Missed it by *that* much

Pffffft, the rest of you lot knew what was at stake, the lazy twats who couldn't be bothered to save their own nation by exercising their RIGHT to vote aren't off the hook. I've literally started to cringe when hearing Americans in public (I live in the UK) because in my mind subconsciously there's a high chance that person is dumb as fuck.

In conclusion 68% let Trump win or directly voted for him.

Well, in 1933 when the NSPD came to power they had 43% of the seats in parliament (I haven't found the percentage of the total votes but I imagine it was much less). That did not prevent them from repeating the elections at the end of that year and getting more than 90%, you can imagine how.
Even a part of popular culture accepts that they came to power by winning elections and the German people feel and felt the shame that they came to power by democratic means, which is only half true.
I feel sorry for the American people, but they elected this team under the same rules of democracy as their previous presidents. To claim now that his election was not democratic is to distort the facts.

68.1% of US citizens are bloody idiots.
- Guess why some of these people didn't even bother to vote.

This is why we need ranked choice voting

Stop this bs. Rules are set before the game begins.

Both times Trump won was when a woman was running against him. The only time he lost was to a white old man.
USA is just sexist and Americans better come to terms with it rather than making up random reasons.
- While your logic does have a point, and there's no shortage of sexists out there, I must also state that both Clinton and Harris were horrid candidates as well, and both followed a democrat president the people were starting to/were done with.
  Not only that, but both times Trump preyed on what the people were desperate to hear: "Better living conditions, lower prices" and all that. This was mainly the illusion of choice between two evils, and they chose the one that seemed to be the lesser one. The one who appeared to be "more honest" and despite being a nepo-baby called out and criticized all other rich people.
  The issue is the system itself, and the fact that voters choose their candidates like celebrities or their sports team. See Harris making her campaign way more about celebrity endorsement than commiting to actual societal issues. She was never gonna win like that, and even if she did, she would still be a bad president. Not worse for sure, now that we all are seeing current Trump starting all sorts of conflicts and trying to become a dictator, but still a bad president.
  The US can elect a female president. But so far the options picked for that were absolutely horrid, and I know there's several good and competent female leaders who are both democrats and republicans. Sadly they have too much common sense or lean too much to the centre to be taken seriously by the ones who want to create a spectacle.
- Maybe the women weren't qualified? Clinton ran thinking her name would be enough. Kamala ran because she/they thought anyone except Joe could win. 36% who didn't vote are the true cowards in all this mess. Now a majority of Americans will suffer for 4 years because of lazy-asses who thought that not showing up to vote was a protest move. WRONG!
- Correlation is not causation. We elected Obama who was one of the youngest presidents in US history first term. Also he was Black. I'm not saying the country is sexist, but I am saying both the female candidates that made it the general election, ran on dog shit platforms of "more of the same"
- Tbf, we haven't had a good candidate from either party since Obama.
- Basically if Tim Walz was the presidential candidate he probably would have won.
  
  This! Kamala is a black woman. She was never going to win. When asked if they would rather win or be right, they chose being right. They live on denial on how sexist and racist their country is.
  
  Dems aren't going to nominate anybody without a long record of violence.
- People forget that black men, many of whom were born slaves, got the right to vote before women.

"my vote won't change anything", "i don't like any of them", "that won't affect me", call leopards for those 36%

Thats how elections work everywhere in the world... Wtf are you talking about?
- *How First past the post elections work
  Places with proportional representation have parliaments with representatives from a wide range of parties that have to cooperate with each other rather than constantly undermine each other.

I need to mention that the reason why 20 million fewer voters voted is. Because of the massive voter suppression that was done prior to the 2024 election. So many people were purged from voters rolls and many polling places were closed it wasn't funny.
- While I'm sure that was part of it, a lot of people didn't vote for other reasons as well. Someone I know who you would probably consider "left" didn't vote at all because of Harris supporting Israel (I'm aware trump is worse for Palestinians), and I know a bunch of other people I've spoken to online also didn't vote at all for the same reason.
  Plus I suspect a lot of other previous Biden voters didn't vote at all for similar reasons, like possibly all party's are owned by the rich.
  Bottom line, a class war is needed to get the rich in check.
  
  Unfortunately, if they didn't vote, they have no right to complain when shit blows up in their face. I don't feel represented by basically any candidate in my home country, Canada, or where I live, the UK. I still participate and vote for the person closest to what I'd like to see. If you don't participate, you don't get to bitch.

This is true of every election except maybe one.
Nobody always wins. The "winner" is always elected by a tiny minority. It's a fundamentally corrupt system. Always has been. Literally concocted by genocidal slavers.

