America is RACIST! At least, that’s the story according to Teen Vogue. Wasting no time on its election narrative, the outlet boldly declared Wednesday morning, “Trump Did Not Lose in a Landslide Because the U.S. Is Racist.”
While it’s tempting to laugh off a publication’s election analysis that profits from selling sex, wokeness and celebrity gossip to young girls, articles like this (sadly) reach the millions of teens who follow magazine’s social media platforms, such as Instagram and SnapChat. So when Teen Vogue unabashedly declares to its readers that 66 million Americans (and counting!) are “racist”, it matters more than some of us would like to admit.
“I’m not sure any other Democratic candidate would’ve fared much better than Biden,” wrote Lily Herman in her attempt to explain Biden’s failure to clinch the election in a landslide. “[I]t’s hard to go up against a gigantic machine of people who are actively and enthusiastically voting for white supremacy, misogyny, classism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and so much more.”
Let’s break down the facts. According to exit polling, Trump performed better in 2020 than he did in 2016 with every race and gender except white men. He gained ground with white women, black men, black women, Latino men and Latino women. Although it appears he still lost overall with most of these demographic groups, it’s impressive that he was able to gain any ground given the “Teen Vogue treatment” of the last 4 years, which has called him racist and sexist at every turn. It’s especially impressive that Trump made inroads with voters of color and women.
You’d think this early data would prompt some self-reflection among the “America is racist” crowd, but early takes suggest that isn’t happening. In Teen Vogue’s corner, it appears they’re not even entertaining the idea. After all, it’s much easier to peddle the simplistic “orange man bad” narrative than it is to grapple with the more nuanced reasons why the Left’s entire ideological framework was largely rejected last night.
Instead of voting in one monolithic block, female and minority Americans showed up to the polls to vote as the individuals they are, with many supporting policies such as school choice, a strong economy, workplace flexibility and affordable clean energy. In Florida, for example, around 55% of the Cuban-American vote went to Trump in what appears to be a strong rebuke of socialism.
Let’s hope the national media does better than Teen Vogue in analyzing what happened last night. After all, the truth is far more interesting than the simplistic notion that “the U.S. is racist.” But judging so far, I wouldn’t bet on it.