What happened? How did Trump dominate in this election cycle? Abha Bhattarai and Jeff Stein in the Washington Post provide an economic perspective ("Americans deliver message to Democratic Party: The economy isn't working"):
“It’s a longer, structural problem than just a few years of inflation,” said Susan Hyde, a political science professor at the University of California at Berkeley who studies elections and democracy. “When people are worried about their own positions in the economy, that can be extremely consequential for voting behavior.”
Exit polls suggest that roughly 70 percent of voters regarded the economy as “poor” or “not good,” creating a clear headwind for Harris. Of the voters who rated the economy negatively, a majority — 68 percent — voted for Trump.
I don't suggest that there wasn't a cultural element in the results. The relentless, unremitting deluge of transgender ads (“Kamala supports taxpayer funded sex changes for prisoners and illegal aliens.”) likely damaged Harris's credibility as a defender of regular folks. Democrats need to recalibrate their stances and messaging regarding culture. Rejecting the Trump majority as bigots who welcome authoritarian solutions is a mistake. And I disagree with Nancy Pelosi's remarks suggesting that "Guns, God, and gays" was a more important factor in the election than the economy.
As I argued in my previous post, I think Democrats should focus on practical policies to increase the financial security of working and middle class Americans. This will be a heavy lift. The structural distortions are deeply embedded in our economy. Not everyone is going to attend college. What viable paths will they have for making lives for themselves and their families?
Whatever Trump does will benefit his family, cronies, and other rich Americans; Elon Musk will be sitting pretty. The returning president won't be delivering any solutions for the folks having a tough time making ends meet. Addressing that issue -- plus pushing back against authoritarian maneuvers by Trump and the MAGA GOP -- must be front and center for Democrats.