Trump's Wins Now Need To Translate to Votes in 2026 And Beyond
Donald Trump has seemingly raised Republicans and conservatives’ collective IQs, leading to us believing we are uber smart and invincible, even when we aren’t. As too many have found in the past, today’s winners are tomorrow’s losers.
We have midterms and another presidential campaign coming at us fast and furiously. Relying on the Dems to continue self-destructing is not a strategy. Eventually, Dems will find a new normal somewhere between out-and-out communism and soft socialism, with millions willing to vote for some version of that.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, President Trump will continue to deliver on his promises, stirring the pot, all while social media and mainstream media continue to portray his actions and strategies as variations of chaos, insanity, brutality, or meanness. Weak minds will swallow that tripe, reacting with emotional displays to counter Trump’s goal to make us more independent and genuinely free, requiring an ability to fail as well as succeed. Risk is a bedrock requirement for freedom.
Given the reality that elections are always won or lost on the margins, we should examine what allowed Trump to win in 2024. At the top of the list, I would put the following:
1. Economic Disenchantment—inflation and the cost of living, coupled with a belief that no plan in place would fix the issues
2. MAGA—half of Republicans identified with MAGA, with MAGA a movement, not just a philosophy. People understood and supported the underdog. Does MAGA survive going forward without Trump?
3. The Anti-Progressive movement—little noticed (especially by Democrats) is the erosion of support for progressive tenets. It was becoming evident to all that progressivism was not living up to its hype, and they had nothing more substantive up their sleeve.
4. Young people and Hispanics—gave President Trump a chance after their disenchantment with the Biden presidency, which saw them as guaranteed votes.5. President Biden and his Vice President—the gift that kept on giving, ultimately being the reason Trump won so broadly.
Democrats’ main message (their only message?) was that Trump is Hitler. Other than that, they lacked a unified and cohesive positive message to vote for Harris.
This time, Republicans need to articulate a unified, cohesive, and positive message to bring voters to the polls. This is the central question Republicans need to answer for the midterms and the next presidential run.
Trump has been on trial (literally and figuratively) since stepping onto that golden escalator in 2015. In a very real sense, he’s still on trial today.
Trump’s force of will, combined with strategic and tactical court victories, will likely enable him to navigate the midterms successfully. This outcome requires the Democrats to be, well, Democrats, paying homage to a communist candidate forecast to win the New York mayoral race.
Although Zohran Mamdani’s is a local election, it will not sit well with many Americans who were already predisposed to see the sky crumbling around them, save for Trump’s continued intervention. God willing, I think we will keep the House and Senate next year!
But winning isn’t everything. While Democrats boast about a “big tent” (big enough for Islamo-Nazis), it’s actually the Republicans who must consolidate people who have truly different expectations about what the government’s role is.
Many people who voted for Trump are not conservatives in the traditional sense; they are populists who voted for Trump’s vision and vibe, expecting him to fulfill their wishes and expectations. That’s always problematic when you arrive at the intersection of reality vs. wishes.
Our entire society has become obsessed with the idea that you can have it all with less than the historically required effort. Older Americans know better, but the under-45 crowd, now making up 58.8% of us, has been brainwashed to believe otherwise. The issue that will decide the next presidential race will revolve around how the next candidate can authentically articulate a path forward that is realistic, obtainable, and resonates with younger and more demanding voters. That’s a tall order!
I predict that delivering on the following issues will be pivotal to capturing votes from the under-45 crowd:
A. Housing affordability—government regulations (zoning, carrying costs, guest worker programs, and building codes) drive housing inflation.
B. The strength of the economy—even a modest recession, will peel away a lot of Trump’s new coalition of voters. Again, the FED usually is late in providing interest rate relief. Trump’s ability to appoint a new FED chair next year bodes well for interest rate relief, which will be like rocket fuel for our economy.
C. Creating a positive vision of America’s future—Trump’s continued and visible success in reordering our economy, returning to previous social norms, and uplifting messaging, backed up by deliverables that young people can see and feel.
D. Messaging reinforcement—the TikTok generation needs constant stroking and validation, lacking the traditional grounding of their predecessors. The under-45 crowd very much lives or dies on “what have you done for me lately?” In that sense, it’s a ruined generation.
Even in an era of institutionalized brainwashing at our colleges and universities, many see the folly of the progressive messaging and actions that left our country in disarray. Obama’s campaign slogan, “Change You Can See,” should be repurposed and become the rallying cry for the 2028 Republican Presidential candidate.
President Trump must continue to deliver tangible results!
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