Has Trumpism (also) become a white-collar movement? In the United States, data on the voter profile of this 2024 election shows a demographic change in the electorate of the new president-elect. He brought together more young people, more voters of color, mainly men. His base remains very white and very anchored among the least educated, but Donald Trump also won among graduates, 42% of whom supported him.
The Buckhead neighborhood, north of Atlanta, is a business district with large towers and high-end boutiques that hide luxurious villas. In this district, which voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump during this presidential election, to the detriment of Kamala Harris, three-quarters of voters are white and educated, like Alex Johnson.
“The government must stay in the background, estimates this business lawyer. This is Donald Trump’s priority for this second term: little government, promotion of individual rights and responsibilities, lower taxes… And above all, we must get rid of all these politicians and bureaucrats who prevent the economy from work well. We need a strong nationalist state that only cares about Americans.”he pleads.
It’s not surprising that the lawyer mentions the American people, because he is also the chairman of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, the ultraconservative branch of the party that has proposed establishing support for voluntary immigration American citizens to the country of origin of their ancestors. But he is not the only one to make this kind of statement.
It’s an idea shared by Sarah, a recent graduate who lives with her parents: “I would like my future children to be able to be educated without being forcibly taught about homosexuality, which is an intimate and private thing. And I would like my family to be safe in the face of the massive influx of illegal immigrants who are violent. But it doesn’t scare me because I carry a weapon.”
Next to her, her brother laughs, very tall and confident. Gabriel is vice chair of the Young Republican Party of Georgia. He also belongs to other, more nebulous organizations, including a libertarian one. He assures him: he can’t pay his rent. “Rents have increased by 30 to 55% over the last four years, he laments. I think the Republican Party will be able to legislate to encourage lower rents through construction subsidies or even rent caps.”
An idea already proposed by the Democratic administration this summer, but Gabriel does not see the contradiction. Proof that the strategy of the new Trumpism is working, analyzes Bernard Fraga, professor of political science at Emory University in Atlanta: “Politics in the USA increasingly resembles what is happening in Europe, with increasingly right-wing parties that mix very populist economic proposals with xenophobic and nationalist ideas.”
He also recalls that even if Donald Trump decided to close the borders, America would remain a multi-ethnic country.