Not a mandate, but voter's apathetic acceptance.

Let's get a count of all of the votes that were tossed due to targeted voter registration purges.
- I also would like to see that.

pfff... he won twice. if americans would want a real democracy that wouldnt have happened.
- It turns out politics is very complex and difficult to manage.
- Yeah. American here. It’s generally the case that the president gets votes from a minority of the population. Nothing new there. Unfortunately those of us who live here can see that the support for this monster is very real.

Congrats USA, you just signed the death of my two cultures: First Nations and French Canadian. Your dictator will crush us like he does with every minorities and his maga army are already enjoying it. I hope you enjoy the new world, owned by and at the service of the 1% and the privilege-ass white boys.

How gross it is, considering what was in the line that so many didn’t vote. Also I bet the duck he cheated.
- He 100% cheated.
- https://www.gregpalast.com/trump-lost-vote-suppression-won/

Those who didn't vote, who thought their vote didn't matter, that no matter which politician gets elected to whatever office.... they're complicit.
- Or suppressed. I'll give some anecdotal examples. I have a friend that lives in a major metropolitan area with over 2.6 million people. When he applied to get a photo ID (he lost his previous one and needed a new one), the soonest appointment available for the entire metropolitan area was 3 months out. That's just for the appointment to apply for the ID, not actually receiving the ID. You are required to have a photo ID to vote. Then, voter registration in itself must also be completed at least a month before an election. Now, let's talk about the process of actually voting. I've personally stood in line for over 6 hours to vote. A lot of the people waiting in line had to leave to pick up their kids and other things. If you don't pick up your kids from school or daycare at very specific times, there are serious penalties. While I was waiting, there must have been at least 40 people in front of me that had to leave before voting. Many of them had waited in line for over 4 hours. For most people, waiting in line is the only way to vote. Only the elderly and disabled qualify to vote by mail. Make no mistake, voter suppression is very effective, and it is implemented specifically in areas that vote against what the ruling party wants. In Trump leaning areas, the lines were no longer than a two minute wait if they existed at all. Trump never would have won either election if it wasn't for voter suppression.
- The most complicit are the genocidal wackos who nominated a cop/prosecutor that campaigned to the cheyneys.
  Nobody should be shamed into voting for trash.
- If you live in a blue state and didn't vote, how are you complicit?
- https://www.gregpalast.com/trump-lost-vote-suppression-won/
- The only significantly statically impactful group of "non voters" is the population that was unable to or inconvenienced heavily by voting.
  Meaning the major majority of voters that didn't vote were either unable to because of other obligations (work, childcare, etc) with a small subset of that being people that were no motivated enough to deal with the inconvenience of visiting a poll line (4hours in line) after a 10 hour shift.
  These are the vast vast majority of people that did not show up. Beyond that an even smaller percentage was the "protest voters' that even if 100% of which went to Harris she still would have lost.
  I guess I just want to say "in conclusion" that the vast majority of voters that didn't vote were giving you your Starbucks or your Taco Bell.
  I think we should spend less time blaming voters and more time being critical of the politicians and party that gives zero reason for the working class to "risk" their shift for.
  No one's gonna "risk a shift" for the policies and messaging that Harris communicated. You don't get people to "risk their shift" for voting for a lesser evil.
  
  Sometimes i get the feeling that voting on a tuesday is working as expected: to keep working an poor people from voting...
  Germany has voting per defintion only on sundays, and (at least where i live) the voting booths are everywhere. You can vote either per mail, or from 8:00 to 18:00 at a booth, and i never had to wait in a line to vote, and i'm in my 40s
  
  I guess I just want to say "in conclusion" that the vast majority of voters that didn't vote were giving you your Starbucks or your Taco Bell.
  This is a very clear and succinct description of something I've been struggling to articulate for years. Affluent liberals can tell their boss they're taking a long lunch to vote, and they don't understand why shift workers don't do the same.
  
  I really appreciate your comment, because here we are months later and still a lot of folks don't seem to be getting the big picture.
  Maybe they need someone to blame other than the GOP, and folks who didn't vote are the easiest target.
  
