How did this happen?
Peter Sarsgaard is an actor who claims to know why Donald Trump won the 2024 election. Some of his arguments make sense. According to Sarsgaard, voting shouldn’t be optional. During his interview with the Guardian, Sarsgaard said: “A huge percentage of Americans didn’t vote … our big problem here is that voting is optional.”
According to the University of Florida Election Lab, 90 million people didn’t vote in the 2024 election. That 90 million made up 36% of the U.S. voting-eligible population. The question is “why?” Did people decide this because they didn’t want to be bothered? Are they apathetic about the process, or did they really want neither candidate? On the reverse side, the MAGA contingent was bound and determined to vote. According again to Sarsgaard: “I think it comes down to ignorance, a lack of education, the government not caring about the issues affecting a lot of people in our country who are living in a way that is more hand-to-mouth.” Perhaps, but why then vote for Donald Trump? Do they honestly believe this man who cares about only himself is going to make life better for them?
Sarsgaard said that he believes “Trump supporters see somebody who is promising something significant.” That must play back to ignorance and lack of education. Sarsgaard explained that thought: “He looks like the type of person who can change things: he’s a large, rich, white bloat of a man. People blame DC, and he’s the guy who’s promising to take an axe to it.” He also pointed out that Trump “would be nothing” if it weren’t for the media hanging on his every word. “Outrage is one of the main fuels of news journalism. Violence and outrage. Well, he’s got all of that.”
Another actor, Brian Cox, told the Guardian that he will be spending as much time as possible in the UK. The Guardian asked Cox whether the election results made him lose faith in people, to which he responded: “No, it doesn’t make me lose faith in people. It just makes me realise people are stupid. We’re in for a pretty rough four years coming up.” Eva Longoria, who some said would move to Spain after the election, clarified that she didn’t leave because of that. Her work took her to Spain. She told the Guardian: “The shocking part is not that he won. It’s that a convicted criminal who spews so much hate could hold the highest office.”
And therein lies the major problem. Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts in New York. Had time not run out, Jack Smith would have gotten him either on the espionage case or Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election or both. He is a criminal, plain and simple. Yet, he now sits atop our governmental institutions. What a crock. He should never have been allowed to run. In most states, felons can’t even vote, but one of the biggest criminals in the country is not only allowed to vote but to take command of the highest office in the land. Clearly, the Constitution needs some modifications.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years