Why Trump Is Winning With Disengaged Voters

The biggest divide in our politics isn’t between Democrats and Republicans, or even left and right. It’s between people who follow politics closely, and those who pay almost no attention to it. If you’re in the former camp - and if you’re reading this, you probably are - the latter camp can seem inscrutable. These people hardly ever look at political news. They hate discussing politics. But they do care about issues and candidates, and they often vote.
As the 2024 election takes shape, this bloc appears crucial to determining who wins the presidency. An NBC News poll (www.nbcnews.co...) from April found that 15 percent of voters don’t follow political news, and Donald Trump was winning them by 26 points.
Yanna Krupnikov studies exactly this kind of voter. She’s a professor of communication and media at the University of Michigan and an author, with John Barry Ryan, of “The Other Divide: Polarization and Disengagement in American Politics (www.cambridge....) .” The book examines how the chasm between the deeply involved and the less involved shapes politics in America. I’ve found it to be a helpful guide for understanding one of the most crucial dynamics emerging in this year’s election: the swing to Trump from President Biden (www.nytimes.co...) among disengaged voters.
In this conversation, we discuss how politically disengaged voters relate to politics; where they get their information about politics and how they form opinions; and whether major news events, like Trump’s recent conviction, might sway them.
Mentioned:
“The ‘Need for Chaos’ and Motivations to Share Hostile Political Rumors (www.cambridge....) ” by Michael Bang Petersen, Mathias Osmundsen and Kevin Arceneaux
Hooked (www.cambridge....) by Markus Prior
“The Political Influence of Lifestyle Influencers? Examining the Relationship Between Aspirational Social Media Use and Anti-Expert Attitudes and Beliefs (journals.sagep...) ” by Ariel Hasell and Sedona Chinn
“One explanation for the 2024 election’s biggest mystery (www.vox.com/po...) ” by Eric Levitz
Book Recommendations:
What Goes Without Saying (www.cambridge....) by Taylor N. Carlson and Jaime E. Settle
Through the Grapevine (press.uchicago...) by Taylor N. Carlson
Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come (www.simonandsc...) by Jessica Pan
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at [e-mail].
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast (www.nytimes.co...) . Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at www.nytimes.co... (www.nytimes.co...) .
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Efim Shapiro and Aman Sahota. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Rollin Hu, Elias Isquith and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Sonia Herrero.

[@lunazamoraart]

I need to become one of those people that don’t care about politics.

[@ericcampbell503]

Haha, good luck.

[@silentmajority8365]

Congress compiling a draft list because they want to be ready for Bidens wars

[@elzoog]

It is actually rational not to care about politics because it fails a cost/benefit analysis. In other words, the amount of energy you spend on understanding politics vs. spending that energy on learning a skill (for example) shows that learning a skill has a higher benefit (in terms of a higher paying job). Whereas learning about politics has a very poor ROI because your vote is only one out of a million. Even if you write your congressman, the odds he will act on it are somewhat slim.

[@bonniepinney2884]

Please don't do that

[@ericcampbell503]

@@elzoog I'll happily keep caring about politics, because my life ain't some dumbass spreadsheet.

[@reuvenpolonskiy2544]

"Everything is political" did not came from the right

[@DRKrust492]

Actually it did. Example. Bud Light decided to market to trans people. The right turned that political. Also, book bans. Sesame Street. M&Ms. The right constantly starts culture war political fights.

[@unconventionalideas5683]

It's odd, then, they seem to be the ones politicizing everything.

[@futureglobal7258]

“Everything is grievance (politics)” -the Reich

[@tictacterminator]

well i mean gamer gate kind of made it a meme with anita sarkeesian EVERYTHING is sexist EVEYRTHING is problematic and you've got to point it all out!

[@chasdawes7541]

The need to fill a 24 McNews cycle with blathering off-gassers rather than actual information is what brought us here. Edward R. Murrow, and the creators of Murphy Brown a few decades later, saw this coming a long way back.

[@ngrovotny]

It's funny that so many people will say, "why discuss politics, you can't do anything about it" and completely ignore everything else that people love talking about, such as sportsball and rap beefs. For sure, the single biggest issue here is that our entire "free press" has fallen asleep at the wheel, because every single *major* outlet will have the same people on-air every week to repeat mindless talking points which are not at all based in REALITY, and the less engaged public is thus encouraged to take such comments seriously. The MAGA party is 100% on-message that "the economy was better when the orange game-show host was in office," but it's nothing but wishful thinking.

[@mathdadclt3683]

I wish I could like this comment infinity times.

[@BootyCollins-gf5er]

As a European I would probably go nuts with the news cycle in a effectively 2 party system. Might as well tune out the constant repetitivenesss.

[@limitisillusion7]

The economy was better or worse during Trump's presidency, depending on who you are. Inflation is up since Biden came into office... That's a fact. You either have investments that outpace the inflation or you have no investments and your wage is outpaced by inflation. In other words, the inflated prices are increasing the value of stocks and the gains are being distributed disproportionately to shareholders rather than low-level employees. Quite a simple concept.... We have a two-tiered economy. It is benefitting certain people by exploiting others. The only question is which tier has more voters...

[@painterQjensen]

News is not news, and neither Are you.