  I got a mail in ballot because I knew I wouldn't have time to make it on Voting Day
  
  the population that was unable to or inconvenienced heavily by voting.
  Voting early or by mail was available to:
  -Alaska
  -Arizona
  -Arkansas
  -California: All active, registered voters automatically receive ballot.
  -Colorado: All active, registered voters automatically receive ballot.
  -D.C.: All active, registered voters automatically receive ballot.
  -Delaware
  -Florida
  -Georgia
  -Hawaii: All active, registered voters automatically receive ballot.
  -Idaho
  -Illinois
  -Iowa
  -Kansas
  -Maine
  -Maryland
  -Massachusetts
  -Michigan
  -Minnesota
  -Montana
  -Nebraska
  -Nevada: All active, registered voters automatically receive ballot.
  -New Jersey
  -New Mexico
  -New York
  -North Carolina
  -North Dakota
  -Ohio
  -Oklahoma
  -Oregon: All active, registered voters automatically receive ballot.
  -Pennsylvania
  -Rhode Island
  -South Dakota
  -Utah: All active, registered voters automatically receive ballot.
  -Vermont: All active, registered voters automatically receive ballot.
  -Virginia
  -Washington: All active, registered voters automatically receive ballot.
  -Wisconsin
  -Wyoming
  I'm not saying people don't have tough lives, but it has been made pretty available to a lot of people at this point.
  
  Other countries vote on Sundays, US could do the same.
  Also mail in voting exists.
  But yes, big brain move to not vote or vote some third party.
- I voted, and my vote definitely did not matter. Nor will it until we completely overhaul the election system, getting rid of the electoral college and first past the post. I don't think that's going to happen either until politicians acquire enough fear to offset their greed.

Ah yes there was someone saying 1 in 2 people voted for Trump and yeah nope...

So 68.1% of the American public are complicit. Worse than I thought TBH. Fuck.
- Complicit with genocide? That's everybody who voted actually.
- Yeah, these numbers are generally brought up to "show" how weak Trump support is. But, what I see is that leftists are not a majority, even among people that give a damn. So, if leftists are going to make any progress, they need to take concrete actions with whoever they can agree with for that project, instead of attacking other leftists (because they didn't vote e.g.) and going no-contact with everyone that's not as ideologically pure as yourself.
  We have to build consensus and lead by example before we can win at the polls.
  
  Democrats arent leftists. Left of the the republicans isn't the same as being a leftist, and voting for democrats doesn't make you a leftist.
  
  The mistake here is assuming that the dems are left.
- In the US it's legal for corporations to create propaganda outlets which stream nonstop lies designed to get sensitive individuals to vote fascists. It's impossible to have democratic elections and have completely disinformed and propagandized voters. Yet even after killing hundreds of thousands of conservative voters the courts have sided with the propaganda outlets.
- Yeah, no, that's not how that works. We've got the electoral college, remember? There were 20 states that went blue. Any additional votes to Harris in those states wouldn't have made Trump win less, refraining to vote in those states ultimately didn't matter. You need to look at the percentage of people that didn't vote in states that went red. But I get it, its easier to blame everyone who didn't vote than to use critical thought.
- Yeah, pretending that it wasn't a landslide is a grand delusion.
  
  "Yeah, pretending that it was~~n’t~~ a landslide is a grand delusion."
  FTFY

- Australian voting isn't just mandatory. It's a two-party preferential system. If you vote for a minor party or independent, your vote ultimately goes toward one of the two largest parties. No vote is a throwaway.
- While I agree in principle I don't think that would necessarily change the results in this case as labour was the best mainstream option in that case. The conservatives had messed up badly and lost public confidence, bleeding votes to both Labour and Reform.
- I believe that people that do not want to vote or do not feel particularly strongly about politics should be free to stay home. They might not know much about politics. Wouldn't you rather have people vote who are actually invested into politics and come to vote because they actually want to? Also, I do not think it is ok to force people to participate in democracy in suvh a manner.
  Just because you reckon your party would have won if you forced people to vote, does not mean it should be done.
  
  It's true that mandatory voting nets a lot of low information voters. It also encourages a lot of people to check the major party's policies who otherwise wouldn't bother.
  I'm not aware of low information voters swaying the vote one way or another.
  By making voting mandatory, it becomes mandatory for everyone to have an opportunity to vote.

Hitler got about 33% back when he started. He achieved his position by simply ignoring the law after that. Sounds familiar?
- So they reformed the state after ww2, right?
  No such change here. People literally swear their lives to "defending" the olde slavermaster pact.
  
  They basically overhauled the politicla landscape completely. Actually, the allies installed a parliamentary system that fixed most issues of the German, British, and US system, and it has worked quite well, better than the originals.

