How Trump Won?

Donald J Trump achieved a historic landslide victory in US 2024 presidential elections, which no other Republican Party candidate has been able to achieve in the last couple of decades after George Bush.  In contrast, the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris received one of the worst drubbings in modern electoral history.  Trump improved his vote share in all demographics, while Harris lost in most, including women. Only African-American women came out overwhelmingly in support of Harris.

Trump’s victory has unraveled the inner contradictions of the ruling class, there is certainly a split, and the two factions are fighting each other, i.e., a group of one set of billionaires against the other set of billionaires, each supporting their own candidate, and with different priorities.  One side, the Democrats wants to crush and balkanize Russia, and the other side, the Republicans wants to wage a war against China, and crush its economic might.  The two factions have their own ideas how to rule the world.  The imperial consensus of world domination still reigns supreme in the corridors of power in Washington DC.  Kamala Harris, represented the hawkish liberal establishment class, while Trump represented the hawkish conservative class, both sides committed to unconditionally supporting Israel, and its genocide of Gaza.  Both sides know that defeat of Israel is virtually a defeat of imperialism.  Trump did talk of peace with Russia, and not escalating the Ukraine conflict to the third world war, but Harris showed no inclination of working for peace in any theater of war. 

Despite raising one billion dollars for her election campaign and using it to get celebrity endorsements from Beyonce, Eminem and the likes, Harris did poorly as compared to her predecessor Biden.  She performed badly by getting nine million fewer votes than Biden got in 2020.  Trump improved in a minor way by increasing one million popular votes.  In the end, Harris got around seventy-three million popular votes and Trump got nearly seventy-six million popular votes.  In comparison Biden had gotten eighty-one million popular votes in 2020.  That shows a huge decline in enthusiasm among voters for Democrats.  Quite clearly, voters who did not like Trump also did not choose to vote for Harris.  Harris’s brazen insistence on status quo, lack of substance and depth in her campaign drove the Democratic voters away.  The voters were clearly able to see the phony she was which disgusted the voters who were already fed up of Biden.  Harris as a result also lost the swing states that Biden had won in 2020.  Harris lost all swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada.  Overall Trump won 312 electoral colleges as compared to Harris’s 226.

A few reasons can be attributed to Trump’s victory and they are briefly summarized as follows:

1.       Genocide in Gaza.  A very strong reaction in American society against genocide going on in Gaza.  People have learned the hard way and with some pain that Israel is truly an apartheid, racist and a colonial settler state.  The strong propaganda of decades to fool American public is finally wearing thin.  Across the classes of society, people are unable to take this barbarity, especially when opposition to Hitler’s holocaust against Jews is so sacred in American psyche.  They are unable to reconcile between support of Israel and their cherished opposition of Hitler.  The contradiction is far too great.  The university campuses were erupting in protests, and Democrats tried to crush them with maximum force.  It was the first time in history that genocide was live-streamed to the people.  Generation Z and first-time voters refused to condone the genocide and refused to vote for either Trump and Harris.  A whopping loss of nearly nine million votes for Democrats has roots in this rejection of Democratic party on this single issue.  The strong Muslim and Arab community in the swing state of Michigan repeatedly asked Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris to address the issue of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and pledge for arms embargo to Israel.  But she not only refused to do it, but in the process insulted and humiliated the constituency and the protesters.  Her infamous, “I am speaking” against a protester instantly spread across all US media platforms.  The arrogance and hubris were unmistakable.  Muslim Congressmen like Jamal Bowman were rudely shut down, and no member of Palestinian or Muslim community was allowed to share stage with Kamala Harris.  The message sent to the voters was quite clear – we will not listen to you, do whatever you want, because the only other option you have is Trump, and that is obviously worse than us.  This message resonated across all communities.  During last days of election campaign, she even chose to give different and conflicting messages to Muslim and Jewish populations.

