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What Now? With Trevor NoahHarris v. Trump: The Week Before with Tressie McMillan Cottom | What Now? with Trevor Noah Podcast
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WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
Election Week Anxiety: Identity, Messaging, Gender and Trump's Appeal Dissected
- Tressie McMillan Cottom argues that political affiliation has become a year-round identity, and that Trump understood people want to belong rather than be called to their higher angels.
- The group debates whether Democrats' big-tent coalition leaves them with a muddier message than Republicans, with Noah and the co-host disagreeing and then finding common ground via Obama's example.
- Cottom says the much-discussed shift of Black men toward Trump is real but only about 5%, and that the Hispanic vote is more consequential and more complex than coverage suggests.
- The conversation examines gender and male anxiety, including Tucker Carlson's spanking rant, women's voting choices, and Cottom's view that some white women back Trump to protect their sons' privilege.
- Cottom predicts Trump will declare victory regardless of results, while Noah says he'd put Harris at 51% but wouldn't bet, and Cottom advises tuning out polls and simply voting.
IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING
5 ideasPartisanship has become an all-year identity
Cottom says that unlike her childhood, people now think of themselves as their party between elections, so politics attracts personalities rather than moral appeals. She says Trump grasped this intuitively.
The Black male shift to Trump is statistically small
Cottom cites about 5% of Black men versus 85 to 90% of Black Americans still backing Harris, calling it interesting but not electorally important. She attributes it more to the declining power of the Black church than to a specific Trump appeal.
Trump's 'Black jobs' remark landed with a real history
Cottom says Democrats erred by mocking it, because working-class Black families fought white-dominated unions for those jobs and heard a promise of labor-market protectionism.
Democrats struggle to deliver a clear message
Cottom argues Democrats are afraid of being held responsible for a clear promise, while Trump doesn't worry about that. Noah points to Israel-Palestine and Ukraine as examples of Trump's simpler message.
The structure of US politics props up Republicans
Cottom says gerrymandering and packed courts mean even a 'potato' could be competitive as the Republican candidate, so the real question is why Trump can't tank the ticket.
WORDS WORTH SAVING
5 quotesLiberals are still stru- stuck in this cycle of, like, wanting to appeal to our higher, better angels. Um, and frankly, in a, in a consumer-driven, identity-driven society, there is no higher angel. There is no better angel. People just want the softest, cheapest bread.
— Tressie McMillan Cottom
The Democrats are so scared of being held responsible for the clarity of their message that they never get a clear message.
— Tressie McMillan Cottom
The structure of electoral politics in the United States is such that you could run a potato as the Republican candidate, and it will be competitive.
— Tressie McMillan Cottom
People think that dictatorships and authoritarian regimes are built overnight, but they're not. Right? People think, like, armies march in the streets. The, uh, it doesn't happen that way. If you read history and if you've lived in those countries, you know it's a very gradual creep.
— Trevor Noah
I truly believe. I have also said I think Trump is our id, and the thing about the id is that it feels amazing. It feels great. It is ultimately destructive, um, but it feels good on the way down.
— Tressie McMillan Cottom
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SPEAKERS
Trevor Noah
hostComedian and TV host, best known for hosting The Daily Show and the What Now? with Trevor Noah podcast.
Tressie McMillan Cottom
guestSociologist and writer known for cultural and political commentary, including work connected to The New York Times.
High quality AI-generated summary created from speaker-labeled transcript.
