Beautifully articulated. Human behavior plays a significant role here. Those who are devoted to Trump will not be swayed as they have been fed a narrative that appeals to them and they feel he is the one who can stand up to their interests. That’s why you will observe that rural population and hard earning blue collar workers were looking upto to him with reverence.
Swing voters are the educated class who think that they have knowledge and information to process facts but those very tools are used to manipulate them. When it became evident that social media can be used as propaganda machine Musk bought Twitter and advanced his agenda of bashing democrats, spewing his hate of Biden and constantly made his goal to bash democrats at all corners. His $44b investment was not a gamble , he is going to make 10x more now. This would look like a pocket change for him.
Democratic leaning media did a bad job on honest reporting by never reporting crimes in cities and issues in smaller towns and focused on Trump bashing. They took inflation and economy for granted. Younger generation having aspirations of good life were hurting through prices of gas, milk and eggs ($6.72 for a dozen).
Women abortion issue was not exclusive to democrats alone and people realized that it being a state subject they had it in their ballots as option or changed in their respective states so they knew they had control over it at state level and had a choice to chose president at national level and these two issues could be disassociated.
It also seems that large group of voters are not ready to accept a Women as president. With such hardline on this I doubt even Michelle Obama would have been able to swing it.
Think of this as a slingshot moment where it feels we have moved backward but this may throttle us towards a destination unimagined and better.
This is, inarguably, a well-written piece. I by no means support Donald Trump or the hypocrisy characteristic of today's republican party, but I think you—like many of today's left-wingers—missed a key point.
Your piece eloquently expresses the pain and confusion many feel when confronting deep political divisions. However, I'd suggest that the core issue isn't just about understanding Trump voters' perspective – it's about recognizing that our political system has become fundamentally disconnected from addressing real problems facing everyday Americans.
When you write about "economic mismanagement, identity politics, crime, a porous border," these aren't just talking points – they're symptoms of deeper structural issues that both parties have failed to meaningfully address. The Democratic Party's struggles aren't just about messaging or governance style; they reflect a broader failure to offer concrete solutions to working-class economic anxiety, community breakdown, and loss of social cohesion.
What's particularly striking about your essay is your commitment to maintaining empathy while grieving. You're right that dehumanizing those we disagree with only perpetuates the cycle. But I'd push further: beyond just understanding Trump voters' perspectives, we need to radically rethink how our political system can better serve all Americans. This means moving beyond the traditional left-right paradigm to address fundamental questions about economic security, community, and dignity.
Your call to action – reaching out to have real conversations with those who voted differently – is admirable. But perhaps these conversations need to focus less on why people voted the way they did, and more on identifying common ground about what's broken and how to fix it. The solution may not lie in better understanding why people choose one party over another, but in rebuilding a political system that actually gives voters meaningful choices for addressing their core concerns.
Beautifully articulated. Human behavior plays a significant role here. Those who are devoted to Trump will not be swayed as they have been fed a narrative that appeals to them and they feel he is the one who can stand up to their interests. That’s why you will observe that rural population and hard earning blue collar workers were looking upto to him with reverence.
Swing voters are the educated class who think that they have knowledge and information to process facts but those very tools are used to manipulate them. When it became evident that social media can be used as propaganda machine Musk bought Twitter and advanced his agenda of bashing democrats, spewing his hate of Biden and constantly made his goal to bash democrats at all corners. His $44b investment was not a gamble , he is going to make 10x more now. This would look like a pocket change for him.
Democratic leaning media did a bad job on honest reporting by never reporting crimes in cities and issues in smaller towns and focused on Trump bashing. They took inflation and economy for granted. Younger generation having aspirations of good life were hurting through prices of gas, milk and eggs ($6.72 for a dozen).
Women abortion issue was not exclusive to democrats alone and people realized that it being a state subject they had it in their ballots as option or changed in their respective states so they knew they had control over it at state level and had a choice to chose president at national level and these two issues could be disassociated.
It also seems that large group of voters are not ready to accept a Women as president. With such hardline on this I doubt even Michelle Obama would have been able to swing it.
Think of this as a slingshot moment where it feels we have moved backward but this may throttle us towards a destination unimagined and better.
Thanks for this, Katelyn. Always a bright spot in whatever the rest of this shit is.
This is, inarguably, a well-written piece. I by no means support Donald Trump or the hypocrisy characteristic of today's republican party, but I think you—like many of today's left-wingers—missed a key point.
Your piece eloquently expresses the pain and confusion many feel when confronting deep political divisions. However, I'd suggest that the core issue isn't just about understanding Trump voters' perspective – it's about recognizing that our political system has become fundamentally disconnected from addressing real problems facing everyday Americans.
When you write about "economic mismanagement, identity politics, crime, a porous border," these aren't just talking points – they're symptoms of deeper structural issues that both parties have failed to meaningfully address. The Democratic Party's struggles aren't just about messaging or governance style; they reflect a broader failure to offer concrete solutions to working-class economic anxiety, community breakdown, and loss of social cohesion.
What's particularly striking about your essay is your commitment to maintaining empathy while grieving. You're right that dehumanizing those we disagree with only perpetuates the cycle. But I'd push further: beyond just understanding Trump voters' perspectives, we need to radically rethink how our political system can better serve all Americans. This means moving beyond the traditional left-right paradigm to address fundamental questions about economic security, community, and dignity.
Your call to action – reaching out to have real conversations with those who voted differently – is admirable. But perhaps these conversations need to focus less on why people voted the way they did, and more on identifying common ground about what's broken and how to fix it. The solution may not lie in better understanding why people choose one party over another, but in rebuilding a political system that actually gives voters meaningful choices for addressing their core concerns.
“ there is no writing off 71+ million of our fellow countrymen and women. It is time for a reckoning” - very well said.
Trust is about building bridges, bringing all sides to the table. Let’s have healthy debates, not divisions.