[@DanFeldmanAgileProjectManager]

People do not like talking about politics because mainstream media has made it trivial, like watching sports and drinking beer. People are turned off when pundits discuss the superficial horse race without addressing systemic change and the generator functions which make their lives suck. The New York Times and mainstream media benefit from the status quo and have zero sensitivity to how completely upset the majority of Americans are, how completely sick and tired we are of pretending that our oligarchy is a democracy. Most people are victims of wage exploitation and rentier neofeudalism where private equity has swallowed up most small businesses. We are sick of the corporatacracy. Everyone is deeply embedded into the political economy. U.S. electoral politics are rigged (we lose, while the billionaires win). We need a constitutional convention, citizen assemblies, and a revolution. No one wants to vote for Trump or Biden. Who wants to be complicit in a genocide? Who wants to trigger WWIII by supporting the U.S. proxy war with Russia and inflame tensions with China? No sane educated person surely.

[@benjaminhenderson5025]

Well said

[@mariannabauerlein9486]

bingo!! these people are clueless!

[@markwriter2698]

Only our government thinks starting another war is a business plan and only a Harvard graduate thinks printing money is a good idea. I believe the system will default.

[@andrewdennis8317]

The most important thing that government can do to improve the economy for ordinary people is act through the executive branch's administration to regulate big business. Heads of administrative agencies such as Lina Khan and Jonathan Kanter need to be highlighted and their actions should become part of the campaign's advertising. The FTC just caught oil executive Scott Sheffield colluding to fix the price of oil and the FBI raided Cortland Management's headquarters over algorithmic rent fixing. These efforts need to be highlighted to show people why the Biden Administration should govern and why the Trump Administration is not fit to govern.

[@bradhicks4057]

Spot on!!! I remembered vaguely that story upon reading your cmmt., I searched SS name. The coverage was far from plentiful, Forbes & WSJ questioning FTC claims. AND, all FTC did was get Exxon-Mobile to ban him from getting a seat on E-M board!!! And seems referred to DOJ., as condition to approve E-M merger w/ Pioneer, his company and huge US producer!!

[@michaelbusillo6956]

People have been condtioned to short soundbites. Greater understanding only comes with the work of due diligence and research. Untangling lies is hard work and the explanation for things is often complex and deeply nuanced. People want things to fit in neat boxes, they dont. And alot of people don't have the patience or desire to really listen. Know your sources, know your sources sources. Corelate sources, deduce bias (whose paying specific media opinion). I think this what people mean by critical thinking.

[@波紋小石]

That sounds helpful for engaging with people active in this field, and to avoiding mistakes caused by biased sources. But critical thinking is a lot bigger than rooting out bias in primary and secondary sources. You can easily misunderstand or misapply unbiased information and thereby err in critical thinking.

[@vvvvxxxx9999]

Well, it would seem that an earnest desire for truth, both within and without might be prudent...................... ...............😅 Naw, it'd never work 😅

[@judithm.2399]

I know all the answers to the questions Ezra asked and I’m not even American. Nor have I ever lived in the US. How more super-weird is that ?!

[@bonniepinney2884]

Sounds about right honestly

[@max_skim-pontoon-cough]

Sounds like the US is an empire

[@jimgraham6722]

As an Australian I once met a guy in Ohio who asked me where I was from. I answered "Australia". He said "Isn't that the country near Hungary", I replied, "No that's Austria, Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere". He paused and said "Where's that?".

[@rigelb9025]

@@jimgraham6722 lol. Reminds me of that line from Dumb&Dumber with Jim Carrey, where he asks this guy : ''Where you from?'' the guy replies : ''Austria''. Then 'Dumber' (Carrey) replies : ''Hey, Mate!'' with the stereotypical Aussie accent.

[@futureglobal7258]

“The Apprentice “ is another reason why Trump wins disengaged voters.

[@VincentPope-hy3qb]

Disengaged is gross ignorance.

[@futureglobal7258]

@@VincentPope-hy3qb there’s a reason why mark burnett & Trump are making sure the outtakes from “The Apprentice” never see the light of day. They destroy the false narratives that ① Trump is intelligent ② he’s a family man ③ he’s a successful businessman Imagine the mind shattering dissonance FOX News viewers/GOP voters would experience if confronted with those tapes.

[@futureglobal7258]

@@VincentPope-hy3qb indeed. The character Trump played on “The Apprentice” isn’t real. The Trump captured in the outtakes is. That’s why he & Mark Burnett won’t let anyone see the tapes.

[@mathdadclt3683]

I've managed to drop my active follower account on Twitter down to roughly 3 people by not being incendiary enough for those leaning left and too, well, leftish for people on the right. I was at close to 3K a year ago.

[@unconventionalideas5683]

Because increasingly only extremists use that platform.

[@arthurswanson3285]

People are still on Twitter?

[@JohnCBrown-xt3vm]

I'm coming more and more into the belief each day that politics is simply becoming about class. Sure it's been that way concerning the Oligarchs against us middle class, yet it's also where those less educated (all races) vs. us who are educated and have an 'educated income level,' are resentful of us and show it with their misguided distrust towards us instead of the purveyors of their real problems (i.e. Oligarchs) who spin media into believing it is college educated adults who they should hate. There also is the virtue vs. vice (all races as well) paradigm that also runs parallel to the educated vs. non educated sectors of society who we are discussing here. You can almost bet those who get mad at say; people who recycle, care about the environment or are altruistic in general are the same people this article is discussing. Tragically, pundits are saying they are the ones that are going to decide America's fate in whether or not we ever have another non authoritarian election in our lifetimes. That's scary as hell. Talk to anyone like us watcing this video, who care about society and are WORRIED and they will tell you it quit being about Republicans vs. Demoncrats and policy about a decade ago. The two camps now are educated/socially refined/altruistic/middle class vs. uneducated/impoverished/lout/selfish/resentful types with Oligarchs manipulating the second camp to vote or not vote to their will.

