Robert C. McOuat

Why did Americans cast their ballots for Donald Trump? It’s one of those great American mysteries, right up there with Bigfoot sightings and the secret recipe for Coca-Cola. Scholars have agonized over it; entire libraries could be filled with the theses, books, and op-eds dedicated to unraveling the enigma of the Trump movement. Political analysts have poured gallons of ink trying to explain what makes his supporters tick. One thing is crystal clear: when you sit down and actually talk to his constituents—whether at a diner in rural Ohio or during a spirited Facebook debate—the refrain comes fast and furious: “At least he’s not Hillary! At least he’s not Kamala! At least he’s not Biden!” It’s clear who they don’t like, but why Trump?

The Underdog Story

As the USA has raced forward in its pursuit of capitalist success, a significant portion of the American population, especially downscale whites, has been left behind. They face the worst relative declines, including rising mortality rates among some sub-populations. The white American poor are economically insecure and feel alienated from mainstream society. The Great Recession from 2007 to 2009 hit those with less mobility, resources, and cultural capital especially hard. The housing market crashed so severely it seemed to hit rock bottom. Meanwhile, some subpopulations are experiencing rising mortality rates, as if competing to disappear most spectacularly. The brilliance of the Trump movement was his ability to acknowledge this subcategory of American voters as ripe for the picking; he simply had to show them he had answers to their problems. Not a bad approach for any public servant. Recognizing that these economically insecure individuals formed a significant voting bloc and showed up at the polls, the MAGA movement endeared itself to poor whites. The impact? Profound. In 2016, 2020, and 2024, we witnessed divides more astonishing than any plot twist on reality TV. Democrats became favorites among college-educated voters, while Trump cornered the market of white voters without degrees.

What do Trump supporters actually gain by rooting for him? Take those struggling Southern whites as an example—folks wrestling daily with economic hardship while clinging tightly to whatever sense of superiority they can muster over someone further down society’s ladder. For them, supporting Trump isn’t just politics—it’s practically therapy. It becomes a last-ditch effort to resolve an epic identity crisis: “If I can’t get ahead, at least I’m on Team Not-Them!” In this topsy-turvy world, voting becomes less about policy or progress and more about belonging—a search for dignity wrapped in a red baseball cap.

Lessons from Gym Class

This idea eerily recalls those mortifying school gym class moments when you anxiously awaited your fate: “Will I get picked first? Will they save me until last?” Once in charge, Trump effectively catered to the interests of poor whites to ensure they were no longer the last ones picked. His unconventional approach isn’t surprising, considering he’s acting on behalf of poor whites who feel federal policies hold them back while benefiting their rivals—Blacks and Latinos. Trump and his team have been attending community council meetings with a megaphone, highlighting ways to pit Black and Latino voters against each other. At his rallies, Trump warned minority communities that immigrants are coming for their jobs. And let’s not even mention how he depicted cities as “invaded” by “bad guys.” Trump’s approach is “us versus them,” a classic tactic but lacking creativity. There are only so many times you can play that emotional card with minimal variation. Trump thrives on antagonizing “them” and relegating them to his fictional purgatory known as “the other side.”

Redistribution of Wealth and Clutching Wallets

The looming specter of teetering on the edge of the poverty abyss is enough to send even the most hardened capitalist into a full-blown existential tailspin. In tough times—and let’s be honest, when things get dicey, capitalists tend to clutch their wallets tighter than a toddler grips a favorite stuffy—they’re not exactly lining up to pass out free samples of wealth. Instead of banding together in pursuit of higher wages, better working conditions, or perhaps even an all-you-can-eat buffet of professional retraining opportunities, many people cling desperately to whatever little they have left. All the while, they keep one suspicious eye trained like a hawk on anyone who might try to stage a sneaky raid on their meager stash—whether that threat comes from another class, culture, or just Bob from accounting.

When it comes down to it, nobody wants their hard-earned wages scooped up and redistributed among other subgroups within the sprawling American working class. If I’m already broke and eating ramen for breakfast and dinner, why would I want my scant earnings earmarked for help that goes somewhere else—welfare programs that might help a specfic class or cultrue – to Black folks? To Hispanics? It’s a bit like gym class: you might acknowledge you’re not at the first pick or the bet, but you’ll be damned if you admit you’re last place in this economic relay race. In short, it should come as no shock when working-class folks guard their wallets with more ferocity.

It’s from Princeton So It Has To Be Good!