Not voting is not the same as not voting for Trump. Not voting is complying with other people's votes. If you don't live in a swing state then that's understandable but if you live in a swing state and didn't vote, you have allowed Trump to win this election.
I wonder what the percentage of not voters in swing states is. Surely it would be way lower since they have more incentive to vote right?
- The top 10 states by voter participation are: Minnesota Colorado Oregon Washington Wisconsin Maine New Hampshire Michigan Iowa New Jersey
  Those above as well as Virginia, Montana, Massachusetts, Vermont, North Carolina, Florida, and Connecticut have participation rates above ~70%. While a few swing states are in there, it's certainly not overwhelming given that I've listed about 40% of the states.

As a brit I have found it fascinating how American and British politics seem to mirror each other. This is exactly the same argument that was levelled against Brexit. The stats the TV showed was 51% vs 49% in favour of Brexit but only 60% of the country voted and with this teeny tiny majority of voters the Conservatives enacted a massive constitutional change and causes absolute havoc which we are still paying for today.
We've since voted out the party that caused it but it landed us with an ineffective centrist Labour party who are continuing the mistakes of the past and not appealing to the left in the slightest (sound familiar?). This government still has 4 more years left in power but unless they change tack then I am very worried that we will have a extreme right version of the Conservatives in power next election.
The problem is the First Past The Post voting system. It's not true democracy. It's weighted to the right. Two parties, both in the pocket of big business. One who says "Oh, we'd love to help all you poors but it's really not possible to increase taxes on the rich and invest in our country", and the other who says "you'll be poor but at least you're not gonna get deported or persecuted like those gay and brown people".
TLDR: Both the US and the UK need urgent electoral reform. Write to your representative. Make it an issue. Do not stop until it is a number one priority for these ghouls or they will keep fucking us.
Thank you for attending my Ted talk. Goodnight.
- This is exactly the same argument that was levelled against Brexit.
  In many, many concrete and specific ways Brexit was a test-run for trump. Same people, same money, same goals.
- Unfortunately, Stamer has a massive majority and can therefore only be ousted by his own party, which he has fairly effectively (so far) brought to heel. The only issue that he is being challenged on is the benefits freeze for disabled people but I expect he will walk that back in the not too distant future to make it look like he's listening.
  I completely agree about the voting reform. It will be an uphill battle but it's not impossible. The UK has changed so much since 2011 the Tories have bled the UK dry and this Labour party are as left wing as David Cameron. It's getting the message across to the Gen Zers and younger that voting reform is the way forward rather than letting people like Nigel Fuckface control the narrative.

Your vote only matters in swing states. The whole electoral college thing is fucked.
- Internalizing the "your vote only matters in purple states" will turn it into a self fulfilling prophecy.
  Previously blue states have turned purple, previously purple states have turned red. Nothing is set in stone, although resting on your laurels (if your state is blue) or giving up (if your state is red) will all but guarantee that the changes will only happen in one direction: the bad one.
  In 2020, Texas would have gone blue were it not for Ken Paxton purging mail-in votes, by Paxton's own admission.
  Nothing is set in stone, so you need fight for every inch.
  
  Internalizing the “your vote only matters in purple states” will turn it into a self fulfilling prophecy.
  They're not prophesizing about some future, but making an obvious factual statement about present reality.
  Nothing is set in stone, so you need fight for every inch.
  You should check out the current administration. They're not leaving any time soon.
- Yeah, it's pretty dumb. The popular vote is what should matter. That's the only way each vote counts as much as any other vote, which is like a basic principle of democracy.
  
  didn't Trump still win the popular vote though

The really shocking stat is the growing number of eligible voters who have just stopped voting or participating in the system at all. When you look at the #1 reason why it is "no matter who wins my life doesn't get better and no candidate represents me". We have a quasi functional democracy at this point.
- I mean, ~30 non-voting is, historically, really good
  Things have been smooth enough in the last 80 years that people just don't think they need to.
  They're wrong, of course. But this is a high-turnout election.
  GOTV (Get Out The Vote) is always the actual part of elections. It's also why the republiQans have focused so much on destroying that part.

~70% of the US adults either wanted trump or at least OK with him, and by extension are ok with the muskrat
Maybe it's time for the rest of the world to realize it's not "just trump" but the USA as a whole is very racist, stupid and backwards country.
Maybe the pushback against trump we see all around social media is just the small loud minority.
Maybe it's time to not consider Americans friends, and to stop supporting it as much as possible. I've started cutting off the american-made stuff I buy.
- As someone who lives in a pre-determined state... It's shocking how much these libs don't understand the electoral system at all.
  Maybe it’s time for the rest of the world to realize it’s not “just trump” but the USA as a whole is very racist, stupid and backwards country.
  Why do you think people refuse to vote for genocidal candidates? Sure, their votes don't matter but it's also that there's nobody to vote for.
  It's kinda strange to complain that people don't vote while acknowledging that the whole system is racist trash.
- 70% of the US adults either wanted trump or at least OK with him, and by extension are ok with the muskrat
  Well, no. It sure looks like that from the corporate news spew, but no.
- Maybe the pushback against trump we see all around social media is just the small loud minority.
  I think so too. They are not big, just loud.
- Maybe it’s time for the rest of the world to realize it’s not “just trump” but the USA as a whole is very racist, stupid and backwards country.
  We knew.

