Summary
“It’s simple, really. We liked the way things were four years ago,” said Samuel Negron, a Pennsylvania state constable and member of the large Puerto Rican community in the city of Allentown.
Donald Trump achieved a decisive victory over Kamala Harris, capturing key demographics that traditionally supported Democrats. He gained substantial support from white working-class voters, saw a 14-point increase among Latino voters, and performed better than expected with younger voters, especially men.
Economic concerns, particularly inflation, were central to Trump’s appeal, with voters across states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin favoring his promises of lower prices and stricter immigration policies.
Harris struggled to retain support in diverse and working-class areas, as voters blamed Democrats for economic hardships.
I upvoted you because I think you’re about the one person stating the reasons a lot of people give for voting Trump. However, I do quite strongly disagree with all of them:
Trump loves to take credit for the low inflation and low gas prices after the pandemic in 2020. So if he’s taking credit for that, he should be taking credit for the cause too. Of course, that’s spin. The fact is reality is complicated, and none of this things can really be attributed to Trump.
Ok so we’re talking about the person who is going to run the federal government that sets tax policy, handles emergencies, etc. and has utterly no power over people’s language. And honestly, whoever these people saying others “needed to alter their language” are, if they exist at all, I’m pretty sure it’s not Kamala Harris. I get that maybe you’re trying to provide a justification that isn’t necessarily yours in particular, but this example is a particularly egregiously silly reason to vote for president.
Ok so tell us then, what policy of Biden’s caused inflation? Here’s a chart of Monthly CPI data, as you can see the rise in inflation was basically Jan 2021 (the month before he took office) to June 2022, before it started to come down. So what policy of Biden’s was impacting the economy over that period? Keep in mind you’ll also have to explain how it impacted the whole global economy in a similar way.
For example, if I were arguing the other way, I would say that Trump’s tax cuts for the rich in 2017, which dumped trillions of dollars into the economy, have had ample time by 2021 to alter the balance of production lead to price increases in multiple consumer goods. As the investor class tends to spend money on a global scale and the US has by far the most extremely rich people, it’s unsurprising that it would impact other countries. There, now you try, but with Biden instead.
Or don’t. Because the reality is in the overall aura of your comment. “Smug elites”, one of many labels used very successfully to paint Democrats as undesirable and disgusting. It’s about what team people wanted to be on. Trump painted himself as Team Alpha Male, complete with Hulk Hogan there to cheer him on. And he painted the other side as, to be blunt, a bunch of gross trans women. That messaging is no different from what beer vendors, truck makers, etc. have used successfully for decades. And it worked again here.