By Christopher Young ,
Contributing Writer,
According to NBC News on December 17th, 49.8% (77,285,106) of votes in the presidential election were for President-elect Donald Trump, 48.3% (75,000,783) were for Vice-President Kamala Harris, and 1.7% (2,903,777) were for other candidates. It seems noteworthy that despite winning the Electoral College 312 to 226, Trump once again ascends to the most powerful office in the world without gaining at least 50% of the vote. In 2016, it was even lower – 46.1%, per the same source.
Both times Trump has won it was against women – Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris. His loss in 2020 was against a man – Joe Biden. To this day he has never wholly admitted that he lost that race, and used his denial to divide our country.
In reviewing exit polls, 71% of voters were white and 57% of their votes went for Trump, which is identical to the numbers in the 2016 presidential race. Eleven percent of voters were Black and 13% of their votes went for Trump. Eleven percent of voters were Hispanic and 46% of their votes went for Trump. For those voters who thought the economy was poor (33%) – 70% voted for Trump. Comparing family financial situation to four years ago, 47% thought it was worse now, and those folks voted 82% for Trump. Forty-two percent said they were dissatisfied but not angry with how things are going in the country – 55% of those voted for Trump. The angry group, another 31%, voted for Trump at a rate of 73%. Fifty-two percent of the electorate trusted Trump more to handle crime and safety – at a rate of 95%.
NBC News attempted to poll the issues, in addition to demographics. Thirty-four percent of the electorate said that the state of democracy was what mattered most to them – and 80% voted for Vice President Harris. Thirty-two percent said it was the economy and 81% of those voted for Trump.
NBC did not appear to do any exit polling to address racial issues, and few outlets are reporting on it. White women voted for Trump in 2016 at a rate of 47%, but in 2024 it was 53%. At 37%, white women are the largest voting bloc. Trump owes his victory to white women more than any other voter adjustments, per a study by the Pew Research Center.
History shows us that white women prefer their president to be male and preferably white, even in this case, where the candidate has such a long track-record of discrimination, lawlessness and selfishness – even when the candidate attacks their own reproductive rights. The Los Angeles Times reported following the election that white women just don’t support other women. The list includes Nikki Haley, Hillary Clinton, Carly Fiorina, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and even Geraldine Ferraro in the 80’s.
So now we have what we have, yet again – a pairing of virtually limitless power with a manifestation of selfishness and egotism rarely seen. James Baldwin said, “It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” Think about the inherent ignorance of a man who, according to the Washington Post, made 30,573 false or misleading claims in his four years as president, increasing year-on-year from six per day in his first year to 39 per day in his fourth. Living in his own delusional world and wielding power by shooting from the hip – that’s what America has selected, to not have a non-white woman as president.
His disregard for the rule of law is boundless, and the Supreme Court has recently ensured people holding the most powerful job in the world now have blanket immunity for what they do in office. He surrounds himself with disciples, many of them who have gone on to serve time in prison. For his upcoming administration he has already put forth the names of people for critical positions that are completely unqualified, but they are loyal to him so that’s all that matters.
He nominated Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, the top law enforcement officer in our country, and now an ethics reports says he violated state law relating to drug use and paying for sex with minors. He nominated Pete Hegseth, a Fox News personality and Army veteran as Secretary of Defense. You guessed it, stories involving allegations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement at veterans’ charities, repeated intoxication and infidelity, per CBS News. He nominated Tulsi Gabbard as director of National Intelligence – heading 18 intelligence agencies. She has served in the Army Reserves, the Congress for eight years until 2021, and even ran for president herself, yet has made numerous pro-Putin and pro-Assad comments, apparently claiming they are not enemies of the United States – so much so that over 100 former intelligence officials warn against confirming her. Others on his list include Robert F Kennedy, Jr., Kari Lake – a 2020 election denier and Dr. Oz.
No offense to billionaires, but it’s hard to see the benefit for everyday Americans with Elon Musk (Tesla & SpaceX founder), Vivek Ramaswamy (biotech entrepreneur), Tilman Fertitta (owner of Houston Rockets), Stephen Feinberg (private equity), and a half-dozen others, all huge contributors to his campaign, steering the U.S. government.
If it’s true that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, we are in for another whitewashing, and chaos on overdrive. We know exactly what they were thinking in the ballot box.
Be the first to comment