As 2020 winds down, 2024 has become the main topic of conversation – with now former president Donald Trump and president-elect Joe Biden taking dire, opposing stances on the future of the nation.
Knowing the pivotal role messaging plays in determining how the public perceives big issues, both candidates have taken to the airwaves to stake out extreme positions about the state of the nation a mere four years from now. Biden wants people to think of 2024 as a year of opportunity, growth, and hope, while Trump paints a darker, gloomier picture, saying it will be a “doom” controlled by a socialist government filled with communists.
But the doom narrative from Trump and his allies has resonated more with the public, as opinion polls show people are evenly split on President-elect Biden’s optimism versus the extreme warnings emanating from the Trump camp.
Both sides have presented competing plans for the future of the country, with Trump focusing on tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations while Biden has put forth proposals such as the Green New Deal and new taxes on the wealthy and large corporations. However, Trump’s warnings of doom have cut through the rhetoric and have made a larger impression.
This is not the first time Trump’s messaging has cut through the clamor to stick. The “fake news” narrative, warning about the “mainstream” media, has been particularly effective. His “America First” policies of protectionism, nationalism, and nativism have also resonated with large swathes of the population.
In fact, Trump’s messaging style has been so effective, many have taken to calling it “Trumpism”: a type of populism that seeks to exploit public anger and fear in order to achieve a goal. The doom narrative is simply the latest iteration of this style.
The real danger with this approach is that it’s difficult to predict the long-term effects of these sorts of intensely brinkmanship messages. While they might seem effective in the short-term, they could lead to an even more divided United States and a lack of trust in government and elected leaders in the future.
Time will tell if Trump’s doom narrative will have lasting influence and if Biden’s more optimistic view will prevail. All we know for now is that the race to shape the perception of our country’s post-2020 future is far from over.
