A dissection into Donald Trump’s disastrous election campaign
Once again, a US presidential standoff is upon us, and Trump and Harris’s campaigns are in full swing before the elections next month. A lot has changed since 2016, except for one aspect; Donald Trump is still running.
Since joining the Presidential race in 2016, Donald Trump has graced us with his presence in the headlines many times. From the hush-money scandal involving Stormy Daniels and the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago resort, to most recently, his assassination attempt by Ryan Wesley Routh aged 58 who voted for Trump in 2016. However, the attempt on Trump’s life didn’t scare his supporters away, it only made their support so much stronger, as we could see from pictures of them with bandages on their ears, akin to Trump’s. To the Democrats’ dismay, it did more for Trump’s campaign than expected.
Unlike Donald Trump, his opponent, current Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has attracted a much younger following, particularly on social media apps such as TikTok. If you’re like me and are constantly on the app, I’m sure you know all about the “Coconut Tree” memes and the ‘Brat’ remixes which ended up on everyone’s ‘For You’ pages. Vice President Harris does not rely on her followers’ sympathy, like her opponent; she instead addresses and campaigns for issues relevant to younger voters, ie. gun laws and reproductive rights. However, along with her team, Harris leans into the fun, witty side of things, which have become popular on social media, like the “Coconut Tree” memes and ‘Brat’. In contrast to Trump, this type of PR and social media presence has boosted Harris campaign greatly.
During the first Presidential debate on the 11th of September, Donald Trump surely made a name for himself, even more than he already has, with his ridiculous claims. The most outrageous but undeniably memorable quote of the debate was from Mr Trump; “In Springfield [Ohio], they’re eating the dogs! I’m talking about immigrants, the people who came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people who live there”. Who knows where he got this idea? Vice President Harris, like the rest of us surely, astonished, responded “Talk about extreme”.
Trump’s points never made much sense, but this takes the cake. To think that we thought his statements before he became President about building a wall between the US and Mexico were ridiculous, this is in another league entirely.
Trump made some interesting choices when picking music for his campaign videos. In particular, back in August, it was revealed that he chose to use Beyoncé’s song ‘Freedom’, and he was soon threatened with a cease-and-desist order from the singer. The fact that Trump picked a song by a Black female artist is ironic since this is an unlikely demographic to vote for Trump. The song ‘Freedom’ only had significance to his campaign because of the name. However, because it belongs to a Black woman, it is one more thing he can try and take from them. Trump and his lack of criticism of gun violence has cost many Black people their lives. “Young black females are eight times more likely to die by firearm homicide than young white females (aged 18-24). However, young Black females are 8.5 times less likely to die by firearm homicide than young Black males”. Beyoncé isn’t the only female artist Trump has stolen from without permission, he used AI-generated pictures of Taylor Swift and of her fans, to showcase the false support towards him.
Taylor soon responded to the use of these AI-generated pictures via Instagram, confirming that she will be casting her vote in support of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz; “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm, not chaos. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF and a woman’s right to her own body for decades”
Taylor’s home state of Pennsylvania is among the ‘Swing States’, where an equal percentage of voters support Harris and Trump as of September. However with tight margins, 50% expect Harris to win and 49% expect Trump to win. Who knows, perhaps Taylor Swift will work her magic and get the numbers up for Harris supporters.
The clock is ticking for them both, with election day just over a month away. If Donald Trump wants to win this election, he’ll have to step up and get on Kamala Harris’ level and that means understanding what his supporters want, not just what he believes they want. Otherwise, it will just result in one big PR nightmare.