I’d add that Trump did not win the popular vote. The largest group by far in 2024—just as in nearly every modern U.S. election—was actually non-voters. That segment outnumbered those who voted for either Trump or Harris.

We’d need to know who felt this morale shift, where they were, how many experienced it, and how it was measured—through polling, turnout data, interviews, or something else. Without that, it’s just speculative commentary, not grounded analysis.

As a political scientist, I couldn’t responsibly say one way or the other whether morale was truly affected by Trump narrowly winning the popular vote in 2024. There’s no reliable data isolating that factor as the cause.

The consistent dominance of the “Did Not Vote” category points to systemic disengagement—millions of Americans have felt for decades that their vote doesn’t matter, or that the system doesn’t serve them.

Non-voting, while often seen as apathy, may also be a silent protest—a rejection of a political system that many view as corrupt, rigged, or unresponsive.

Presidents often claim a “mandate” after winning, but when less than one-third of eligible voters chose them, that claim is weak. The chart reveals this myth visually.

The consistently low support for any one candidate suggests that many Americans don’t feel either major party represents their values or interests. This hints at suppressed political diversity due to lack of viable third-party options.

Another interpretation of the chart is that in every presidential election since 1976—except one—the largest group of eligible Americans chose not to vote. This suggests that neither the Democratic nor Republican candidate was the preferred choice of a majority of eligible voters.

In U.S. presidential elections, the popular vote doesn't decide the winner—it's the Electoral College. Most states use a winner-takes-all system, so candidates focus on swing states. This leaves voters in safe states feeling like their votes don’t matter.

According to the Guardian, for example, in the 2024 election, nearly 90 million Americans didn't vote, with many citing the Electoral College system as a reason, believing their vote wouldn't matter in a safely blue or red state.

A popular vote or ranked choice system would better incentivize their voice.

This chart misses a key point: many non-voters likely live in non-swing states, where their vote feels irrelevant due to the winner-takes-all electoral college system. A breakdown of the non-voters by swing and non-swing states would be useful.

The police don’t exist to protect people — they exist to protect power. Trained in control, not care, their role is to defend property and enforce state authority. When people’s interests align with the state, there’s protection. When they don’t, there’s repression.

Musk is all about riding hype wave to next hype wave without any real substance (underground hypertubes for cars, flame throwers, cheap useless cybertruck, exploding rockets, etc..). He's not an engineer, just a sales guy.