my Trip Reflections On the US election

By Luci Nicholson, Organiser 

I wrote this piece as I returned from the US on October 25th. After witnessing the shock and horror as Trump accumulated electoral college votes last week I wasn't surprised. In analysing the results, we see that Trump actually received fewer votes than in 2020, suggesting he was far from unbeatable. However, Harris's coalition became increasingly incoherent, preventing the Democrats from getting out the votes they needed to. This Confirmed some observations I had while in the US that you will read below. Politicians seem so detached from society that the democratic system struggles to function in its current form. Trump's anger resonated with people - they believed he was angry on their behalf, and he symbolised change, something the US is in desperate need of. I hope these reflections help you to process what we've witnessed and allow us to take some lessons from it. 

My recent journey to the United States as a participant in the International Visitor Leadership Program solidified my understanding of the need for the Greens to continue to transition from campaign-based election strategies to establishing an ongoing movement that actively engages with and advocates for communities, offering mutual support, organising community events and fighting for communities in and outside of parliament.

The United States serves as a poignant example of the consequences that arise when political parties become so detached from society that they are no longer able to maintain the democratic system in its current form. 

The program took 10 “emerging political leaders” on a tour of the US. As a part of our tour we visited Washington, then Detroit, Michigan, and Cleveland, Ohio, meeting with elected officials, political parties, grassroots organisations, government bodies, lobby groups and consultants. For the purpose of these key reflections I will focus on the four days we spent in Detroit, Michigan.

Michigan is a swing state that could well decide the US presidential election. Michigan tilted to Donald Trump in 2016 before President Biden won it back for the Democrats in 2020. Detroit was once home to the world's largest auto-mobile industry, and was the epicentre of the American labour movement.

The relocation of this manufacturing base to outside the US in pursuit of cheap labour and weaker regulatory frameworks in the 1980s and 90s resulted in mass unemployment in Detroit and the economic and social destruction of many communities.

While driving through Detroit, one sees kilometres of abandoned factories, empty warehouses, and blocks where houses, offices and factories were flattened so that people could claim on their insurance.  It is not even a shadow of what it once was: a town in which workers could find unionised, long-term, well-paid, secure employment which afforded them the opportunity to raise families and build communities.

In Detroit, we met with Democrats, Republicans, election officials, local reps, union members and grassroots organisers - and saw some of the best live jazz of our lives. Almost every non-partisan person we met said that Detroit was re-building itself, and that the Democrats had taken the region for granted for decades, only coming by each presidential election to ask for votes.

It is an area ripe for Trump's form of faux populism. “Trump just gets how angry we are” said the Republican organiser to me. He is 26, of hispanic descent - lets call him “Mike”. This man had supported Bernie Sanders in 2016, but switched to supporting Trump after Clinton won the 2016 primaries.

When I asked Mike if he would support Bernie if he ran again he admitted that he would switch back right away. His dad had lost his job in the factories, and he struggles to find secure work that many past generations in Detroit had previously enjoyed, He also is burdened with student debts and high rent. He says that while his parents had careers, he just has jobs.

While his parents were home owners at his age, he rents. Mike said that the Democrats have never done anything for him. And this is probably true. 

In the suburbs of Detroit, this once Bernie supporter runs “swamp the vote” trainings three times a week, getting out 15-30 people each time, teaching them how to "protect" their vote and to make sure the election isn't “stolen again”.

They get each participant to text everyone in their phone, and are encouraging people to vote in groups, bringing their family, their friends, and their colleagues out to vote with them. It is a very smart strategy to get out the vote, especially in an area where less than 50% of the population voted last election. 

On the other side of the political spectrum, at a grassroots organising group called Detroit Action or “the Union of the Hood” two of the coolest organisers I have ever met repeat similar sentiments as the Trump organiser. They said they will vote for Harris because she is better than Trump, but they aren't sure if she will do anything for their communities.

Detroit once had the highest Black home ownership, now it has the highest level of black renters. They say that Democrats don't put effort and resources into Detroit, that they just expect black voters to turn out for them; though they didn't turn out in 2016 for Clinton, and Trump won.

At the Democrat campaign office, we met 7 organisers who have mostly driven from other states to mobilise the vote in a few key outer suburbs of Detroit. They were making calls  day-in and day-out with a team of 10 loyal volunteers asking people to get out and vote. Every weekend they have more than 100 people door knocking asking people to get out and vote. 

On Saturday, we went out door-knocking in Sterling Heights in Macomb County with the Democrats. It was a stark introduction to the deep-seated conservatism simmering amidst suburban lawns across the US. As we walked through the neighbourhood, it became quickly apparent how much ground Democrats were struggling to cover.

Trump placards were scattered almost ten-to-one against the few Democrat signs. At one door, an older man opened up, already scowling before we could get through our introductions. He lifted his shirt to reveal a gun tucked into his pants waist, as we turned and got off his front doorstep.

A few houses down, we spoke to a man who, when asked what issues mattered to him, explained that he saw abortion as an extension of Eve eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Many others told us they wouldn’t be voting because they felt it wouldn’t make a difference or simply didn’t pay attention to politics.

Campaigning with the Democrats, I was expecting to see a sophisticated campaign machine that would blow out of the water anything we were doing in Australia. Instead, observing the political dynamics in Michigan, it became clear that political parties face consequences when they become detached from the communities they claim to serve.

Detroit, once a union stronghold and economic powerhouse, has suffered decades of political neglect, leading to disillusionment among residents who feel alienated from the political establishment. This disillusionment has fostered both apathy and susceptibility to populist rhetoric, which resonates with voters who feel unheard. The Democrats were not doing enough on the ground to overcome this.

Their messaging was weak and inconsistent. Their graphic design was bad, with flyers in all different colours with unaligned dense text. They enjoy being the establishment too much to ever acknowledge the anti-political sentiment that is rife in places like Michigan. 

My time in Detroit reaffirmed to me that we must continue to build a movement that continuously delivers to communities and deeply connects with people in and outside of election periods.

We must create a movement that provides continuous support, community resources, and engagement outside of election years. The goal is not only to turn out votes but to foster a sustainable network that improves lives and engages communities on an ongoing and everyday basis.

My time in the U.S. showed me that political loyalty cannot be assumed; it must be earned and maintained through genuine commitment to community needs and resilience. We should prioritise continuous community involvement, ensuring that grassroots efforts persist, relationships strengthen, and support structures endure regardless of election cycles.

In practical terms, this means developing projects like the community aid initiative in Griffith, and the clothes swaps we are running in Steph Hodgins-May’s office.

We must address social isolation and economic challenges through volunteer-driven mutual support, as well as doorknocking, agreeing with peoples anti-political sentiment and providing policy solutions that will materially improve peoples lives and address the climate crisis.

The initiative will provide tangible benefits, empower the local community, and strengthen bonds between constituents and the Greens.

While good policies that will materially improve people's lives must always be at the centre of what we do, it is not enough. The guiding principles focus on solidarity over charity, community leadership, and long-term impact, ultimately aiming to build trust, skills, and engagement among residents while embedding the Greens’ values at the local level.

By adopting this approach, the Greens can foster a mass movement that is resilient, embedded in local needs, and capable of effecting change both in and out of parliament.