[@vvvvxxxx9999]

I'd like a bit more 'bread' with my circus. TY.

[@WhizzingFish12]

Wow, you are exactly the snobbish, insufferably arrogant person that the working class resents. Thanks for being Exhibit A.

[@bradhicks4057]

YUP. Divide & Conquer.

[@hmmm2564]

😮​@@bradhicks4057 your arrogance is truly remarkable

[@hmmm2564]

😮​@@bradhicks4057 your arrogance is truly remarkable

[@Nateasnay]

FJB, your OUT!!!

[@danwylie-sears1134]

People are *NOT* focused on the prices of eggs. The price of _eggs_ came back down. They were $6 a dozen when the bird flu outbreak shut down production, and now they're around $2 a dozen.

[@SS-qk8oc]

not true. I just looked.

[@JuicyTaz201]

Strawberries are 8 dollars where I live. They were 3-4 dollars under Trump. My grocery bill has doubled. Trump has my vote all the way.

[@jb24001]

@@JuicyTaz201 DON'T BELIEVE YOUR LYING EYES! INFLATION IS TRANSITORY! THE ECONOMY IS BOOMING!!!

[@JohnCBrown-xt3vm]

'eggceptional' 😏

[@WhiteCamry]

@@JuicyTaz201 Good-bye to civil liberties, checks and balances, and elections because of strawberries? 🤨

[@jkevinmccon]

It wasn't until near the end of this discussion, that I realized that their definition of "disengaged" is "anyone who doesn't read the NYT or watch Meet the Press". Prior to that, I was struggling to make sense out of anything being said. The initial thesis that engaged voters, vote for Biden and disengaged voters vote for Trump is just wrong. I'm highly engaged and voting Trump. For those who believe the information from the NYT, I have three words...Russia, Russia, Russia.

[@theGefilteFist]

Why does this woman sound like she’s crying the whole time?

[@joaobarbosa6262]

It's because she keeps hearing herself saying platitudes and inbecilities. So, she cries...

[@mariannabauerlein9486]

it's called being a "whining " liberal 😂

[@hannahconroy]

I am an engaged voter. I will probably vote in November. I do not plan to vote for either Trump or Biden.

[@paulkern7229]

aren't you special!

[@Tahir_Ali]

@@paulkern7229- 😂😂😂😂. Probably the best response ever.

[@hannahconroy]

@@paulkern7229 You too, man! Have a great day

[@JR-pr8jb]

If you don't vote for either, you're voting for Trump. You're voting for a racist, an insurrection inciter, a rapist, a business cheat, a classified documents thief, a convicted felon. Enjoy your independence.

[@jamesoquinn9168]

Me neither! 🎉

[@sollunaystars]

I'm heavily involved with politics, not to the point I need to have to the minute news. But, I watch local, national and international news daily and throughout the day. I made it through the first 12 minutes of this podcast and I was already feeling mentally drained from the conversation. I imagine this is the exhaustion people feel when they encounter ppl who want to constantly talk about politics which leads to avoidance.

[@mistybutcher4876]

You CHOSE to listen to political information and now you're complaining?

[@wejpasadena1]

Trump’s appeal is to people who think the people in Washington DC don’t care about their concerns. Ideology does not matter so much. Trump’s message to these people is “Washington doesn’t care about you and they hate me. If you want to say you’re fed up with the way things are then vote for me.”

[@goldenphoenixpublish]

Some follow politics only because it says a lot about others who follow politics...

[@paulclissold1525]

These banal casts are necessary as you transition from democracy to dictatorship. Thank you for the discussion it will be kindly viewed in 2025. You are well placed.

[@JeffHoldenWS-NC]

Didn't Trump raise close to half a billion dollars after the conviction? How much did Joe raise?

[@Ss-dz6cm]

Boy i could comment for an hour. I enjoyed listening to this. My take away is that either myself and most of my close friends break the mold, or that study is wrong. I am female, middle aged, educated, middle class, non-religious. I am extremely engaged. I watch politics, i read politics and absorb it from every side that i can. I'm particularly jnterested in the constitution and constitutional law. I am not particularly invested in social issues. Im pretty center on abortion. Not for no limitations, but 6 weeks is absurd. I also think that roe v wade was constitutional over reach with the judicial branch becoming legislative. I think this needs to be compromised on both sides and the constitution amended federally. Fiscally, i am conservative. In my opinion liberal spending only works until you run out of everyone else's money. I think margaret thatcher said something like that. So i would say, socially I am center. I am very well read about Trump's felonies. I think they are BS! It was selective prosecution. Every single liberal i have asked and im up to 23, can not even explain what the actual crime was. And definitely do not understand that it was 34 misdemeanors for literally writing legal expense to a lawyer who was paying an NDA. Most would call that a legal expense. They only got made into felonies because the statute of limitations was expired and so they said it was in the commission of another crime and then refused to name the other crime (against the constitution) until the closing argument which didnt allow him to defend himself and then the judge gave them an option of 3 crimes they could think he committed and it would count. My favorite explanation was on a youtube channel called straight down the middle by a law professor. He didnt do anything illegal, hush money isnt illegal, he didnt use campaign funds, if anything they overpaid taxes. Because of my own interactions with people, i have found that my more liberal friends are lower information voters than my libertarian or conservative aquaintances.

