Prologue│The petty and insignificant world of a powerful and mighty nation

PART 1│The Paradox of Choice: Donkey or Elephant?
How Trump Became President
The Hidden History of Two-Party Politics
What's Different About the US Presidential Election?
Conditions or Destiny of the Second Person
Why Focus on Iowa
Is Ohio still valid?

PART 2│The Art of Elections: What Makes an Election
Voting never stops
Big data knows the answer
The mysterious and fascinating world of negatives
Money, money, money
How important are election debates?
The real strategists who move the board
Preempt the issue

PART 3│A Shifting System: Who to Appeal to
Thucydides' Trap
Whose party is this?
Black Lives Matter
America's Roots, Immigrants: Immigration and the Changing Political Landscape I
Us and Yours: Immigration and the Changing Political Landscape II
America First

Epilogue│Dreaming of a society for everyone, winners and losers
References

How Trump Became President

On November 8, 2016, many were shocked when Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States.
While there were certainly many Republicans and supporters who rejoiced at his election, the predominant reaction was, "How could this happen?"
That's understandable, as Republican Donald Trump received 62,984,828 votes while Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton received 65,853,514 votes, a difference of nearly 3 million votes, yet Clinton lost the election.
According to Dr. Jiyoon Kim, author of "How Elections Seduce the Public" and an expert on American politics who is renowned for providing deep and balanced insights into domestic and international affairs, there is a hidden contradiction in the complex and even bizarre American presidential election system.
In the United States, electors are allocated to each of the 50 states to choose the president, and the candidate who receives even one more vote in each state takes all of that state's electoral votes.
Since the presidential election is held indirectly through the Electoral College, the number of electoral votes is much more important than the actual number of votes.
Thanks to this system, Trump, who received nearly 3 million fewer votes than Clinton, was able to easily defeat Clinton, who received 227 electoral votes, securing 304 electoral votes.
One of the areas that greatly contributed to Trump's victory at this time was the Rust Belt, the Northeastern and Midwestern regions surrounding the Great Lakes.
Factory workers in the Rust Belt, once a booming manufacturing hub in the 1970s, are now in decline, their memories of the glory days of the past fading away.
The candidate who embraced those who had suffered directly from globalization and free trade was not Clinton of the Democratic Party, which once represented the working class but has now changed, but Trump of the Republican Party, who strongly advocated protectionism and anti-immigration policies.
It was no coincidence that many Rust Belt voters were enthusiastic about Trump.


Who is this party for?

Franklin Roosevelt, the Democratic Party's 32nd President, introduced the New Deal in 1933, which included social welfare policies and government-led, proactive economic stimulus measures that had previously been unwelcome in the United States.
And 30 years later, Democratic President Lyndon Johnson launched a massive social security program called the "Great Society."
Through this series of events, the Democratic Party came to have the image of being a party for workers and the vulnerable, and an anti-corporate party.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party, starting with Ronald Reagan's election as president in 1980, began to implement tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, establishing itself as a party representing their interests.

However, historically, the two parties have changed their appearances by exchanging policies and lines according to the times.
The stance toward people of color and immigrants is no different.
The Democratic Party, which produced a black president and a female presidential candidate in the 2000s, was once a very racist party, and the Republican Party during Abraham Lincoln's presidency was a strong advocate of abolishing slavery.
According to the author's analysis, political parties' positions on issues that arise at any given time are variable.
The tendencies and public opinion of supporters play a big role here.
This trend becomes more evident as elections approach.
To win an election, you need to read the minds of the voters who are likely to vote for you and properly target them.


The Politics of Voter Turnout

President Trump's insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants during his 2016 presidential campaign are well-known.
Many people criticized him for pursuing politics that promotes hatred and loathing.
However, at this point, the author focuses on the strategies related to 'voter turnout' in past US presidential elections.
Unlike us, in the United States, the government does not automatically register voters.
Voters who wish to vote must complete the registration process themselves.
In that case, from the candidate's perspective, he or she must employ a strategy to get at least one more voter who is likely to vote for him or her to come out to the polls.
In 2008, the Obama campaign mobilized a large number of voters by actively utilizing the Internet and online platforms based on micro-targeting. In his 2012 re-election bid, he went one step further and focused on bold persuasion strategies to win over the opposing party's persuasive voters to his side.
But the Trump campaign's 2016 election strategy was quite different.
Rather than using the strategy of "raising our voter turnout" to get as many voters as possible to the polls, they used the strategy of "lowering your voter turnout" to get people who are unlikely to vote for them to not come to the polls at all.
To achieve this, they have, of course, cleverly used negative techniques such as fake news and smear campaigns, including sectarianism based on race, gender, origin, and political leanings.
Trump's stance as he seeks re-election in 2020 is not much different.
This year in particular, the Black Lives Matter movement sparked by the death of George Floyd and the conflict between citizens and police have created an optimal environment for Trump.
Between the division between 'you' and 'me,' 'them' and 'us,' and true Americans and foreigners, the voter's vote has nowhere to go.


Why do we go to the trouble of voting?

As the 2016 US presidential election clearly demonstrated, polls and voting are two different things.
This is because voting is an ‘action’ that must be supported by activism and strong support for the candidate.
You have to register to vote, review pledges and policies, sometimes even participate in debates, go to the polls, stand in line, and check the vote count.
But why do we go to all this trouble to vote?
As is often said, 'a sense of responsibility as a member of a democratic society' is one reason why we vote, but the author mentions a more fundamental factor.
It's 'fun'.
Although it is called a noble process of selecting our representatives, the election is ultimately a 'duel' on a single-log bridge, a 'game' that drives people to excitement like a huge show.
They support candidates and parties, identify with them, and get excited as if they were running for office themselves, and they get excited watching candidates sharply attack each other in televised debates.
Moreover, whenever election season comes, high-ranking officials who have been so stiff until now shout, “Please choose me!” and try to shake our hands one more time, make eye contact one more time, and act friendly in front of us.
It is a unique opportunity to fully enjoy one's rights as a voter, which comes around once every few years.

The sad thing is that in every competition, there is always a winner and a loser.
When the candidate and party I support wins, I feel proud as if I won, but if they lose, I feel at a loss as if I foresee an uncertain future.
But as the author emphasizes, the true value of democracy lies not in how the winners enjoy their victory, but in how the losers accept their defeat.
Since Trump came to power, many have expressed concern about the fragility of democracy.
Many people are already thinking that if President Trump loses the election, he will not admit defeat.
However, this is also a litmus test to see how strong the foundation of American democracy is, and regardless of the outcome, the United States will continue to build its own country through further reflection and revision, as it has done so far.
With elections that tempt the public.