Why does treating some people poorly feel so satisfying? Enter Ilyana Kuziemko from Princeton, who sheds light on the phenomenon known as “last-place aversion.” Sounds fancy, right? But don’t let the big label scare you; it’s simply our natural instinct at play. Nobody wants their ego deflated along with their socioeconomic status. Kuziemko explains that people often resist policies aimed at uplifting those below them because no one wants to look down and realize they might be at the bottom. They’d rather cling to their current rung than risk falling—it’s survival of the most insecure! In summary, voting for Trump isn’t about winning; it’s about making sure someone else is losing. Sometimes, it just feels better to be slightly above someone else, even if it’s only by an inch or two.

Game Theory from Reality TV

You don’t need to be the fastest animal in the herd, but being the slowest is something you’d like to avoid at all costs. People exhibit “last-place aversion.” We loathe being near last place, much less in it. This fear can lead those near the bottom rungs of income distribution to oppose redistribution efforts because there’s always the chance that those at rock bottom might catch up or even leapfrog past them—and who could handle such humiliation? It’s like we’re all competing in our own version of Survivor; you don’t need the most votes, you just don’t want the least. In this quirky economic reality show we call life, nobody wants to be voted off the island!

Democrats Got Too Complicated

Trump didn’t just snatch up some juicy, mouthwatering electoral fodder—he devoured the whole buffet while the Democrats fumbled with the menu. Let’s face it: the Democrats didn’t so much run a campaign as they accidentally locked themselves out of it and lost the key somewhere in Delaware. Trotting out Biden again and expecting different results was like reheating leftovers from last election night and hoping they’d taste fresh. Only this time, age hadn’t just caught up with him—it had lapped him twice around the debate stage. The first debate wasn’t just a knockout; it was as if Biden took a nap at center stage and forgot to set an alarm. After that performance, he practically vanished as a legitimate contender, becoming easy fodder for Republican mockery and getting waved aside by his own party like yesterday’s news. Kicking things off with such a wobbly debate meant that the Democrats had to go back to square one—resetting their strategy, searching for new life in their lineup, and desperately hoping no one else noticed their campaign engine had stalled before leaving the driveway.

Trump brandished his trusty toolbox of short, snappy slogans like “Trump Safety – Harris Open Borders” and “Trump Will Fix It.” Meanwhile, across the aisle, Democrats thought they were playing chess while Trump happily played checkers. Democrats tossed around phrases like “collective realization” and “inclusive economy.” It sounds grand and sophisticated until you realize it also sounds a lot like trying to explain quantum physics at a keg party. They’re out here proposing we all hug it out and pool our resources as if we’re at some hippie commune, rather than a cutthroat political arena. Newsflash: working-class and middle-class folks aren’t exactly eager to share their pie when they’re already worried about where their next slice is coming from! In their quest for inclusivity, Democrats ambitious vision got tangled in its own ornamentation—an intricate tapestry everyone had to struggle through just to form an opinion. In contrast, Trump’s slogans are easier to remember than your Wi-Fi password.

The Secret Sauce

That’s the secret sauce: don’t let your constituents come in last, and keep everything simple. While Democrats are busy handing out policy pamphlets thick enough to prop up a wobbly table, Trump tosses out catchphrases with Simple dichotomies that we thought went out of style with old western movies—like good guys and bad guys. Love him or loathe him, you can’t ignore that his soundbites stick—sometimes whether you want them to or not. In the end, it’s not about who has the deepest thoughts on economic theory; it’s about who tattoos their message onto voters’ minds with as little pain as possible. And if political success is measured by memorability, then Trump’s three-word mantras have given him a head start in a race where most people just want directions they don’t need to Google first.

Citations and Further Reading

Cooper, R. (2016). Why poor whites flock to Donald Trump; It’s not just racism. The Week. https://theweek.com/articles/642979/why-poor-whites-flock-donald-trump

Cooper, R. (2015). Why poor white Americans are dying of despair. Racism is to blame. The Week. https://theweek.com/articles/587242/why-poor-white-americans-are-dying-despair

Hamilton, M. (2016). Why Are White, Uneducated Voters Voting for Trump? Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/why-are-white-uneducated-voters-voting-trump-515368

Kuziemo, I. & Norton, MI. (2011). The “Last Place Aversion” Paradox. The surprising psychology of the Occupy Wall Street protests. Scientific American. Https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/occupy-wall-street-psychology/

NPR. (2011). Avoiding Last Place: Some Things We Don’t Outgrow. https://www.npr.org/2011/09/04/140116142/avoiding-last-place-some-things-we-dont-outgrow