Trump is back…!

A vast majority of American voters chose President Donald Trump this week. This might seem like a strange choice to us Europeans, but clearly not for many Americans. Look, I lean clearly to the right in the political spectrum, but I could never bring myself to vote for Donald Trump personally. However, for most of my friends and partners in America, it’s different. They see him as someone who recognizes, addresses, and offers solutions to the ‘kitchen table problems’ of the average citizen, whether those solutions work in practice or not.

Look, I lean clearly to the right on the political spectrum, but I could never bring myself to vote for Donald Trump as a person.

Gas is and was too expensive!

One of these problems is the inflation of recent years, which has made mobility much more expensive for the average American. Gasoline, perhaps dirt cheap in our eyes, has become significantly more expensive in recent years. Mobility is seen by the average American—as well as us in Western Europe—as a fundamental right. Even Joop den Uyl was convinced that a car should be accessible to everyone, not just the elite.

No EVs

The Democratic Joe Biden administration has practically sanctified electric vehicles in the U.S. and boxed the American industry in with unrealistic EV deadlines, without adequately considering demand, costs, and infrastructure. They are now paying the price. The administration of a city, state, or country might want to be the best in class, but if it doesn’t listen to the silent majority, the price will eventually come due.

Dissatisfaction

Donald Trump has fueled the existing dissatisfaction among the population. In the automotive field, this dissatisfaction was mainly about the price of mobility. This is something I have been concerned about here as well—the fixation on EVs as the only solution for the future. I only need to look within the EU, and I can see the first cracks forming between parties that elevate sustainability goals to an art form and those that take a more realistic tone. Trump has shown that you need to bring ordinary, hard-working families along in the (EV) transition instead of imposing it on them. That’s what I take away from this election result.