 2.       War in Ukraine.  Trump’s Republican base also stood strongly against war in Ukraine.  From Trump’s first term, when Hillary Clinton tried to smear Trump as “Putin’s puppet” Trump’s base, comprising largely low-income White working class, coalesced around him as someone who could save them and make their lives better.  His base saw the conspiracy against Trump for manufactured collusion theory with Russia.  Wikileaks revelations abundantly made it clear how Russiagate was a smear campaign with no basis.  In fact, Trump in his first term took very hawkish stance against Russia and his base took note of it.  His base in this election cycle was largely angered at billions of dollars being sent to Ukraine to fight a losing war against Russia. Nobody understood why it was being waged.  An isolationist and conservative path of moving forward has gripped most of Trump’s base.  Trump happened to be the only candidate between Democrats and Republicans who even uttered the word, “peace.”  Kamala Harris stoutly refused for any peace, and resolutely towed the line taken by Joe Biden.  It was not acceptable to the average voter.  Late-stage capitalism is tottering towards its end and will probably go with a bang than a whimper.  That concerns a lot of bourgeoise academics, as they clearly see a danger of nuclear war with Russia.  Biden and his secretary of state Blinken have vowed to provide last dollar to Ukraine.  They did not even fake promises during elections, they just bluntly continued their neocon policy of attacking Russia, with a brief annoyance of presidential elections. 

 3.       Inflation.  Joe Biden’s and Democratic party’s unwillingness to rein in inflation and price gouging bore heavily on voter’s minds.  There was virtually no control over prices of essential commodities including gasoline, that rose very sharply.  Compounded with Covid, inflation made people saw some very difficult times.  While the companies made record profits, they laid off hundreds of thousands of workers.  This happened across the board from tech industry to mass employing hospitality industry.  Several small businesses closed, and debts rose.  Increasing interest rates from Federal Reserve further made borrowing unaffordable.  The tough economic situation of an average American can be contrasted with rising stock prices that invariably results from reduced work force and increased profits.  There was suffering on the ground that largely went ignored by Biden, Democrats and Harris.  No controls were placed on price gouging, which Harris herself recognized as a major issue in one of her campaign rallies.  Harris claimed that she would work to bring down the prices of groceries and essential items.  However, the question remained that it was a Democratic government for past four years, and so why was it not already done?  The pain caused by struggles in job market compounded by uncontrolled inflation, could not be alleviated with mild legislative successes like bringing down prescription drug prices, when healthcare for most Americans is largely unaffordable.  Biden or Harris did nothing significant to help average Americans.  And Harris promised to continue the same policies.  In interview after interview she claimed, “not a thing” will change.

 4.       Immigration.  Illegal immigration has spiked in the US, with one of the largest illegal immigrant groups coming from India.  Trump managed to whip up frenzy against immigrants, coming up with racist and crazy stories like immigrants eating pets, and branding them as criminals.  In harsh economic conditions, without a strong communist/socialist party base among society, where the real reasons of economic misery can be explained to people, rise of a demagogue almost becomes inevitable.  And Trump precisely represents that phenomenon.  His vile speeches and false assertions against immigrants, promise to start a massive deportation program sat well with his White conservative base.  Targeting minorities and immigrants as a group stealing jobs is easiest to pin as a reason for people’s economic hardships, and Trump managed to do that.  Never mind that most of the menial jobs are done by illegal Mexican immigrants, which most Americans would not do.  It is a crucial component of economy that exploits cheap labor to contribute to profits of the corporations that employ American citizens.  It is the exploitative system of capitalism that makes them jobless, is always hidden with such false narratives.  The more complex reasons of the inherent nature of capitalism as a boom-bust system, and a fundamentally destructive system is harder to comprehend and explain.  That too, when it is shrouded with thick cloud of capitalist propaganda that smears socialism in a systematic and institutional way.

