President Donald Trump won in 2024 in large part because he, unlike Democrats, focused on people's economic insecurity. While Democrats discussed Gaza, transgender rights, abortion and democracy itself, Trump's message focused mainly on economic security.
Trump had no real political platform for lowering prices.”on the first day“, but for many voters it didn't matter. They just wanted to be noticed. Although Democrats (myself included) pointed to improving jobs and economic indicators, many Americans were unhappy with their finances – and at least someone acknowledged their pain.
This message was so strong that 46% of Hispanic voters supported Trump despite his clearly racist rhetoric. A person's concerns about bigotry and democracy almost always outweigh his concerns about how to feed his family.
A few years ago, former North Carolina Senator John Edwards spoke about “two Americas” during a speech. 2004 And 2008 presidential campaigns. His argument was simple: There was one America for the rich and well-connected—with privilege, access to quality health care and education, and political influence—and there was another America for everyone else, where people struggled to make ends meet, held multiple jobs, had no health care, sent their children to underfunded schools, and had no political power.
Today, the divide between the “two Americas” has become even sharper. Earlier this year, an economic analysis from Moody's Analytics found that the top 10% of people (those earning roughly $250,000 a year or more) now account for staggering gains. 49.7% of all consumer spending. Thirty years ago this figure was approximately 36%.
Moody's chief economist estimates that that same 10% now accounts for nearly a third of the country's gross domestic product. “The finances of the wealthy have never been better, their spending has never been higher, and the economy has never been more reliant on this group,” he told The Wall Street Journal.
Education and income remain closely linked, government research shows 2018 And 2022. AND 56% college graduates Last year she supported Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. But among voters without a college degree, her support was only 45%.
So perhaps it's not surprising that she won among those making more than $100,000 a year by 51% to Trump's 47%, while losing to those making less than $100,000 a year by the same margin, according to exit polls.
It's unfortunate that Democrats have lost the very argument they once defined. Edwards warned of two Americas: one with power and privilege, the other struggling to survive. Twenty years later, the divide has deepened, and somehow it is Trump who has managed to speak to the people living in the second America. He offers them no solutions, only recognition – and in a country where many feel invisible, that is enough.
The greatest scam in American political history is not just Trump posing as their champion. The fact is that the Democrats stopped talking to them altogether.
