Where Harris failed: reflections on the US election

I imagine many readers shared my bewilderment and dismay at learning that Trump, an impulsive and self-interested fraud, was once again elected leader of the free world, and not by a slim margin, either: he won in every single battleground state, and received almost three million more popular votes than Harris. I believe I do not exaggerate when I call this result the sternest rebuke to, and the profoundest humiliation of, the Democratic Party in recent memory.

Trump’s support among Black and Latinx voters increased significantly compared to previous elections, while his support among white voters actually fell

I do not know exactly how the world will look in the coming years, but needless to say, my initial impression is not a comforting one. I fear that our progress towards environmental sustainability will not only be halted but reversed; that Ukraine will be forced to give up swathes of its territory to Russia as part of a brittle peace treaty; that Trump will give a free hand to any despot who flatters him sufficiently; and that he will fill his cabinet with delusional and incompetent toadies. The last of these is already coming to pass: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist, has been nominated as head of the Department of Health, and Pete Hegseth, a Fox News presenter with no senior military experience, is to serve as Secretary of Defense.

Before I give my thoughts on the primary causes of Trump’s victory, I would first like to dispel the slanderous assertion, made by several commentators, that racism and misogyny were among them. Trump’s support among Black and Hispanic voters increased significantly compared to previous elections, while his support among white voters actually fell. As for misogyny, in 2016 close to three million more people voted for Clinton than for Trump. Are we to conclude that they have since become woman-haters?

Harris did not do nearly enough to distinguish herself from the deeply unpopular Biden

It appears more likely that Biden exited the race far too late for Harris to make any sizable impact. Harris herself was probably a poor nominee choice: her 2020 presidential campaign collapsed before she could even make it to the Democratic primaries, let alone win them. Had Biden not sought reelection, and had a proper contest been held, the Democrats may have unearthed a suitable, stress-tested candidate capable of taking on Trump.

Another factor was that Harris did not do nearly enough to distinguish herself from the deeply unpopular Biden. During an appearance on The View, she was asked if there was anything she would have done differently than Biden in the past four years. Rather than highlight any reasonable disagreements she may have had with him (and there must have been at least a few), she replied: “There is not a thing that comes to mind.” As one can well imagine, this ill-considered remark was immediately seized upon by the Trump campaign, and featured in many of its ads.

Trump, on the other hand, embodies in many ways the ultimate victory over political correctness

But probably the most important factor was that many voters associated Harris with political correctness. Given the ultra-progressive policies championed by Harris in 2020 (such as decriminalising border crossings by undocumented immigrants), her pivot to the centre in 2024 was never entirely convincing. Trump, on the other hand, embodies in many ways the ultimate victory over political correctness: here is a man who essentially insulted his way to the top in 2016, who regularly demonises immigrants, and who has bragged about groping women. The fact of the matter is that, when faced with the stifling authoritarianism of the far-left, which has crept into numerous spheres of public life and from which no one is entirely safe, one comes to view Trump’s example as brave and even noble. This is why, beyond its internal inconsistency and myriad stupidities, political correctness, and wokeism in general, must be abandoned.

While the election has given me much to dread, my memories of it will not be wholly negative, for it was the first one in which I was able to vote. The month before election day I went through the (admittedly arduous) process of requesting and mailing an absentee ballot, on which I placed a tick next to Harris’ name. The future may well be bleak, but I am happy to know that I did what I could to avert it and that my voice, though small, was heard.