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MARC'S ANGLE - All the signs pointed to a Trump win. But it seems that Democrats really needed that “hope” so they changed up their candidate, something I admit I never saw coming. Simply because incumbent President Biden was the best they had.
Never in a million years, did I predict the DNC to strong arm their best candidate out and switch him out with an obvious diversity hire, Kamala Harris, who has never fought hard in any election, coronated every step of the way in her rise to Vice President.
But alas, we arrived in a universe where the incumbent President seemed to be rooting for his opponent on Election Day, a proverbial middle finger to the party that pushed him out. First Lady Jill Biden wore MAGA red on Election Day, essentially signaling how she might have voted.
But while we can focus on the drama of this election season and certainly there was a lot of that, we should not forget that the fundamentals have already been in place, like I laid out in my previous article in the summer, when I predicted a Trump landslide.
Mainstream media was truly shocked. While I called out Trump’s impending win on election night when the first polls closed in Indiana and Kentucky, the wishcasting on the major networks from CNN to MSNBC intensified and evolved into embarrassing copium by the wee hours. There was almost an arrogance going into Election Day that defied the reality I saw on the ground. I guess you can really be in a bubble and believe all your own self-generated hype. No wonder so many were crying and missing work the next day, thinking the outcome would be different.
Throughout the last four years, I went from politically active to dialing my efforts back significantly. From my efforts to help the Recall Gascon effort which devolved into Republican consultant class infighting to a similar situation with the school choice initiatives, I took away a valuable lesson: less is more. I have also evolved in my beliefs around recalls. Ultimately our system is set up to have elections every 2 or 4 years and we hold our elected officials accountable: they can fail and the results should speak for itself.
This was also a major reason I comported myself the way I did last election. When President Biden won, I told many grieving basket cases on the right, that it was actually a good thing. At that time, I predicted Trump would come back in 4 years and be in a stronger position to lead.
I was correct. He now comes in with a popular vote mandate, cultural relevance, increased support from Black, Hispanic and Asian Americans (the highest support in decades) and most importantly, a Republican House and Senate to usher in important bills and ultimately, his vision.
Even more powerful is that he had 4 years to mingle with the everyday people and see things from a civilian perspective, though political enemies did everything they could to stop his return to power, but ultimately failed. This is evidenced even before he steps into office, picking iconoclastic Cabinet partners, many of whom were former Democrats who have been hurt by their former party, which one could argue is the true authoritarian party, such as RFK Jr, Tulsi Gabbard and Elon Musk.
Appointing these former Democrats with overwhelming public support is testament to Trump’s solid brand that focuses on We The People, not We The Political. In politics, politicians erode support as they flip flop to please the blowing winds of politics. Trump remained consistent and strong (by no means, perfect) and people gravitated towards that strength and consistency over 3 terms. Absolutely amazing.
The normies rejected Hollywood. They rejected hypocritical billionaires telling people what to do with their lives. They rejected results of failure. Trump had coattails this election, knocking off legacy Democratic senators in Ohio and Pennsylvania, directly affecting the balance of the Senate. Despite their hometown support and overperforming their top of the ticket, Kamala Harris, Trump’s wave was so strong he brought those 2 crucial senators over.
For better or worse, for supporters and detractors, more people got involved in the political process and proved that a strong consistent ideology could win people over, as Hispanic and Asian groups, traditionally more sympathetic to immigration, have moved hard right on that issue specifically, as ABC reported in their extensive study on this issue alone.
Looks like he delivered that promise on winning. And he did so by losing the 2020 election, but ultimately gaining more on his base of support and coming in with a popular vote mandate and a trifecta in the House and Senate more likely to work with him in Congress to make things happen. For an action-oriented doer, you couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.
(Marc Ang ([email protected]) is a Southern California community organizer and President of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance in Orange County. He founded Asian Industry B2B and advocates for quality education, practical solutions, business-friendly policies, and law and order. Featured in the LA Times and New York Times for his leadership in the SoCal Asian community, Marc is also Vice President of the American Independence Party in California. His book, Minority Retort, was published in 2022 through Trinity Broadcast Network.)
