The Media Missed the Signs of a Trump Win — Now They're Spinning It As Voter 'Realignment'

From yard signs to caps and protest chants, the media ignored the voters' warnings. Now, with Trump’s victory, they cloak their shock — and media malpractice — in a single word: 'realignment.'"

MORGANTOWN, W.V. — Over this past year, I’ve traveled from my childhood hometown here in the foothills of the Appalachian mountain through Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Illinois, Maryland, New York and New Jersey, reporting from the trenches of this election year.

In this journey, the signs predicting Trump’s election win have been both literal and metaphorical. Specifically, yard signs, billboards and protest signs. I also saw it on the baseball cap of a man who walked into a Haitian church in Springfield, Ohio, recently. It wasn’t clear if he was there to hate on the Haitian, but it turned out he just wanted to pray with them.

Most of the media chose to ignore the signs and caricature the voters as Nazis, fascists and racist. Suddenly, in the one word plucked by the media to describe the election win, the victory is being cast as a “realignment,” with a “Hispanic realignment,” “class realignment,” “elite realignment,” “political realignment,” “realignment election,” “generational realignment” and even the “Great Realignment.”

Media cloak their miss as ‘realignment’

A “realignment” is political gobbledygook for the changing alliances and views that the media ignored. It refers to significant shifts in the political landscape, where long-term changes in party loyalty, voter bases and dominant issues redefine the political order. The origins of realignment trace back to historical moments when major societal or economic transformations occurred, reshaping the electorate's priorities. This includes the realignment of 1932, when the Great Depression led to a coalition of working-class voters, urban populations and minority groups rallying behind Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Democratic Party's New Deal policies.

Similarly, the realignment of the 1960s and 1970s saw the Southern states shifting from Democratic to Republican dominance in response to civil rights legislation and cultural changes, fundamentally altering American politics. Evolving ideologies, economic crises, social movements and transformative leaders drive these realignments, motivating a large part of the electorate to reconsider their allegiances.

A sign: #AbandonHarris

Political yard signs supporting former President Donald Trump peppered front lawns in Amish country in Indiana, traditionally Democratic neighborhoods in Arlington, Va., and barns in western Pennsylvania, their presence unapologetic and fervent.

Then, on campuses, sidewalks and busy intersections, Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and self-described socialists, Marxists and communists have held protests signs against Vice President “Killer Kamala” Harris, President “Genocide Joe” Biden and Secretary of State Anthony “Baby Killer” Blinken, each an exclamation point punctuating the nation’s fierce debates over the Biden administration’s support for the state of Israel and the fierce #AbandonHarris campaign that convinced Muslims and Arabs to vote for a third-party in the swing state of Michigan, which Harris ended up losing. I saw them in Chicago in August, protesting Harris at the Democratic National Convention, and I wrote in the Jewish Journal that these agitators were threatening to vote for third-party candidates, like Cornel West, who supported their calls for an Israeli ceasefire in its war against Hamas. In Michigan, they did.

As the election results rolled in, projecting Trump’s expected win, I pulled an all-nighter, studying about eight hours of the media and social media commentary. I observed a familiar refrain echoing since 2016—a refusal by many Democratic pundits to truly listen, learn and accept. Instead of humility and new wisdom, too often the response is more of the same: demonizing, dehumanizing, marginalizing, and minimizing Trump voters.

12:54 AM: Van Jones’ ‘nightmare’

Fox News station was the first to report Trump’s expected victory. At 12:16 a.m, Bret Baier said: “This is a realignment of the Republican Party.”

At 12:54 a.m., CNN Democratic analyst Van Jones once again used divisive rhetoric that deepens national fractures rather than healing them. With breathless alarmism, Jones described Democrats as "going to bed with a nightmare," framing Trump’s victory in terms of fear and despair. This kind of hyperbole serves as a self-fulfilling prophecy, stoking tension and mistrust while the elite pundit class profits from their role as supposed mediators of the very divide they continue to exacerbate. It is an irresponsible cycle that tears at the fabric of the nation.

Van Jones's commentary is not new. On election night in 2016, he demonized Trump voters by framing their votes as a "white lash," an inflammatory and reductive portrayal of millions of Americans. Ironically, Jones then toured the country, casting himself as a unifier attempting to bridge the chasm he had helped create.

Now, with the same pattern emerging, it’s essential for Americans — Democrats, Republicans, Independents and third-party supporters — not to fall for this bait. The rhetoric of fear only empowers those who profit from division, whil it is everyday citizens who suffer its corrosive effects.

Not long after, Fox News declared Trump the winner with the 270 votes needed to win the electoral college.

2:02 AM: MSNBC ‘terrified’

Around 2:02 a.m., an MSNBC segment featured commentators engaging in punditry malpractice.

MSNBC host Alex Wagner claimed that people worldwide are “extremely alarmed and terrified” by a Trump victory. MSNBC host Joy Reid said she had gotten “texts from Ghana and South Africa,” with messages of alarm. The hyperbole was striking and all too predictable. Rather than introspection and acknowledgment of the political “realignment” happening before our eyes, fear-mongering took center stage.

