Blue state Trump voters - young women. This will blow your mind

[mcar]

Talking to my sis today and, of course, the conversation went to the election. After commiserating, she told me this - and my brain exploded.

Her BFF lives and raised her kids in a solid blue state. Kids are well grown.

After the election, some of her daughter's friends were visiting - young women (late 20s, probably). She's known them forever.

The admitted they'd voted for Trump but begged her not to tell their parents.

She asked them why and mentioned Roe. They told her that women now have ample access to birth control and that they weren't single issue voters. Then they said they'd voted on the single issue of the economy. They also said they are in (blue state) and don't have anything to worry about - re reproductive rights.

Sis's friend bit a hole clean through her lip and said nothing, in the hopes that these women would continue talking to her.

I started ranting about their selfishness and my sis said, yep, but friend wasn't going to say that.

Not to mention national abortion ban, economy tanking, etc, etc.

The "wise pundits" keep saying we need to listen to those who voted for that thing. What we're being told, in this instance anyway, is that they are selfish fools.

[Prairie Gates]

1. If somebody tells you something and you interpret it in the worst possible way

through your previously existing schemas, that's not really listening.

Listening doesn't mean that you have to accept their view, and you might end the day with a similar judgment (selfishness). But you have to transit through their own meaning system. You have to ask why the economy was such an issue for young women, why the argument about reproductive rights didn't resonate, why Trump's arguments about the economy were determinative for them.

Let's just do an experiment. Forestall your immediate reaction, and provide a positive reading of their reasons. You can come back to your negative judgment in the end, but transit through what they think they mean. Then you will have listened, actually listened.

[mcar]

7. Hmm

These young women don't give a flying fck about other young women who have, may and will die of complications from miscarriages. Or about girls who will be forced to bear their rapist's baby.

They've crystallized their reproductive rights argument to the pretty simple issue of birth control - nothing else. And we all know it is so much more than that.

These young women don't give a flying fck about the reality that, at least in "red" states, women will not have access to birth control. And, that SCOTUS is poised to ban medication abortion nationwide.

And how about that they said they are not single issue voters, but apparently, voted on a single issue? I get that my sis's friend didn't argue with them, that was her choice.

But I'm not going to sit here and do your "experiment," which appears to channel the failed media's attempts to say that Harris/Walz didn't "listen" to voters, or "talked down to" voters.

These highly educated young women made their choices based on elitism. The basic Republican mantra: "I've got mine, screw you."

So thanks for your advice, I guess.

[Intractable]

19. I have a nineteen year old neice. She was the sweetest child. Now, as an adult, she doesn't give a f*ck about anyone.

Her formative teenage years were during the pandemic and spent on social media.

I believe this is the primary reason she has become an ignorant narcissist.

She sees herself as others see her in social media. She doesn't have a real personality.

[mcar]

22. That's so sad

I don't know the answer to this.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Unrec

Pedantic nonsense.

[c-rational]

2. Ugh...

[radical noodle]

3. At least they had a reason, even if it was wrong

I've talked to several people about why and none of them seem to have a reason why they voted for him.

[SoCalDavidS]

4. I Can't Believe I Fell For All The Roevember Bullshit

Yeah, women couldn’t care less about their rights.

[mcar]

8. It's the pure selfishness that gets me

I got mine, don't care about you. Somehow, it always wins.

[Kaleva]

23. I had fooled myself into thinking women would carry Harris to victory

[SWBTATTReg]

28. I did too. And now, they'll reap the consequences soon to come. We can say 'we told you so', but that has

lost its flavor to me and why tell them anything now? They proved that they won't listen to anything that truly made sense, and now, they are going to reap what these thugs are going to do. At least, they'll show their true faces, their true intents for all to see, and it won't be pretty.

[CTyankee]

42. It's called "Learning the hard way." Unfortunately.

[SWBTATTReg]

43. Yes. And I truly hope that there are no unwilling victims as a result.

[CTyankee]

44. Sadly, I think that is inevitable...

[Mariana]

46. Most women voted for Kamala Harris.

[PeaceWave]

47. It wasn't "bullshit." Some women (and men) cared - Just not necessarily as their primary issue.

[brer cat]

5. How disheartening. I would think they could understand the

dangers of trump/vance better than that.

[mcar]

9. You would think

It is disheartening, to say the least.

[Johonny]

6. They voted for a rapist because of the economy?

The same economy that's as good as its been in 50 years? How much better do they think the economy will get under a man that committed multiple business frauds?

[mcar]

10. Right?

[Ilikepurple]

21. I'm sure for some it's the economy, for others a placeholder for uglier answers

In general, it’s just easier to say economy and move on. Having a good economy is something most can agree on, Immigrants, LGBTQ+, BLM, Crypto, Ukraine, Christian Nationalism, cute Trumpers not so much. I was being a little flippant with the latter, but caring too much about politics might shrink your dating pool. Also, being a liberal is comparatively exhausting intellectually as it involves tearing down some longstanding historical societal structures. Easier to just say “eggs”.

[EdmondDantes_]

32. Except it's not if you aren't looking at GDP or the stock market

Housing, college, cars, medical stuff/insurance. Income inequality. Yeah Trump's policies aren't going to help that, but it's more than Biden and then Harris repeating that the economy is great. The average worker has lost ground over the last 50 years. That's a significant problem that needs to be addressed. Ignoring it didn't work.

