The unexpected triple victory of Donald Trump in the 2024 US elections – securing the presidency, the Senate, and the House of Representatives – has sparked a flurry of analyses and opinions seeking to explain the seemingly improbable outcome. While some criticisms, particularly regarding the incumbent President Biden’s perceived weakness and unpopularity, hold merit, many commentators have seized the opportunity to attack pre-existing grievances with the Democratic Party, often overlooking the broader contributing factors.
One prominent example of this selective criticism is the narrative surrounding Kamala Harris’s loss. Those who have long warned against the perceived threat of the ”woke left” now conveniently attribute Harris’s defeat to her supposed embrace of woke ideology. Simultaneously, those who have historically criticized the Democrats for being overly centrist now blame Harris’s bipartisan alliances with traditional Republicans, who opposed Trump, for her failure. These contradictory narratives highlight a tendency to find convenient scapegoats rather than engage in a comprehensive analysis of the electoral landscape.
In reality, Harris’s campaign hardly focused on what is typically considered “woke” politics, unless one includes abortion rights or her refusal to engage in the pervasive transphobia that has become a staple of American political discourse. While perceptions of Harris as a San Francisco liberal might have alienated some voters, and her outreach to figures like Liz Cheney might have dissuaded some on the far left, these factors alone are insufficient to explain the magnitude of Trump’s victory. To understand how a repeatedly convicted criminal who attempted a coup d’état could regain the presidency, one must consider more systemic factors.
One key factor is the unprecedented level of political dissatisfaction with incumbent governments observed globally in 2024. Every ruling party in the developed world that faced elections this year experienced a decline in support, a phenomenon not seen in 120 years. This widespread discontent likely stems from the challenging economic climate following the COVID-19 pandemic, marked by inflation and declining real wages. While factors like disrupted supply chains and the war in Ukraine were beyond the control of individual governments, voters tend to hold incumbent powers accountable for their economic hardship.
Compounding this economic discontent is the dramatically altered information landscape. While the concepts of filter bubbles and online disinformation are frequently discussed, the true scale of the problem remains underestimated. Many Americans receive their information from heavily biased traditional news sources like Fox News and ideological radio programs, or from the unregulated ecosystem of online influencers and campaigns, many of which lean right-wing or further. Alarmingly, nearly 40% of young Americans rely on so-called news influencers, two-thirds of whom are right-leaning men who often blend news and opinion without adhering to journalistic standards. Elon Musk’s overt support for Trump and the subsequent amplification of disinformation and right-wing propaganda on X (formerly Twitter) further exacerbated this issue.
This shift in information consumption has profound implications. Traditional news outlets have lost significant portions of their audience, and many have struggled to adapt to this post-truth environment. The algorithms of social media platforms, which prioritize engagement driven by strong emotions like anger and disgust, further advantage radical right-wing propaganda and disinformation over fact-checking and nuanced political discourse. While overcoming these challenges is not impossible, it requires an accurate assessment of the root problems. The case of the US 2024 election serves as a stark warning, highlighting the dangers of a fragmented media landscape, the susceptibility of voters to economic anxieties and targeted disinformation, and the vulnerability of democratic processes to manipulation in the digital age. Lessons from this election are particularly relevant for other countries grappling with similar challenges, emphasizing the urgent need to strengthen media literacy, combat disinformation, and protect the integrity of the information ecosystem.