5.       Social media support.  Elon Musk went all in with his social media platform X to support Trump.  Musk promoted lies and disinformation on X in support of Trump, and influenced millions by increasing the reach of this disinformation through platform algorithms.  Musk campaigned for Trump and spent millions of dollars to support Trump.  He is looking for complete narrative control with which he can create support for his future ventures like colonization of Mars.  He eyes future government funding for his Mars projects, and continued government funding for his rocket company SpaceX.  In addition, with Starlink technology he can virtually control entire online media traffic.  It is important to note that the concept of low orbit satellites that can act as communication channel was first conceptualized by NASA, a public funded government agency.  Musk took that idea and made it his own.  He needs a favorable US government who can force other governments of the world to promote Starlink technology.  This is all hidden under the garb of “free speech” which appealed to many Americans, an idea that average American cherishes and holds it very close to the heart.  The crackdown of Democrats on Palestinian protesters made the discussion of free speech a central piece in the US politics.  Musk and other right-wingers have taken advantage of this to promote their version of free-speech.  This version allows for hatred, xenophobia, racism, religious extremism and outright lies.  This is being sold to masses as free-speech, and protection of second amendment to the constitution.  Two-pronged attack was launched against Democrats – on one hand the crackdown on students on campuses was condemned, and on the other hand Trump promised to double down on protests on campus blaming Democrats weak to deal far more harshly with it.  A confused mirage of narrative was created that attracted people from both right and left.   

 6.       The candidate Harris herself.  Harris was not the best choice from Democratic party.  Senile Biden was abruptly replaced as a candidate by Harris after Biden’s debacle in the only presidential debate with Trump.  Biden’s senility and declining faculties were on full display in front of the whole country.  Harris was a soulless, vapid, hollow, a complete philistine candidate with a checkered past.  Forced by Democratic party without primaries, she is widely known as a corrupt attorney general of the state of California, who put parents of truant children in jail, that widely affected people from poorer background.  She withheld proof of innocence for a man on death row, and released it only in the last hours.  Born to educated, left-leaning immigrant parents, she took a diametrically opposite view in life and prided herself being a “top cop.”  Her infamous dalliances with California politician Willie Brown were all too well known among the electorate.  Even though California is traditionally a Democratic bastion, Harris lost a lot of popular votes in California.  The state nearly turned red (Republican), a reaction against her candidacy.  Above all, she displays no principled stance on any matter, no knowledge of any subject of importance, she was vacuous, philistine, and cackled her way through interviews.  A country hooked on personalities did not find anything attractive in her.   

None of these major factions of one war party represent the people.  They both are true representatives of American bourgeoisie and act as a front for the true ruling American bourgeoisie.  When the anger and discontent among masses about living conditions reaches a boiling point, they just release the steam by providing some token reforms and changes.  In his first term Trump cut corporate taxes drastically, which Biden continued and Trump can now make it permanent.  Trillions of dollars for Pentagon remain unaudited and unaccounted for, but there is always a shortage of funds for social programs.  From the time of Ronald Regan, the conditions of average Americans have kept on worsening, as minimal social safety net kept continuously being eroded no matter which party was in power.  As loyal servants of capital these bourgeois parties kept the façade of democracy on, while suppressing other smaller parties from coming up, who had better people-oriented agenda. 

So, Trump’s victory should be seen as continuation of the same policies, and he should be judged with his class position.  Trump’s cabinet picks are all billionaires and war hawks.  The hawks chosen this time like Marco Rubio for secretary of state are special China hawks, Rubio in particular has openly called for war against China and supporting Taiwan.  It is in clear violation of the official One-China policy that the US administration has had from the time of Henry Kissinger.  Belief of Trump supporters that Trump can do something is sadly misplaced.  At the same time Trump himself and his cabinet picks to run the government are no less hawkish on Russia as in his first term.  It just appears that Russia may not be their first priority, and instead of direct military confrontation with Russia, they might choose to do it with China. 

The times are stark, and it remains to be seen what Genocide Joe, Butcher Blinken and Holocaust Harris do before Trump takes office.  A lot of American working class has begun to see it but for now they don’t have a way out of this ritual of phony election circus, which is nothing but smoke and mirrors.