Bruce Lear lives in Sioux City and has been connected to Iowa’s public schools for 38 years. He taught for eleven years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association regional director for 27 years until retiring. He can be reached at BruceLear2419@gmail.com   

The corpse of the losing presidential campaign isn’t cold, and they’re sharpening knives for the autopsy. As always, according to the know-it-all people the losing campaign was rife with mistakes, missteps, and was generally inept. The winning campaign was flawless, brilliant, and ordained by God. If you don’t believe me, open Facebook and you’ll see it.

I don’t have the expertise or stomach for a full autopsy. I’ll leave that to professional political pundits. I do have a couple of observations about the 2024 campaign, though.

President-elect Donald Trump surprised the world. Those who said they saw it coming, didn’t. He managed to tap into the fear and grievance about the high price of groceries, housing, and gas. He scared people about an open border and fear of the “other.” 

He shouted, “Kamala broke it. I’ll fix it.” It was a transactional vote. Americans ignored the warning signs and purchased what he was selling: simple solutions to complex problems. 

But grievance never governs well.

Once Trump takes office, and lets Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, slash $2 trillion from needed programs to preserve the tax cuts for the rich, most Americans will remember why voters fired Trump in 2020. 

When RFK Jr. goes wild and eliminates the Food and Drug Administration, removes fluoride from the water supply, bans cereals like Fruit Loops, and makes essential vaccines hard to find, grievance will kick in again and the focus will be on the new administration. When every day seems chaotic and mean like it did after 2016, Americans will get worn out and mad. That so-called mandate will seem like a mirage.

It’s a short walk from the hallelujah to the hoot.

But the tone of this campaign will have other consequences too. In sports, when a team comes up with a successful strategy or play, other teams copy it, hoping they’ll win. Think of the Chicago Bulls triangle offense of the 1990s, which won them six NBA championships. Not only did NBA teams copy it, lots of fourth-grade YMCA teams tried too. 

The same thing is true in politics. A campaign strategy that works can become the go-to for campaigns at every level for both parties. My last column suggested if voters rejected Trump for a second time, the hateful rhetoric would eventually disappear. Instead, Trump won big—cementing his campaign strategy in the minds of other wanna be winners.

America loses. 

I understand presidential campaigns are a contact sport. They’re often brutal and filled with over-the-top rhetoric. But the 2024 presidential race went way beyond that norm. I could repeat all the vile insults, but most don’t want or need to be reminded.

I’m convinced voters in both parties don’t want the 2024 campaign to be the template for the future. We might like small doses of insult comics and reality TV, but we want something better in our leaders. By the end of this campaign, most people just wanted a hot shower and to forget it happened.

But the meanness of the campaign also seeped into attacks on everyday Americans. We shouldn’t forget the abuse of Haitian immigrants to score political points.

After the election, Black people from across the country began receiving anonymous, racist texts saying, “You’ve been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.” It was mean and disturbing. I heard about a gay teacher whom students taunted: “Good luck with your gay marriage now that Trump is president.”

America is a powerful country because of diversity. Let’s not let transactional anger get in the way of recognizing how much we have in common.