Noah Shaw graduated from PLNU in Spring 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in software engineering. He has self-published four books and is passionate about apologetics and defending the gospel.
There is a high chance that after this election, you are dumbfounded at how Donald Trump could have possibly won. As someone who voted for Trump in this past election, I hope to explain why I, and many others, did so.
A House Committee found that under the Biden administration, there were around 8 million encounters between Border Patrol and illegal migrants, with 1.7 million known individuals successfully evading border patrol to enter the U.S. 78% of Americans believe that “the large number of migrants seeking to enter this country at the U.S.-Mexico border is either a crisis (45%) or a major problem (32%).” These feelings are likely amplified by tragedies such as the death of a 12 year old in Texas, the death of Laken Riley at the University of Georgia, and the takeover of a Colorado apartment complex by a Venezuelan gang. Furthermore, many of those immigrating to America under the Biden-Harris policies have food and housing subsidized by the U.S. government, with NYC having spent $5 billion on these migrants. The Biden-Harris administration has been tied to this increase in migration, especially due to their parole policy for migrants.
A topic also under discussion recently is that of transgender women competing in women’s sports. Due to their assigned sex at birth, they have an inherent advantage that does not only cause them to triumph, but is actually physically dangerous for biologically female athletes. A North Carolina volleyball player suffered severe head and neck injuries after having the ball spiked at her by a transgender opponent. A girls basketball team in Massachusetts forfeited mid-match after multiple of their players were injured by a transgender athlete on the other team. Many women have opportunities taken away, or receive serious injuries, due to the current transgender athlete policies. While Trump and the Republicans are quick to identify this as a serious issue, many Democrats remain silent or shame those with concerns as being transphobic.
Besides these issues, under the Biden-Harris administration there has been an increase in the cost of necessities, like food, housing and gasoline. Kamala Harris had the opportunity to distance herself from these things, yet chose not to. On The View, Harris was asked if she would change anything Biden did in terms of policy. Harris said she wouldn’t change a thing. Voters who were feeling the serious effects of a poor economy and mass migration were given no hope that things would change if Harris was elected.
The problems of the Biden-Harris administration, as well as their lack of acknowledgement of such problems, is not the only thing that pushed people toward Trump. The harsh rhetoric of some liberals also turned many away from the Democratic Party. On July 13, there was an assassination attempt on Trump’s life. For such a crazy event, many on the left seemed to be indifferent. Left-leaning media sources initially refused to label it as an assassination attempt, with headlines such as “Trump rushed offstage at Pennsylvania rally by Secret Service after loud popping noises heard” and “Donald Trump whisked off stage at rally after loud noises ring through crowd.” These were later changed after backlash over their obvious obscuration of the truth. Steven Bonnell II, a popular streamer and political commentator known as “Destiny”, even wished for Trump’s death, and mocked the death of Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who died during the assassination attempt. When a former president is almost assassinated, and many on the left either ignore it or mock it, many voters are turned off by that cold indifference.
In spite of these arguments, many still believe that Trump won because half of America is simply racist, misogynistic or homophobic, yet these arguments distract from the truth that the Democratic Party was not serving the people over the past four years. Even Bernie Sanders attested to this, saying that “it should come as no great surprise that a Democratic party that has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them.” For Sanders, Trump’s popularity was not about hatred within Americans, but the failings of the Democratic Party. These failings caused many liberals to endorse Donald Trump. Robert Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and Joe Rogan, who were previously Democrats, all endorsed Donald Trump in 2024. Mark Fisher, who co-founded BLM Rhode Island, endorsed Trump as well. Furthermore, many of these individuals are very pro-choice, and found solace in the fact that Trump will not touch abortion policies, but leave it to the states. Though I am personally pro-life, Trump’s policy was able to sway many who would have voted for Harris solely on the issue of abortion.
While I cannot convince you that Trump is the right pick for president, nor is it my goal to, I simply seek to demonstrate that Trump voters are not crazy. They are not racist, misogynistic, homophobes that want the world to run on hate. They are citizens who are hurting. Many of their pains were caused by policies and views of the Democratic Party, and there was only one candidate who saw their problems, saw their pains and painted a way forward. While you do not have to like Donald Trump, or even believe he will be a good president, don’t be surprised that I, and many others, had good reasons to vote for him.
Grace Gaines