Great doc. So informative. A little scary but information is the key to knowledge. Thank you for helping us all stay informed.

This election is not a mandate; it’s simply a missed opportunity to win the Super Bowl this season. So, let’s go back to the drawing board, do the hard work, and prepare for the next season. Our march forward continues.

Once again, we’ll have the wind back in our sails. We can focus on the loss to find lessons and small takeaways, but I’ve never been one to dwell in disappointment for too long. Lessons? Yes. But not despair.

This election didn’t go our way, but the winds weren’t in our favor for many reasons that reasonable minds (not TV pundits) will be parsing out. After four more years of this “chaos agent,” I suspect the winds will shift.

What we do need is to continue sharing our vision, values, and principles with a broader sliver of the electorate — just enough to peel off some of the 27% that brought Trump back to power.

To my Democrat friends who feel deflated or think our values have been crushed: Let me assure you, that’s far from the truth. Many variables led to this moment, but we don’t need 100% or even 50% of the population.

Trump’s 2024 results reflect a fragmented electorate, low turnout, and no overwhelming endorsement. Calling it a “mandate” misrepresents the numbers and ignores what true mandates look like.

In these cases, winning presidents achieved decisive popular support and dominant Electoral College victories, signaling unified national backing.

• FDR, 1936: Won 60.8% of the popular vote and 523 electoral votes, a clear mandate to continue New Deal policies during the Great Depression.

• Ronald Reagan, 1984: Secured 58.8% of the popular vote and 525 electoral votes, the largest Electoral College victory ever, reflecting widespread approval of his leadership.

By contrast, here’s what a true mandate looked like in history:

• Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964: Won 61.1% of the popular vote and 486 electoral votes (90.3%). Johnson’s landslide enabled his “Great Society” agenda.

When factoring in the entire U.S. population (including children, non-citizens, and others), only about 27% of Americans actively voted for Trump.

3. Electoral College Dynamics: Trump’s win relied on the Electoral College, which can favor smaller states or narrow wins in key battlegrounds.

That means more Americans voted against him than for him, reflecting a deeply divided electorate rather than widespread consensus.

2. Low Turnout: Only 57% of eligible voters participated in the election, meaning nearly half of the voting-eligible population abstained.

But his election victory cannot reasonably be considered a “mandate” in any way, especially when compared to past elections where presidents achieved overwhelming public support. Why?:

1. Popular Vote Share: Trump won with less than 50% of the popular vote, factoring in third-party candidates.

Being someone who values facts and proper analysis, I used ChatGPT to help fully formulate my thoughts and properly put them into words. Here’s the result:

First and foremost: Donald Trump won the 2024 election and will be our next president. Full stop.

That couldn’t be further from the truth when you look at the numbers, which highlight how many Americans are simply disenchanted with politics and chose to sit this election out (which is, frankly, disheartening).

Meanwhile, I keep hearing Republicans and the media framing Trump’s win as a sweeping mandate, claiming the “majority” of the country affirmed what he’s offering and outright rejected what Democrats stand for.

Considering the entire U.S. population - both as a whole and voting-eligible - we clearly have an evenly divided electorate (at least among those who chose to vote). These close numbers deserve further analysis.