This isn’t Trump’s country to take
- Izayah Morgan
- Apr 18
- 3 min read
By Izayah Morgan Opinions Editor This year has been a shake up year for many to say the least. Trump is taking the Constitution to an extreme which I haven't seen any president do in my short lifetime. The criticisms for Democrats and their response is valid and has room at the table.
According to The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, 56% of men aged 18-29 backed Trump over Harris, while 58% of women aged 18-29 backed Harris. This is due to multiple factors.
Social media sites such as TikTok have a focus on fixation and promotion of videos that have the most engagement. So, the videos that are going to get some of the most engagement are extreme or lack nuanced political takes. If men and women have different social media pages it's easy to see why it stays that way.
Also we have to look at the time it took for former President Biden to drop out of the presidential race and give former Vice President Harris a sliver of the time compared to her political opponent. That resulted in a unique disadvantage that hasn't happened before in recent American political history.
Not to mention the recent acts that have limited access to care that women can get for their bodies. All these issues intersect with each other and play into the divide. All these and more factors lead to many Americans not showing up at the polls due to apathy.
The Democratic Party has “failed” them.
It’s not all doom and gloom - U.S. Sen. Cory Booker set a record recently with a Senate speech that went on for 25 hours until he was physically unable to continue to show Democratic supporters that they are trying to stand up to the current administration.
While a beautiful and important thing for him to do, especially at Sen. Booker's age of 55, it doesn't address young people in the best way. To me the best way to grab young people is to show up to the places where they are at.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders made a surprise appearance at the music festival Coachella. Sanders is one of the leading progressives in the nation, especially when it comes to criticism of the current administration.
His speech just like Booker’s was impactful and showed that there are people trying to stand up to the current administration.
According to the New York Times, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders have held rallies all across the United States attracting tens of thousands of people.
Every place isn't just a Trump breeding ground. Florida, thought to be a red state, still had 4.6 million people vote for Harris. In Texas 4.8 million people voted for Harris, in comparison the 6.3 million voted for Trump. Trump doesn't have a chokehold on the country as people think.
Every day, Democrats in the House, Senate, and Supreme Court are fighting against Trump and his adminstration. According to PBS, the Supreme Court has rejected some of the Trump administration’s moves.
People of the Democratic Party are fighting back - people are fighting back even if it doesn't seem like it to many. To combat the overreach of power from this administration we must keep being active.
To help combat the issue of people not voting and reinforcing apathy in elections, we have to be where the people are. Being at Coachella, one of the biggest music festivals of the year, and standing for hours to present your frustrations with the current administration, are a couple of the best ways to reach people.
Again, Sen. Sanders and Sen. Booker are 83 and 55 years old, respectively. Sanders at 83 is going to a festival of young people to rally them and get them to understand their power. Booker, while yes having a background in football, is 55 and standing for over 20 hours.
If you want to reach people, don't do the minimum, do what they need.