[@JeffHoldenWS-NC]

I thought youth was shifting towards Trump, not Biden

[@kevinjones5457]

The vocal fray is real. 😒

[@theGefilteFist]

It’s “frei”

[@Tahir_Ali]

I found her voice VERrry Annoying. Almost to the extent where it was vomit inducing.

[@jennysteves]

@@theGefilteFistfry

[@jennysteves]

@@kathleenfaher861I have. More rare, though.

[@vvvvxxxx9999]

😂😂😂😅😂😂😅 That's not funny 😅😅😅😂😂

[@SS-qk8oc]

No one cares about weird politics if the economics are ok…..

[@joiedevie3901]

Alexis de Tocqueville is celebrated for his enthusiasm at the American experiment as he traveled the young nation in the 1830s. What we are less inclined to note were his admonitions that accompanied his admiration: one was that he had not encountered a society where for all of its talk of liberty that conformity was held is such high esteem as in our fledgling nation; and that our democracy was under the constant threat of violent factionalism and of mob rule. Anyone who knows the true history of this nation knows that his concerns manifested themselves far more often than just the Civil War. And we are witnessing another episode of these risks before our very eyes.

[@luismartinez-mx9xh]

Another one of these? Aw, you’re making me nostalgic for 2016

[@mistybutcher4876]

Absolutely fascinating information. I shared this with my politically-involved friends.

[@julkiewicz]

Advocating for a high turnout was a mistake ;)

[@AintSkeerdNWO]

I get my news from Stephen Colbert and Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse of Trump rallies!!! Jk, but I do enjoy a good laugh.

[@BabyMaharaja0]

Voting Trump in Michigan

[@christopherchilton-smith6482]

There's too much I *can* follow to always know what I should be following. I would never describe myself as someone that knows a lot about politics, I constantly forget who represents my district, what types of powers the city counsel members have and have large gaps about all kinds of government offices and their functions. I'm pretty bad at understanding geopolitics in a broad sense and while I do dedicate a regular portion of my time bouncing between passively and actively consuming politics from a handful of sources, I always feel pretty lost at sea in all this information. I live in southern California, barely make above minimum wage and have a pretty high stress life that makes it super difficult to know what I should know or even keep track of what I think is important. That all said, one of the things I'm pretty sure of is if you let people vote on policies directly without having to go through a politician the pandemic checks would be back and I think that says a lot about what's really important to most of us.

[@stayclean777]

Poor Ezra can talk about everything except how the New York Times soft pedals and protects Trump.

[@Tahir_Ali]

Very good point. Perhaps that should be his next video.

[@stayclean777]

@@Tahir_Ali I wouldn't hold my breath.

[@silentmajority8365]

TRUMP 2024

[@SS-qk8oc]

I don’t think we are all living in the same world. I don’t feel like we all have anything in common.

[@scene2much]

Digital news terds to have a paywall or require registration for a 'free' account. 'can't be bothered' is less likely to pay or register. Social media is free.... Fwiw, KZbin isn't free, ads are way too annoying without premium. People will put up with ads for their favorite show, but less so for news.

[@russellharrell2747]

People put up with news with ads for generations. Only in the last 20 years have people been graced with ‘social media’ and the option of hearing free opinions that mirror their own views. And believe or not all social media comes with ads. People just discovered they didn’t like to think and love to be told comfortable truths. They will gladly pay for the later.

[@MaggieJohnson-vn6su]

Yup, he's a liberal - not a leftist

[@NPC8474]

Hi Ezra we do listen to you too. But unfortunately you don't have leaders in the Democrat party with good ideas. The ideas are stale and there is no vision. While your party hasn't been paying attention, the GOP has become a big ideas big tent party that is now moderate on social issues that were radioactive in the past. I'll vote Democrat again once they clean house and have fresh ideas again.

[@shakazulu3594]

Yassss!!! Trump 2024!! Praise it all!😄

[@chrslb]

Are people disengaged just because they don't feel represented or empowered by the political system in any way? In other words, is Trump mainly a protest vote for them

[@rockonmadonna]

Don’t trust most corporate media, but know their and your biases, and don’t trust the US uniparty, and always vote for the least corporate challenger in the Dem primary and third party in every general election.

[@jamesoquinn9168]

Yeah. Right on man! 👍

[@RachelTension392]

But also rock on, Madonna

[@benjaminhenderson5025]

100%

[@goldmandrummer]

She jumped to saying conversation with people to shift their politics won't be effective but she gave no basis for that...what she had said just prior didn't connect. Weird and problematic.

[@bernardzsikla5640]

What happens if you are a Reagan Republican that hates Maga and post modern liberalism and votes Democratic? 😅

[@MarkLeBay]

Today’s Democratic Party is basically the Reagan Republican Party but pro-choice and pro- gay/trans rights.

[@arxsyn]

Canadian here. Seeing how the Conservatives repeatedly seem to do whatever they can to engage in voter suppression, maybe the correct response is the opposite. What would happen if voting is no longer voluntary? So much is at stake with this election, surely one can make an argument that this is one you cannot miss. Make the moral argument It's part of civic duty. As imperfect as the system is, this is another way for the Democrats to distinguish themselves, to encourage all eligible citizens to engage and participate in democracy. If they want to win over more progressive types, they can try to get rid of it fillibuster and enact laws to prevent another Jan 6. If l were Biden l would do all of this.

