Americans Spoke with Their Vote – It’s Time for a Change

As someone who has only vaguely followed politics during the 2024 election cycle, I was not surprised by Donald Trump’s victory.

What I was surprised by though, was the complete dominance by the Republican Party. After looking into it and researching, I perfectly understood why the election happened the way it did. Trump did not win because he was an excellent candidate. He’s obviously extremely divisive and has been for his entire political career. Trump won because Kamala Harris is easily the worst candidate that the Democrat Party has run in decades.

Let’s be real for a minute. Who actually likes Kamala Harris? During the 2020 election, she had to drop out of the Democratic primaries due to how unpopular she was. She’s so unpopular now that a Republican won the popular vote for the first time since 2004. Nobody wanted anything to do with her until Joe Biden selected her as VP. After she was scooped up by Biden, she became a media darling overnight. Then she really blew up once Biden dropped out of the 2024 election, leaving Harris unrivaled. That’s when the media machine made her seem like the greatest thing since sliced bread.

The problem with Harris though, is that she’s four years of the same. Biden is unpopular, with him being hated due to America’s poor economy and foreign affairs. Harris offered absolutely nothing new. More of what Biden was doing, and more of what the average American is tired of. In my opinion, her entire campaign seemed out of touch with the American people.

It’s estimated that 66% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck while Harris was drowning in endorsements from the rich and famous. If I’m a working class citizen, all I see is that only the rich and famous like her, because all she appeals to is the rich and famous.

Harris rarely ran on policy, instead running on “vibes” with things like Brat Summer. It felt incredibly forced and unfunny.

Another major factor contributing to Trump’s win, is the pop culture war. Think about it. How many organic iconic moments did Harris have? Absolutely none. The photo of Trump with his fist raised in the air after his assassination attempt is arguably the most iconic political imaging since Obama’s 2008 “Hope” poster. That’s not Trump’s only moment either. His arrest mugshot? Him in the garbage truck? Infinitely more influential than anything Kamala did.

If the Democrats want a chance at regaining control of the country any time soon, they’re going to need to pull their heads out of their asses and run a real candidate that can actually inspire change in the country instead of appealing to corporate cronies.

Daeton Winebrenner is a Salina sophomore studying Media Production. You can email him at thehutchinsoncollegian@gmail.com

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