2:42 AM: Trump harkens ‘golden age of America’ and ‘healing’

And, in his acceptance speech, Trump said he would seize the moment to bring “healing” and a new “golden age of America” to the nation. To do that, he must shift his leadership style and recognize that half of the country elected him but he must now also govern the other half. He must exercise more self control and message discipline to truly “restore America to greatness” and “put the division of the past four years behind us,” as he promised to do.

Trump, too, took to calling his win a “historic realignment.”

3:02 AM: ‘Shellacking for the Democrats’

At 3:02 a.m., CNN’s John King stood in front of a map showing Trump with 51.1 percent of the popular vote and Harris with 47.2 percent, saying “This is a shellacking for the Democrats tonight. The question is how bad. A shellacking for the vice president.”

4:18 AM: ‘Wrecking ball” to the “blue wall’

A little over an hour later, at 4:18 a.m., CNN’s John Berman made a clear call, standing in front of a map that put Trump at 255 electoral college votes to 205 votes, speaking about Trump putting a “wrecking ball” to the “blue wall” that the Harris campaign team planned to win.

He noted, “There is much more red than blue. Much. Donald President appears poised to become the 47th president of the United States, taking a wrecking ball to the so-called blue wall states the Harris team thought was its best path to the White House.”

5:14 AM: Responding to smear of ‘white men without college degrees’

Just past dawn, at 5:14 AM, the demonization became blatant when I read a comment from a communications consultant, Ally Sammarco, who had declared on social media: “White men without college degrees are going to ruin this country.”

Her statement, filled with disdain, was not merely an expression of disagreement but a dismissal of millions of people’s lives and contributions. I responded by sharing my lived experience. I grew up in West Virginia, surrounded by “white men without college degrees” who embodied hard work, resilience, and community. I raised my son in Fairfax County, where these same men built the homes, mowed the lawns, and tarred the roads. Sammarco attended Langley High School in Fairfax County and then went on to college, but many Americans cannot afford even the gas to visit D.C. to see the cherry blossoms. For them, blue-collar jobs are not a fallback but a lifeline.

Disdainful rhetoric like this reflects a broader spirit of hubris and arrogance that alienates and pushes voters away. “White men without college degrees” have historically toiled in coal mines, built the railroads and worked the fields. They are human beings who have helped shape America. To dismiss them as irredeemable or dangerous is deeply disrespectful, dehumanizing and profoundly illiberal.

5:59 AM: BBC calls the win a ‘realignment’

The reality is that there is a departure of voters from the Democratic Party—or, as the BBC wrote at 5:59 a.m., “Donald Trump has done it again…His victory cements a fundamental realignment of American politics toward a conservative populism that began in 2016 and was thought to have been discarded with his defeat in 2020. His political movement is back and seemingly more durable than ever.”

This shift cannot be simply explained away by racism, sexism or any other inconvenient label. It is rooted in deep-seated frustrations and genuine grievances—concerns about economic inequality, cultural change, political corruption and a sense that traditional institutions have abandoned voters. Trump, for better or worse, has become a symbol of this dissatisfaction, a rallying cry for those who feel unseen and unheard.

To move forward, we must recognize the dignity of all voters—the Kamala voters and the Trump voters. If Trump is truly to bring “healing” and a golden age of America,” as he pledged to do during his acceptance speech, he must change his messaging style.

6:07 AM: Politico writes win is ‘like a realignment’

Minutes later, at 6:07 a.m., Politico reported, in lock-step with the narrative framing of the BBC and other media outlets: “Trump’s victory looks like a realignment.”

Demonizing and dehumanizing rhetoric only serves to alienate and radicalize. It creates an environment where civil discourse becomes impossible, where political opponents are seen as enemies, and where sweeping generalizations poison genuine dialogue.

Imagine a political conversation that begins not with “you’re wrong” but with “tell me more.” Imagine leaders who listen to the pain and fears of every American and seek common ground. This isn’t about compromising on core values but about recognizing that our democracy thrives when all voices are respected, even when they are voices of dissent.

We are at a crossroads.

The “realignment” happening across the nation is an opportunity for growth, new ideas and genuine dialogue. It’s time to move beyond the tired playbook of division and fear. As I continue my travels through this land, I hold onto hope that we can turn down the volume on the shouting and tune into something deeper—the stories, the struggles and the aspirations that unite us all.

7:21 AM: Media outlets declare ‘Trump wins’

By 7:21 a.m., it was all over, with all of the major media outlets reporting that Trump had won.

MSNBC, CNN and the Associated Press joined Fox News in declaring Trump the winner. On cue, at 8:31 a.m., Bloomberg reported: “Stunned World Braces for Sudden Realignment After Trump’s Return.”

Not long after, Republican senior analyst Scott Jennings lamented that Vice President Harris had “conditioned” supporters for weeks into believing Trump is a “fascist” and a replica of “Hitler.” Former Democratic Rep. Bakari Sellers revealed how quickly the hired guns of political punditry will return to the rhetoric of calling — to explain their election loss.

The signs about the humanity of the Trump voter are there, for anyone willing to look.

Is the media brave enough to ‘realign’ back to traditional journalism, rather than partisan politics?