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Are Black and Latino Voters Really “Drifting”? Plus Melania and Her Memoir

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Steve Phillips on electoral demographics and Amy Wilentz on the former first lady’s new book.

Jon Wiener

October 23, 2024

Supporters of former president Donald Trump watch as he holds a rally in the historical Democratic district of the South Bronx on May 23, 2024, in New York City.(Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

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Are Black and Latino Voters Really “Drifting”? Plus Melania and her Memoir | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

Latino and Black voters in swing states, we are told by the New York Times, are “drifting away from the Democrats.” But how good is the evidence here? Steve Phillips has our analysis.

Also: Melania has published a memoir: “Melania,” where she revisits plagiarizing Michelle Obama for her 2016 RNC convention speech, and wearing that jacket that said “I don’t care, do U?” when she visited INS detention camps for children separated from their parents at the border. Amy Wilentz comments on her explanations—and on the rest of the book.

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Latino and Black voters in swing states, we are told by the New York Times, are “drifting away from the Democrats.” But how good is the evidence here? Steve Phillips has our analysis.

Also: Melania has published a memoir, Melania, where she revisits plagiarizing Michelle Obama for her 2016 RNC convention speech, and wearing that jacket that said “I don’t care, do U?” when she visited INS detention camps for children separated from their parents at the border. Amy Wilentz comments on her explanations—and on the rest of the book.

The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

How We Got Here, plus Thanking the Undocumented | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

How Trump ‘won’: In 2024, 244 million Americans were eligible to vote. 31.5% voted for Trump, 30.6 % voted for Harris, 38% did not vote. Trump won the same share of the eligible voters as he did four years ago (32%), But Harris’s share of eligible voters fell by 3.5 points compared to Biden. Why did 7 million Democratic voters stay home? Harold Meyerson has our analysis—he’s editor-at-large of The American Prospect.

Also: now that Trump is preparing to round up and deport undocumented residents, we want to thank them for everything they’ve done to make America good. It’s a sentiment they don’t hear nearly enough–especially the “unaccompanied minors,” who have “shown more bravery in their young lives than anyone in Trump’s administration could ever dream of.” Gustavo Arellano will explain – he’s a columnist for the LA Times whose father came to the US in the 1960s in the trunk of a Chevy.

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Jon WienerTwitterJon Wiener is a contributing editor of The Nation and co-author (with Mike Davis) of Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties.


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