In the final days and hours before the 2024 election, while the entire country was tense, fundraising messages and appeals, calls to get out and vote, and predictions about who would win, how the voting process would go, and what different outcomes might mean for the future of American democracy, escalated.
This has come to a head. Pundits, political analysts, consultants, and even social media users all had opinions, and they all wanted to share them.
Predictions ranged from reasonable people who made educated guesses, to those who engaged in far-fetched wishes and ideas. At Fox News, Alan Lichtman, the man who correctly predicted the results of all but one US presidential election in the last 50 years, was certain Kamala Harris would win.
It was the most appropriate according to the thirteen political criteria he devised. He received death threats as a result of his statements. Michael Moore then expressed optimism, saying: “I feel great because the tables are turning,” and was confident that Kamala Harris would win. His predictions were based on a political poll from an expert in this field!
So what draws people to someone convicted of criminal charges who insults women, and who drove a garbage truck days before the election to promote the idea that Harris called his followers “trash,” when in fact, it was a member of his team who called Puerto Rico a “floating island?” Of rubbish. The Miami Herald, a large newspaper in Florida, even condemned this statement as “disgusting.”
The racist slur angered Republicans in Florida, which has the largest Puerto Rican population in the continental United States.
Prominent African American political analyst, Stephen Phillips, noted that support for Trump in America today is about 45 to 46 percent of voters who believe that America should be for whites.
These voters are often uneducated white men who live far from major cities. At a hate rally in Madison Square Garden, Trump and his friends promised this base that they would make America that way again once they were back in power.
“America is for Americans only,” Trump immigration adviser Stephen Miller exclaimed. He did not mean Native Americans, of course. (It is noteworthy that Stephen Miller is a descendant of immigrants who fled to America to escape the massacres of Russia.)
Trump promised to expel all immigrants living in the United States, including naturalized citizens. Under these circumstances, it is difficult not to regard 2024 as a victory for the white supremacists who will now dominate every branch of American government. Donald Trump has exposed the political power of white supremacy. You can do almost anything, and it will be forgiven by a majority of white voters, as long as you fight for white people.
But as Phillips pointed out, white supremacist voters are not the majority of the American electorate, and they can be removed from power by voting.
On election night, an announcer stood in front of a digital chart with a checkered background, excitedly reading a map of Pennsylvania with his sleeves rolled up. Democratic counties were in blue, and Republican winners were in red.
He spoke excitedly as he watched the colors progress by filling in the blanks. Georgia was the most tense, where a picture of Trump and the big red square next to him remained at the forefront for hours. But the Democrats still had hope; Because the blue district in the greater Atlanta area was the last district where her votes would be counted. As the votes flowed in, the colors on the map balanced out, but red remained in the lead.
Later, an unusual exit poll began to make sense. While Trump was urging his base to get out and vote, he was also driving a significant portion of Harris’ supporters to the polls. An NBC poll found that two-thirds of Harris’ supporters actively supported her, but the rest were voting not for Harris, but against Donald Trump.
Preventing a candidate from winning by voting for an opponent achieves limited influence in a close race based on enthusiasm and turnout. Voting is a lot like a popularity contest, the more enthusiasm and interest you generate, the better your chances of winning.
The enthusiasm was there when Biden finally announced his withdrawal (lately), and Kamala Harris announced her candidacy for president. But it didn’t last. Harris had to show Americans that she was on their side and that she would defend their issues and interests with boldness and courage. But how can she do that, when she is indebted to the dark money owners and Israeli financiers who have given her and the Democratic Party tens of millions of dollars?
There is a saying among election observers; Elections are always a lose-lose for Democrats. After all, they have always been considered the party of the people! All they need to do is represent what the American people want, or at least pretend to. This year, Democrats did the opposite. At times, the party seemed to be trying hard not to remain in power.
While the progressive wing of the party and its base pleaded with Kamala Harris to move away from Biden’s support for a lawless, genocidal state, they were completely ignored by Harris. By 11 p.m., when the media predicted that Trump would win all seven swing states, it was impossible to swallow the bitterness that Harris, had she suspended military aid to the murderous nation of Israel based on international and American law, would have attracted the Arab-American vote and easily won most states. Seesaw.
At the moment she needed to attract young progressives, she turned to the right. Even supporters of the Republican architect of the War on Terror, Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz, got more attention from the Harris campaign’s Kamala Harris than the anti-genocide youth.
On the Saturday before the election, Kamala Harris appeared on “Saturday Night Live,” which airs at 11:30 p.m. on NBC. Much of the segment written for her was rhymed verse between her and the actress playing her, and seemed designed to help Americans pronounce her name correctly once she became president.
It was a complimentary piece of publicity without even a hint of sarcasm or entertaining poignancy that might make Harris seem more human and authentic. Towards the end, the superficial, media-driven campaign was losing its appeal, while Harris and the party ignored young Americans, leaving them feeling marginalized and disaffected.
An editor at media watchdog group FAIR posted his concerns on Facebook, recalling that Trump pledged a year ago to “root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and radical bandits who live like vermin within the borders of our country.” The editor noted that amid Trump’s authoritarian, Nazi-laden language about the “enemy within,” he would certainly be among those “radical leftists.” The editor wondered if Trump was serious about these purges, but wished he didn’t get the chance to find out.
At around 11:05 p.m., the New York Times’ prediction tool gave Donald Trump an 89% probability of winning, and those watching had to admit that the man who has bragged about sexually assaulting women, and who told his Christian Right female voters to vote the same way. Voted by their husbands, they have returned to power. Donald Trump will indeed be president of the United States, at least for the next four years.
The opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera Network.