Well the US clearly doesn’t mind that much cause they’re accepting his neverending stream of shit.
- Does it sound like we don't mind that much? Srs?
  Not talking about the corporate news sewers, which is a whole other discussion. Average schmucks who live in America, do they sound like they don't mind it much?
  The meme is about how razor-thin their control is. And it is. It is also (at the moment) time-bound.

Fucking wrong. Every asshole who abstained from voting, voted for Trump. He received 60%. At the very least, that 30% didnt vote for someone else.
- If you abstained from voting in a blue state you voted for trump? Logic does not compute.
- If you people want me to vote for your candidate, make sure they aren't just the "lesser evil."
  Try doing something different next time if you want different results. Don't repeat the same mistakes.
  Blame everyone who voted for hillary clinton in the 2016 primary for why we now have 2 trump presidencies. They're out of touch.
  
  I get the frustration but this is a bad take.
  In a two-party, first-past-the-post system you kinda have an ethical obligation to vote for the lesser evil. It's just a statistical fact you can't ignore.
  It fucking blows, but if your choices are the shitty status quo or full blown fascism, you really should pick the status quo.
  Obviously doesn't fix the problem with the Democrat party sliding further and further right since they can continue to claim "lesser evil"... and it also doesn't fix the DNC superdelegate shenanigans that got us Hillary instead of Bernie... but I'd rather the country be able to still exist to fight another day.
  
  Yeah fuck off. At least Kamala wouldn’t have been trying to cripple and invade my country
  
  You have to vote according to how the electoral system actually works, not how you wish it worked. Unless you - yes, you - are personally prepared to fund and organise a revolution to change that system then you vote against the actual fascist.
  
  Vote against genocide. It's that simple. There are no excuses, when genocide is on the table, you do something.
  
  Naaaah. I’m going to go ahead and blame the people who arrogantly chose to feed their entitlement and not vote.

It's so fucking infuriating that practically every election, if it were possible, "did not vote" would win the presidency.
We're always looking at some stupidly close, razor margins bullshit, when there's a MASSIVE group of people that unfortunately just couldn't possibly give a shit less....
- Plenty of people who don't vote give a shit, but feel that neither party gives a shit about them. Blame those who keep offering up shit candidates instead of those who won't bend over and be coerced into voting for shit candidates.
- I vote that if "did not vote" wins, that means "nobody" wins, and therefore "nobody" is president for 4y, try again next time.
  I also vote that we as a country take a que from Talkeetna, AK. We should elect a cat president, if one can be mayor why not? And a cat will do better than any human I've met, so..
  
  They would have to be 35 and a natural born citizen. Maybe a turtle or a parrot would work?
- That's the point. It's important these people think that each election is between a giant douche and a turd sandwich.
  It's why Bernie wasn't allowed to win any primaries.
  
  Last elections were between stale bread with wilted lettuce and a turd sandwich covered in diarrhea with lead flakes and pube sprinkles.
  And millions of Americans still think they're the same. I guess sabotaging education for 50 years really works.

As usual, apathy is the greatest ally of authoritarianism.
- I'd say the lesser evil is the greatest ally of authoritarianism in this case.
  People don't vote for democrats because democrats don't care about the working class. They just use the culture war as a distraction from the class war.
  If useful idiots didn't vote for hillary clinton in the 2016 primary, we would've had 8 years of Bernie and 0 years of trump.
  Instead, they just throw a woman up and say "hey guys! first BLACK woman president! Vote for us or you're a bigot fascist!"
  Surprise surprise, that's not a winning strategy. Stop supporting the democrats who push it.
  Fun fact: both times democrats ran a female president resulted in a trump presidency. In other words, 100% of female democratic presidential candidates lost to trump. If we follow history and want a fascist in office, let's run a female that doesn't care about the working class.

Is this true, any source?
- The numbers are all public but the post is misrepresenting then because a) total number of voters doesn't matter due to the stupidity that is the electoral college and b) I don't think there has ever been a US president who actually got more than 50% of the entire population.
  The post is pure "not my president" cope.
- Yes. An easy Google search away: https://populationeducation.org/breaking-down-big-numbers-in-the-2024-election/

End the electoral college… citizen United super charged the electroal college for the rich
- And what if they won't, what are you gonna do about it?