[@wethepeople2023]

American here. Nobody cares about what Canada thinks.

[@silentmajority8365]

These hit pieces are a form of voter suppression By implying conservatives are not fit to vote Ironic your side cried when we said there should be literacy tests to vote You cried racist Now you want names taken off the ballot or call us ignorant for voting as we choose

[@Catdad666]

@@wethepeople2023awww. you think Trump won, don’t you ? Poor wittle magat.

[@limitisillusion7]

If I was king, voting would be mandatory, and I would encourage people to vote for themselves if they didn't like any of the candidates. That, or eligible voters who didn't vote would be automatically casted for themselves. The problem is that we have a ton of disenfranchised voters who are hiding their shared perception from each other by not voting. If on election night, 35% of people were tallied in the "other" category, it would create a proper movement that had the confidence to actually challenge the uniparty system that only props up to corporate candidates.

[@silentmajority8365]

Give examples of conservatives suppressing votes? DNC took names of ballots DNC opposed voter ID that let illegals vote DNC attacked people that tried to attend Trump rallies

[@MekonenMeteor123]

I fear that it’s intentional that a lot of disengage with politics.

[@wethepeople2023]

She’s saying very obvious basic political ideas. Bongino says all the time “campaigns are snapshots and soundbytes. THATS IT.”

[@Bobbert153]

Vocal fry is so hard to listen to.

[@reubenhandel210]

Because he's the only one who's honrst about anything

[@SS-qk8oc]

The regime apologism here always blows my mind.

[@billyconnelly3568]

I suspect your mind was blown long before Trump came onto the scene. Indeed, that's why you took to him so completely.

[@stephenstart3552]

I think you are overlooking the impact of Midas Touch and Patreon network

[@Hello-zf5lq]

NATO is already there. Haha. I can't believe Putin and Co lost Russia. It used to be a formidable empire! As a Russian, I feel we will pay for his mistakes for the next 100 years. I wish we had a real politician, and not a small bodied KGB Librarian!

[@bradhicks4057]

Yeah, dance around why poorer ==> less interested/engaged, but don't say Less Education & critical thinking could have anything to do with it. But yeah, know that's educated, richer elite looking down on them, so don't say an un PC thing, get that.

[@whyukraine]

You can't expect people who spent 12 formative childhood years under totalitarian dictatorship to be less than cynical about politics. Democracy must be taught & practiced from a young age. Until schools have true democracy, our societies will constantly slip towards fascism.

[@victoriaionkin6551]

You are pounding your head against a cement wall. Democracy is a phantom. It doesn't have even one particular definition. "Why Ukraine" is a good example of mass illusion.

[@anitaitisanita8549]

Ho hum

[@raymondholguin7272]

@12:min in or so I realized what a waste of time. This is masterful skill of bs marination of the main dressing in this word salad.

[@bonniepinney2884]

For anyone who says don't all politicians do these things? The answer is no. But the answer is also if that is true then is isn't it good that we are finally doing something about it? Either way they cannot morally support trump at this point without becoming hypocrites themselves. Don't let them get away with hypocrisy without calling it out.

[@benjaminhenderson5025]

And you can support Biden without being a hypocrite? I guess #metoo only applies when republicans are accused of Rape. Tara Reide made the mistake of thinking #metoo applied to democrats. Or maybe your a strong union supporter. How do you justify Biden destroying the railroad worker strike. Set rail labor back more than a decade, and we get all these derailments because of it. Are you pro union and pro biden? How is that NOT hypocrisy? How about reperations he promised in his 2020 run? He dropped that rhetoric the day after he got voted in. How about his promise of a government option? Abandoned at the first disagreement of the parlementarian. So are you a hypicrite too, or do you just not actually care about anything on the "liberal platform"

[@WhizzingFish12]

I am a libertarian centrist just shaded to the right, and I will 100% vote for Trump. Not because I like him but as a protest against the illiberal soft authoritarianism of the left with a half-sentient figurehead they can puppet. Trumps an ass but they are Orwellian.

[@DRKrust492]

Why? Disengaged implies ignorant. And ignorant is the essence of a Trump voter.

[@wethepeople2023]

The working class is busy working. And surviving.

[@elzoog]

"Disengaged implies ignorant." Either that, or it means the person is able to perform a cost/benefit analysis (interest in politics fails such an analysis).

[@stephj9378]

Biden

[@markg.7865]

​@@wethepeople2023I am working class, but I don't watch Fox and other right-wing media.

[@WhizzingFish12]

More like they're not engaged on the issues YOU care about, just as you are not engaged in the issues THEY care about. Ever think of asking them?

[@samtan4729]

Underscores the importance of engaging with others on the importance of being an informed voter in this pivotal election cycle. There's still some time to make a difference!! Also Democrats need to rethink their ad campaigns, ie. Need to address cost of living in spite of good economic metrics.

[@benjaminhenderson5025]

And what makes them low info? Not trusting mainstream media makes voters MORE informed, not less, or did you actually think Saddam had WMDs?

[@WhizzingFish12]

The economic metrics are only good for the typical NYT reader. They are NOT good for working class Americans. It's almost like we can see both our paychecks and our bills.

[@jackiepie7423]

low information voters should vote for kenedy

[@benjaminhenderson5025]

True, but they will probably be sheepdogged into voting Biden.