[dpibel]

35. The last 50 years?

So Trump is going to fix what went wrong in the last 50 years?

Which was, after all, implementation of trickle down economics.

Anyone who thinks that Republicans--patently insane Reaganite ones or slavering wolverine Trumpist ones--are going to fix the fact that income has flowed upward in the last 50 years is patently insane.

"I know! I'll vote for the guy whose signature (and sole) achievement was a tax cut for the rich that made things much worse for the average worker."

[yardwork]

34. I think the targeted propaganda and lies did its work.

I think the voters were incredibly misinformed for this election.

[tanyev]

11. It's going to be a leopard economy, ladies.

Good luck with that.

[mcar]

12. Yup

[mcar]

14. Swell

What about all the young women who live in states that have a total ban, like here in FL? What about the girls/women who are rape victims? What about women who experience complications from a miscarriage?

What about their lives?

[Intractable]

20. There is nothing in this post that is truthful or useful.

Most people are not free to just pack up and move to another state.

USA law has nothing to do with "China, Africa and Middle East."

[mcar]

24. Oh, they can move?

Well thank you for solving the problem.

10 YO girls who are being raped by their stepfathers can just get up and move to a blue state? A mother with 2 children having a catastrophic miscarriage can just get up and move? A single mother working 2 minimum wage jobs who finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy can just get up and move?

How lovely for them.

[Jack Valentino]

18. Seems their lives matter less than the price of a bag of Doritos---

to some people, unfortunately.

[PeaceWave]

15. Here's my question...Do you think outreach to such women could have turned them?

And, if so, what would have been the approach? You say they voted based on the economy? What would have been the pitch to explain to them that Biden/Harris weren't solely responsible for inflation and that, in fact, Trump kicked off the rise in prices with his asinine response to Covid and tariffs?

[mcar]

26. I think they were reached out to

I reject the idea that Harris/Walz wasn't out there talking to people.

Look - some pundits are saying they didn't reach out to men/young men/working class people because they were too busy focusing on women and reproductive rights.

At the same time, we're led to believe that they were also not reaching out to young women because they were focusing on other things.

It's nonsense. They ran a great campaign and reached so many people in such a short period of time.

[Iris]

25. I'll bet they're white. As a white woman, I feel anger and sadness that the majority of white women care only for them-

selves and their own rights.

[mcar]

40. They are, of course

[AkFemDem]

27. My daughters all voted Harris but....

I actually spoke to one of their girlfriends who voted Trump :-/ and it came down to "No one our age can afford to buy a house or even rent a house without roommates. The economy sucks." and I realized that for these kids they just see/feel college loans, high prices, a crazy housing market, sky rocketed interest rates, etc. I. can't really understand forsaking so many other important issues over what is ultimately NOT something the president no matter who he or she is can fix but also I realize I was raised in a different less hopeless feeling era.

I wonder what might have been if Bidens college loan forgiveness plan had been allowed to proceed without the usual Republican fuckery.

[mcar]

30. He forgave thousands of loans

Despite that fckery. Rs are going to bring them back. There is no excuse for this ignorance. These people have the information at their fingertips and chose to not know.

[AkFemDem]

33. Obviously most did not benefit from that forgiveness though

Especially in this age group. That said, I totally agree it's maddening that they fell for the Trump will fix the economy lies.

[PeaceWave]

41. Those who did not benefit may have seen it as a divisive issue.

[J_William_Ryan]

29. "...they'd voted on the single issue of the economy."

Selfish, ignorant, stupid.

And there is no ‘the economy’ – save for the fact that the economy is strong and unemployment is at record lows; but the willfully ignorant Trump voter doesn’t care about facts and the truth.

[mcar]

31. +

[PeaceWave]

36. I get that they're concerned about housing prices. But, what is Trump going to do about that?

[Ndp5]

37. What is their educational level?

I don’t buy the argument that this election hinged solely on educational outcomes, but I’m curious.

In any case, they were low-information voters. Didn’t know that a bevy of high-profile, award-winning economists came out against Trump, warning his plans would tank the economy.

Didn’t care that Trump surrounds himself with people who have said they would pass a nationwide abortion ban.

Didn’t heed the rightward, fundamentalist Catholic drift of the Supreme Court.

Didn’t hear Harris’ warning that Trump could limit access to birth control nationwide and force states to monitor pregnancies.

Essentially, they’re ignorant. Not tracking current events. I don’t want to stone them for voting what they perceived as their own economic interests, but the fact is, they were wrong about that and about the safety of their reproductive rights.

This is ultimately about access to accurate information. If you don’t have time to follow real news and research the issues, totally fine — but then please don’t vote. And by “research,” I don’t mean Googling “did Joe Biden drop out” at the polling place on Election Day.

[PeaceWave]

38. The award winning economist they would listen to would have to be on TikTok.

[intheflow]

39. The media only talked to Trump voters pre-election.

No reason for them to stop now. 😡

[City Lights]

45. I wonder why the "wise pundits" never tell supporters of that thing that they need to listen to us.

Not after 2016, not after 2020 and not after 2024. We always have to listen to them. I'm done listing to them. The dumb just keeps growing.