‘Garbage’ Had Its Say: What and Who Led Trump to Victory?*

*Editor’s note: On March 4, 2022, Russia enacted a law that criminalizes public opposition to, or independent news reporting about, the war in Ukraine. The law makes it a crime to call the war a “war” rather than a “special military operation” on social media or in a news article or broadcast. The law is understood to penalize any language that “discredits” Russia’s use of its military in Ukraine, calls for sanctions or protests Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It punishes anyone found to spread “false information” about the invasion with up to 15 years in prison.

Someone will have to answer for the insults directed at Donald Trump.

Donald Trump’s convincing win in the recent U.S. presidential election was due not only to a skillfully executed campaign by Republican strategists – where the former president was seen serving up french fries at McDonald’s and even driving a garbage truck – but also a range of objective factors.

Such factors included serious strategic blunders by the Democrats, starting with nominating 81-year-old Joe Biden, who was visibly struggling with health issues. Trump, though only marginally younger at 78, came across as more charismatic and easily outperformed Biden in the TV debate.

This left the 60-year-old, energetic, yet largely hollow Kamala Harris with too little time to make her presence known, especially since the Democratic Party handed her the nomination by way of succession without the legitimacy of party primaries.

Another subjective factor that favored Trump was the attempt on his life last summer. What mattered wasn’t just the bullet that grazed his ear, but his calm and composed behavior under pressure.

Images of a bloodied Trump, fist raised and shouting “Fight,” became iconic and garnered admiration from new voter groups. Americans respect resilience in the face of adversity.

A pivotal factor in Trump’s victory was the massive support of powerful megadonors, led by billionaire Elon Musk. Musk’s nine-figure contributions to Trump’s campaign and rumored million-dollar daily donations to conservative voters are certain to shape future conversations about the role of wealth in American democracy.

It’s difficult to say what the election outcome would have been without Musk’s almost limitless financial support and, most importantly, without the communication power of his social media platform X (formerly Twitter, banned in Russia).

Trump’s choice of 40-year-old JD Vance as his running mate, a man who is married to an Indian-American woman, was strategic, securing substantial support from the 4.5-million strong Indian diaspora in the U.S. – a demographic Harris also aimed to attract with her own Indian heritage.

Even with these advantages, Trump’s resurgence might not have happened if Harris hadn’t centered her campaign around branding him a “dictator” and catering mainly to Latino and African American voters.

This agenda, as the voting results in key states lost by the Democrats showed, was far less convincing to the average American voter than the pressing issues Trump raised, such as mass illegal immigration and the need to return to a protectionist “America First” policy to ensure rapid economic growth in the U.S.

The relentless anti-Trump media campaign, driven by liberal outlets in partnership with the Democrats, ultimately backfired. Throughout, Trump was continuously branded a “fascist” without evidence and reminded of his criminal conviction, while his supporters were dismissed as “garbage.”

On Nov. 5, America’s “garbage” had its say.

Someone will have to answer for the insults directed at Trump as he triumphantly returns to the Oval Office.