Trump is a mere symbol I agree but he is total coward he had 4 years to reign in the excess of Big Tech and neo-liberal style economics that had been implemented since the Reagan era the rust belt loves him because for the first time in long time they have guy that is quite vulgar to their taste mind you these places are low class white ethnics who came from variety places Ireland,Italy,Poland, Germany and mosshed up and became mutts there nevertheless he increased votes in non whites in 2020 Hispanics voted more for Trump than in 2016 there was an uptick in Black votes for the GOP as well small tho but he lost white surburban votes as he bungled the Covid-19 response for 2024 I am not so sure the Republican party never really liked Trump they saw him as tool to stall Democrats for a few years after they used him they ditched him I think before the events that transpired in DC last week both Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley who Senators from Texas and Missouri were kissing Trump's ring so they could run in 2024 now with these events they need lay low until this passes over but coward Trump gave the Dems and Establishment Republicans more chances to restrict rights and civil liberties now in a way "heal" the nation not sure this will work banning folks and extreme folks will lead to them laying low and more radiclazied I fear we might see a "Years of lead" situation that Italy had in the 60s.70s and early 80s or something like the IRA too
So much I agree in this analysis...but you did the trademark yankeestani onelongsentencethatneverends thing again heh.
Trump was businessman with some reactionary guts and instincts that could have really done stuff.... but he needed to take on board populism across the board from the American people. That required him to do what was needed in the campaign (and win like he did), but then not be full of himself after it.
Instead he felt he was both beholden to GOP and that he was changing them in his narcissitic way of thinking. End result is what you got now.
It was reckless and amateur move, but he basically couldn't do the 4D or 5D (his sycophants and supporters kept yabbering about), heck even 2D chess was difficult for him.
Guy was just a car-salesman megaphone and had no real underlying goal except to try to get everyone (not just the "base") to like him more.
That passive-aggressive love-hate thing that both him and the media had going on with each other, ugh....how they just fed off each other.
US was just a cheap reality show for last 4 years...and I guess enough people (if the votes are indeed as they are for sake of argument) had enough of that, and I guess prefer the status quo slow-boil instead.
In the end all its done is helped and embolden neolib+neocon establishment big tech uniparty cabal.
I doubt they are gonna stay in the DC swamp too (and leave the institutions alone), they have tasted something here with using trump and bernie types. Power is like unbridled lust....so many people dont get thats where virtue signalling all comes from too.
California these days is the biggest poster case for it worldwide.
But you are right about the minority votes increasing under Trump. If the GOP were sane and organised they would see something there to take forward. But they are snobs, always have been...always will be.
They (GOP estab.) deep down dislike Trump immensely for bringing who vote for them (good, bad and ugly) to the limelight, front and centre. They have that aversion to it (they hate lot of their voters), that democrats (except for manchin types and the most centrist ones) totally do not have...even though democrats hate their voters just as much if not more.
This is what makes the demorats far more powerful (in the short and mid term) when they weaponise it...it is why they invested as much as they did in the culture war in specific places for the last few decades.
But very few actually read up on this stuff, fewer still understand it, and very few do anything about it (or can do much about it). Thus most remain pawns and sheep.
