It WAS Really About Their Financial Struggles – And No, They Didn’t Understand What Kind of Nut He Would Be
I had the opportunity to talk to a very professional, intelligent young person today who admitted that she voted for Trump but had no idea what havoc he would wreak in these first 100 days.
After a few minutes of discussion, it became clear to me why she thought Trump was the best choice. She is in her early 20s with two young children. Her husband is in the reserves but works hard at his job and works overtime to help make ends meet. Still, with both of them working, they cannot afford to buy a house. She asked me if I thought Trump’s promise not to tax overtime pay would be passed. I told her I didn’t know, but that I didn’t believe anything Trump says because, well, he lies a lot.
She said that Joe Biden was old and sleepy and not seeming to address their particular needs of lowering mortgage rates and eliminating taxes on overtime. She added that Kamala didn’t articulate any policies that would help her and her husband either.
I didn’t get too deep into a debate with her, but I did point out that Trump is a wannabe dictator and is disregarding the Constitution and all reason with his wild tariff moves. She said that it was creating a terrible environment for business and was worried about her family’s financial future.
It struck me in that moment that she really hadn’t seen the level of risk that Trump posed to our democracy and country, but HAD been fixated on his perceived ability to make HER economy better, in the form of lower mortgage rates and no taxes on overtime, among other things.
I wonder how many other Gen-Z folks were thinking the same way when they voted last November. I have no doubt they could not conceive of the horrors of a fascist government. Such warnings, if they heard them, were either not fully comprehended or were dismissed as noise.
We Democrats need to take note: We NEED to be very clear to these young people that WE are the ones who truly care about them and prove it with words, strategies, and laws that clearly address their pain. NOW!
I’m a Marketer — someone who consults businesses on how to segment the market and identify target segments to win over. Once identified, the business must understand what position it is in within the minds of the target segment individuals. And if that position is undesirable, then it must move heaven and earth to change it, or game over. I contend that Democrats and, yes, Kamala included, did not properly position us in the minds of these young people, leaving such positioning open to the designs of the Republicans. MAGA/Republicans saw the opening and ran with it. And won with it. THEY controlled the media. THEY controlled the messaging and therefore the story, and thus, THEY controlled the positioning of Democrats in the minds of people we thought were solidly in our camp. We Democrats have to learn from that, define what we stand for, and make sure that is aligned with what our target audience desires and expects. Otherwise, we will continue to lose. And no, it’s not sufficient to simply be positioned as “not Trump. or not MAGA” We must be positioned as the party that understands and will solve the problems of our target audience — the people whose support we will need to win.