[@limitisillusion7]

"Low information voters" is just a low blow to people that have given up on politics. Disenfranchised voters either used to pay attention or were never given a reason to pay attention. If I had to guess, low information voters are actually better critical thinkers on average, and that's why they don't pay attention to whatever candidates the mainstream media is propping up.

[@jackiepie7423]

@@limitisillusion7 if they were well informed they would realize that the democrats, as bad as they are, remain the better choice. Economic nationalists who will only accelerate the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

[@Fringe31422au]

It's not one or the other. The dems can do both. My frustratration is that we've been on the saving democracy arc for the better part of a decade now. It eats up so much oxygen that it's harder to get out anything good that's being done. And some use it as a replacement to talk about other issues which makes it harder. Abortion and reproductive rights have provided an avenue to focus back on more traditional issues, but what more do they have beyond that? As far as sustaining voter attention, the American election cycle is ridiculously long. Most campaigns around the world are 1-3 months long. And found myself pulling back here and there because of that and telling friends who've asked me about the numbers not to worry too much about them until after Labor Day or the convention period.

[@benjaminhenderson5025]

I can tell you firsthand I am not voting democrat at any level, and the readon is democrats DENYING democracy. All you have to do is take a look at the dem primary to see clearly the DNC is LESS DEMOCRATIC than the RNC. Beck vs DNC. Dem lawyers fought for and won the right to rig the primaries. How do you get a legitimate general election from a rigged primary?

[@limitisillusion7]

A question I've yet to get an answer to: If a democracy is worth saving, how is it that is needs saving in the first place? Seems to me that in order to save a failing democracy, you must specifically address what caused it to fail.

[@markmaclean1230]

De-Klein-in votes 4 Biden- low energy

[@melissaradaker1128]

It's funny that your listener knows two things about you both. First, none of your friends are working or lower middle class, and second, you would likely lie about that.

[@WhizzingFish12]

100%. They are NEVER outside of their own bubble.

[@andym4695]

We're left-handed As far as inflation goes, yeah, it sucks, but was it really Biden's fault? Pick five random western European countries that pop into mind. Now, google their inflation over the last five years. Now look at ours. I picked France, Germany, England, a couple of others. What I discovered is that *all* of my choices had high inflation AT THE SAME TIME which has since come back down. Did Biden's stimulus cause this problem for these five other nations? "But why can't it all just go back to the way it was?" That, of course, is the age-old question for everything from divorce and job loss to chemotherapy.

[@blahpunk1]

The fed intentionally attempts to steer the economy away from deflation, right? I'm not certain of the reasoning but I think the strategy is to wait for wages to catch up. Seems like we've been wait for that for decades.

[@bradhicks4057]

You mean inflation? Well, it is going back to way it's been as far as RATE of continuing inflation. But never going to see prices for most things go back as corps. won't have that. Only a mass consumer boycott of NOT buying any unnecessary stuff will cause prices to go down.

[@EricBlair2084]

blah blah blah

[@markg.7865]

????

[@RepubliconCelebrityPresidents]

Um. 💡 Maybe *BECAUSE* they're disengaged. 🤔😳🫢 November💙

[@dansrc3011]

"Trump is a threat to democracy" is the most laughable campaign slogan ever.

[@WhizzingFish12]

Especially coming from the party that colluded with the media and Deep State to suppress a valid news story amd conducted transparently partisan lawfare against their political opponent.

[@christophersalinas2328]

Simple. Give people a better democrat. Then trump disappears. But Ezra won’t do that. Then he becomes irrelevant.

[@americasgotseriousproblems2632]

The most important issue in Nov ‘24 is rights of all people! Vote Blue!

[@ericsynchrona5495]

Qanon himself listens to this show, just as your psychotherapist though.

[@Yitreaux]

You ignore

[@Yitreaux]

You just ignore RFK when he seems to be polling pretty close to the 2 dreaded mainstream candidates

[@terjeoseberg990]

….------------------….

[@terjeoseberg990]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIPMhYp7mJt3lcU

[@terjeoseberg990]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIPMhYp7mJt3lcU

[@RachelTension392]

I’m not entirely sure why we shouldn’t engage these voters’ concerns. If they are worried about the price of eggs, the price of gas, the price of milk, this seems like something that shouldn’t be workshopped into a complaint about Trump’s convictions. We need to talk about what Biden could’ve done and couldn’t do about these things in an honest way. The New York Times The Daily did a segment on eggs and why prices have gone up, and if you don’t see how the government has created a system of customer exploitation that they refuse to address, that’s a crazy blind spot you have in your political analysis. Also, what is a larger conversation of egg prices going up? Is that your friend’s cupcake business on Instagram being affected? Is that your neighborhood favorite restaurant being affected? The curation and prioritization of our political concerns through the lens of classism along with mainstream media messaging tedium are the problem.

[@CharlesGervasi]

It seems to me like these are some of the best economic times in decades. Prices of something is always going up or down. I question if this is really the issue, if there actually are price levels that would make most people happy, and if the government has any way to intervene to make it happen.

