As well as winning over Hispanic voters, Trump improved his position in some surprising corners.
Summary
"It's simple, really. We liked the way things were four years ago," said Samuel Negron, a Pennsylvania state constable and member of the large Puerto Rican community in the city of Allentown.
Donald Trump achieved a decisive victory over Kamala Harris, capturing key demographics that traditionally supported Democrats. He gained substantial support from white working-class voters, saw a 14-point increase among Latino voters, and performed better than expected with younger voters, especially men.
Economic concerns, particularly inflation, were central to Trump’s appeal, with voters across states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin favoring his promises of lower prices and stricter immigration policies.
Harris struggled to retain support in diverse and working-class areas, as voters blamed Democrats for economic hardships.
Reading that article is a serious indictment of economic literacy in the United States. People don't understand what role the president plays in the economy, what causes inflation, or how and why interest rates change. They draw really superficial causal links and don't think about it after that; it's fact to them.
It's reasons like this education may be the single most critical issue, since we can't make progress on the climate or anything else if the population is incapable of critical thinking. I hate to say it like this because it feels patronizing, but Jesus fucking Christ.
A few weeks ago a poor POC came up to me trying to convince me to vote Trump because "Trump will put money in your pocket"
I asked him what he meant by that, thinking his reasoning would be tax cuts or inflation. Alas, his reasoning was that he thought the COVID stimulus checks came from Trump's personal wealth and that him winning the presidency again would mean we would get more.
It was when I noticed the other people around me agreeing with him that I knew we were doomed. What can man do against such reckless ignorance?
What was the total payout per-person of the Trump checks? Something like $2000? We only got those because the country was on lockdown, and that's only like a month's worth of expenses for me (and I live in a relatively low COL area).
Not to mention the "inflation" was entirely fabricated to hurt Joe and the Democrats. All they had to do was ask people what inflation? To ask them how there was record inflation AND record profits with large payouts to CEOs. It's gross that the rich fabricated this, sold it to the masses, and they ate it up.
In 2016, I was angry at the decision some made, but understood that no one knew who tRump was, what he stood for, or how he'd govern. In 2024, we knew all of that. It's clear this is what people want. They won't ever know how badly they fucked themselves cause they'll be told who is really to blame and they're too stupid to get a second opinion.