Finally. Our nation’s taxing two-year election cycle of mudslinging and intra-familial fractures is over. As everyone knows, Donald Trump, the trash-talking New York real estate developer and media personality, has pulled off the most epic of political comebacks.
Despite two impeachments, 10 Jan. 6 Capitol riot congressional live televised hearings, four criminal indictments, 91 felony charges, and even two assassination attempts, Trump will duplicate Grover Cleveland’s achievement and reclaim the American presidency four years after defeat.
The 64% of Tennesseans who voted for him have every reason to celebrate. One positive of our status as one of America’s reddest states, regardless of one’s political affiliation, is that we were largely spared from the brutal deluge of attack ads that overwhelmed residents of swing states such as Georgia and Michigan.
For those of who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, especially here in the blue dot of Davidson County, you may be asking, how is this possible? After all, isn’t Trump a racist, a rapist, and a convicted felon? For this question, I offer three factors, all beginning with the letter I: inflation, immigration, and identity politics.
Examining inflation, immigration and identity politics
Inflation is somewhat of a misnomer, considering the overall decline in headline inflation since its June 2022 peak of 9.1%.
Still, this decline does not mean a decline of grocery prices, which have remained at their historic peak since 2022. Furthermore, it is no secret that many Americans have struggled to find a pillow to rest their heads at night, as the quintessential American dream of home ownership slips out of reach.
While not attracting the national headlines of New York and San Francisco, Nashville too has been struggling with a serious housing crisis that threatens to make our city unaffordable.
Switching to immigration, there is no doubt that the humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border was devastating to the Biden administration’s reputation and the Harris campaign. Since assuming office, the administration’s border mismanagement has led to a jaw dropping 9 million border encounters, a surge reversed only a few months before the election.
This disgrace was enabled by a grave miscalculation. Under pressure from the far left and the pro-open borders establishment national media, the Biden administration fell asleep at the wheel for three years.
Now the American people have made clear the days of open borders must end.
Third, I would like to address an overlooked, but in my opinion the most important, development justifying Donald Trump’s victory- identity politics.
You see, ever since that miserable year of 2020 when identity politics exploded into our collective consciousness, I have been extremely concerned about the rise of a phenomenon already implemented so successfully in the former Yugoslavia.
In case you are unaware of that term, identity politics is a phenomenon when politicians prioritize the narrow interests of a particular demographic over the collective interest of all Americans.
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Identity politics, more commonly known as “wokeism,” is jumbled with such endless rules and exceptions that you can never figure out if a particular group is a victim … or an oppressor.
Joe Rogan gave Trump a boost in the young white male demographic
Somewhere in the chaos of wokeism, one group is guaranteed to lose every time – young white men (Boomer white men are doing just fine), who gave 63% of their votes to Donald Trump.
When you have a group who has not only been left out of mainstream American culture thanks to identity politics implemented at their direct expense, it is no wonder that America’s young white men, most of whom have abandoned traditional media outlets for alternative media such as The Joe Rogan Experience, have now shouted, “Enough!” And it’s not just white men.
Donald Trump won the vote of young men overall with 56%. Remember, Rogan’s interview with Donald Trump drew 70 million viewers across various platforms. As for traditional media? Not even close.
More:Joe Rogan may not be moving to Nashville but here’s what he said about living in Tennessee
Finally, I cannot ignore that, according to multiple exit polls, Donald Trump won the support of 43% of Latinos, 39% of Asians, and 25% of African American men.
While these statistics certainly poke holes in longtime establishment media accusations of Republican racism, they also should be final nail in the coffin for the nightmare of identity politics and wokeism.
Turns out that wokeism no longer resonates with Hispanic Americans, African Americans, or Asian Americans. To my relief, even some Democrats see the writing on the wall.
With Donald Trump’s victory, I hope America is ready to bury the nightmare of wokeism once and for all.
Samuel Waitt is a Nashville area writer who specializes in history, world events, and contemporary political discussion. He also holds a master’s in international affairs from Middle Tennessee State University.