[@silentmajority8365]

@@CharlesGervasi Ok Orwell Gas was 1.79 during Trump Look how many apts and condos going up and not single family houses

[@silentmajority8365]

Years ago a candidate came to my home asking for my vote for state rep I said I was concerned about schools in disrepair as I was a school volunteer I also was angered we could no longer have Xmas in our schools He told me those were non issues I said How? If I'm a voter these are issues What he really meant was He just wanted a cush job

[@RachelTension392]

@@CharlesGervasiif you go to any sales meeting, prices are increased a certain percentage to outdo last year’s sales performance. This is common practice customer exploitation, but during the pandemic it took on crazy percentage increases and was commonly known as greedflation, because price increases were not realistically a reflection of inflation or supply chain issues. Now, what can a president do with a divided Congress and a seemingly biased Supreme Court? Well, he can have his DOJ investigate, like Biden has done quietly about eggs specifically. But he can also use his bully pulpit, which Biden has not used, and presidents like Nixon have used effectively with gas and oil. We can expect more from this president, which is why only focusing on Trump’s convictions and being a felon and being twice impeached and being racist and being sexist ISN’T a good sell of Biden for another four years. The number one issue for Gen Z? Housing. And that group needs to show up for Biden if he wants to win in 2024. Now, if you are using the stock market as a metric to say these are great economic times, 10% of Americans own 90% of American stocks. Unemployment going down does not take into account those who are kicked off or stop using it because of our increased deaths by despair. More yachts being sold, as some economists have been adding, is not a reflection of a majority of Americans doing better, it is a data point emphasizing that the top earners in our country are continuing to profit off of tragedy and their success offset the data that can illustrate how real Americans struggle right now. This is what I mean by curating our political priorities through the lens of classism.

[@RachelTension392]

@@CharlesGervasiif you’re using metrics like the stock market, 10% of stock owners own 90% of stocks. That along with increased yacht sales is a data point illustrating that only a few are doing well with this economy. If you are using unemployment as a metric, this does not take into account the underemployed gig worker, those whose unemployment ran out, or individuals who stopped engaging the program because of deaths by despair, which only seem to be increasing. This is what I mean by curating the news through the lens of classism. This podcast brought up the issue of young people being unengaged. Gen Z’s top issue? Housing. Not Trump’s convictions. Biden needs these voters to show up in November. So, what can he do? Actually engage their issues rather than repackage the whole twice impeached, convicted felon line. This is what I mean by mainstream media messaging tedium. At the end of the day, prices went up but the average person's wages did not. And expecting them to catch up when corporations hoard profits and dictate editorial is psychopathic behavior. And telling them to ignore getting food on the table for their families or gas in their tank for work to, instead, think about the larger, "abstract" problems (like upholding our position as the world's policeman) is the political system not engaging domestic, economic issues for constituents. These voters aren't disengaged. The parties are disengaged from talking about issues that affect everyday Americans.

[@JeffHoldenWS-NC]

Didn't Trump raise close to half a billion dollars after the conviction? How much did Joe raise?

[@annsanse2935]

who needs fiction with the shit that's going on?

[@bmobert]

I stopped watching main stream news in 2003 when I kept hearing there were "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq. I could tell I was being lied to. I haven't watched since. But that meant I stopped getting updates on current events. Which further meant I didn't know enough to have a good opinion in politics. However, I've made a rule for myself: I will not talk politics with someone who cannot mention three things their least favorite, most hated President did right. Basically, if someone doesn't have the mental bandwidth for the nuance of accepting good things can be done by bad politicians, then I don't have the patience to listen to their opinions.

[@benjaminhenderson5025]

💯

[@SparklyCoconut-le3fu]

Great rule of thumb

[@gregoryisom7741]

I see a problem.... your never gonna understand a trump voter with the stance that they need to come to you. you wanna live in my country then keep tuning out. (that is to mean that by tuning out your not contributing so its not yours)

[@billyconnelly3568]

Wow, dude, you're so nuanced my head's gonna explode.

[@phylis3917]

🎯. An attorney I knew said that ages ago.

[@joshntn37111]

As a MAGA guy, we have alot of respect for Ezra. His perspective on the world maybe different however I respect him and his insight. He isn't the type of lefty we want to erase from the earth. This young lady was a pleasure to listen too also.

[@cfsk6h34]

Didya hear that Ez? You're cool, don't come to school tomorrow!

[@mistybutcher4876]

I enjoyed your kind response. It was nice to see.

[@genearmfield5814]

It seems that I have always been concerned about politics because of my childhood situation and continue to be involved as I am increasingly understanding of the affect on the entire US citizenry and the economy

[@loskotas0403]

It’s a great podcast but it may need to display some bullet points to keep track of what’s discussed. It’s so dense to listen casually. One thing not discussed and I am interested more about is why so many people stopped trusting the mainstream media. I get a sense that there are ways and patterns the left media news covers politics that offend some people. Back in the 2016 election cycle, I was taken aback by how Don Lemon was laughing at Trump in his show. Disagreeing or fact checking is one thing but laughing at Trump can come across as offensive to many republican leaning people (in part because it often hits to close to the heart against what those people want to believe?). there is often a sense of superiority and snobbery in the left media - subtle or not so subtle.

[@benjaminhenderson5025]

Look back to the 2016 maddow show. Every day, the conviction was coming. He was drinking pootins spooge. He sold the treasury to the Kremlin, ect. ect. ect. That was all BS. day after day after day, liberal media lied and lied to spite trump. It sold to some people, but it just disgusts everyone else. Especially when you see just how similar trump is to Biden or Obama or Clinton. This show wont talk about it quite intentionally. They know full well who their target audience is, and their favorite thing is calling trump a monster. It makes them feel righteous to call someone else evil, reality be damned.

