Voters for the upcoming election have long had their minds made up for who they are voting for. With the main purpose of political advertising being persuasion, both candidates for this year’s presidential election have taken two very different routes to target an audience which has further contributed to the already gaping political divide in the U.S.
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have utilized very similar tactics for informing voters on policies in two very different ways. For example, Trump is long associated with his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” which many Republicans have latched onto.
Trump’s campaign has colored itself red, white and blue, utilizing patriotism in his MAGA campaign. It’s something Republican voters want to see, with MAGA being defined by Britannica as a belief that “the United States was once a ‘great’ country but has lost this status owing to foreign influence, both within its borders and without.”
Using this ideology as the center, Trump has surrounded his campaign with a false sense of optimism under a catchy slogan for his voters. With patriotism often related to family values and undeniable devotion to the U.S., many of Trump's actions have gone directly against these ideals.
Despite this, some of his voters are captured by the aesthetic of his campaign due to its patriotic appearance. His target audience is geared more toward older Americans, seeing as the majority of people over age 40 self-identify as Republican, according to the Pew Research Center. His campaign boosted its advertisements after spending nearly $100 million immediately after Harris’ presidential campaign took off.
Trump’s campaign has geared itself toward the most radical of his voters, catering more to MAGA Republicans instead of the Republican Party as a whole, furthering the political divide by pushing his voters into a radical corner using “patriotism” as its cover.
Harris’ campaign is guilty of the same thing, just under a different banner. The most prominent example appears in bright “BRAT” green following Charli XCX’s endorsement of Harris for president. Harris is gearing her campaign to younger voters, seeing as the majority of people 30 years old and under would identify as Democrats.
After “BRAT” took off as one of the most popular albums of the year, edits of Harris to songs on the album caught the attention of young voters as she leaned into internet trends, a similar strategy to the approach Trump’s campaign took with an older demographic.
It is dangerous to utilize pop culture references to gain voters instead of promoting policies and encouraging voters to do their research. Following the endorsement of celebrities like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, Harris’ campaign is using the fan bases of top stars to center one of the most important elections in U.S. history.
Both the dangers of Harris and Trump’s political campaigns are contributing to an even wider political divide in the U.S. Older Republican voters are looking for the familiar sense of patriotism they grew up with, while younger voters are captured by the words of their favorite singers, leading to little to no persuasion on either side. Instead, these campaigns are trying to keep those votes and opinions secure and ensure those people will hit the polls Nov. 5.
Despite the overall hatred of the number of political ads online and on television, voters should hold their candidates to a higher standard to push to educate and persuade instead of continuing to divide an already halved nation.
Abby Jenkins is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Let Abby know by tweeting her @abbyjenks18 or emailing her at aj205621@ohio.edu.
