Elite Disdain for Ordinary Americans Once Again Exposed In 2024 Election

Elite Disdain for Ordinary Americans Once Again Exposed In 2024 Election

The Trump candidacies of 2016 through 2024, if nothing else, have exposed the snobbery of elites—be they at universities, in the media, or in government—and their general disdain for the concerns of ordinary Americans.

Much was made of Trump as a “strongman” or “dictator” and so those in the echelons of power and influence could write him off as another Hitler or Mussolini and, in turn, excoriate his followers as “anti-American,” “deplorables,” or “garbage,” or as people who “cling to guns or religion” in times of stress. What these elite failed to see, fundamentally, is that Trump spoke to their common-sense values and beliefs – sometimes crudely, yes, but clearly and authentically.

What sorts of values and beliefs? For starters, that the nation’s border should not be wide open as long as lawful immigration avenues exist. That the government should take care of its citizens first and foremost, rooted in basic ideas of social contract. That males don’t belong in women’s sports and that gender is essentially biological, not “fluid.” That criminals should be punished, regardless of race or ethnicity, and that crime should be brought and kept under control. That American jobs and industry should be fostered, not exported. And that America should be energy independent and not beholden to hostile nations abroad.

From the vantage point of ordinary Americans, these are nothing more than basic, common-sensical ideas that largely aren’t up for debate. That’s why they chose Trump in 2024 and that’s why they didn’t choose Harris. I confess that it’s harder to explain why Americans chose Biden in 2020, though Trump’s victory in 2024, not just in the Electoral College but by popular vote, suggests that there was a fair amount of buyer’s remorse on that score.

No, Harris didn’t lose because she’s a woman, or black, or biracial. Nor did she lose because of bigotry or white supremacy or Christian nationalism, whatever these might mean. Rather, she lost because she was attached to policies opposed to common sense and, when she tried to distance herself from them, it looked more like pandering than a principled change of heart. When flipping on issues, she didn’t actually seem to believe that her past positions were wrong, only that they wouldn’t get her elected. Ultimately, she came across as inauthentic and evasive and, like Hillary Clinton, entitled. And that’s on her and the establishment media that enabled her, not on Trump or the bogeymen of patriarchy and systemic racism.

Enough, then, with the Hitler comparisons and the doomsaying about the death of democracy. Enough also with the claims of fascism and white supremacy. Many citizens, frankly, are sick and tired of history and race being exploited to keep dysfunctional politicians in power, or to make Americans feel bad about their country, which by and large has been exemplary for its integration of people from all over the world of different races, ethnicities, and religions. They’re also sick, for that matter, of race and identity categories being exploited generally, whether by establishment media, college DEI programs, or the entertainment industry.

Sure, there’s lingering racism and bigotry in American society, but it occurs across many different races in many directions, not just whites against blacks. And yes, the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and redlining likely still have effects. But these are grievances, not proposals to move the nation as a whole forward. And most people—besides talk show panelists and naive college students—are tired of grievances for their own sake. Instead, they’re most concerned about whether they can pay the bills this month and about what kind of nation they’ll be leaving for their children and grandchildren.

This is what Harris and the Democratic Party establishment don’t seem to understand. Maybe they can get away with their policies in heavily blue states like California or Massachusetts, where their power is entrenched, but a lot of ordinary Americans don’t accept these policies and refuse to have them foisted upon them from above. They also don’t appreciate being called deplorable or racist at every turn, just because they want the country’s trajectory to be grounded in normalcy and common sense.

And that, in the end, is why Trump won and Harris didn’t. It’s no more complicated than that, and trying to make it about race or sex or foreign interference is simply to perpetuate the same worn-out narratives that led so many to vote for Trump in the first place.

The elites and their admirers need to take a hard look in the mirror, step outside their coastal bubbles, and realize just how far they’ve moved from the center of American cultural norms and beliefs. Until they do, they will remain angry, perplexed, and self-righteously indignant, which will only lead them to drift further away from the lives of ordinary Americans.

Scott Idleman is a Professor of Law at Marquette University as well as a husband, father, and ardent baseball fan. The views expressed in this piece are his own and do not necessarily represent the views of Marquette University.

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