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Commentary by Gary A. Johnson

This is Day 4 after the Presidential election that saw Donald Trump, a man who has successfully slipped through the “Hush Money Case” with a porn star, to being impeached twice as President, to 34 felony counts of violating a New York law on corporate record-keeping, basically, knowingly falsifying business records, to inciting an insurrection, to a slew of sexual assault charges against women, make a remarkable political comeback and win the 2024 Presidential election.  I think I’m on solid footing when I say: No American President has been as corrupt as Donald Trump including Richard Nixon, who resigned in disgrace.

So, I pose the question again: “Did Trump win, or did Harris lose?”

It is easy to “pile on” and be a “Monday Morning Quarterback.”  I think it is important that we sort through the rumble to see what can be learned from this unbelievable political comeback by a convicted felon.  I am guilty of believing that the candidate with a solid resume would be no match for the candidate with a criminal rap sheet.  I WAS WRONG!  It was as if his criminality was a non-issue.

Over the past 4 days, I’ve read dozens of “post-mortem” articles, watched dozens of interviews by voters, pundits, and journalists.  I have re-watched every podcast that I hosted before and after the election.  My podcasts alone featured a wide swath of Americans from different social-economic backgrounds, different races, ages (from 34 to 86), occupations, from different parts of the country.  I held private conversations with children ages 9 to college students. Here’s what I concluded:

• Racism and whiteness prevailed over facts and logic. Trump tapped into the core of America’s fears of losing what they believe is rightfully theirs to a group of people that are undeserving and he kept hammering that message throughout the entire campaign. It was simple and easy to absorb.
• The war in Gaza and the Biden administration’s relationship with Israel, including the calculation not to reach out sufficiently in key Muslim parts of the country like Detroit, Michigan.
  

The economy and all this talk about the price of bacon and eggs.  The inner workings of the economy are complex with many moving parts.  The Harris campaign calculated that the economy was soaring in record numbers, and it is.  However, they could not communicate that to many Americans in a way that was “hearable.” While all the things I cited are critically important factors, the following was probably the MOST important:

• The Trump campaign connected with people who felt that no matter how hard they work, they can’t seem to work hard enough to get ahead. I’ve heard this feeling voiced by my children, many of their friends and other people that I meet around the country.

It’s a head scratcher that an alleged criminal billionaire connected with more American voters on this issue than the Democrats, but the numbers don’t lie.  Half of the families in America have no generational wealth to leave behind when they die.  When I see people in their late 70’s and 80’s working at Walmart or other stores, it’s not because they want to.  Many of them have no choice and are faced with the reality: “I’m going to have to work until I die.”

Most American families are not financially secure in a way that they feel comfortable.  The Biden administration was doing a good job by economic measures for the middle class, but just because you say the economy is doing well, doesn’t mean that everyone is feeling or experiencing those results. 

According to research conducted by Mother Jones magazine, roughly half of the American population has no stocks, no wealth, no retirement savings, and can’t imagine how they’ll ever afford a house.  Donald Trump did a better job of tapping into that group of Americans who are struggling paycheck-to-paycheck to make ends meet.

Here’s the bottom-line as I see it.  Americans chose whiteness over rightness and many of these same Americans who chose Trump will feel the pain, if he is allowed to implement some of his promises of reform connected with Project 2025.  You wanted this America, you got it.  Let’s see what we have learned and how this will play out.

Gary Johnson is the Founder and Publisher of Black Men In America.com, an online news magazine and the Chief Creative Officer (CCO), of Gary Johnson Media, LLC.  Gary worked in the US Intelligence Community (IC) as a civil servant for 18.5 years in a variety of assignments including serving on the staff of three Assistants to The President for National Security Affairs at The White House.  Gary also worked as a government contractor for 22 years and worked for several Fortune 500 companies as a consultant and trainer in every major industry including banking, airline, pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural, entertainment, sports, non-profit and Wall St.

Gary is also the author of the book “25 Things That Really Matter In Life,”:  A Quick and Comprehensive Guide To Making Your Life Better—Today!, and a contribution author to “The Black Father Perspective: What We Want America To Know,” and “In Search of Fatherhood – Transcending Boundaries: International Conversations on Fatherhood.“ 

In 2023, Gary shifted his focus from training and consulting to public relations and social media and launched Gary Johnson Media, LLC.