November 24th election reports indicated Trump had 49.9% of the popular vote. On December 4th, it was still 49.9%.
Trump does have the leading vote total – BUT – consider several inconvenient facts:
1] In presidential elections, a “landslide” winner has 55% of the vote, which gives them a “mandate.”
2]. The 2020 census said there were 258 million Americans, age 18 & over. The 2024 number will be higher. Only 161 million were 2024 registered voters – Trump got 77,193,117 votes – not even close to 50%.
3]. Before the election, Republicans controlled 55.3% of state legislative seats. November 15th results show Republicans had about 56% of state legislative seats – virtually NO gain.
4]. Republicans did maintain their current slim U.S. House majority.
5]. Republicans did manage to gain control of thr U.S. Senate – at least partially due to the fact Democrats were defending more seats.
6]. The two dominant 2024 issues were: the economy, specifically inflation & voter’s beliefs “it was all Joe Biden’s fault.” And immigration, with people feeling that too many “undeserving’ people were let in – “all Joe Biden’s fault.”
A]. since America is a “capitalist economy – if inflation was “Joe Biden’s fault” – how much of the 25% increase in YOUR food did Joe get? Since Joe has never been in the grocery business – it is ZERO dollars!
The real culprits are millionaires, monopolies, & “margins.” We have DOCUMENTED confessions by corporate CEOs they artificially jacked up their prices to take advantage of the COVID era. Do your own research: most industries in America are controlled by 2-3-4 BIG corporations – they dictate prices to suppliers, often collude to raise prices. Corporations maintain profit “margins” to satisfy Wall Street, make their CEOs obscenely rich – THEY aren’t going to take ANY hits in those “margins.” so YOU take those hits !!!
B] Immigration could’ve been “solved” by a BIPARTISAN congressional bill, drawn up by one of THE MOST CONSERVATIVE Senators – Trump wanted to run on immigration, so he ordered Republicans to kill the bill. This followed a long Republican pattern of sabotaging immigration laws since 2000.
7]. Trump repeatedly disavowed ANY connection to, ANY knowledge of PROJECT 2025 – therefore he has NO “mandate” to install ANY of ‘PROJECT 2025’s”. numerous anti-democratic provisions. He didn’t run. ON. it, he ran. AWAY. from it – therefore he has absolutely. NO. “mandate” to implement any of this FAR RIGHT wish list.
8] For perspective on what Americans DO want – consider the following polling facts:
A]. “Citizens are united in more ways than you might think”. [Steve Corbin; Fulcrum; 9/2/22]: According to the most recent data from Pew Research Center, National Election Studies, Gallup, ABC/Washington Post, CBS/New York Times, & CNN polls…The surprising reality is Democrats, Republicans, & Independents agree on more issues – about 150 – than they disagree..some samples:
– Abortion: 61% of Americans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases
– Gender issues: ..71% of Americans support marriage between people of the same sex
– Gun control: Background checks are favored by 89%…Banning assault weapons has 63% support, while 64% want ot ban high-capacity magazines, &. 60% want a nationwide data base to track gun sales
– Immigration: 62% feel immigrants strengthen the country
– Voting: 66% of voters want to prevent state lawmakers from overturning elections, while 60% support universal vote-by-mail, &a majority want to make it easier to vote
– Health care: Providing Medicare for all Americans to ensure everyone has health care coverage garners 69% support
– Racial justice: 86% ..agree..racism is a problem, & 87% believe books that discuss race or slavery should never be banned
– Taxes: 71% of voters support raising taxes on the wealthiest 2%
Other issues in which a majority of Republicans & Democrats agree:
– Social Security: Raising the cap on income subject to the payroll tax to $215,000 or more
– Poverty programs: Increasing funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
– Energy & environment: Reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2% a year & providing tax incentives to promote clean energy
– Government reform: Overturning the Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” decision & regulating campaign financing
– International trade: The U.S. should continue participating in the World Trade Organization & rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership that Trump abandoned
– Federal budget: Rollback the tax cuts from Trump’s 2017 tax bill, impose a 4% surtax on income over $5 million & add a 1% surtax on corporate income over $100 million.