Also! They literally let someone hand out 250 million dollars, openly, and our “courts” gave it the go-ahead - even if it goes against some of the longest standing legal precedent regarding buying votes (done with booze back in the day).
This election wasn’t a thumb on the scale, it was the oligarchs mushroom-stamping humanity.
- Also, these oligarchs don't realize that they're going to be robbed just like the rest of us when the time comes. If they don't do exactly what trump and putin want, they'll either fall out of window or have to spend the rest of their lives hiding. These will be remembered as the good ol' days.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspicious_deaths_of_notable_Russians_since_2022

...... So fucking what?
"Ooh, he hasn't got a mandate." Yeah, know what he has got?
CONTROL OF THE GOVERNMENT. And no intention of ever giving it up.
(Yes, I know, don't abandon hope, organise, and all that. But crap like this just reads like "it'll obviously work out fine just wait it out" shit. Which famously Does Not Fucking Work)
- Idk, I can respect where you're coming from, but this meme feels more to me like a counter to people who are saying "Trump won, this is what America voted for, if you fight against his agenda you're fighting against the will of the people" etc. type crap
  Totally agreed that just hoping things will work out fine isn't any kind of plan, but a reminder that the average human being doesn't like what's happening right now can help people feel a little less crazy when they're staying informed about current events
  
  That's fair, good point
  
  But aren’t we though, in a way? A bunch of people looked at everything Trump and Project 2025 promised, and said, ‘meh, seems fine, I see no reason to vote against this.’ That means they either agreed with what those things were saying, or at least don’t mind them.
  In other words, tacit support.
  
  What meme? This has been posted exactly one time, right here. That doesn't make a meme.
- I don't read it that way

68.1% support Trump 30.84% support Harris 1.06% support 3rd party
FIFY. Please stop pretending that it wasn't a landslide. Please stop pretending that Americans don't support fascism. Please stop pretending that you're not responsible.
- Not how that works. People who didn't vote in a state that went blue didn't contribute to trump winning. Try again.
  
  Of course they did!
- there is a huge number of people not legally allowed to vote but people like you insist on helping our jailers like Trump to make our fellow citizens the problem not the oligarchs
  
  I like how latent fascists always come up with excuses.

"69.16% of Americans are okay with fascism" isn't really a resounding defense of the health of American democracy in the face of fascism, though.
- You can't just blame a group of people for anything though, it's not like geographic boundaries determine morality.
  Instead you gotta look at what happened this last election. Yeah there was inflation, and the polls point to that as a thing that swayed a lot of people. But the bigger factor was media capture by far-right oligarchs. The top cable news station, the top podcast, and the top social media network for news were all turned into maga propaganda this election. In that environment, the only question is why was it so close?
  And unfortunately, until that changes the next elections are going to be the same. Trump's approval is down, but it's still higher than it was at this point his last term.
  
  You can’t just blame a group of people for anything though, it’s not like geographic boundaries determine morality.
  Culture, in large part, determines morality, and culture is heavily influenced by geopolitical boundaries.
  As an American myself, I have no interest in #notallAmericans defenses. We made our fucking bed, we can lie in it.
  Instead you gotta look at what happened this last election. Yeah there was inflation, and the polls point to that as a thing that swayed a lot of people. But the bigger factor was media capture by far-right oligarchs. The top cable news station, the top podcast, and the top social media network for news were all turned into maga propaganda this election. In that environment, the only question is why was it so close?
  The same reason why it was close in 2020, and in 2016. The same reason why the Tea Party in 2010 took off, why Americans gave Bush Jr. a second term in '04, why the GOP in the 90s saw significant success in running towards fascism. The same reason why Reagan got two terms with overwhelming popularity, why Nixon was elected on a platform of disdain for minorities, why Goldwater was a hit in the GOP and took the South from the Dems in 1964 for the first time since the Civil War.
  We are a broken nation which has never managed to fully reckon with the deeply rooted authoritarian character within our culture. Trump is just the first time when a major party has given full voice to that inner fascist cretin, and it found that the base liked nothing better.
  No excuses, no crisis staring us in the face, no illusions of a Truly Democratic Leader waved about. A creature whose prior term displayed the full range of incompetence and malice towards everything from leftists to Christianity, and whose campaign rhetoric promised nothing more than to get worse in its conduct if elected again. Trump was the final presentation of the question, unambiguous, "Do you, Americans, want fascism?" A mirror looking us flat in the fucking face, and daring us to speak.
  And our response was an overwhelming "Sure, why not."
- More people didn't vote at all than let this demented rapist burn everything down.
  Fucking idiots.
  
