In 2023 and 2024, a presidential candidate with a populist message will have a good chance of winning. Sure, they will get trashed by the establishment and its media, but that comes with the territory.
In this, I am referring to a populist message with a libertarian angle. This isn’t a Bernie Sanders message where we need higher taxes on the rich and more government spending to supposedly help the poor. I am talking about a populist message for middle class America in the form of less government.
The only two major candidates who have any instinct in tapping into the struggles of middle class America are Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy Jr.
The problem is that Trump has no ambitions for fiscal sanity. He oversaw the great COVID fiasco where the government was handing out trillions of dollars to people to not work. It also paid money to businesses because they had been shut down.
Trump is attacking DeSantis because he supposedly wants to cut Social Security. So unless Trump is going to dramatically cut military spending (which won’t happen, the same as it didn’t happen from 2017 to 2021), then overall spending by the federal government isn’t going down.
Of the major party candidates, Kennedy seems to be the best. He has a somewhat populist message, but even he is missing the opportunity to tap into the average middle class American. Whenever he talks about an issue, he should tie it back to the struggling middle class.
Everything Goes Back to the American Family
People get riled up over many issues, especially cultural issues. Sure, people care about immigration, abortion, “woke” ideology, schools, and many other issues. But those agenda issues are often set by the media and the politicians.
If you really get down to it, most families just want to work, save some money, and live a decent life. They certainly care about issues like crime and education, but these are really local issues. Does anyone honestly believe that their local school will get better if the “right” person becomes president?
Most parents want to take their kids to soccer practice, or gymnastics, or whatever activity. They want to be able to take a nice vacation once a year. They want to be able to save some money while not struggling through life because a trip to the grocery store costs $200.
The average American doesn’t care about Vivek Ramaswamy’s desire to bomb Mexican drug cartels. They don’t care about DeSantis taking on woke Disney. They don’t care about Haley, Scott, Christie, and Pence all supposedly wanting to support Ukraine (by prolonging the war).
The average American cares more about the cost of a dozen eggs. They care about the premium they have to pay for their home insurance. They care about the cost of health insurance and the latest car repair.
A Winning Populist Message
If I were promoting a particular candidate and had the opportunity to offer advice to their campaign, I would advise that they tie everything back to the cost of living.
“The American taxpayer is funding the war in Ukraine. It only serves to prolong the war and there is more death and destruction on both sides instead of reaching a peace deal. When you go to the grocery store and see that eggs are five dollars per dozen, just know that your higher grocery bill is partially due to funding these wars overseas.”
“I will oppose this “woke” ideology as president, but a lot of these cultural changes need to happen locally. In order to empower American families to protect their children, they need to have the resources to fight it, including the ability to withdraw their children from the public school system. They shouldn’t be forced to pay for all of the bad stuff coming out of Washington DC while their children are stuck in a bad situation due to a lack of resources.”
“The federal government is spending about $50,000 per household per year. Imagine if the cost of government were cut in half. You could get a new $25,000 roof in one year. You could send your child to private school. You could finally take that vacation you have dreamed of. You could save money while not having to struggle to pay for the monthly bills. Imagine just how much better your life could be with an extra $25,000 per year.”
Someone Try It
A total populist message tying everything back to middle class America has not really been tried in recent history. It is a missed opportunity for political candidates. Trump in 2015/ 2016 was the closest thing to tapping into it.
Political candidates are allowing the media to dictate what they talk about. In the meantime, middle class America is getting screwed.
If you just acknowledge the plight of the middle class in 2023, that will win over a lot of people. They want an advocate. They want someone to acknowledge that they are getting screwed. They want someone to say that life is expensive and that it doesn’t need to be this way.