasons for not voting for Harris, I get it.
The U.S. House of Representatives remains in POT (Party of Trump) control, although their seven-vote majority will now be only a five-vote majority. Control of the U.S. Senate was flipped to the POT. Democrats had a two-vote majority; the POT will now have a six-vote majority.
Trump's victory in 2024 is LARGER than his victory in 2016.
Popular Vote:
2016: just under 63,000,000
2024: over 77,000,000
Electoral Vote:
2016: 304 electoral votes
2024: 312 electoral votes
A lot of people have been harping on polls. (I'm right there with you!) That's always been an argument, and it ramped up even higher in 2016, when almost all of the polls had Clinton winning the election. Even Trump's own 2016 campaign (and some say even Trump himself) thought he would lose. The reason he took so long in 2016 to come out for his victory speech (roughly 3:00 a.m.) was because his campaign scrambled to put together a victory speech. I think the trustworthiness and viability of polls may have been definitively determined with this election.
Before I go further, let me say the democratic process worked just fine. It worked as it should have. The democratic process was not broken and is not broken.
Some folks said that Trump's win in 2016 was a fluke. With Biden winning in 2020, it seemed that theory was right. The 2024 election proved that theory to be ultimately incorrect. With Trump winning in 2024, his election in 2016 was no fluke. As it turns out, Joe Biden's election in 2020 was the fluke.
I voted for Clinton, Biden, and Harris, so why would I say that? Well, one of the reports I heard repeatedly after the election was that democracy was the second-biggest concern on voters' minds, with the economy as number one. A lot of economic indicators said the economy was better during Biden's presidency than during Trump's, but I've been saying it's only been better for the better-off and corporations. The indicators may be correct, but for most of us, myself included, coming home with a ton of groceries, for just one example, was less and less a normal occurrence, and more and more and more an expensive occurrence.
Look through history. If the economy is not doing well, odds are the incumbent president is voted out. If the incumbent in a second term, odds are the other party will get voted in. That has often been the case. During Biden's presidency, inflation overall, including gas prices, has been worse than during Trump's presidency. Granted, we went through soaring prices during the pandemic with supply line disruptions and price gouging, but most voters consider the current state of the economy when election season comes a-callin'.
The economy is, and has always been, a huge issue for voters because they face it in real time on a day-to-day basis, so I get it. Living paycheck to paycheck and one financial catastrophe away from bankruptcy are more the norm than ever before. Are you better off now that you were four years ago? has been a consistent campaign question from both sides for decades, if not centuries, as though voters have to be reminded to consider how they're doing personally when it's time to vote. Was Biden going to be the solution? Will Trump be? Who knows?
All I know is struggling and fed up is just as strong of a motivator, if not more so, than voting red or blue.
Immigration has remained a campaign issue, really an ongoing political issue, for ye ... uh, deca ... well, centuries. (During Trump's first term, by the way, deportations went down.) You want to come here? Sure, but do it legally! My grandparents on my father's side did so legally -- he and his siblings were first generation American born -- so you should, too! That's probably the only thing on which both sides can agree on this issue. Still, is Trump the answer? His new "border czar" Tom Homan will make sure how immigration, legal and illegal, is handled will be a scary and disgusting process.
Also, on the topic of Trump's messaging on immigration, Oh, they're not talking about me will likely be found to not be the truth it's thought to be. When it comes to targeting, whether you're in the center or on the furthest-out circle, you're still a target.
Something else I've noticed about Trump's supporters in all three elections: They say you can't take everything he says seriously, especially if it's something that gets a lot of heat. He said this, or he said that, and he was just kidding. (That's also Trump's frequent excuse.) Well, that's not true for Trump, but I have an overarching question: if you're not supposed to take everything he says seriously -- and this goes far beyond any candidate making a joke now and then on the campaign trail -- then why is he your guy? And if your party backs someone like that, how grounded is your party in serious, viable, intentional leadership?
One of the most confusing aspects of this election is how, in so many states, down ballot questions with positive consequences for folks passed, but those same voters voted for Trump for president. HUH?! It could be said you take those down ballot issues as very real issues, but the "character" gets your vote for the top slot. That just doesn't compute for me. I was thinking, "I don't get it" really fits how I feel overall. To a degree, that is still true, but I acknowledge that voters are, quite plainly, a finicky bunch. Sad, but true.
Plus, voters like to remain uneducated, uninformed (or not fully informed), or flat out lied to, when it comes to casting their vote. After the election, it was reported that two of the biggest Google searches were "What is a tariff" and "Can I change my vote".
On February 23, 2016, after winning the Nevada primary, Trump said in his victory speech, "We won with the poorly educated. I love the poorly educated."
To the majority of voters, Trump...
Is coming for immigrants, legal and illegal ... GOOD!
Talks down to people ... THEY DESERVE IT!
Talks aggressively ... THAT JUST SHOWS HE'S TOUGH!
Was impeached ... PFFT!
Was impeached twice ... DOUBLE PFFT!
Is a convicted felon, 34 times over ... SO?
Is an adjudicated rapist ... WHATEVER!
Separated 5,000 children from families at the border ... HE'S PROTECTING OUR COUNTRY!
Is pro-White Supremacist ... LEFT-WING LIES! (or HE'S ONE OF US!)
To that last point, here's a quote I found from a Trump voter on why he voted the way he did: "People say he's a dictator. I believe that. I consider him like Hitler. But I voted for the man."
I have no words. Just...no...words.
Elizabeth Willing Powel was an upper-class socialite who had many political ties in early America, was a friend of George and Martha Washington, and hosted many socialite dinners. During the course of the Continental Congress in 1787, likely at the conclusion or during a recess, Powel had asked Pennsylvania delegate Benjamin Franklin about what kind of government the delegates had created: "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or monarchy?" His response was, "A republic. If you can keep it."
Perhaps Franklin envisioned a voting away of the republic as a possibility, or not.
After the election, I posted a picture on social media that said, "America is no more". While true in one understanding, it is a bit of a misnomer; this is what America has become. That's terrible to say, and I hate to say it, but I'm just calling it as I see it. Can America, and its very soul, be turned around? Yes, but not without a lot of work, and not without a lot of looking at the big picture beyond ourselves simultaneously.
To be frank, I am afraid I will have little sympathy for those who may utter during the next two or four years: I didn't think it would be like this/this bad or I thought they were talking about someone else or I didn't vote for this. The Thomas Jefferson quote at the top of this post is my reason why.
There's been a lot of use of the phrase "in two years", referring to the 2026 mid-term elections, going around. True, that's the opportunity to do some turning around, but consider all the damage Trump can do, especially now that he'll be essentially unfettered in the presidency, in two years. And also consider whether or not both houses of Congress will be flipped to keep him in check -- no small task. If both houses of Congress stay in POT control after the mid-terms, Trump continues unchecked. If only one of the houses of Congress flips, it will only mean a slowing down, only a partial check on him. Both houses need to flip. It's happened many times before in our history, so it's not impossible, but it too is a case of we'll have to see what happens then.
Will all of the proverbial gathering of defenses and road blocks already being prepared be effective against Trump? Who knows? Even if they are effective, how effective? To what extent? You won't eradicate Trumpism, White Supremacy, the hatemongers, and the coming First American Reich just like that. All of that was around long before 2016. Trump's stirring it up and rising it up means, when January 20, 2029 rolls around, whether he leaves or not, this will not magically go away. No easy fix is available.
Indeed, "The government you elect is the government you deserve." This is truly no longer the United States of America, except in name only, but rather, what I call the Separated States Called America.
I no longer recognize my country. I just don't.
More, much more, to be said...
Terry
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