  Empty votes plus Trump votes still mean the majority of US was for, or at least indifferent about getting a fascist as a president.
  
  This is democracy manifest!
  
  Maybe the democrats should stop running ruling class candidates while expecting the working class to "fall in line?"
  How come you never blame the people doing the same thing but expecting different results? If history is anything to go by, choosing a female to run for president guarantees a trump victory.
  It's a hard truth, but a truth nonetheless. Unfortunately you people have been conditioned to cover your ears to hard truths and just pretend reality is a different way.
  
  There are reasons other than abstaining from voting that prevent people from doing so (being homeless, not having ID, etc.). However, fuck voting in a US election - democracy is an illusion.
  
  I voted for Harris. But let's be honest. There were two choices on the ballot in 2016, 2020, and 2024:
  Fascism
  Slightly delayed fascism.
- I think 100%. Both these parties don't work for middle class. Exceptions are Bernie and AOC. Without a third party pressure, we cannot win this oligarch war.

Either way. Americans have done nothing to change their electoral process.
First Past The Post in this age?
No Universal Civic Duty voting in this age?
This is a product of American inaction. And their insistence that their system is the best despite it being considered archaic and prone to manipulation by other modern democracies.
- Exactly, having just over 30% of the population able to choose the President is NOT democracy.

The election was stolen with Russian and Muskys help.
Don't enable the abusers narrative.
🐆🐾🐾🐾🔍
- The election was stolen with Russian and Muskys help.
  It should never have been close enough for them to matter.
  This is who we are.
  
  If there was cheating, closeness would be an illusion.
  This isn't who we are
  Some people maybe.
  But if there was cheating
  That would mean there's more of us.

If you didn't vote then you were fine with this outcome. The majority are ok with Trump winning.
- I get downvoted every time I bring this up too. However, the voters saw January 6th and they saw the repeal of Roe V Wade. If that wasn't enough to get your butt to vote then you're fine with this.
  I still think big tech backed Trump because of Lina Khan. Well also the tax breaks. Urgh ...
- This is downvoted...?
- The fuck? I'm not fine with this outcome.
  I'm also not fine with the outcome of harris.
  Both suck, but what makes harris suck is that you people will think you're winning because you're losing slower. I refuse to fall in line because I will not support the idea that a slow loss is somehow a win.
  If you people want different results, run different candidates! Otherwise, "you are fine with this outcome."
  
  The fuck? I'm not fine with this outcome.
  didn't vote
  Pick a lane dude.
  
  So, something worth thinking about:
  Had YOU people voted, you wouldn’t be here crying about a meme.
  Just saying.
  
  So you want to lose faster?
- how do we know the democrats would have taken office if they had won? wouldn't be the first time.
  
  It's not what they said.
  By not voting, you are complicit with whomever ends up on the White House, that could be someone you like (and obviously it is for probably a lot of people who didn't vote) but assuming you were eligible and able, by not voting, the statement you effectively make is 'I am ok with any option'

I am curious how many of those 36% that didn't vote wanted to but couldn't due to gerrymandering and other bullshit.
- Well they’d still be able to vote in a gerrymandered district, but as far as voter suppression, it was at an all time high, in terms of ratfucking attempts, but it’s still small compared to the overall population of non-voters.
  Pew research found that:
  Among those eligible to vote who say they did not cast a ballot, 42% say they wish they had voted while 57% say they do not.
  So. Don’t give a damn til their shit blows up in real time.
  
  They’re real and out there unfortunately.
  I have a good friend who believed his life didn’t change at all if he voted or who was in office. His house was given to him. His job is stable. He has very little needs and never left his small town.
  He didn’t start connecting how politics impacted him until I lived with him during the pandemic. It was then he started to understand more and vote.
  He’s smart otherwise and a great person who is kind to others. But he isn’t the type to look deeply into anything that isn’t immediately around him.
  I feel like a lot of people need that 1:1 coaching or they legitimately cannot connect the dots in the big picture. Or maybe they need physical community and to be surrounded by people like me who can see big picture stuff easily.
  It’s like people who can’t imagine objects in their head (aphantasia) but for the inability to connect abstract big picture concepts. Whatever that is called —that’s what these non-voters fuck it who cares people have.
  
  Holy hell, 42%???
- Some probably voted but their vote got thrown out so it didn't count.
- That's 90 million people. Even if 33% couldn't vote due to ratfucking, that's still 60 million who didn't care and could've made a difference.
- ...do you know what gerrymandering is?
  
