In the end, it was hardly a contest. Democratic party candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris held on to the blue states but let Donald Trump sweep all the swing states, which sealed her fate and sunk the Democratic party, which not only lost the presidency, but also the Senate to the Republican Party. All that talk about the race being close, proved to be just that—talk and a now-obvious campaign to mislead voters and influence them to vote against Donald Trump. The truth is, what we witnessed on 5 November was a deluge of anger expressed through the ballot box against the mismanagement of policy—with the economy featuring right on top—by the Biden government, apart from a revolt against the so-called progressive causes that have come to decide US government policy, including illegal immigration, which has made US cities unsafe, with crime rates soaring, apart from taking away jobs from low wage earners. In fact the result was a backlash against the globalist left’s attempt to ignore, in fact subsume fundamental social and human values in the name of social justice, inclusivity and diversity, which, however, often gives rise to divisiveness, cancel culture or excessive political correctness, resulting in dehumanisation. The pursuit of correct pronouns or other such issues may excite Kamala Harris and her ecosystem, but is of no interest to the working class American, who is bearing the burden of price rise in the aftermath of Covid and the Russia-Ukraine war. Calls to defund the police do not make neighbourhoods safe. Idolizing a terrorist movement like Hamas on university campuses, or going around burning American flags and attacking Jewish professors and students is symptomatic of radicalization. Allowing transgenders into women’s bathrooms in the name of inclusivity endangers women. It’s a long list, where liberal insanity had started impacting the lives of ordinary people and they hit back.
One of the fundamental rules of democracy or an election is that the voters are never to be taken for granted or belittled even if they vote for a rival party. Every voter has his or her preferences for certain reasons. Just because someone is voting Trump does not make that person racist or misogynist. So demeaning them for their choice amounts to insulting them, which they will never forget. Calling Trump voters evil, Nazi or garbage only strengthens their resolve to get their voices heard through the ballot box. It’s but natural that a smart politician like Trump would turn such an insult around, making it a rallying point for his campaign. In fact describing Trump as a “convicted felon” also did not help the Democratic camp. He was seen as the victim of the excesses committed by a very malign justice system. The sympathy factor worked brilliantly for him, with his base mobilising in full force to ensure that the election would go his way.
In fact, Trump’s is one of the most incredible comeback stories that the world has seen. From losing an election to being abused, hounded, indicted, to surviving an assassination attempt and then becoming the President of the United States, it’s a remarkable story of resilience. No amount of falsely painting him as a Nazi and evil, someone who will end democracy in the US, deterred the voters. This proves how limited an influence celebrities and public figures have, however famous they might be, for example like Oprah Winfrey.
In fact, no amount of scare mongering could deter the voting population. Kamala Harris couldn’t come out of the shadows of Joe Biden’s policies. Also, she was seen as incompetent, a non-achiever and lacking the personality to pull the voters her way. Her sole issue was abortion, but it was not good enough to mobilise the women voters, and could not sideline a burning issue like inflation in particular. On the whole, she was a poor pick, who was foisted on the Democratic Party as Presidential candidate. She lacked charisma and grassroots support, and performed poorly enough not to win a single county countrywide that Biden had won in 2020. Even then she won around 66 million popular votes, compared to Trump’s around 72 million. So it is now incumbent on Trump to ensure that those who have not voted for him should not feel left behind. The US is deeply divided and as Trump said in his victory speech, it’s the time to heal.