Why did Donald Trump win another term as America’s president?

There are a lot of theories floating about. The internet is awash with the observations and analyses of much smarter people than me.

Unlike the professional pundits, I have a unique theory about what caused the outcome of this year’s election: Ultimately, we all want to sit at the cool kids’ table.

More about that theory in a moment.

Here are the top-three reasons why I think Trump won and Harris lost.

• The Harris campaign was a bit tone deaf and seemed to be playing a constant game of catch-up. The threat of women’s reproductive rights was important, but not the game changer the Democrats were hoping for.

• Harris got a late start and inherited every negative that always comes attached to the incumbency. Being the incumbent means that you have to play a good defense as well as a good offense; your challenger pretty much has the advantage of focusing solely on offense.

• Trump stuck to an unwavering and unapologetic basic message. He appealed to base fears. Fear is a primal instinct. Fear keeps us alive. When exploited, fear can be a powerful weapon. Even unfounded fears often outweigh rational conversations about things such as the economy or issues tied to immigration. The Harris campaign embraced “joy” and optimism. Even Democrat strategist James Carville will tell you that sunshine and happiness do not win elections.

The Economy: Good or Bad?

The economy always plays an important role in every presidential election. For better or worse, Americans routinely vote with their wallets, and on this critical issue, the Harris campaign was a bit more than tone deaf.

Despite the messaging that the Trump team kept hammering into the conversation, the reality is this: The nation’s economy has been performing well over the last several months of the Biden Administration. Both NASDAQ and the Dow Jones Average broke earnings records. Unemployment numbers hit historic, single-digit lows.

GDP (Gross Domestic Product) increased. The deficit decreased, and retail gasoline prices were lower under the latter part of the Biden Administration than they were during the final months of the GW Bush Administration. In fact. Major oil companies including Exxon/Mobil, Chevron and Shell posted record profits during the last six months of the Biden Administration.

So, with all that information, how could Harris possibly lose because of the economy? Because her campaign was tone deaf.

Last year, Vice President Harris – while stumping for Biden — told a crowd of supporters in Iowa that most Americans are only one paycheck away from being homeless. At the very same time, President Biden was bragging about how strong the economy is. The Democrats were trying to play both sides of the fiddle.

But if all the main factors point to a rather healthy economy, why did Team Harris lose on this issue?

Because too many Americans are worried about the economy and the lingering effects of stubborn inflation. Groceries cost more today than during the last few months of Trump’s first term in office.

The cost of gasoline, heating oil and basic utilities are all higher today than they were under Trump’s final months in office.

Sure, we all know the secret of Trump’s success in driving down prices during the last year of his administration: It’s Covid, stupid!

The global pandemic squashed demand for many items, consequently prices dropped.

On an intellectual level, most of us understand the basic economic concept of supply and demand but what we feel in our hearts is often stronger than what we know in our brains . . . and Trump pounced on that, like a crocodile with a gazelle in its jaws.

Talk to a single mother working in the service sector. Ask her if she is better off today. Tell her about the NASDAQ, the deficit and low unemployment. It’s quite likely she does not have a 401K or savings of any kind. She is worried about the rising cost of daycare. She probably doesn’t care about the GDP or bull markets.

Trump took a page from the Reagan handbook, repeating that famous mantra over and over and over again: Are you better off today than you were four years ago?

Voters see spiking rates of homelessness in their own communities while others are struggling to pay skyrocketing housing prices. Those in the middle class are not immune from economic worries. Soaring college tuition rates are just one more piece of the puzzle.

The Democrats stuck with the “Building Back Better” message while many voters were bracing for the upcoming heating season. During the final weeks of the campaign, Team Harris rolled out their vision for economic assistance targeted at those on the lower end of the economic scale.

But that message was muddled while Trump’s message was clear. “You struggled less when I was president.”

The cool kids’ table

But it wasn’t just the economy nor the tapping into widespread concerns regarding immigration where the Harris campaign was tone deaf.

Democratic mayors in several large cities were begging for federal relief to keep pace with a skyrocketing number of immigrants seeking asylum and residency in the United States.

Again, the Harris campaign underestimated American fears and concerns. Essentially, they stayed silent on this issue until it was too late.

But all of this doesn’t factor as much as my theory about the cool kids’ table.

Yes, the economy, immigration and reproductive rights were all big issues, but it was resentment that secured Trump’s double-digit success.

I have a theory about human nature. Basically, everyone wants to sit at the cool kids’ table in the cafeteria. But here’s the rub, for most of us this is an out-of-reach dream and that lays the foundation for resentment.

Harris didn’t do much to court the center right vote.

While Trump was using the economy and immigration fears to court the center left, Harris spent too much time focused on her base, despite last minute pleas in Pennsylvania (fracking) and Michigan (auto industry).

This next part is going to be especially hard for Democrats to read, but if they want to win big again, they will need to address their own sense of entitlement and their not-so-subtle messages of elitism.

Those center-left and center-right voters in rural America are all too aware about how they are mocked and dismissed by the liberal left. I’m talking about the “fly over states.”

They read what you post on Facebook. The only time their concerns matter is during the final weeks of a national election. They hear the condescending platitudes about how much it must suck to be poor; about how the federal government is here to save them. They’ve heard that same song and dance for generations.

Elitism? Really? Yes.

In fact, just two days after their decisive loss, liberal voters took to social media to blast those who voted for Trump.

One meme that was widely shared claimed that 54 percent of Americans read at or below a sixth-grade level. “That explains a lot right now.”

Others were clearly puzzled and left shaking their heads and began sharing a meme that said most of those who didn’t vote for Harris are in the wrong economic category and should have voted instead for someone who cared for them.

The condescending messages were spreading like wildfire. It never really occurred to the liberal elite that a poor person may actually be more concerned about things other than government assistance.

Nope. Those kids don’t get invited to the weekend party. They hear the laughs and sniggering whispered behind their backs. But they are a lot smarter than so many on the left give them credit for.

Those kids don’t sit at the cool kids’ table. Those kids are angry and feel ignored.

The left was banking on identity politics. How could Black and brown Americans vote for Trump? How could gay people vote for Trump? How could women vote for Trump?

I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I do know that Democrats better spend some time coming with some answers.

Never miss another installment of Lessons In Mediocrity! Subscribe for free today!