  In context they seem to mean disenfranchised.
- There were lawsuits happening for years around all that. The r's won a ton of those lawsuits.

Hi, OP. I just want to let you know that I appreciate the sentiment you're trying to express in this meme, but I also kinda low-key hate you for:
using a title that sullies the good name of Maxwell Smart by making me associate his catch-phrase with Trump, and
using an ellipsis to weakly trail off when you should've used an exclamation point to finish strong instead.
- Would you believe two cops in a rowboat?

Americans should finally demand a not so stupid voting system
And maybe have 7 presidents
- 1% did and we're blaming them.
  
  Yea, I did not know that so many did not vote compared to how few voted third party
- Switzerland have joined the chat

If you didn't vote then you voted for the bad guy.
If you didn't vote you are just as bad as the MAGAniacs.
If you didn't vote you voted for Trump.
If you didn't vote you are responsible for the current situation.
- You ran a shit candidate and lost, take the L and be better
- i voted (harris obv) but they apparently had issues with my vote and didnt count it until literally after trump won :)
- Both options were bad.
- Cannot disagree more and this kind of rhetoric is not likely to sway non voters.
  
  Who cares? Fuck them. They need to feel shame.
- If you DID vote for Harris, you voted for slightly delayed fascism. You didn't vote for democracy, you just voted for slightly delayed fascism. I know, I voted for her. Democracy wasn't on the ballot.
  
  I agree.
  These useful idiots have been conditioned to think that a slow loss is a win, though.
  It's a major reason why I will never vote for the 'lesser evil' candidate again.
  If the people getting mad at me because I didn't vote and trump won, they should do something differently next election and run a candidate that is good, not just the lesser evil.
  Spoiler alert: They won't do anything different and continue to blame the people for not "falling in line." This is a song and dance that will last the rest of our lives.
  It's a major reason why I will never vote for the 'lesser evil' candidate again.
  
  Well it was, but Cornell West was a snowball in hell
- But what if you didn't vote because of the genocide in Palestine?
  
  Does not voting in America somehow stop genocides in Palestine?
  
  Then you allowed that genocide to make way for the riviera of the middle east (sponsored by the USA)

Clearly the rightful president is Did Not Vote.

And this is first across the finish line politics. Want change? Endorse pluralist elections.
- Party loyalists hate this message and would rather you just say, "vote blue no matter who". But I'm with you. I'm tired of having to hold my nose in the polling booth every time. End first past the post elections.
  
  End first past the post elections.
  Well, Trump intends to end elections period, so in that sense it's a win! /s

Well the OG Nazis only got about 30% so I'd say he's justified to a dictatorship

So many didn't vote. Can they vote to a single third party so we don't have to deal with this two party system please.
- You'd love politics. :D

stop fucking deluding yourselves. that's not how voting works. people who do not vote aren't voting for "other". they're voting for whoever ends up winning the votes of those who did. that 36 percent said "i don't care who wins, I'm fine with either". that is a vote for him.
- It seems like that doesn't it.

Because of Americans inability to get their fat asses off the couch and vote, the rest of the world has to suffer the consequences.
- Eh. If democrats ran candidates that actually cared about the working class, they would win a lot more elections.
- Hey, only 36% of our fat asses. And we get to suffer too.
  The 31% who love this insane turd gurgling they call leadership will also suffer, but they call it ‘winning’ instead.
- Mail on voting. Come on now.

Percentages may be more digestable, but it really makes me curious about the total vote counts of each category now:P
- Of the approximately 240,000,000 Americans who were eligible to vote:
  156,302,318 voted in 2024
  Trump won 77,284,118 votes
  Harris won 74,999,166
  4,019,034 voted other

Anyone got a source for these numbers?

Apathy will be the death of America as we knew it
- Already is. I've had my funeral for Uncle Sam. Done my mourning. There's nothing left but a homunculus in the vague shape of the flawed dream we once called the USA.

Hitler also got roughly the same third of votes...

Also would go further into pointing out... of those 31.74% that did vote for it... it's not a mandate for things that he didn't run on... or even ran against.
Say trump took a shit ton of credit for promising to never cut social security and medicaid. When his mind changes from what he promised, the "mandate" arguement is even worse.
In a hypothetical world where lets say someone did run, promised a lot of things, and won with 98% of the vote, so that we could say they have a mandate. The mandate still only would apply to the things they actually claimed they were going to do on the campaign trail. If they are doing the opposite of what they promised the mandate is completely bullshit even in that scenerio.