Donald Trump’s sweeping victory in the 2024 presidential election has raised questions among critics and constituents alike about the events leading up to Trump’s unprecedented win and the future of the country. Conversations on campus are no doubt mirroring that uncertainty.
The Beacon spoke with Anne Santiago, the Dundon-Berchtold faculty fellow for constructive dialogue and a professor of political science and global affairs, to hear her insights on the state of U.S. politics leading up to Election Day and what may have led to these results.
Santiago holds a Ph.D. in government and politics and teaches “Democracy and Diversity,” a course fostering civil discourse. From collaborations with BridgeUP and VoteUP to hosting a post-election decompression session, Santiago has led efforts for more constructive dialogue at UP amid a divisive election season.
During the Q&A session, Santiago touched on how the new administration might impact the U.S.’ perception on the world stage, why Republicans were successful this November and the role of civil dialogue moving forward.
Editor's Note: Selected responses have been edited for clarity and concision.
The Beacon:
“Trump won the 2024 presidential election, and the Republican Party is projected to retain a majority in both houses of Congress. What do you make of Trump and the Republicans’ win this election?”
Anne Santiago:
“What I see and feel [that] has been true for a long time is that the Republican Party has a narrower coalition of people. It's got a narrower agenda, and in many ways, it's got an easier sell to the American people. Because, if you are traditionally conservative, a lot of people will hold their nose and vote for Trump because they want the Republicans in power. And they want the Republicans in power for [a] traditional sort of small government: the idea of economics, keeping government out of that. And you know, I think Trump has been pretty masterful at taking that sort of minimal agenda and then finding the scapegoat for people, and making a really simple answer for people who feel like they're not fitting in.
“And the Democrats, as far as I can tell, their problem is they have to please everybody within their coalition, which is really broad and really diverse. And if you start moving center, the people on the left will get p— off. If you start going too progressive, the people in the center will say you're never going to get elected. So that balance and the number of issues that they're concerned with are much broader.”
The Beacon:
“How do you make sense of Trump’s victory despite his multiple felony convictions, debate performances and legal proceedings, which both garnered significant media attention?”
Anne Santiago:
“I am not sure I can make sense of it. One thing I do say is that not everybody pays attention to politics like you and I pay attention to politics. So a lot of people aren't going to see the debate. They're not going to be reading The New York Times. They might get some little piece on TikTok, but that's not enough that's going to maybe discourage them from voting for somebody who says, ‘make America great again,’ and ‘we need to go back to when you were doing better.’ That's a very enchanting message for a lot of people.”
The Beacon:
“How is this election shaping how the United States is perceived on the world stage?”
Anne Santiago:
“The lens through which I have tried to look at the United States is the lens of democratic theory — how strong, how stable of a democracy are we? I would say [for] the past 20 years, we've been in a bit of democratic decline, and I think part of it is because certain elites are really good at targeting specific things that they want to accomplish.
“We've [also] seen a retrenchment away from democracy across the globe. Post fall of communism, you start seeing countries struggle because democracy is actually harder than authoritarianism — because it requires the people to pay attention.
“And [so] what I think that people outside the U.S. see is that we [the U.S.] don't have all the answers, that there are other models [of government] that seem to also work, and that if what's happening in the United States where we're such a great democracy, then maybe that's not the only model to follow.
“I think another component is this idea that the United States has been sort of the standard bearer for maintaining peace and order in the international system. It's from [the] World War Two period on that you see the United States spread its military across the globe. It's ubiquitous. It's everywhere. And now, the Trump administration certainly, if 2016 is any indication, [doesn’t] really care about the U.S. role in the world in that way. This whole idea of ‘America first,’ and being able to go it alone — that is something that we'll see where it goes, because that ideology is very appealing to many people. Certainly the strong men are going to be happy, and countries that have been our allies are going to be nervous.”
The Beacon:
“How does the 2024 election compare to other presidential elections you’ve seen while you’ve been in higher education?”
Anne Santiago:
“One of the things that happened [that makes it different from previous elections] was the media attention just shot through the roof. That man [Trump] was on TV, radio, Twitter, every single day. He's a master of getting himself in front of cameras. I think there's a certain entertainment value that some people find in that. So I would say from Trump getting in front of people, students started paying more attention to politics, kind of in general.
“And I think this past year in particular, when there's so much out there about the age of both of these old white guys, and then Kamala Harris comes in, and there's this brief excitement, but then you've got the problem of the Democratic Party and its big coalition. Some students didn't vote because of Gaza. Or they thought the system wasn't fair, or whatever it might be. So I think after this second time — Trump getting elected again — a lot of people are just so discouraged, a lot of students especially. And one of the things just in my “Democracy and Diversity” class that I'm trying to get across is, because democracy is so hard, if we're not engaged…then these kinds of things are going to happen. We need to constantly be engaged.”
The Beacon:
“As someone who works to bring together people who have different views, what's your outlook on the polarization and divisiveness that this election has caused? And do you think there is a way back and what that might look like?”
Anne Santiago:
“I would say yes, there's always a way back. And I do think the only way to get there is for everybody to take a step back and be willing to hear — like really hear — what's going on with people who voted for either Harris or Trump or any other candidate. However, I would say that it is an extremely hard thing to do, and it's a very burdensome thing for people to do in a way that I think especially is hard for marginalized, minoritized people. Because they already feel — I don't want to speak for lots of communities — but many people feel like they're not the ones who should reach out and try to explain. And I 100% understand that. And so, to me, it’s up to individuals.
“What I tell students is, you have to figure out what you're comfortable with, how you want to be in the world. And can you tolerate this approach to really trying to understand where other people are coming from? Because, quite frankly, we have two choices: to live together or to completely be separate from one another. And I just don't know how we get anywhere without [a] better understanding of each other. So I'm not hopeful, to tell you the truth, I'm not very hopeful, but I do think trying to engage and [trying] to build coalitions and trying to get other people to understand where I'm coming from is really the only thing we can do.”
Riley Martinez is a member of the editorial board. He can be reached at martinri24@up.edu.
