(National Pulse) Crossover voters from then-Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders to Donald J. Trump in the 2016 presidential election likely helped push the latter over the top in critical swing states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. With Bernie-aligned figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and anti-war populist Tulsi Gabbard backing Trump’s 2024 bid for the White House, a similar phenomenon could happen again, argues The National Pulse’s Editor-in-Chief, Raheem Kassam, in a recent interview with Wake Up To Politics.
The Kennedy–Gabbard voter demographic is a sort of evolution of the 2016 Bernie Sanders voter, Kassam notes. While they still oppose war and are skeptical of concentrated corporate and government power, they’re also keen on lifestyle choices that impact nutrition and physical health.
“These are people who think about what their clothes are made of,” Kassam says, adding: “They don’t want to wear polyester. They don’t want to eat seed oils. They prefer all-natural, no sulfites in their wines.”
A LIFESTYLE ISSUE.
According to Kassam, this lifestyle issue is the missing piece that may be critical to increasing that 2016 crossover vote and securing Republican wins once again in the Rustbelt as well as Arizona and Nevada—the latter two states being known for having a ‘crunchy’ streak in their electorates.
“Probably more than any other point in his life, Trump is on a learning trajectory right now,” The National Pulse’s Editor-in-Chief explains before continuing: “I think he probably looked at it originally from, like, ‘Okay, I’m for no war. Are you for no war?’ And they go, ‘yeah, we’re for no war.’ ‘Okay, so what else are you into?’ And they start talking about all this health stuff and everything else and he goes, ‘Oh my God, I had no idea.’”
VOTER SWAP?