9]. “On the eve of the 2016 election..the Progressive Change Institute did a nationwide survey of likely voters. The results were stark:
– 84% want government to negotiate drug prices
– 79% support expanding Social Security
– 78% want “fair trade” that ends shipping our jobs overseas
– 77% want to tax corporations that moved jobs oversea
– 74% want all Americans to be able to buy into Medicare-for all
– 71% support massive infrastructure spending program aimed at rebuilding our broken roads & bridges 7 putting people back to work
– 70% want free college at all public universities
– 68% want a guaranteed minimum income
– 67% want government to be the employer of last resort to end unemployment
– 66% want the morbidly rich to pay at least a 50% income tax [ currently the average billionaire pays around 3% ]
– 65%. want big banks broken up & a return to local banking
– 64%. want net neutrality so your billion-dollar corporate internet & email providers can’t monitor everything you do online & sell that information
– 63% want public financing of elections to get billionaire money out of them
-60%. want the Post Office to offer inexpensive public banking.
[ Thom Hartmann; 2/15/24; The Progressive Populist}
A major test for Trump, o any president: do the things they push “..promote the general welfare..” [Constitution’s Preamble} ????? What if a Trump presidency backed all or most of the things American citizens said they wanted, as listed in #8 & #9 above?
How many things Trump & the people around him in Congress & out, are pushing will meet THE test to “..promote the general welfare..”??????? Will ANYTHING Trump & his followers want to do will “..promote the general welfare..”?
No respectable, fact-based, analysis of Trump’s tariffs show ANY positive results. What they do show is likely trade war[s], and that YOU will pay more for much/most of what YOU buy. ALL testimony from farmers involved says if Trump rounds up undocumented farm workers, some industries [dairy] might collapse, and the price of YOUR food WILL go up – not “might,” – WILL. go up.
The claim by Trump, and his followers & enablers, that he has some kind of “mandate” to enact broad changes to American government society is statistically and rhetorically FALSE. He did win the election, but neither 1789-2000 American history, nor having 49.9% of the vote enables a “mandate in any realistic and rational person. The bulk of Trump’s campaign was on two things – cutting YOUR costs and changing immigration policies.
Will Trump confront the REAL culprits for YOUR increased costs??? Maybe [if you’re lucky]. Some are quite likely people who funded his campaign. Will Trump offend billionaires he knows to cut YOUR costs???????
Building expensive “walls” on America’s southern border will NOT, already HAS NOT. worked. What works is more personnel on the ground, more funding for immigration courts, better technology & equipment, more cooperation from Mexico. Also – more drugs like fentanyl are brought into the U.S. by American citizens then smuggled in by foreigners!!!
A major goal of Trump &his corporate friends is cutting THEIR already low taxes by renewing the CORRUPT 2017 Trump tax cuts. Americans have long, consistently, said THEY. DO. NOT. WANT. TAX. CUTS. FOR. THE. RICH. – THEY WANT TAX INCREASES FOR THE RICH [ who, increasingly since 1980 – are NOT paying their fair share.
The great, historic, 1947-1973 mass middle class prosperity occurred during a period when the highest marginal tax rates on the rich AVERAGED 81%. [now it is about 1/3 that; we have record numbers of billionaires]
If Trump cuts taxes further on the obscenely rich – the result will be increased taxes on YOU and/or cuts in popular American programs [SocialSecurity & Medicare] – which is what billionaire Musk wants to do to YOU.
Another result of more Trump tax cuts on the obscenely rich will be an increased U.S. national debt [which IS what happened as a result of his 2017 tax cuts]. – already dangerous & unsustainable – which the FarRight wants to use an an excuse to cut programs that benefit YOU – like Social Security &Medicare.
Donald J. Trump. DOES NOT have a “mandate”. for what he and the FAR RIGHT. REALLY want to do. – and even worse, if Trump & his enablers do what they [now] say they want to do – STATISTICALLY it. CANNOT. –
‘MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” – because the REAL NUMBERS DON’T add up.
[for YOU, Mr. and Mrs. lower 90%]
With Justice For All 