In a post-election interview with The New York Times, Nancy Pelosi was asked to re-evaluate whether or not she understands the country at this point in time, to which she defensively (and unconvincingly) insisted she did. Pelosi spent the entire interview deflecting blame for the outcome of the 2024 election and refusing to see reality, a common theme among Democrats and their avid supporters.
The Democrats desperately failed this election. However, the party’s weaknesses are shown more in its response to the loss than the loss itself. When I discuss the election and what went wrong with my immediate demographic, that being left-leaning college students, I hear people saying, “Biden should have dropped out sooner,” or, “We should have had an open primary,” or even, “How could all those people vote for Donald Trump? I guess they just hate women, gay people and people of color. And if they are one of those things, I guess they just hate themselves.”
Therein lies the issue: many on the left could not even comprehend why someone would vote for Trump because we are so painfully out of touch with the average American voter.
To preface, I believe President-elect Donald Trump would have won practically no matter what — even if President Joe Biden dropped out sooner or if we had a different candidate than Vice President Kamala Harris take his place. That is because we know, due to a number of factors, that incumbent administrations have lost their advantage in a post-COVID-19 world. I’d also like to add that I have no doubt that many would lump me in with the demographic of out-of-touch liberals, and while I by no means necessarily admire that so many people voted for Trump, I understand why they did.
The majority of Americans cast their vote on the economy and immigration. The Biden and Harris campaigns spent their time, and billions of dollars, mainly on abortion, democracy (an abstract issue I can’t even believe they thought would break through to voters in the first place) and LGBTQ+ rights, with a smaller emphasis on healthcare, an issue I wish they would have touted more. Though many loyal Democrats like myself could never grasp why Jan. 6 would not be a dealbreaker, the average American does not obsess over politics. They are faced with everyday problems like affording rent. They don’t necessarily wake up and grapple with the plight of the transgender community or the principle of a woman’s right to choose in their daily lives. Yes, they may have been misled that Trump would be better for the economy (many experts agree he won’t) or that he won’t actually perform mass deportations, but hey, that’s the game. They had the talking points that real people cared about, while Democrats couldn’t decide whether to center themselves or throw themselves straight into identity politics, resulting in a jumbled mess.
That is the game. And Republicans understand it. Parties exist to win elections, and elections are won mainly on the issue of the economy. “It’s the economy, stupid” — does that ring a bell, Democrats? And yet, the left is still utterly flabbergasted that Trump and the Republicans won.
I am a proud Democrat, and though I am disappointed in my party, I still believe we can turn this thing around. However, this will only happen if we are smart and if we play the game — that is a message that connects with both the official party and its supporters. If your immediate reaction to this year’s election is, “I can only hope that in the next election the Democrats leave behind moderates like Kamala Harris and nominate someone who won’t fold to the right,” I hate to tell you this, but that attitude will only enable Republicans to win forever. It is clear that the only way for us to win is if we center ourselves on the issues we choose to emphasize the most in the national discussion.
If you find that reality hard, I say fold. Just give in. Whether you like it or not, this is how politics work. You can choose to be a productive force within this system and make progress, or you can daydream about extreme liberalism and stay exactly where you are. It’s up to you. To be clear, this doesn’t mean sacrificing advocacy for universal equal rights, but it does mean centering conversations with voters on the issues that consistently come up as top concerns. We can do both.
On a more hopeful note, I am positive about the future. Though I very much dislike Trump and find him dangerous, I do not entertain conspiracies that he will abolish term limits and be the total end to American democracy. More realistically, in the next couple years, Trump will try, and probably succeed because of a Republican trifecta, in doing the stuff he said he would. Even though over 76 million people voted for him and his policies, I believe they will be extremely unpopular when played out in reality. People hate tariffs. Inflation won’t improve and corporations will have a field day. Maybe people like mass deportations in theory, but once it actually happens, I think it’ll be a different story. The war in Ukraine won’t end in 24 hours, and terror in Gaza will continue.
We will be set up for a “blue wave” in 2026, and hopefully to take back the executive in 2028. But we have to be smart and we have to make sacrifices. Because “it’s the economy, stupid.” Let’s stop being stupid.
