Why did Trump win?

I've already written something about this, but It's hard to know where to start. There's been lots of analysis of why Trump won, and the democrats are busy bashing anyone - including those in the party like Bernie Saunders - who dared to criticise their failed campaign.

Here are three reasons:

1. Biden/Harris - Biden should have been a one-term president. They should have had a primary contest last year. They could have picked a far better candidate than Harris.

2. Gaza - Biden/Harris's unwavering support for the horrific genocide in Gaza alienated lots of Americans, many of whom would have voted democrat chose to stay at home, or vote for a third party.

3. The Campaign - ahem, what was it about? Okay, I didn't watch much of it, but what were they offering? Not a lot as far as I can see. Yes, we know Trump is an evil bullshitter, but many thought he offered them some change.

Despite Trump's win, many Americans voted for progressive policies at a state/local level to protect the right to abortion and increase the minimum wage.

This article from Salon is worth a read. I don't agree with all of it, but they pick out a key point - that many people are influenced by the 'conspiracy theory' garbage they find on the web. They believe what they choose to believe, what suits their prejudices, ignoring the facts. Trump is very good a pushing these people's buttons, and energising them. 

Here is a quote:

"As Angelo Carusone of Media Matters told MSNBC, "We have a country that is pickled in right-wing misinformation and rage." Political organizers and pundits don't want to face that, because it is such a massive, hard-to-wrangle problem. So they critique Democratic "messaging" that no one hears. They try to figure out if there are rational reasons people worry about immigration or fail to notice improvements in the economy. But what has changed profoundly in our society — and also explains the shift worldwide — is the explosion of social media and the dramatic shift towards an all-propaganda media diet for so many people."

It's important to note that the MSM has failed to tackle this problem.

I could go on. All we can do now is wait and see what horrors await us. Europe may face an influx of refugees. They won't be coming on small boats. I'll conclude with an excellent summary of the situation by Margaret Atwood.

How can a narcissistic fascist like Trump win the US election?

The bad news is it's a lot easier than you think. In my last post, I talked about the rise of the far right in Europe. The formula for Trump's success is the same stuff. Here's how it goes:

Neoliberalism, which is a far-right ideology, promotes the primacy of the 'free' market above everything else, including democracy. This means that the oligarchs and corporations should have control, and the rest of us will just have to try and survive. This extremist ideology holds sway over governments globally, a good example being Javier Milei in Argentina. The Invisible Doctrine by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison explains neoliberalism and is a must-read.

Recently, Trump was criticised for holding a racist election rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. This is the same place that fascists held a rally in 1939. A 'comedian' opened by calling Puerto Rico and it's citizens "garbage" - nice stuff! There can be little doubt that Trump himself is now a fascist and a real danger to the USA. He is determined to be president, whether he actually wins the ballot or not.

The rise in far-right populism is a result of neoliberal polices followed by governments in the USA, UK, Europe and many other parts of the world. It has resulted in the trashing of public services, austerity and the growth of poverty. It's called the cost of living crisis in the UK. Likewise, it is what gave us the disastrous Truss budget. Feeling poor, struggling to eat or heat and pay the rent? Now you know why.

In times like these, the 'heroes' of the fascist far right will come to 'save us' by promising us a better future. They're lying of course, just as Trump does, and Hitler did, and ethnic minorities, who are the scapegoats, for the damage the far right have caused, will pay the price.