[@vvvvxxxx9999]

The roots of this divide( north vs south) run very deep with stereotypes projected subtly into our lives for much longer than a generation. Remember the Beverly Hillbillies, quite disrespectful in many ways.There are some who have learned how to capitalize on the divisions, and they have been fueling this for years. Dittos........

[@witwisniewski2280]

The media sometimes reveal corruption of politicians, but they don't highlight when a politician is honest. Most voters think that both candidates are corrupt, but that is not the case. The cynicism driving this election is misdirected. What kind of nation are we if we don't care about a leader's honesty. What kind of people are we if ethics is not a core value?

[@RecklessDrunkenMedic]

Whoa. The audio on this channel is really good.

[@EpicLouisiana]

Being President of the United States or a member of Congress is simply an honorary position. Corporate America owns this country from top to bottom. There's not a single law passed that isn't written for and by Big Business and Wall Street. America is neither a Republic or a Democracy, it is a Corporation. This woman makes a living giving us her opinion even though her opinion has no more value than anyone elses who has access to the internet.

[@jamesmcmann8536]

But Trump and America First candidates have a somewhat different set of sponsors than do Dems. And establishment GOP is also somewhat different.

[@EpicLouisiana]

@@jamesmcmann8536 To a degree. But they're all owned by the Fortune 500. In fact. Politics is just a fallback career for people who are too ugly for Hollywood and too stupid to run a Corporation. That's why most are lawyers and usually go to work as lobbiesst after leaving office. There's too much money in our political process to be anything but a crooked hot mess. In fact they're all getting rich voting to fund the Ukraine War while being investigated in Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon and other defense contractors on Wall Street. The stock market is the backdoor bribe.

[@tictacterminator]

Disengaged voters are regular people. Regular people are not soy. It's very simple. Doesn't take an hour to figure out or explain.

[@RachelTension392]

But it does take an hour to try and rework how those people's issues will be solved by them caring about Trump's convictions.

[@TomTorack]

High monthly inflation ended in july 2022, look it up. Prices are still high, of course, but people have had 2 years to adjust to the high prices. The mainstream media, continues to make this one of their top talking points, for some reason. In polls, state of the economy gets poor results, but questions about personal economics get good results. You media people can explain that one to us.

[@Jack_Parsons-666]

Rent and housing are still inflating at 5% YoY as of May 2024. Average wage growth last year was 4% Is this directly Biden's fault? no. But don't delude yourself about the economy. People are p1ssed.

[@WhizzingFish12]

Official inflation (which has been structurally minimized by changing what's counted the past several years - surprise surprise that an administration would manupulate the data when it's ugly for it) for the past 4 years has been 7%, 6.5%, 3.4%, and 3.3%. Each one, like compound interest, multiplies from a higher and higher baseline. The result is a total inflation of 22% in the past four years. The reality is more like 30% for the things people actually live on. Wages for working class people have lagged inflation for the past four years. It's almost like people can actually see their bills and their paychecks. Almost.

[@russellharrell2747]

@@WhizzingFish12wages have lagged behind inflation for over 40 years. Meanwhile productivity has increased astronomically as well as corporate profits which have been used for stock buybacks. But all that is just too much for your average American to comprehend even when it’s broken down in cartoon form.

[@jkevinmccon]

@@russellharrell2747 Spoken like a loyal leftist. Divert attention from the real problem and blame others. So predictable.

[@whizzingfish]

@@russellharrell2747 You can primarily thank automation and globalization for that. Corporations don't exist for their workers (harsh truth) but for their shareholders. In a competitive economy (which used to be local, then became national, and is now global), they will always seeks to lower costs and maximize efficiency. If they don't, they cease to exist. Our workers now compete with those in China, Mexico, etc where labor inputs are so much lower. It's rough for those "above the line" while great for those below it - basically our standard of living is relentlessly under pressure while that of developing nations is rapidly improving as jobs are offshored. Sucks, but too much protectionism just means we are less competitive.

[@paperhoosier]

Your New York world is, but an embarrassing display of help.

[@annakingry9157]

Because he's the only one being covered by the media with any excitement? Boooo, media!

[@danielpincus221]

There’s no need to listen to this. All you need to listen to is Alan Lichtman.

[@thomascorbett2936]

I think hes winning with engaged voters also .

[@lisapowell748]

I hate,hate trump,why do I have to get all upset

[@kevinjones5457]

Cry more. 😂

[@lisapowell748]

@@kevinjones5457 he's such an Asshole

[@reuvenpolonskiy2544]

Hate destroys the person, its legit to hate thing you consider abhorrent, but if it eats your life, this is obsession, you dont live your life you live someone elsses life.

[@intertextualdialectic1769]

Don't get upset by things you can't control, and when Trump wins, you will not have any control.

[@wethepeople2023]

@@reuvenpolonskiy2544 Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

[@carolbridge7768]

I want to take her seriously but she giggles and sounds silly.

[@Tahir_Ali]

Vocal Fry. I found her difficult on my ears.

[@JH-zr8lo]

she is not saying anything brilliant, repeating media talking points/circles--disappointing conversation

[@intertextualdialectic1769]

I think its super cute.

[@reflectsonlife]

Ironic that a Comms Prof employs vocal fry, not to mention millennial intonation and pacing. OTOH she is probably extremely effective as a professor teaching college student due to her comm style.

[@reflectsonlife]

*students